John Sedgwick recounts the decade-long fight between General William J. Palmer, the Civil War hero leading the "little family" of his Rio Grande, coming down from Denver, hoping to showcase the majesty of the Rockies, and William Barstow Strong, the hard-nosed manager of the corporate-minded Santa Fe, venturing west from Kansas. What begins as an accidental rivalry when the two lines cross in Colorado soon evolves into an all-out battle as each man tries to outdo the other--claiming exclusive routes through mountains, narrow passes, and the richest silver mines in the world; enlisting private armies to protect their land and lawyers to find loopholes; dispatching spies to gain information; and even using the power of the press and incurring the wrath of the God-like Robber Baron Jay Gould--to emerge victorious. By the end of the century, one man will fade into anonymity and disgrace. The other will achieve unparalleled success--and in the process, transform a sleepy backwater of thirty thousand called "Los Angeles" into a booming metropolis that will forever change the United States.

Maps on endpapers.

Prologue: A tale of two cities -- Introduction: A very personal war -- The raton pass. On the train to El Moro ; The wild west ; Beware the prairie lilies ; The grid ; Where to go ; Seeking Uncle Dick ; Santa Fe, Inc. ; Enter the queen ; The battle is joined -- The royal gorge. Precious metals ; "A game of bluff" ; Haw ; The dead-line ; This means war ; Bad men ; Gould ; A whiskey salute ; Harvey houses -- Los Angeles. The pueblo ; The big four ; "A terrible, single-handed talker" ; Guaymas ; "This is hard" ; The A&P ; The end of the line ; Ightham mote ; California for a dollar ; Boom! ; Home -- Epilogue: The frontier thesis.