A nicely put together history of railways around the world. Perhaps a little Euro-biased and suffers from a reliance on English language histories that have been previously published, rather than seeking out primary evidence in local languages. Nevertheless, this is a useful one volume introduction and a worthy addition to the range of books that the author has published on the subject of railways.
The last book by Wolmar that I read was 'The Subterranean Railway'. That seemed to zip along with relish, whereas at times, surprisingly given some of the amazing tales being recounted, this felt a little flat. Perhaps he is more at home with domestic railways rather than trying to cover their history around the world.
My favourite sections had to be those on the Cape-to-Cairo project and particularly the Victoria Falls Bridge. This will be a useful addition to my library of transport history books and one that will turn to in the future for information and inspiration.
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