Leila Toledo (Children's Literature)
Through the eyes of Robert Louis Stevenson, one experiences the weariness and cramped, unsanitary quarters that he shared with other emigrants as they traveled across America. But one also feels the excitement of new hope and the lure of the west that is captured in Stevenson's personal account. Jim Murphy's award winning book weaves historical details, lots of photographs and line drawings into this familiar story of the transcontinental railroad. Remarkable pictures show the contributions of the railroad workers who tunneled and laid track on dangerous terrain. Although not mentioned by Stevenson, the building of the railroads and the wholesale slaughter of the bison were instrumental in forcing the Indians onto reservations. Also troubling to Stevenson was the prejudice toward Native Americans, Blacks and Chinese that he observed. ALA Notable Books for Children and SLJ Best Book. 1993, Clarion, $16.95. Ages 9 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 1993)
In 1879, before he wrote TREASURE ISLAND, KIDNAPPED or A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES, Robert Louis Stevenson journied from his native Scotland across the Atlantic Ocean and the vast continent of North America to San Francisco, so he could be with the woman he loved. Distance alone made it a trip of epic proportions, yet similar journey's were being made all the time by thousands who sought out America's shores and crossed its prairies and mountains in the hopes of starting new lives. Because he had little money, Stevenson traveled as they traveled - on trains packed with tired, hungry, hopeful people - rumbling west in stops and starts. This fascinating documentary of westward expansion, the transcontinental railroad and the diverse groups of people who came to this land, follows Stevenson on his journey west. Passages from his journal are interspersed throughout the text, providing thoughtful, illuminating commentary on the things he experienced and saw, from the disgraceful treatment of American Indians by settlers and emigrants alike, to the disgraceful treatment of the emigrants themselves by the railroads and others at whose mercy they were kept. The text is enhanced by dozens of black and white photographs and drawings, many from the records of state and local historical societys, including some in Wisconsin. CCBC categories: Historical People, Places And Events; Biography/autobiography. 1993, Clarion, 150 pages, $16.95. Ages 10-14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1993)
The 19th century's transcontinental railroads, explored via a delightfully effective narrative device: tracing the 1879 journey of Robert Louis Stevenson, who, at 29, was making an as-swift-as-possible journey from Edinburgh to Monterey, California, where his beloved Fanny was desperately ill. Murphy draws extensively on Stevenson's own account of his journey, by boat and a succession of trains of varying speed and discomfort, paraphrasing the gist of his experiences and including splendid quotes revealing RLS as a sharp observer--and extraordinarily gifted reporter--with an open mind and an unusually humane attitude toward people of all sorts. Meanwhile, in well-integrated tangents, Murphy discusses related topics: the building of the railroad, including the roles of different ethnic groups; the prevalence of collisions like one that delayed RLS's train; various immigrant groups; the real nature of the "Wild West." He ends with the joyful reunion (Fanny has recovered) and a summary of RLS's brief later life. A fascinating, imaginatively structured account that brings the experience vividly to life in all its detail: history at its best. Generously illustrated with period photos and prints; endpaper map; extensive bibliography, mostly of sources; index. 1993, Clarion, $16.95. Starred Review. © 1993 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 1994 (Vol. 47, No. 5))
The linchpin of this book is Robert Louis Stevenson's 1879 journey from Scotland to California to visit the woman he was to marry, but that's just a departure point for an examination and evocation of the emigrant experience. Stevenson's most individual response to his near-steerage ocean crossing and exhausting train journey across the country serves to convey that of millions, as Murphy adds to the writer's account with historical facts and other travelers' anecdotes, telling of awful meals and kind fellow passengers, train wrecks and emigrant fates in the New World. The combination of personal account and history, liberally seasoned with archival photographs and engravings, covers some well-trodden territory but takes a fresh look at it, bringing home how uncomfortable, frightening, and exciting the cross-continental journey was and how much labor it took from everyone to make it possible. This is a sound and vivid volume that makes for an appealing approach to U.S. history. There are no notes, but an extensive bibliography is included, as is an index and a detailed journey map. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1994, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1993, Clarion, 150p; illus. with photographs, $16.95. Grades 7-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1993)
Murphy describes the journey Robert Louis Stevenson took in 1879 from Scotland to California to see the woman he loved. The vivid account of the train trip across America with other emigrants makes extensive use of Stevenson's own words about the exhausting and often unpleasant experience. Skillfully interwoven into the narrative is a general history of the growth of the transcontinental railroad. An inviting volume, abundantly illustrated with black-and-white photographs and reproductions. Bib., ind. Category: Nonfiction. 1993, Clarion, 150pp.. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.