Rate this book

The Great Railway Revolution: The Epic Story Of The American Railroad (2012)

by Christian Wolmar(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0857890352 (ISBN13: 9780857890351)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Atlantic

review 1: I generally like books that dig deep into their topic. When books try to get a huge topic down in 300 or 400 pages they can't dig deep. It was enjoyable but would have been more so if the author either chopped down the size of the topic or expanded the book for more detail. Still it is a nice overview and it does emphasize how important the railroads were in the growth of the country. This revolutionary technology which destroyed distance and made us a great power needs a longer treatment.
review 2: As this book shows, the railroad is a prism to look at American history – it is deeply intertwined with American history. The railroad’s infancy was near the beginning of the United States, when the country was agrarian, almost a wilderness of unconnected small... more towns. The railroad grew up along with the country, supplying transportation and supporting industrial development. The railroad was an important factor in the Civil War (the author speculates that the South might have broken away from the Union but for the railroad) and the settling of the West. The railroad was heavily involved with the robber barons of the Gilded Age, was crucial in the two World Wars, and is still a critical component in America’s economy.The book describes the changing relationship between government and the railroad. When railroads were beginning, there was a great deal of Federal and state aid to the companies. The railroads would not have existed without this aid. But, according to the author, the relationship between government and the railroads changed drastically around 1910. Government regulations, support of unions, and heavy taxation have greatly hindered the railroads in the past, and continue to do so. A serious misallocation of capital. less

Download links for: The Great Railway Revolution: The Epic Story of the American Railroad

Advertising