John Henry Soft Cover Book

John Henry was known as the strongest, fastest, and most powerful man working on the railroad. When the railroad brought in a steam drill to speed up the work of drilling through a tunnel, it was said that the steam drill could drill faster than any man. As the story goes, John Henry went up against the steam drill to prove that he could drill a hole through the rock farther and faster than the drill could, “man against machine.” Using two 10-pound hammers, he pounded the drill so fast and so hard that he drilled a 14-foot hole into the rock. John Henry beat the steam drill, but the story has been told in numerous versions. 

-Soft cover book

-34 pages

- By Julius Lester & pictures by Jerry Pinkney