North American Railroad, The : Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography by: Vance Jr., James E.
Hardcover. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2nd printing, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 348 pages, illustrated throughout in b&w. Light shelf-wear to dust jacket. Overall, a tight clean copy. "In this original and authoritative work, Vance argues that the railroad in North America is a distinct indigenous creation and not an importation from Britain and Europe. His combined familiarity with railroading, routes and cities, facilities, and North American geography is unsurpassed and the result is quite unlike anything in the historical or specialist literature."--Donald Meinig, Syracuse University"No previous book has presented the over-all picture of the development of the North American railroad network with Vance's emphasis on the reciprocal relationships among the economic and technological conditions on the one hand and the geographic aspects of development on the other. The scope of the presentation is virtually encyclopedic -- and there is no doubt that the book will quickly become a standard reference on the subject." -- Harold M. Mayer, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee