|
| 
 enlarge | Author: Les Standiford
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy Used: $3.99
You Save: $20.01 (83%)
New (5) Used (19) Collectible (3) from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 541176
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0609607480
Dewey Decimal Number: 385.0975941
EAN: 9780609607480
ASIN: 0609607480
Publication Date: September 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (September 24, 2002) - HARDCOVER - BINDING SOLID - TEXT IN VERY GOOD READING CONDITION, UNMARKED , with a small moderate stain to the bottom to the bottom left page margins of the text - COVERS IN GOOD CONDITION, with some light edge tanning along the very top/bottom edges of the covers, mild to moderate edge/corner wear/bumping; also a small moderate stain to the bottom left corner of the inside of the back cover - previous owner name inside front cover - DUST JACKET IN GOOD CONDITION, with some moderate staining, moderate to considerable shelf wear scuffing, and moderate+ edge/corner wear - 2002 FIRST EDITION HARDCOVER IN OVERALL SOUND, GOOD CONDITION
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Last Train to Paradise September 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is terrific. The history of Florida as it relates to a railroad going from Jacksonville, Florida, all the way to Key West is really fascinating.
 On track! November 9, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a good book if you love Florida history as much as I do. The first chapter is especially fine and very dramatic, with the old 447 chugging down the line in the middle of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane with 200 plus mph winds, a movie all by itself! Its bogs down a little in later chapters only because of its historical accuracy, ie. details about building the bridges across the open water, etc. My only other criticism is it lumps Flagler's personal life in one chapter and then you have to keep going back to see whats happening with Flagler personally (eg. his problems with Ida Shroud who went insane) while the railroad is being built. These are minor criticisms and over all the book is an assett to any historical library.
A captivating reminder of the forces of nature versus technology March 16, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Flagler's grandious railroad across the Florida Keys was in itself bold and way ahead of its time, but the tale of the contest with the immense forces of the hurricanes that destroyed it is of epic dimension (you can still see the ruins of the old bridges from the highway). A great story, very well told: impossible to put down, a real page turner.
A bigger piece of Florida history than I expected October 18, 2005
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
Having made the drive from Miami to Key West a couple of times, I've been curious about the abandoned bridges that you see all the way down the Keys. When someone recommended this book to me I was excited to learn how those bridges got there - which I did - but I learned a lot more too.
Henry Flagler, who made his fortune as Rockefeller's early partner at Standard Oil, spent that fortune as the pioneering developer of the East Coast of Florida. One of the most fascinating things you learn in this book is just how late in US history the development of Florida came about. As recently as the 1890s, Miami was just a small outpost called Fort Dallas that was reachable only by a trip of train, then boat, then horse-drawn carriage. In the 1890s!
At the same time, Key West was the most populous city in Florida with 20,000 inhabitants and a thriving economy. Flagler imagined that Key West would become the most important deep-water port on the East Coast with the completion of the Panama Canal and that his railroad would carry all of that freight to the continental US. It never happened, and by the time contruction was halfway done Flagler knew it was incredibly unlikely, but by that time he was committed to "ride his own steel to Key West before he died."
All of that is part and parcel to this story of man against nature in a manner that just can't happen in today's era of heightened environmental awareness (I guess we shouldn't block the flow of the Gulf Stream after all). In the end, all is undone by the biggest Gulf storm in recorded history, the Labor Day storm of 1935.
A great read for any fan of history or anyone who is interested in the Keys or Florida.
Standard Oil Magnate Turns into Florida Railroad Entrepeneur April 4, 2005
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Henry Morrison Flagler, multimillioniaire and second richest man in the world (John. D. Rockefeller being the first), came to Jacksonville, FL with his first wife, to help her recover from bronchitis, a chronic condition which plagued her in Long Island, New York, their home up north. First, he fell in love with Florida, and second, his businessman's acumen took over ... he saw opportunity where others only saw a wilderness. He built the first railroad traversing across Florida from Jacksonville to Miami. He built the "eighth wonder of the world" ... many bridges across the Florida Keys, across miles of water, connecting the southern most point in the United States with the mainland. He opened south Florida as a resort to the wealthy by building hotels in St. Augustine and Palm Beach. And when he visited the bustling port of Key West, the closest link to the Caribbean and South America, he got the brilliant idea to build a railroad from what is now Homestead, FL to Key West which at the time was the largest city and busiest port in Florida. Initially, he was ridiculed, he was criticized, he could not even get investors to put their money into the project. As the ultimate risk-taker, he used up his own savings, approximately 28 - 30 million dollars to make his dream, his vision for the future come true. He left a legacy in Florida which will not be forgotten But there was a steep cost ... not just in money ... but in men's lives.
Henry Morrison Flagler did his market research. He determined that for economic reasons Florida was ripe for development. It had huge tracts ready for orchard farmers to grow tropical fruit to transport to the rest of the USA. The cites of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Miami benefited from the golden touch of Flagler ... he built hotels for himself and his wealthy friends which included the finest amenities of his day. The wealthy flocked to the pristine white beaches and newly built golf courses. They viewed the beautiful sunsets and heard the waves crashing on shore ... but they would *not* risk their money on Flagler's vision. Flagler's project needed capital and also labor. He hired the best trained bridge-building engineers and project managers, men who relished his vision and the supreme challenge of a lifetime.
In this book, we learn how men were recruited from all the major cities of the USA and many from Europe (primarily Italy and Spain) and the Caribbean islands (specifically, the Cayman Islands) to do the back-breaking labor in the hot tropical climate of Florida amidst mosquitoes and slimy boggy waters ... but the most menacing threat was not even recognized until it struck unexpectedly and with deadly force ... the hurricane. The camps were destroyed, men lost their lives, bodies and body parts were hurdled with abandon, and men simply disappeared under water, swallowed up by the ocean. Yet, the "conchs" (as people living on the Florida Keys were called) recovered despite the devastation. Even with huge losses of money and lives, Henry Flagler pursued his dream until it became reality. After nearly going into debt and with failing eyesight and poor health, Henry Morrison Flagler lived to view the monument he thought would last beyond his lifetime ... a living legacy for all Floridians ... a railroad connecting all the Florida Keys to the mainland. Sadly, the railroad only lasted about 22 years before progress took a different turn ... automobiles were gaining popularity and a highway was built. However to his credit, the bridges he built were of such superior quality (some still stand today) they were used for the infrastructure of the highway. This book is a testimony to the man, the times, and his vision ... it is a magnificent opus which is highly worth reading. It is an adventure story that also includes some surprisingly spicy romance (after his first wife died, Flagler had two other wives each about 35 years younger than himself). Most importantly, the book includes descriptions of 'man against nature' with harrowing details that cause ripples of uneasy sensations to crawl on one's skin ... Having lived through *four* hurricanes in 2004, two disastrous ones named Charley and Ivan, this reader appreciates and respects the forces of nature. This is one book I could not put down until the very end. It leaves me wanting to know more about Henry Morrison Flagler, the man, the millionaire, the visionary railroad entrepeneur. Erika Borsos (erikab3)
|
|
|
Copyright 2008 - RailroadBookstore.com | |
