Before the railroad came to California, the stagecoach was the king of transportation! This book by author and illustrator A. Richard Mansir describes stagecoach travel from the Revolutionary War to the dawning of the transcontinental railroad.. The book reads more like a magazine with imaginary diary entries, maps, photographs, diagrams, timelines, and copies of old posters on the margins of the pages. Reading this book can be a little confusing at times, but Mansir does a good job sharing tidbits of information about stage travel. For example, the reader will discover that oiled leather window shades helped keep out dust and the average stagecoach ride from the east to the west took almost a month. The reader of this book should also be better able to imagine the discomfort and excitement that was stagecoach travel. ( )