Image: PublicAffairs / Hachette Book Group · source
PublicAffairs · Mid-range
Christian Wolmar's trade paperback traces how railroads spread from Britain and America across the globe, in 432 pages.
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Most railfans know their home network; this book widens the frame to the whole world. According to the publisher, it follows the opening of the world's first railroad in Britain and America and then the arrival of tracks in places as far apart as Australia and Cuba within a decade. It then jumps ahead to the point where the United States alone had over a quarter of a million miles of track. The publisher's description names Panama, Punjab, Tasmania and Turin, which signals a book that ranges across continents instead of dwelling on one country. For a reader who already enjoys watching trains, it supplies the large-scale story behind the lines they visit.
This is a book to read at home or on a long journey, not a field guide. The publisher describes a work of history, so it will not give track-side directions or timetables. A practical use is as background reading before a trip to a heritage railway, a station or a famous line: the description says the network was built with architectural innovation and under harsh labor conditions, so a reader can look at a viaduct, a tunnel mouth or a terminus and place it in that wider story. At 432 pages in paperback it is a substantial read rather than a quick browse.
Strengths
Weaknesses
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Pages | 432 |
| Author | Christian Wolmar |
| Format | Trade paperback |
| ISBN-10 | 1586489496 |
| ISBN-13 | 9781586489496 |
| On sale | Mar 1, 2011 |
| Subtitle | How the Railroads Transformed the World |
| Publisher | PublicAffairs (Hachette Book Group) |
Adult railfans and gift givers who want an overview of railway history across several continents. Readers who prefer one country should look at the second Wolmar title below. The listing here is the paperback edition, not the ebook, which carries a different ISBN.
The Great Railroad Revolution by the same author narrows the focus to the United States, with 448 pages on the rise and fall of American railroads. Train by Tom Zoellner is a different route: a narrative that travels the globe by rail, from the Trans-Siberian to Indian Railways to bullet trains.
Image: National Geographic (Penguin Random House) · source
National Geographic · Mid-range
A National Geographic hardcover that profiles 100 railway journeys around the world, with notes on when and where to go, which cabins to book and what to see off the train.
Image: Lorenz Books / Simon & Schuster · source
Lorenz Books · Mid-range
A hardcover guide to the golden age of train engines by Colin Garratt, with 700 photographs covering the first designs to modern high-speed trains.
Image: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · source
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · Budget
A board book by Kevin Lewis, with pictures by Daniel Kirk, that follows a busy toy steam locomotive through a playroom from sunrise until all its freight has been delivered.
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