Del Norte Public Library

Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.

From the bestselling, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, a novel that is "funny and wise and sumptuously written" (Jonathan Franzen, The New York Times Book Review).

Colson Whitehead’s triumphant novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of John Henry, the black steel-driver who died outracing a machine designed to replace him....

Presents the life story of John Henry, the African American railroad legend known as the "Steel Driving man."

Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.

Retells some of the legends of John Henry, an African-American hero who raced against a steam drill to lay railroad tracks on a mountain.

The dynamic Pecos Bill teams with larger-than-life heroes Paul Bunyan and John Henry to help a brave young man in the fight against a greedy land-grabber who'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the deed to the youngster's family farm.

John Henry was destined to become a steel-driving legend. As a young man, he makes his mark on the American railroads. But one day, a salesman comes to the railroad camp, claiming that his hammering machine is superior to any worker. John Henry steps up to challenge the man's machine, hoping to save the jobs of thousands of railroad workers. Written in graphic-novel format.

Introduces readers to John William Henry, the man behind the myth. Traces the history of the building of the railroads and the period of Reconstruction and discusses folk tales, American mythology, and the tradition of work songs.