Modern Railroad

In 1869, when the final spike was driven into the Transcontinental Railroad, few were prepared for its seismic aftershocks. Once a hodgepodge of short, squabbling lines, America's railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators, crooks, and visionaries. The vicious competition between empire builders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, J. P. Morgan, and E. H. Harriman sparked stock market frenzies, panics, and crashes; provoked strikes; transformed the nation's geography; and culminated in a ferocious two-man battle....

The transcontinental railroads of the late 19th century were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating panics in the US economy. Their dependence on public largess drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, and remade the landscape of the West. As wheel and rail, car and coal, they opened new worlds of work and ways of life.

Tom Zoellner loves trains with a ferocious passion. In his new audiobook he chronicles the innovation and sociological impact of the railway technology that changed the world, and could very well change it again. From the frigid Trans-Siberian Railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the futuristic maglev trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of man's relationship with trains. Zoellner examines both the mechanics of the rails and their engines and how they helped societies evolve. Not only do trains transport people and goods in an efficient manner, but they also reduce pollution and dependency upon oil.

When a toy train locomotive—a chilling replica—is discovered at a gruesome homicide scene, Special Agent Sandra Rose finds herself pulled into an investigation that's off the rails. To crack this enigmatic case, she enlists the help of Samuel Lynch, a railroad expert and former FBI agent. Together, they embark on a perilous journey, tracking a killer whose gruesome tableau unfolds along the railway lines between Chicago and San Antonio, the very route of the Texas Eagle train line.

Paul and Anna McAllister begin to implement their plans to bring a railroad and other trappings of civilization to New Mexico Territory while continuing to build Estancia Dos Santos, reduce the animosity between the Apache and White men, and fight the shadowy foe known as "the Boss". Long trips, spies in their ranks, and increasing violence between anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups stretch Paul and Anna's resources in every direction. With the help of their family and friends, they race against time to complete their plans before the incessant drumbeats of war begin in the east.