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Fire & Steam

A New History of the Railways in Britain

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Fire & Steam

By: Christian Wolmar
Narrated by: Christian Wolmar
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The opening of the pioneering Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railway network's vital role in changing the face of Britain.

Fire & Steam celebrates the vision of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide railway to emerge.

From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the chequered history of British Rail and the buoyant future of the train, Fire & Steam examines the importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.

©2007 Christian Wolmar (P)2008 Soundings Engineering Europe Great Britain Military World Railroad England War United Kingdom
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Critic reviews

"A beautifully written, detailed (but never anoraky) history of two centuries of life on the iron road." ( Telegraph)
"An excellent book." ( Independent)
"It is written in a brisk, down-to-earth style (a favourite adjective is "daft"), and is enjoyably replete with bizarre details" ( Guardian)
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Most relevant
I?ve always been a `railway enthusiast` ever since my school days, but not as much for the technical gauge?s and measurements, specs and performance, but more so for the love of the `thing` itself, the railways? This book is fantastically arranged and pieced together, offering a perfect account of the history of the railways merged with the explanations behind why we have the system we have today, who was responsible and why. The author self-reads this title, and his voice is compelling and alluring, you feel the man really did love the topic and that his whole heart and sole has gone into this one. and it really has. I would easily listen to this again and highly recommend to anyone, be they just wanting an overview from their beginnings to now, or a true railway enthusiast.

Fascinating & Compelling

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The story is excellent and well worth listening to. Whilst the author clearly knows his subject vey well indeed I believe the audible version would have been even better if read by a professional reader. However, don’t let this put you off, the reader will soon get used to the authors reading style and the enjoyment will be in the content.

Excellent book

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I love this book, you can tell it it written (and narrated) by an enthusiast. There is lots for a railway newbie, probably not enough for a true trainspotter? I found Christians' narrration hard to listen to at first, but after a while it grew on me, and I now think that it is a shame that so many male narrators sound the same! The only disapointment for me was that there is a lack of technical info, there is not very much that explains how the engines worked, and how they were improved, for me there is prehaps a little too much emphasis on the polictics and people. That said it is still very accomplished. Worth it if you have ever wondered about the history of our railways.

A gem

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This was a period of British history I knew little about and so felt it was time to bring myself up to speed and hence this book. I was impressed by the book itself but felt it was read somewhat too fast by it's author. Having said that it was well researched and really brought the subject to life and made me look at all those tracks and stations in a new way.

Fire & Steam

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Well written and read. I really enjoyed listening to this whilst driving to work. As a newly qualified driver it was great to hear the history of the industry and learn how things have changed so much.

A great book

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