Description

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The first international history of railroads and railroad infrastructure told through stunningly reproduced maps.

Since their origins in eighteenth-century England, railroads have spread across the globe, changing everything in their path, from where and how people grew and made things to where and how they lived and moved. Railroads rewrote not only world geography but also the history of maps and mapping. Today, the needs of train companies and their users continue to shape the maps we consume and consult.

Featuring full-color maps primarily from the British Library's distinguished collection—many of them never before published—A History of the Railroad in 100 Maps is the first international history of railroads and railroad infrastructure told through maps. Jeremy Black includes examples from six continents, spanning a variety of uses from railroad planning and operations to guides for passengers, shippers, and tourists.

Arranged chronologically, the maps are accompanied by explanatory text that sheds light on the political, military, and urban development histories associated with the spread of railroads. A final chapter considers railroad maps from games, books, and other cultural artifacts. For anyone interested in the history of railroads or maps, A History of the Railroad in 100 Maps will offer new and unexpected insights into their intertwined global history.

About the Author

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Jeremy Black is professor of history at the University of Exeter and the author of more than one hundred and forty books.

Praise For…

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“Black contextualizes the global history of railroads using a carefully curated set of historic map documents chosen from libraries around the world. The choice of maps is at once eclectic and comprehensive, shedding light on the interaction of railroads with the history of government, military, and urban development. With thorough and insightful commentaries throughout, the depth and breadth of the scholarship from this accomplished historian is without parallel.”
— James R. Akerman | coeditor of "Mapping Nature across the Americas"