Book picks similar to
Boston & Maine in the 20th Century by Bruce D. Heald
trains
images-of-america
train-history
Snowpiercer: The Escape
Jacques Lob - 1982
Originally published in French, this marks the first time that Snowpiercer will be available in English. In a harsh, uncompromisingly cold future where Earth has succumbed to treacherously low temperatures, the last remaining members of humanity travel on a train while the outside world remains encased in ice. The surviving community are not without a social hierarchy; those that travel at the front of the train live in relative luxury whilst those unfortunate enough to be at the rear remain clustered like cattle in claustrophobic darkness. Yet, things are about to change aboard the train as passengers become disgruntled... The movie Snowpiercer, due for release in 2014, is directed by Joon-ho Bong (The Host) and is already causing a stir with parallels to 1984 and Animal Farm.
Orient Express
Graham Greene - 1932
The menagerie of characters include Coral Musker, a beautiful chorus girl; Carleton Myatt, a rich Jewish businessman; Richard John, a mysterious and kind doctor returning to his native Belgrade; the spiteful journalist Mabel Warren; and Josef Grunlich, a cunning, murderous burglar.What happens to these strangers as they put on and take off their masks of identity and passion, all the while confessing, prevaricating, and reaching out to one another in the "veracious air" of the onrushing train, makes for one of Graham Greene's most exciting and suspenseful stories. Originally published in 1933, Orient Express was Greene's first major success. This Graham Greene Centennial Edition features a new introductory essay by Christopher Hitchens.
Travelers' Tales India: True Stories
James O'Reilly - 1995
Some have said India stands for "I’ll Never Do It Again." Many more are drawn back time after time because India is the best show on earth, the best bazaar of human experiences that can be visited in a lifetime. India dissolves ideas about what it means to be alive, and its people give new meaning to compassion, perseverance, ingenuity, and friendship. India—monsoon and marigold, dung and dust, colors and corpses, smoke and ash, snow and endless myth—is a cruel, unrelenting place of ineffable sweetness. Much like life itself. Journey to the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the world’s biggest party, with David Yeadon and take "A Bath for Fifteen Million People"; greet the monsoon with Alexancer Frater where the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet; track the endangered Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros through the jungles of Assam with Larry Habegger; encounter the anguish of the caste system with Steve Coll; discover the eternal power of the "monument of love," the Taj Mahal, with Jonah Blank; and much more.
All Things Hidden
Tracie Peterson - 2013
But family life has been rough ever since her mother left them, disdaining the uncivilized country and taking Gwyn's younger sister with her.In Chicago, Dr. Jeremiah Vaughan finds his life suddenly turned upside down when his medical license is stripped away after an affluent patient dies. In a snowball effect, his fiance breaks their engagement. In an attempt to bury the past, Jeremiah accepts Dr. Hillerman's invitation to join his growing practice in the isolated Alaska Territory.Gwyn and Jeremiah soon recognize a growing attraction to each other. But when rumors of Jeremiah's past begin to surface, they'll need more than love to face the threat of an uncertain future.
Inspector Colbeck's Casebook
Edward Marston - 2014
Thirteen specially commissioned short stories from the master of historical crime fiction Edward Marston, following his quick witted protagonist Inspector Colbeck.Brand new and exclusive short stories which are sure to delight Marston's army of devoted fans.
My Little Train
Satomi Ichikawa - 2010
"To the pond!" says the duck. "To the forest!" says the monkey. "To the mountain!" says the bear. But Little Kangaroo doesn't say a word. He wants to go on an adventure with Little Train-adventure that leads him up a mountain, off a cliff, and back where he belongs: in his mama's pocket. This endearing picture book is perfect for train, toy and adventure lovers everywhere.
Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America
Richard White - 2011
Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating panics in the U.S. economy. Their dependence on public largess drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, and remade the landscape of the West. As wheel and rail, car and coal, they opened new worlds of work and ways of life. Their discriminatory rates sparked broad opposition and a new antimonopoly politics.With characteristic originality, range, and authority, Richard White shows the transcontinentals to be pivotal actors in the making of modern America. But the triumphal myths of the golden spike, robber barons larger than life, and an innovative capitalism all die here. Instead we have a new vision of the Gilded Age, often darkly funny, that shows history to be rooted in failure as well as success.
The Secret of the Night Train
Sylvia Bishop - 2018
And when the mysterious Heartbreak Diamond goes missing, Max must find her feet in a whirling world of would-be diamond smugglers, thieves and undercover detectives. Will she discover the real diamond thief before they reach theirdestination? Or does the answer lie closer to home...
When the Whistle Blows
Fran Cannon Slayton - 2009
He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town: plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in ?the Platoon,? and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season? no matter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it! But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is. Newcomer Fran Cannon Slayton?s powerful first novel captures the serendipity of boyhood by shining a spotlight on the peak adventures of Jimmy?s life. But at its heart, this is a story about a boy and his father in a time when trains reigned supreme.?When the Whistle Blows is reminiscent of classic tales by Jack London, William Golding and Robert Louis Stevenson, yet carries the remarkable, fresh voice of its author. Fran Cannon Slayton should be extremely proud of this, her debut novel.??Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank and Identical.
Terrific Trains
Tony Mitton - 1998
Clickety-clack, whizz down the track, slow to a railroad crossing, rumble through a tunnel, and finally pull into the station where passengers await the fastest holiday flyer of them all!
We Rode the Orphan Trains
Andrea Warren - 2001
Then Charles Loring Brace, a young minister in New York City, started the Children’s Aid Society and devised a plan to give these homeless waifs a chance at finding families they could call their own. Thus began an extraordinary migration of American children. Between 1854 and 1929, an estimated 200,000 children ventured forth on a journey of hope. Here, in the sequel to Orphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True Story, Andrea Warren introduces nine men and women who rode the trains and helped make history so many years ago.
Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America's Hoboes
Ted Conover - 1984
So, he decided to take a year off and ride the rails. Equipped with rummage-store clothing, a bedroll, and a few other belongings, he hops a freight train in St. Louis, becoming a tramp in order to discover their peculiar culture. The men and women he meets along the way are by turns generous and mistrusting, resourceful and desperate, philosophical and profoundly cynical. And the narrative he creates of his travels with them is unforgettable and moving.
The Lunatic Express: Discovering the World... via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boats, Trains, and Planes
Carl Hoffman - 2010
Indonesian Ferry Sinks. Peruvian Bus Plunges Off Cliff. African Train Attacked by Mobs. Whenever he picked up the newspaper, Carl Hoffman noticed those short news bulletins, which seemed about as far from the idea of tourism, travel as the pursuit of pleasure, as it was possible to get. So off he went, spending six months circumnavigating the globe on the world's worst conveyances: the statistically most dangerous airlines, the most crowded and dangerous ferries, the slowest buses, and the most rickety trains. The Lunatic Express takes us into the heart of the world, to some its most teeming cities and remotest places: from Havana to Bogotá on the perilous Cuban Airways. Lima to the Amazon on crowded night buses where the road is a washed-out track. Across Indonesia and Bangladesh by overcrowded ferries that kill 1,000 passengers a year. On commuter trains in Mumbai so crowded that dozens perish daily, across Afghanistan as the Taliban closes in, and, scariest of all, Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., by Greyhound.The Lunatic Express is the story of traveling with seatmates and deckmates who have left home without American Express cards on conveyances that don't take Visa, and seldom take you anywhere you'd want to go. But it's also the story of traveling as it used to be -- a sometimes harrowing trial, of finding adventure in a modern, rapidly urbanizing world and the generosity of poor strangers, from ear cleaners to urban bus drivers to itinerant roughnecks, who make up most of the world's population. More than just an adventure story, The Lunatic Express is a funny, harrowing and insightful look at the world as it is, a planet full of hundreds of millions of people, mostly poor, on the move and seeking their fortunes.
Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression
Errol Lincoln Uys - 1999
They were looking for work and adventure; some wanted to leave their homes, and some had to. They grew up in speeding boxcars, living in hobo jungles, begging on the streets, and running from the police and club-wielding railroad guards.The restless youth of these boxcar boys and girls, many who went from 'middle-class gentility to dirt poor' overnight, is recaptured in Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression. Whether as runaways or with blessings of parents, these boys and girls hit the road and went in search of a better life.Illustrated with rare archival photos and drawing primarily on letters and oral histories of three thousand men and women who hopped freight trains, Riding the Rails brings to life a neglected saga of America in the 1930s. Self-reliance, compassion, frugality, and a love of freedom and country are at the heart of the lessons these teens learned. At journey's end, the resilience of these survivors is a testament of the indomitable strength of the human spirit.