The World The Trains Made

A richly illustrated guide to railroad architecture, in all its surprising variety

Between 1825 and 1914 railways redefined, transformed, and extended the limits of the civilized world. This book explores the way in which this offshoot of industrial technology was used across the globe and in what ways it altered the countries and the peoples to which it came.

The train changed the face of the world. From slow beginnings in the coalmines of England at the start of the nineteenth century, it was possible by the 1840s to cover vast distances at unprecedented speed, changing modern communications forever. Much more than a collection of models through the ages, The Train offers insight into the ways in which trains have made an impact upon the modern age. Admire some of the world's greatest trains from the New York Centrals sleek Twentieth Century Limited to the high-speed TGV of France, or Japan's Shinkansen "bullet train." Wonder at the splendid architecture of the world's great train stations, from the original Penn Station of Washington DC. Consider the role of trains in film, from Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train to Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot.

Written by Christian Wolmar, author of the critically acclaimed The Great Railroad Revolution, The Iron Road is a richly illustrated account of the rise of the rails across the world. From the historic moment in September 1830 when the first train ran between Liverpool and Manchester, to the high speed trains bulleting across Asia and Europe, The Iron Road: An Illustrated History of the Railroad looks at how railroads have changed the world. Photographs, maps, paintings, and illustrations bring events and locations to life, adding a unique visual quality to the stories of great invention, feats of mind-boggling engineering, groundbreaking changes in trade and commerce, and tales of adventurers, visionaries, and rogues. The Iron Road is the third title in DK's successful illustrated histories format, which combines text-rich narratives with beautiful visual design.

Discusses the history and development of some of the world's fastest trains.

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 'Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things. Prepare for a very fine ride' Michael Palin From the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Around the World in 80 Trains is a celebration of the glory of train travel and a witty and irreverent look at the world. Packing up her rucksack – and her fiancé, Jem – Monisha Rajesh embarks on an unforgettable adventure that takes her from London's St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan, and beyond. The journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair strike up friendships and swap stories with the hilarious, irksome and ultimately endearing travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth's most breathtaking views.

A spirited and incisive survey of economic geography, A World Made for Money begins with the author stopped at a red light in Norman, Oklahoma. Observing the landscape of drugstores and banks, and for that matter the stoplight and roads themselves, Bret Wallach observes, “Everything I see has been built to make money” or, at the very least, to facilitate making money. This, he argues, is a global phenomenon that nonetheless has occurred only within the past hundred years or so. Although guidebooks and culture brokers often disparage these landscapes of commerce, Wallach—recipient of a MacArthur “genius grant”—argues that we would do well to pay them close attention. A World Made for Money provides a compelling, condensed tour of our world. From Silicon Valley to Sri Lanka, from post-Soviet Russia to post-apartheid South Africa, Wallach looks at how human beings are buying, manufacturing, working, growing and shipping food, and accessing the natural resources to fuel it all. These essential facets of daily life, propelled by the profit motive, represent a transnational force shaping our surroundings and environment in ways that may not always be beautiful (or even healthy) but that are fundamental to understanding how the world works in the twenty-first century. Wallach examines the relationship between acquisitiveness and landscape, reveals surprising contradictions and nuances, and provides fresh perspective on politically charged topics such as sprawl, deindustrialization, and agribusiness.

From the British Isles and the Middle East, from Russia and China and the Ocean Islands of Australasia, pictures of the highest quality have been included to present a lavish illustration of living steam. Here are facts and tales about the lines operating today, the landscapes they cross and the cargoes they haul. Here also are detailed commentaries on the world's magnificent engines, documented with a clear guide as to where throughout the world they can be found.