Written by Christian Wolmar, author of the critically acclaimed The Great Railroad Revolution , The Iron Road is a richly illustrated account of the rise of the rails across the world. From the historic moment in September 1830 when the first train ran between Liverpool and Manchester, to the high speed trains bulleting across Asia and Europe, The Iron Road: An Illustrated History of the Railroad looks at how railroads have changed the world. Photographs, maps, paintings, and illustrations bring events and locations ...
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Written by Christian Wolmar, author of the critically acclaimed The Great Railroad Revolution , The Iron Road is a richly illustrated account of the rise of the rails across the world. From the historic moment in September 1830 when the first train ran between Liverpool and Manchester, to the high speed trains bulleting across Asia and Europe, The Iron Road: An Illustrated History of the Railroad looks at how railroads have changed the world. Photographs, maps, paintings, and illustrations bring events and locations to life, adding a unique visual quality to the stories of great invention, feats of mind-boggling engineering, groundbreaking changes in trade and commerce, and tales of adventurers, visionaries, and rogues. The Iron Road is the third title in DK's successful illustrated histories format, which combines text-rich narratives with beautiful visual design.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
As New. 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches. pp. 400. New book with remainder dot, otherwise unmarked. Profusely illustrated in color and black-and-white. // Shipped carefully packed in a sturdy box.
Christian Wolmar's "The Iron Road: an Illustrated History of the Railroad" (2014) manages the rare accomplishment of being informative, thoughtful, and entertaining at the same time. The book is true to its subtitle and offers an overview of the railroad from its beginnings in the early 19th Century to its future in the early 21st Century. Christian Wolmar is a British-based writer on transportation who has written many book on railroad history covering among other things British railroads, American railroads, Russian railroads and railroads in war. These and many other subjects find a place in this new broad survey of railroad history.
The book consists of about 400 pages evenly divided between text and illustrations and maps. Wolmar's writing throughout is engaging and non-technical. He brings the knowledge of a specialist and the love of a railfan in enthusiasm that is everywhere apparent. The illustrations are beautiful, wide-ranging, and stunning.
Wolmar begins with an introductory essay which sets out concisely the importance of the railroads and the changes they produced in economics, demography, social structure, and politics throughout the world. Railroads bridged distances, increased communication among people of different places, promoted engineering and technological accomplishments of an unprecedented scope, and fostered both capitalism and trade unionism. "Of all the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution, the railroads had the most impact", Wolmar explains.
In five chapters, Wolmar covers the origins of the railroads in 19th Century Britain and America and their early expansion. Subsequent chapters cover the "spread" of the railroads, technologically and geographically, the glory days of the railroads when they enjoyed a near-monopoly on long-distance land transportation, the role of the railroads in war, and the current and future state of the iron rails. In the course of the book, Wolmar discusses and illustrates, for example, the workings of a steam engine, electric engine, and an air brake, signaling, tunneling and bridging and more. The text is interspersed with specific facts and figures giving content to the broader discussion.
The most interesting aspects of this book are its focus on people and on geographic scope. Wolmar discusses the individuals who built the rails, some visionary and idealistic, some common swindlers, and some a mixture of both. He discusses the workers on the rails and the extraordinary hardships they endured in constructing railroads in the mountains, in both hot and frigid deserts, and under the sea. Wolmar makes clear that the advance of the rails came at a high human cost in death and suffering.
The book shows railroads and planned railroads that most people in the United States or Britain will probably have little opportunity to see. Wolmar discusses a planned transcontinental line linking the south and north of Africa which narrowly missed completion. He discusses railroads in the upper reaches of the Andes and the Alps and across the Indian subcontinent. He explores the world's highest railroad, newly constructed, linking China and Tibet. He explores the technological accomplishment of creating a rail line under the English Channel. He offers detailed discussions of the two transcontinental railroads through Siberia constructed at frightening human and economic cost. Wolmar discusses rails in Cuba and Ireland. In its relatively short scope, the book shows a great deal about railroading in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan, China, and elsewhere.
Many people who have little else in the way of technological knowledge love the railroads. The term "railfan" captures an interest in railroading by amateurs which is not duplicated by a base of people who love other large industries (with the possible exception of maritime transportation)."The Iron Road" will appeal to readers with any degree of interest in railroading, from newcomers to lifelong railfans. Wolmar's interest in social, economic, and technology will broaden the appeal of the book to readers without a particular passion for the rails. The book includes a useful glossary of terms used in railroading and a good basic bibliography of books on railroading that will interest the non-specialist reader. All told, this is an inspiring and delightful book.
