Blood, Iron and Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World

Description

The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of a transport revolution. Blood, Iron and Gold reveals the huge impact of the railways as they spread rapidly across the world, linking cities that had hitherto been isolated, stimulating both economic growth and social change on an unprecedented scale. From Panama to the Punjab, Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar describes the vision and determination of the pioneers who developed railways that would one day span continents, as well as the labour of the navvies who endured horrific conditions to build this global network. Wolmar shows how the rise of the train stimulated daring feats of engineering, architectural innovation and the rapid movement of people and goods around the world. He shows how cultures were enriched - and destroyed - by the unrelenting construction and how the railways played a vital role in civil conflict, as well as in two world wars. Indeed, Blood, Iron and Gold reveals that the global expansion of the railways underpinned nothing less than the spread of modernity and the making of the modern world.

Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster, principally on transport matters. He writes regularly for a wide variety of publications including the Independent, Evening Standard and Rail magazine, and appears frequently on TV and radio as a commentator. His previous books include the widely-acclaimed The Subterranean Railway, a history of the London underground and Fire and Steam, a history of how the railways transformed Britain.

"'Christian Wolmar brings the era of railway mania alive: both the imagination and the daring that made it possible.' David Dimbleby 'A marvellously informative, entertaining and rightly partisan book that has given me more pleasure than any I can remember in quite a while.' Rod Liddle, The Sunday Times 'A beautifully written, detailed (but never anoraky) history of two centureis of life on the iron road.' Judith Flanders, Daily Telegraph"