The World The Railways Made: Wolmar's Railway Library

Description

A new edition of a railway classic: how the "Iron Road" turned the world upside down, with a new chapter on the future of rail

The modern world began with the arrival of the railway. The shock was both sudden and universal: between 1825, when the first passenger service linked Stockton and Darlington, and the outbreak of World War I, railways redefined, transformed, and expanded the limits of the civilized world. With railways came the development of modern capitalism, of modern nations, and the opening-up of new regions. The "Iron Road" transformed all aspects of society. For some the railway represented the horrors of industrial development; for others the way toward a brighter future; for all it meant deep and lasting change. From the financiers who provided unprecedented amounts of capital, to the immigrant laborers who built them, Nicholas Faith explores the mechanical revolution that turned the world upside down.

Reviews

"A bounty of railroad lore for anyone who fondly remembers Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express", Thomas Wolfe's lyrical description of rail journeys into the American heartland, or even their own rides on the locomotive." --"Kirkus Reviews"

Author description

Nicholas Faith writes for The Independent on Sunday (London) and many other newspapers and magazines. Christian Wolmar is the author of BLOOD, IRON & GOLD, THE SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY, FIRE & STEAM and ENGINES OF WAR.