Blood, Iron, and Gold How the Railroads Transformed the World

by Wolmar, Christian

• ISBN13: 9781586489496
• ISBN10: 1586489496
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-01
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

The opening of the world's first railroad in Britain and America in 1830 marked the dawn of a new age. Within the course of a decade, tracks were being laid as far afield as Australia and Cuba, and by the outbreak of World War I, the United States alone boasted over a quarter of a million miles. With unrelenting determination, architectural innovation, and under gruesome labor conditions, a global railroad network was built that forever changed the way people lived. From Panama to Punjab, from Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by one of the greatest global transport revolutions of our time, and celebrates the visionaries and laborers responsible for its creation.

Author Biography

Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster, specializing in transportation matters. He has written for major British newspapers for many years and has contributed to many other publications, including the New York Times and Newsday. His most recent books are Blood, Iron, and Gold; Engines of War; and The Great Railroad Revolution. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Maps	p. xx
The First Railways	p. 1
Europe Makes a Start	p. 17
The British Influence	p. 45
The American Way	p. 69
Joining Up Europe	p. 99
Crossing America...	p. 129
... and Other Continents	p. 159
The Invasion of the Railway	p. 191
The Railway Revolution	p. 219
Getting Better All the Time	p. 247
Changing Trains	p. 273
Decline But Not Fall	p. 297
Railway Renaissance	p. 319
Notes	p. 337
Bibliography	p. 355
Index	p. 361
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