British Rail

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241456215
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Book Description
The authoritative and fascinating history of the rise and fall of the state-owned British Rail 'Wolmar's book is impeccably organised and makes a fast, enjoyable read' THE TIMES Literary Supplement________ British Rail wasn't how we're asked to remember it . . . From ancient rolling stock to patchy service, stale sandwiches to the wrong kind of snow, British Rail - our last great state-owned organisation to be privatised - has received a terrible press. But after its controversial 1948 creation, British Rail was actually an innovative powerhouse that over five decades transformed the UK, creating one of the fastest regular rail services in the world. Award-winning journalist Christian Wolmar takes us from promise to punchline, exploring British Rail's birth into post-war austerity, the many battles and struggles to evolve what many considered to be a dinosaur, and how, at the height of its success, the service was misunderstood and unfairly maligned, ruthlessly broken up and privatised._______ Praise for Christian Wolmar 'Wolmar is the high priest of railway studies' Literary Review 'The greatest expert on British trains' Guardian 'Our most eminent transport journalist' Spectator 'If the world's railways have a laureate, it is surely Christian Wolmar' Boston Globe 'Christian Wolmar is in love with the railways. He writes constantly and passionately about them. He is their wisest, most detailed historian and a constant prophet of their rebirth . . . if you love the hum of the wheels and of history, then Christian Wolmar is your man' Observer

The Railways

Author: Simon Bradley
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847653529
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 607

Book Description
Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015 Currently filming for BBC programme Full Steam Ahead Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exerts a fascination all its own. From the classical grandeur of Newcastle station to the ceaseless traffic of Clapham Junction, from the mysteries of Brunel's atmospheric railway to the lost routines of the great marshalling yards, Simon Bradley explores the world of Britain's railways, the evolution of the trains, and the changing experiences of passengers and workers. The Victorians' private compartments, railway rugs and footwarmers have made way for air-conditioned carriages with airline-type seating, but the railways remain a giant and diverse anthology of structures from every period, and parts of the system are the oldest in the world. Using fresh research, keen observation and a wealth of cultural references, Bradley weaves from this network a remarkable story of technological achievement, of architecture and engineering, of shifting social classes and gender relations, of safety and crime, of tourism and the changing world of work. The Railways shows us that to travel through Britain by train is to journey through time as well as space.

Losing Track

Author: John Nelson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781789557084
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
How Britain's railways are organised is the book's running theme. It is an account that will interest anyone wanting to understand how things could be run better. Written by John Nelson who was centrally involved in all of the controversial changes that took place over the last half century, it draws on his own public and private sector experience to provide evidence based opinion of what needs to be done now. Along the way he describes what the post Beeching railway was like to work in; the internal battles that raged during the commercialisation of BR in the 1980s; the ideological privatisation process of the 1990s and how it nearly came unstuck; how the first franchises were awarded and the motivations of their owners; how some were saved from financial collapse; and how first Railtrack and then franchising ran into the sand. He describes how all attempts to put right the mistakes made when trains and infrastructure were separated have failed. In describing key events he explains the roles of many of the senior managers, civil servants and politicians who were centrally involved. This book shows that the country's railway was only organised effectively for a brief period during the early 1990s. Politically-motivated reforms then and since have created an industry that today is neither truly privatised nor fit for purpose.

Steel in the Sand

Author: Gary Goldfinch
Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
ISBN:
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 100

Book Description

Boom and Bust

Author: William Quinn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108369359
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
Why do stock and housing markets sometimes experience amazing booms followed by massive busts and why is this happening more and more frequently? In order to answer these questions, William Quinn and John D. Turner take us on a riveting ride through the history of financial bubbles, visiting, among other places, Paris and London in 1720, Latin America in the 1820s, Melbourne in the 1880s, New York in the 1920s, Tokyo in the 1980s, Silicon Valley in the 1990s and Shanghai in the 2000s. As they do so, they help us understand why bubbles happen, and why some have catastrophic economic, social and political consequences whilst others have actually benefited society. They reveal that bubbles start when investors and speculators react to new technology or political initiatives, showing that our ability to predict future bubbles will ultimately come down to being able to predict these sparks.

Holding the Line

Author: Chris Austin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780860936763
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description

The Economist

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Commerce
Languages : en
Pages : 1346

Book Description

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Book Description
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.

The Great Transformation

Author: Karl Polanyi
Publisher: Penguin Classics
ISBN: 9780241685556
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
'One of the most powerful books in the social sciences ever written. ... A must-read' Thomas Piketty 'The twentieth century's most prophetic critic of capitalism' Prospect Karl Polanyi's landmark 1944 work is one of the earliest and most powerful critiques of unregulated markets. Tracing the history of capitalism from the great transformation of the industrial revolution onwards, he shows that there has been nothing 'natural' about the market state. Instead of reducing human relations and our environment to mere commodities, the economy must always be embedded in civil society. Describing the 'avalanche of social dislocation' of his time, Polanyi's hugely influential work is a passionate call to protect our common humanity. 'Polanyi's vision for an alternative economy re-embedded in politics and social relations offers a refreshing alternative' Guardian 'Polanyi exposes the myth of the free market' Joseph Stiglitz With a new introduction by Gareth Dale

Postwar

Author: Tony Judt
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780143037750
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1000

Book Description
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year “Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal “Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy. Judt's book, Ill Fares the Land, republished in 2021 featuring a new preface by bestselling author of Between the World and Me and The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates.