Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean

by Les Standiford

book data

79 ratings, 3.71 average rating, 29 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		14%
4		46%
3		34%
2		5%
1		0%

edit

published

August 5th 2003 (first published 2002) by Three Rivers Press

binding

Paperback, 288 pages

isbn

1400049474 (isbn13: 9781400049479)

description

In Last Train to Paradise novelist Les Standiford has written a lively, felicitous account of the building of the Florida East Coast Railway, which, f...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | compare prices…

new topic
discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 107)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

03/29/09

Bill Hall rated it:

bookshelves: history

Read in February, 2009

"Last Train to Paradise" is popular history at its best. This is the story of an era that is no more--a time when one man with unlimited resources, and more importantly, unlimited vision could accomplish something wondrous. Henry M. Flager, who co-founded Standard Oil with John Rockefeller, left his active role in the company 15 years after its birth to pursue his new passion: building the modern state of Florida. At the heart of this book is Flager's drive to see the Key West Railroad...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

05/17/09

Seth rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommended to Seth by: Amazon Vine
recommends it for: Florida vacationers

One of the first things I came across was all the praise surrounding this book. On the back of the cover and inside as well are many accounts of praise from notable figures and newspapers. What caught my eye was Donald Trump's words, "A fascinating and incredibly compelling account...I could not put it down." Not that a man can't read what he wants, but I found it interesting that Donald was fascinated by this book centered on a railroad.

Praise is much deserved for Les Stan...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/15/09

Krista rated it:

I wanted this book to be more but I blame my disappointment not on the book itself but on the fact that I read it directly after finishing Grunwald's fine tome "The Swamp," which blew my little mind. In "Last Train," Standiford tells the story of how Henry Flagler, the financial brains behind Rockefeller's Standard Oil, sunk much of his fortune into developing Florida and building a railroad down the east coast and across the ocean from the mainland to Key West. But having ...more I wanted this book to be more but I blame my disappointment not on the book itself but on the fact that I read it directly after finishing Grunwald's fine tome "The Swamp," which blew my little mind. In "Last Train," Standiford tells the story of how Henry Flagler, the financial brains behind Rockefeller's Standard Oil, sunk much of his fortune into developing Florida and building a railroad down the east coast and across the ocean from the mainland to Key West. But having just read "The Swamp," I am in a mindset that southern Florida should never have been developed to the level that it has been; it just cannot sustain the population that now lives there. This is not Flagler's fault; he did not build all the cookie-cutter Miami burbs in the middle of the swamp and turn southern Florida into a hellscape of concrete and strip malls. But his railroad created Miami; and Palm Springs; and the whole east coast of southern Florida. It brought people to paradise. And they stayed. Too many of them stayed. And they built what they built. And they're running out of water and nature is disappearing. And what now?

But all of those concerns aside, the book itself is inherently readable. A bit heavy on the Flagler-as-hero; Standiford finds few character flaws in the man, if any. I wanted a little more about the people; a little more in-depth biography of the engineers who sacrificed, and even died, to see Flagler's dream achieved. A little more about the societies Flagler's project created. I wanted an anthropological study of the culture Flagler created. Standiford gives a play-by-play of how the rails were built.

There is no doubt that the railroad was a engineering feat of monumental magnitude. And having seen the bridges that still stand and imagining a day when you could get on the Havana Express in New York, arrive in Key West and immediately board a steamship for a short jaunt to Cuba gave me the requisite chills.

I picked this up because I was curious about the era but there's very little here to assuage my curiosity; very little tangible atmosphere. A disappointment, moreso, given how Standiford starts the book, with a description of driving US Highway 1. His sense of place and how he communicates it to the reader is exquisite in this section.

"It's an osprey's-eye view here at MM 84, out over the patchwork-colored seas. Splashes of cobalt, turquoise, amber, beige, and gray alternate, then fall away to deeper blue and steel, and off toward a pale horizon where sky and water meet at a juncture that's almost seamless on the brightest days ... the urge begins to creep in the back of the traveler's mind at about this moment: ... desert island, private island, island paradise. Buy myself one of these little dots, get a boat, and build a dock, kiss the world good-bye ..."

But Standiford gives us none of that atmosphere in his history. It's like there are three separate books stories here; the 1935 hurricane and Ernest Hemingway, driving Highway 1, and Henry Flagler. And Standiford gives the Flagler story the least of his cultural, narrative and descriptive energy. It's almost just a chronology. I wanted more.

"In a sense, the highway is what remains of one of the last great gasps of the era of Manifest Destiny and an undertaking that marked the true closing of the American Frontier. The building of "the railroad across the ocean" was a colossal piece of work, born of the same impulse that made individuals believe that pyramids could be raised, cathedrals erected, and continents tamed."
(less)

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/15/08

Eric_W rated it:

bookshelves: history-historiography

Read in January, 2002

Frankly, I have no idea how I ran across this very interesting book. Henry Flagler, one of the last great industrialists and oil barons, built a railroad across the Florida Keys, a feat that had been considered impossible, in order to capitalize on the proximity of Cuba to the nascent Panama Canal. He had already virtually built the state of Florida by buying and developing land all along the east coast, then linking his hotel properties via rail. His Key West Railroad, an extension of the Flori...more Frankly, I have no idea how I ran across this very interesting book. Henry Flagler, one of the last great industrialists and oil barons, built a railroad across the Florida Keys, a feat that had been considered impossible, in order to capitalize on the proximity of Cuba to the nascent Panama Canal. He had already virtually built the state of Florida by buying and developing land all along the east coast, then linking his hotel properties via rail. His Key West Railroad, an extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad, would connect Miami to Key West, about 153 miles, much of it over open water. A massive hurricane in 1935 undid it all. The Weather Bureau did not begin naming hurricanes until 1953, so in 1935 as Hemingway viewed the sketchy forecasts and storm warnings with alarm, he had no way of referring to the specific storm that was about to destroy Key West.

Unbeknownst to him, just to the north, the barometer had fallen to the lowest ever recorded. The islands of the Florida Keys are not very high above the water, making them especially vulnerable to storms and waves. Despite this knowledge, Henry Flagler had built the dream extension of his railroad in a magnificent feat of engineering. Nature was about to suggest that he shouldn't have bothered. Considering that Flagler in 1898 was sixtyeight years old and could have easily retired to a luxurious existence, it is even more remarkable that he would have risked his fortune on such a risky venture. The Spanish-American War, which cost Spain Cuba, provided the added incentive he needed. (It is interesting to speculate what might have happened had William Jennings Bryan been elected president instead of McKinley, who was a great friend to business. Bryan, I suspect, would not have been drawn into the skullduggery behind the sinking of the Maine.)

Having been thwarted in his desire to build a deep-water port in Miami, Flagler deemed Key West a logical alternative. The engineering difficulties were staggering. Special dredges on boats were designed to carve out a way for themselves as they used the material pulled from the swamps and marshes to create the roadbed. Mosquitoes swarmed all during the day, and portending the disaster that was to befall the railroad in 1935, a hurricane killed many workers in 1906 as the special dormitory barges were smashed. Several long bridges had to span many miles of ocean, and the seven-mile viaduct, considered a beautiful structure, became the symbol of the Florida East Coast Railroad. The Keys, originally an unbroken stretch of land that connected present-day Florida to Mexico are simply the vestigial remains of that land bridge subject to eons of erosion and storms — unless, of course, you are a young earth advocate in which case it was five minutes. That is a problem for builders because storms continue to push walls of water twenty to thirty feet high in front of them. These storm surges would course through the natural passageways that had been cut between the remaining land forms. Any blockage of these waterways would cause tremendous problems.

The railroad builders, who had filled in shorter distances between land areas, were creating unnatural dikes. They were swept away in the first hurricane to batter the railroad in 1909. Flagler and his engineers revised their plans and built more bridges that permitted water to flow underneath rather than impede its flow. They also discovered that the natural limestone marl made a much better substrate than imported rock and gravel, which was easily washed away. The line was completed slightly ahead of schedule despite several setbacks and shortly before Flagler's death. It had cost him most of his fortune to build, but never made money. Instead of encouraging growth on the Keys, there is evidence it might have done the opposite. Many residents chose to leave the islands and migrated to Miami on the railroad. Traffic from Cuba never amounted to much, and by 1930 the Census Bureau reported that Key West had actually lost more than seven thousand residents.

The worst hurricane in United States history, on Labor Day 1935, washed everything away. Winds in excess of 200 mph were measured. Given that the winds in only 3 percent of tornadoes exceed 206 mph you can get an idea of the devastation caused on a series of islands that were barely above sea level. ("A minimal 75-mile-per-hour storm has the capability of propelling a shard of two-by-four lumber through a four-inch concrete block wall." Bear in mind that when wind speed doubles, its force quadruples. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 produced only 155 mph winds.) Weather forecasting was still in its infancy, but the railroad, given its earlier experience with hurricanes, had implemented several measures to help provide some warning. Nevertheless, loss of life was extensive and an emergency relief train sent to take people off the keys was blown away. The well-built bridges survived, indeed they were partly used to build the highway that now links the Keys to the mainland, but the railroad was bankrupt by then, and the rights-of-way were sold to the state for not even one-twentieth of the $30 million Flagler had spent on building the Keys Extension. His chain of world-class resorts still remains as a monument to the man who virtually created Florida.(less)

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/21/07

Tracey rated it:

bookshelves: libraryread

Read in May, 2003

I'd heard bits & pieces of Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean on The Radio Reader last March [2002]. I sent a recommendation to the local library and got to be the first reader of the copy they purchased.

As noted in the subtitle - the book is a history of Henry Flagler's Florida projects, most notably the construction of the Key West Railroad in the first decade of the 1900's. While there is some biographical...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

11/04/07

Lori rated it:

(review of isbn 0786249439)

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone who loves the Florida Keys and wants to learn more about them.

I never thought I'd enjoy reading nonfiction so much, but this book, and the one I read previously on the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair have turned out to be two of my favorites. I guess I enjoy history more than I even knew. Plus, both of these books have proven handy when answering questions before my husband does when we are home watching Jeopardy!

Henry Flagler was a visionary. He looked the impossible in the face and succeeded where others thought was nothing but folly. He was a co-ow...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

08/03/07

Kay rated it:

bookshelves: american-histry, gilded-age, social-history

Read in October, 2004

Thoroughly enjoyable account of mogul Henry Flagler's efforts to build a railway all the way down through the Florida Keys, a heroic effort nearly on a par with building the Panama Canal and other feats of notable civic engineering. Flagler was John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil partner, so of course he had huge resources at his disposal. But what becomes evident early on is that Flagler was a visionary, and he had a very clear vision of what he wanted Florida to become. (Florida, for some r...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/22/08

Brendan rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, audio, non-fiction

Read in December, 2008

Standiford tells of the enormous engineering project that was the Florida Keys rail line. Henry Flagler, part of the Standard Oil empire, built a rail line from Miami across the ocean/gulf of Mexico down to Key West. Then along came a hurricane. Why are there so many history books about trains? Flagler's relentless optimism about the dubious project is spiriting and a little depressing at the same time. What if he'd gotten behind some philanthropic act with the same vigor? Interesting stor...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/06/09

Bill rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 2008

recommended to Bill by: Nancy Pearl

The opening chapter of this book is totally thrilling and beautifully written. Unfortunately, chapter 2 is slow going and the book doesn't really regain its momentum again until about the half-way point. The book never quite recovers from it's spectacular opening. I'm not sure why Standiford chose to structure his re-telling of the hurricane that destroyed Flager's Key West railroad that way, but it didn't quite work for me.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/18/09

Emilia B. rated it:

Read in January, 2009

While not wonderfully written, this is still an enjoyable, quick read from a solid storyteller. Flagler and his Florida interests are definitely a topic worthy of more in-depth examination.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/18/09

Tiff rated it:

Good story telling and easy reading, though the writing wasn't always fab.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/14/09

Peter rated it:

bookshelves: florida, history, hurricanes, non-fiction

Interesting Florida history. The 1935 hurricane was a doozie. And Ernest Hemingway was in Key West that weekend.

This would be a useful book to take along if you ever drive to Key West.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/05/09

Amanda rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in March, 2009

Fascinating that this happened just under 100 years ago...

Like this review? yes

add a comment

05/17/09

Joseph Wilkinson rated it:

bookshelves: i-own-this, not-worth-the-effort

A very poorly written account of an amazing event.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

09/09/07

Alto2 rated it:

Read in September, 2007

A fascinating account of the man who made Florida's East Coast what it is today. Although his prose tends towards pollyanna-ish, Standiford's history of the Florida East Coast Railway and the Key West Extension is a cautionary tale for the ages.

Without the Key West Extension, I wouldn't be here. When my mother and her parents emigrated to the United States in 1933, they took a boat from Havana to Key West, the train from Key West to Jacksonville, and then another train to Washington,...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

09/27/08

Cathy rated it:

bookshelves: finished

An interesting read if you're at all interested in FL history or in engineering projects. I thought it was a good read as far as learning about the times and the amazing feat of building a railroad where no one else would've imagined it possible. When we went to the Keys, I gave some thought to the men who made it all happen!

Like this review? yes

add a comment

02/20/08

Dan rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Very informative and entertaining read. Not written as a historical diatribe but in a flowing easy to read manner. Great subject matter, no one today would even dare in a project such as Flager's. Highly recommended for anyone who loves trains, american history or those who dare to dream.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

07/06/08

Bill rated it:

Great story of the building of the railroad to Key West and the man that built not only the railroad but Miami as well. Henry Flagler former partner of John D Rockefeller took on what was viewed as an impossible task, the building of a railroad over an ocean.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/04/08

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 073668784X)

bookshelves: audio-book, autographed, fiction, florida, history-, i-own

Read in October, 2006

Fascinating non-fiction piece about Flagler's railroad that led down to the Keys and the hurricane(s) that made it a hellish project to complete.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/13/07

Julz rated it:

bookshelves: biography, florida, history, read-it-in-the-setting

What a great tale of persistence, mixed with history and the raison d'etre of Florida's first tourism.

Reading it while in the Keys made it extra fun.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next »

recent status updates | recommend it | blog it