Image: W. W. Norton & Company · source
W. W. Norton · Mid-range
The Railway Man is Eric Lomax's memoir of captivity as a prisoner of war forced to work on the Burma-Siam railway, and of the forgiveness he later extended to one of the men who tortured him.
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This book belongs on a railfan's shelf for the railway it describes and for what that railway cost. W. W. Norton says Lomax, sent to Malaya in World War II, was taken prisoner by the Japanese and put to punishing work on the notorious Burma-Siam railway. The railway is the setting of the captivity, not the subject of a technical history: the book is a grave account of a man's survival and its aftermath, and the publisher subtitles the book a prisoner of war's searing account of war, brutality and forgiveness. Norton adds that Lomax volunteered for the Royal Corps of Signals and later died in England at the age of 93, and that the book is classed under biography, memoir and military nonfiction.
This is a reading book, not travel equipment. The paperback runs 288 pages and measures 5.5 by 8.3 inches. The publisher describes how Lomax helped to build a radio in secret to follow the war news, and that after it was discovered he was subjected to two years of starvation and torture. The same page says that fifty years after returning home, marrying, and finding the strength from his wife Patti to fight his demons, Lomax learned the interpreter from those sessions was alive, and that through letters and a meeting with his former torturer he moved beyond bitterness and extended forgiveness. The book won the PEN/Ackerley Prize, according to the publisher, which also notes that a motion picture starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman was made from it.
Strengths
Weaknesses
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Award | PEN/Ackerley Prize |
| Pages | 288 |
| Author | Eric Lomax |
| Format | Paperback |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-393-34407-3 |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 8.3 in |
A mature reader who wants the human history behind the Burma-Siam railway and is prepared for an account of war, brutality and forgiveness. It is not a light read.
Blood, Iron and Gold by Christian Wolmar is a broader history of railways that is already in the catalog; this memoir is personal and concerns one line.
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: 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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