Great American Railroad Journeys

by Michael Portillo

“Michael Portillo can be seen on screens on his second railway journey across the United States. His first took in historic East Coast sites, but these new travels are broader in scope, from the cities of the Atlantic coast to vibrant San Francisco, via Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico, and the Deep South. His route is informed by the 19th-century Appletons’ guidebooks, but if you’d like something a little more up-to-date, pick up Great American Railroad Journeys and follow in Portillo’s train tracks.” — Radio Times

This official, lavishly illustrated BBC-produced tie-in to the Great American Railway Journeys series—soon to air on PBS—captures Michael Portillo's epic journey across the United States.

Michael Portillo embarks by train on an epic journey from New York and Boston to the deep south of Atlanta and New Orleans, and then on to Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico, and ultimately San Francisco. Truly a colorful and exciting collection of essays and vignettes that celebrate the rich history and expansion of nineteenth-century North America, Great American Railway Journeys is a must-have purchase for any armchair traveler and fans of nineteenth-century US history.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2017

Reviews

[Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A huge disappointment, was expecting a chronological history of American railroads which at first it appears it will be but this just ends up turning into a mess.

Topics and chronology switch back and forth at random. One minute they conclude the American Civil War and then the next Chapter repeats it all over again.

Oddly it talks very little about the actual railroads and focuses alot on the individuals linked to them. This is fine in small amounts but just get bogged down.

Also all the maps are terrible scans of old documents which are unclear and blurry.

Unfortunately wouldn't recommend this book at all and just avoids 1 star by at least containing some useful information between the chaos!

[Philip William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please do not think that this book has much to do with the US railway journeys made by Michael Portillo that you might have seen on the TV.

It is a history of the railway in the USA with lots of pictures.

The book is interesting but do not be fooled by the cover,

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive history of highlights of Eastern and Southern railroads with very little on the western railroads which I was most interested in but still interesting and informative.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first chapter of this book was interesting. However, after this, the book seemed to go off on tangents down unconnected topics.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

More interesting than I anticipated!

[Debbie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, a step by step account of the development of the American railway system right up to it’s peak.