Best of
Transport

2006

Moods Of Future Joys


Alastair Humphreys - 2006
    Cycling across five continents and sailing over the oceans, his ride took him four years to complete, on a tiny budget of hoarded student loans. Moods of Future Joys is the story of the remarkable first stage of the expedition.

Waiting for Mama


Tae-Jun Lee - 2006
    This tale from Korea is universal--a small child waits for Mama at the station, asking the conductor if he has seen her. The conductor hasn't, but cautions the child to wait a little farther from the tracks. It is cold and snowy but the child waits patiently until finally Mama comes. In the last wordless spread, we see the small hand in a mother's firm clasp as they walk away from us. The art and text are so authentic, so real, that this book is best published in a bilingual edition that respects and honors those traditions. The Korean setting gives it special appeal to a growing demographic segment. The institutional market is especially hungry for bilingual books in languages beyond Spanish.

The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry


Rush Loving, Jr. - 2006
    Here are the chieftains who have run the railroads, including those who set about grabbing power and big salaries for themselves, and others who truly loved the industry.As a journalist and associate editor of Fortune magazine who covered the demise of Penn Central and the creation of Conrail, Rush Loving often had a front row seat to the foibles and follies of this group of men. He uncovers intrigue, greed, lust for power, boardroom battles, and takeover wars and turns them into a page-turning story for readers.Included is the story of how the chairman of CSX Corporation, who later became George W. Bush's Treasury secretary, was inept as a manager but managed to make millions for himself while his company drifted in chaos. Men such as he were shy of scruples, yet there were also those who loved trains and railroading, and who played key roles in reshaping transportation in the northeastern United States. This book will delight not only the rail fan, but anyone interested in American business and history.

Tickets Please!: A Nostalgic Journey Through Railway Station Life


Paul Atterbury - 2006
    Tickets Please is a celebration of British railway life, centered on stations and the myriad of activities that go on in and around them.

Juggernaut Drivers


Leslie Purdon - 2006
    It's the 1970s. Trucker Dennis Richardson (Rich) revels in the laughs and camaraderie of his life on the road. He sets up a transport company, North Kent, with two pals. Benny is the one with the short fuse; Rich tries to calm him down - when he's not winding him up. The irrepressible Chuckles has his own way of dealing with tachographs and then there's the indispensable Jean, the rock on which they rest. The determined team go through humorous, and sometimes extreme, exploits as they strive to stay afloat. They run legal when they can and cut corners when necessary, gambling on the new Scandinavian trucks that are changing the industry. They are cheated out of their earnings - but still come up smiling.

The Vulcan Story: Returning XH558 to the Skies


Peter R. March - 2006
    One of the cornerstones of Britain's nuclear deterrent, in later years it was adapted for conventional bombing and saw active service in the Falklands War. Avro Vulcan XH558 was the first Vulcan B2 to enter service with the RAF in July 1960, and the last to fly (with the RAF Vulcan Display Flight in 1992). Since then, determined and extensively publicized efforts have been made to return XH558 to the air, recently boosted by financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is hoped that the Vulcan will return to the sky in early 2006, and commence airshow appearances. In this full-color tribute to the Avro Vulcan, aviation journalist and author Peter R. March discusses its development and provides a detailed history of XH558 and the efforts to get it airworthy once more. In some ways when the restored Vulcan XH558 takes to the skies again in 2006, it will fill the gap left by the grounding of the last Concorde.