{"title":"Christian Wolmar","description":"Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster, specializing in transportation matters. He has written for major British newspapers for many years and has contributed to many other publications, including the New York Times and Newsday. His most recent books are Blood, Iron, and Gold; Engines of War; and The Great Railroad Revolution. He lives in London.","products":[{"product_id":"blood-iron-and-gold-how-the-railroads-transformed-the-world-paperback","title":"Blood, Iron, and Gold: How the Railroads Transformed the World - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe opening of the world's first railroad in Britain and America in 1830 marked the dawn of a new age. Within the course of a decade, tracks were being laid as far afield as Australia and Cuba, and by the outbreak of World War I, the United States alone boasted over a quarter of a million miles. With unrelenting determination, architectural innovation, and under gruesome labor conditions, a global railroad network was built that forever changed the way people lived. From Panama to Punjab, from Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by one of the greatest global transport revolutions of our time, and celebrates the visionaries and laborers responsible for its creation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51367397753055,"sku":"9781586489496","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/MItCU0_X1G9781586489496.webp?v=1789106198"},{"product_id":"the-great-railroad-revolution-the-history-of-trains-in-america-paperback","title":"The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe captivating story of how trains shaped American history\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Wolmar's sweeping history of railroads in America is rich in drama.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore \u0026amp; Ohio line -- the first American railroad -- in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe's, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America's rise to world-power status. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Great Railroad Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e, renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51367548944607,"sku":"9781610393478","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/x7KGv6vZmA9781610393478.webp?v=1789109794"},{"product_id":"the-liberation-line-the-untold-story-of-how-american-engineering-and-ingenuity-won-world-war-ii-hardcover","title":"The Liberation Line: The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe epic story of the engineers and rail workers who ensured Allied victory in World War Two, published to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, by an award-winning expert on trains and transportation \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e They certainly were not soldiers, yet they suddenly found themselves in uniform, in a foreign land. But, as locomotive drivers, track-workers, conductors, porters, signalmen, and engine cleaners, they knew how to run trains. And their job was to bring them back to life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The Liberation Line tells the thrilling story of the British and American railway engineers who, in the months after D-Day, worked around the clock and in great danger to rebuild the ravaged railways of Europe and keep the Allied forces fueled as they pushed on into Germany.  As territory was taken, these soldier-railroaders were close behind, rebuilding the lines, putting up telegraph wires, replacing bridges and laying track, all the while dodging bullets, shells, and booby traps. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Tales of extraordinary feats and heroism abound, including how 10,000 men rebuilt a 135-mile-long railway in just three days; the reconstruction of the bridge over the Seine in two weeks while under bombardment; and the use of cigarette lighters as improvised signaling systems.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Despite being critical to Allied victory, the role of the railway men has been largely forgotten or ignored. In a vivid and gripping narrative, Christian Wolmar brings to life this colorful cast of generals and engineers, without whose extraordinary bravery the liberation of France and invasion of Germany might well have foundered--and the course of history changed. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51368282259679,"sku":"9780306831980","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/RR8vzukxsj9780306831980.webp?v=1789125179"},{"product_id":"the-rise-of-the-railroad-how-trains-changed-the-world-hardcover","title":"The Rise of the Railroad: How Trains Changed the World - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the first steam trains to the high-speed bullet trains of today, \u003ci\u003eRise of the Railroad \u003c\/i\u003etells the hidden stories of railway history - the inspired engineering, technical ingenuity, and sheer determination that forged the world's railroads\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Award-winning writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar reveals how the railroads were built not just on bold vision and technical expertise, but also on wild gambles and trial and error - and how the new era of trains brought about sweeping changes in the lives of people around the world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This book details the lives and work of railway pioneers such as George Stephenson and John Stevens, and it explores and maps famous railways such as the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Orient Express. Key technological innovations are explained with in-depth illustrations, while stunning photographs and paintings bring railroad history to life on the page. Gripping eyewitness accounts describe the railroads of the past through the eyes of people who were there. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Packed with colorful stories, technical insights, and beautiful images, \u003ci\u003eRise of the Railroad\u003c\/i\u003e is the ultimate ride along the rails of history.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51382619046111,"sku":"9798217128327","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/u-LX-jCgp89798217128327.webp?v=1789290403"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/christian-wolmar.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}