Steel Drivin' Man
by Scott Reynolds Nelson
At a glance:
- Author: Scott Reynolds Nelson
- First Published: 2006
- Type of Work: History and biography
- Time of Work: The 1860’s to the present
- Setting: The United States
- Genres: Nonfiction
- Subjects: African Americans, United States or Americans, Blacks, Legends, Folklore, Railroads
- Locales: North America
Larger than life, the mythic John Henry and his giant hammer were to railroad men what John Bunyan and his giant blue ox were to American lumberjacks and Pecos Bill and his rattlesnake whip were to cowboys. The first half of this slim but enlightening monograph records a dogged historian’s search for the true source of the legend. The song begins with these two verses:
The Captain said to John Henry“Gonna bring that steam drill ’roundGonna bring that steam...
(The entire page is 1794 words.)
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