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America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line — the first American railroad — in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe’s, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America’s rise to world-power status.
Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them.
In The Great Railroad Revolution, renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.
Publisher : PublicAffairs; Illustrated edition (October 8, 2013)
Language : English
Paperback : 447 pages
ISBN-10 : 1610393473
ISBN-13 : 978-1610393478
Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.12 x 8.5 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book engaging and informative about the history of American railroads. They appreciate the well-researched information and interesting details about people and economics. The pacing is described as smooth and easy to read, with good photos. Many readers consider it a great gift. The narrative quality is described as fine and fun, making the history interesting. However, some customers feel the book contains too many repetitions, which slows down the progress.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
