'A lifetime of railway love distilled into a most beautiful volume' Lucy Worsley
A deliciously serendipitous, lavishly illustrated ride through two centuries of locomotion - The Sunday Times, Book of the Week
'The most attractive, comprehensive and easily digestible history of the oldest railway system in the world' Michael Palin
'Our railway history could not have been told more palatably or more nourishingly' David Kynaston
In 1825 the Stockton & Darlington company strode into history with the opening of the world's first public steam railway. What the S&DR had pioneered soon picked up speed, transforming lives and landscapes, connecting far-flung corners of the nation and creating its own distinctive environments and working worlds.
This ambitious and lavishly illustrated volume brings the story of Britain's railways to life, spanning two centuries of achievement and change. Full of colour and incident, it is an exhilarating journey through time and space, revisiting favourite themes and introducing unfamiliar stories and places.
With original and engaging entries on everything from dining saloons to collecting dogs, wartime salvage efforts and the iconic Rail Alphabet, Simon Bradley gives George Bradshaw's famous 19th century guide a run for its money in this fresh and distinctive chronicle of the making of Britain's railways.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Authoritative and beautifully laid out, this is the most attractive, comprehensive and easily digestible history of the oldest railway system in the world -- Michael Palin A deliciously serendipitous, lavishly illustrated ride through two centuries of locomotion -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times, Book of the Week * Completely masterful. A lifetime of railway love distilled into a most beautiful volume. This is the book that Bradley was born to write -- Lucy Worsley Enjoyable... It can be dipped into like a large box of chocolates, being written in short sections, each corresponding to a year in British railway history and with an accompanying illustration... Bradley has an eye for the beguiling fact... The illustrations are wittily chosen. * Financial Times * The perfect Christmas present for the family member interested in railways * Country Life * Very readable... should be made available to the Secretary of State for Transport. * The TLS * A superb history of what is the oldest railway system in the world. * Independent, Books of the Month * Bradley's Railway Guide comes intelligibly stuffed with facts and entertaining morsels at every station * The Oldie * A compendious and fascinating dive into 200 years of British railway history ... beautifully illustrated ... Bradley's achievement is to give thoughtful and often eye-opening context for every topic he examines * Englesberg Ideas * A wonderfully seductive plum pudding of a book: imaginatively capacious in its choice of episodes and themes, calmly authoritative in its judgements... Our railway history could not have been told more palatably or more nourishingly -- David Kynaston, author of A Northern Wind An intriguing and innovative approach to railway history, bringing to life many forgotten aspects of how the railways changed the world. From rails to racism, stamps to stations, even the most erudite rail enthusiast will find something new in this comprehensive history -- Christian Wolmar * British Rail: A New History * Marvellous * Church Times * The best history book of the year... the story of a truly remarkable British institution... a beautiful, must-have book. -- Paul Ross * Talk Radio * Filled with fine art and photography... Bradley is adept at reminding us of the wider cultural impact of railways * Simon Heffer, the Telegraph * A well put together and fascinatingly illustrated tome * Bookmunch * Praise for The Railways: Bradley's loving tribute to the golden age of the railway is a magnificent achievement ... A gorgeous Christmas pudding of a book ... So colourful, so rich and engaging, that even if you don't like railways you should love it -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * A magnificent, all-encompassing history ... Both jaunty and scholarly - a rare combination - and packed with fascinating details right up to the present day -- Craig Brown * Daily Mail * Combining authority with intimacy, and technical grasp with humour and humanity, The Railways is by some distance the most ambitious and enriching book I have ever read on this subject ... A classic of British social history -- David Kynaston
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Integrated illustrations with captions. ~250/260
ISBN-13
978-1-78283-414-4 (9781782834144)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Simon Bradley is joint editor of the celebrated Pevsner Architectural Guides, to which he has contributed a number of notable revised volumes. He started trainspotting aged eleven, and his interest in railways has broadened and endured. He is also the bestselling author of The Railways: Nation, Network and People and St Pancras Station.
