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Fire and Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain (Hardcover)

by Christian Wolmar (Author)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How it Changed the City Forever by Christian Wolmar
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Product details

Hardcover: 364 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Books; 1st edition edition (13 Sep 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1843546299
ISBN-13: 978-1843546290
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 14,881 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#14 in Books > Reference > Transport > Railways

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Product Description

Review
"'A masterful account.' Michael Binyon, The Times 'Wolmar is a Pullman among story-tellers.' Tom Fort, Sunday Telegraph"

Jon Snow
`A wonderful account of how our railways came to be.'

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent and 'Mature' History, 13 Oct 2007

By	Dr. R. Brandon (England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This excellent book describes the complete history of the railways in Britain from the Stockton & Darlington, and the Liverpool & Manchester beginnings to the High Speed Rail Link into St Pancras for the Channel Tunnel. Wolmar writes with a clear and enthusiastic style which takes the reader on at a great pace and captures the excitement of the early pioneers. This is a 'mature' history book, and whilst it deals with virtually all the significant events in the history of the railways in Britain; the development of the lines, the companies and changing structure, the service during the two World Wars, and inevitably nationalization and privatization, it never becomes an 'anorak' book given to excessive technical detail or sentimentality. It is not an illustrated 'coffee-table' book. Wolmar's judgements on controversial aspects of railway history always appear clear and probably correct. An excellent and exciting read.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply a very good read, 22 Oct 2007

By	Wilko (Derbyshire UK) - See all my reviews

As other reviewers have described, this book rattles along at a good pace, never getting bogged down in too much detail. My only criticism would be that the subject actually merits a slightly longer book that explains more about some of the technical innovations in locomotive design and signalling and safety improvements. All in all though, highly recommended.

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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fire and Steam: A New History of the Railways in Britain, 7 Nov 2007

By	Red Cabbage "history vulture" (southend, essex, england) - See all my reviews

A really well written and interesting book full of little known, but compelling, facts. Ideal for anyone interested in the growth of the country's infrastructure. One does not have to be a railway buff to appreciate this book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Having enjoyed Mr Wolmar's highly readable history of the London Underground...
Having enjoyed Mr Wolmar's highly readable history of the London Underground I was looking forward to reading this. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr. J. A. Leatherbarrow

5.0 out of 5 stars A popular history of British railways
Self-admitted trainspotter and railway fan Christian Wolmar wrote the evocative book "Fire & Steam" as both a history and a rehabilitation of the railway system of the United... Read more

Published 2 months ago by M. A. Krul

5.0 out of 5 stars A look at British railway history
In the preface, the author explains that this book attempts to combine a description of the history of the railways and their social impact in one easy-to-read volume. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Peter Durward Harris

4.0 out of 5 stars More haste less speed ...
This is a long-needed history which tries hard to cover a vast subject. The linguistic style is repetitive and lacks bounce, and the typos are a nuisance, but the content is a... Read more

Published 5 months ago by nom de plume

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good history of the railways.
This is a very gripping and well written history. I bought it for my dad who used to work on the railways and he couldn't put it down. Well recommended! Read more

Published 5 months ago by Peter Foo

5.0 out of 5 stars Fire & Steam - Christkan Wolmar
I bought this book for my husband (who is a steam railway fanatic)on the recommendtion of a friend. Our friend (who is not)told me that even if you are not a railway fanatic, the... Read more

Published 5 months ago by J. Atkinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Social impact of trains
This history was unexpectedly fascinating for a reader mainly interested in travelling on trains.Christian Wolmar hold your attention by showing how the history of the train in... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Railway User

5.0 out of 5 stars Early history of railways in the UK from a social perspective.
A book describing the development of the railways in the UK, mostly concentrating on the early times, but with a few trailing chapters on the post WW2 modern developments into the... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Bruce Murphy

4.0 out of 5 stars WAYS TO RUN A RAILWAY
This fascinating new history of the railways of Britain (with a little about Ireland) is approached mainly from an economic viewpoint. Read more

Published 12 months ago by DAVID BRYSON

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent social history
As other reviewers have said, the story of the railways is only part of the appeal of this book. It takes the railways as a starting point for a smoothly written review of our... Read more

Published 13 months ago by G. L. Haggett

› See all 23 customer reviews...

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