The Old Iron Road An Epic of Rails Roads and the Urge to Go West In the summer of David Haward Bain and his family left their home in Vermont and headed west in search of America s past From Omaha to San Francisco Bain and his family retraced the entire rout
In the summer of 2000, David Haward Bain and his family left their home in Vermont and headed west in search of America s past From Omaha to San Francisco, Bain and his family retraced the entire route of the first transcontinental railroad Following abandoned railroad tracks and the traces of old wagon trails, cruising down back roads and main streets, they discovered tIn the summer of 2000, David Haward Bain and his family left their home in Vermont and headed west in search of America s past From Omaha to San Francisco, Bain and his family retraced the entire route of the first transcontinental railroad Following abandoned railroad tracks and the traces of old wagon trails, cruising down back roads and main streets, they discovered the deep, restless, uniquely American spirit of adventure that connects our past to our present A superb writer and an exacting researcher, Bain conjures up the marvelous sense of coming unstuck in time as he lingers in the ghost towns and battlegrounds, prairies and river ports, train yards, museums, and diners that line the old emigrant routes of the railroad and the Lincoln Highway As he cruises west to California, Bain encounters a fascinating cast of characters, both historic and contemporary from Willa Cather to Marlon Brando, from pathfinder John Fre mont to naturalist Terry Tempest Williams Here, too, are memories of Bain s own grandparents and the journeys that shaped his own heritage Writing in the tradition of William Least Heat Moon and Ian Frazier, yet with an engaging warmth and a deep grasp of history all his own, Bain has fashioned a quintessentially American journey.
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The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West by David Haward Bain
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David Haward Bain
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Title:
The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West by David Haward Bain
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Published :2019-05-16T11:53:46+00:00
David Haward Bain Is a well-known author, some of his books are a fascination for readers like in theThe Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West book, this is one of the most wanted David Haward Bain author readers around the world.
675 Replys to “The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West”
History lesson--travel essay--family journey. All here--everything I enjoy most in a whopping big volume.And I did enjoy the heck out of it, even though I found it slightly hard to keep reading. I don't know why, but that probably has something to do with me rather than the writing. It's the kind of book you want to pick up on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you're got your whole life in front of you to savor it. But before you do, get a really good book of maps and keep it handy. Not a phone, eith [...]
Interesting saga about the author's family vacation following the old rail lines and the pioneer trails west. I especially enjoyed the section about the old Lincoln highway that was the nation's first attempt at a transcontinental highway. Entertaining travel diary with lots of U.S. history mixed in.
Author David Bain's knowledge of Western history is encyclopedic, and this book was enjoyable in that sense. But too much of his travelogue anecdotes just weren't very interesting -- restaurant reviews, tedious praise for his friends on the trail, etc.
A great tale of crossing the United States by a writer passionate about the country's history. A must read for those who are going on that particular road trip from St. Louis to San Francisco! Beats a guide book any day, and to boot is much much better reading.