Over the past ten years, the study of mobility has demonstrated groundbreaking approaches and new research patterns. These investigations criticize the concept of mobility itself, suggesting the need to merge transport and communication research, and to approach the topic with novel instruments and new methodologies. Covering a variety of countries and regions, these chapters investigate how various actors have shaped transport systems, creating models of mobility that differ along a number of dimensions, including public vs. private ownership and operation as well as individual vs. collective forms of transportation. The contributions also examine the extent to which initial models have created path dependencies in terms of technology, physical infrastructure, urban development, and cultural and behavioral preferences that limit subsequent choices.

America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line -- the first American railroad -- in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe's, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America's rise to world-power status. Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them. In The Great Railroad Revolution, renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.

Covering legendary and obscure intercity passenger trains in a dozen Southeastern states, this book details the golden age of train travel. The story begins with the inception of steam locomotives in 1830 in Charleston, South Carolina, continuing through the mid-1930s changeover to diesel and the debut of Amtrak in 1971. Throughout, the book explores the technological achievements, the romance and the economic impact of traveling on the tracks. Other topics include: contemporary museums and excursion trains; the development of commuter rails, monorails, light rails, and other intracity transit trains; the social impact and legal issues of train travel; and historical rail terminals and facilities. The book is supplemented with more than 160 images and 11 appendices.

This glorious visual celebration of train travel keeps you on the right track with stop-offs at the most important and incredible rail routes from all over the world.

 Your first stop in The Train Book is the groundbreaking steam locomotives of the 19th century and your final destination is the high-speed bullet trains of today. From the Union-Pacific Railroad to the Trans-Siberian Railway, you'll cross the continents to experience epic journeys and staggering scenery. You'll pick a seat on the most iconic locomotives, including the Orient Express, the Blue Train, and the Eurostar.  You can also inspect the engines of famous British trains, such as Rocket, Mallard, and Javelin, and international trains, such as India's Palace on Wheels and America's Thatcher Perkins. You'll meet the true pioneers of train and track, including "Father of the Railways" George Stephenson, engineering legend Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Métro maestro Fulgence Bienvenüe. For train-spotters and transport enthusiasts everywhere, this is your trip of a lifetime.

More than any other artifact of modern technology, the automobile has shaped our physical, social, and cultural environment. At the same time, the history of the automobile demonstrates how decisions made by governments, entrepreneurs, and the general public have strongly affected the automobile's evolution. Cars and Cultures provides a succinct yet comprehensive history of the automobile. While the book highlights the technical changes that altered the appearance and performance of automobiles, it also explores the political, economic, social, and cultural forces that shaped the car's development. Because of the wide-ranging impact of the automobiles, no history would be complete without covering the components essential for our automotive-based transportation system--roads and highways, gasoline production, traffic laws, governmental regulation-- as well as the other aspects of our social and cultural history that were deeply affected by the history of the automobile--labor unions, suburbanization, travel and recreation, and the fast-food industry. Anyone fascinated by the history of the automobile will find much of interest in this volume. Students and general readers will find such information as: * 4,192 cars produced in the U.S. in 1900, 1,681 were steam-powered, 1,575 were electrics, and only 936 used internal combustion engines * General John Pershing organized a convoy of 79 trucks that crossed the U.S. from Washington to San Francisco in 1919. Hampered by the poor state of the roads upon which they traveled, the trucks averaged only fifty miles a day, and needed 56 days to complete their journey * In 1960, the entire Japanese automobile industry exported fewer than 1000 cars to the United States; by the early 1980s, it became such a threat to the U.S. auto industry that the U.S. government limited Japanese imports to 1.65 million cars per year. Although focused on the United States, it is global in scope, with comparisons to how the automobile developed in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere. The volume includes a chronology of the automobile's evolution, a glossary of technical terms, a selected bibliography, and more than 20 photographs and illustrations.

Throughout the 20th century, the automobile industry has become a symbol of modernity. These twenty-first century prototypes–such as the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat 500, the great sports cars designed by Pininfarina for Ferrari, and the Mini Minor by Issigonis–all had a mix of design and technological innovation that made them marvels of contemporary life. This catalog illustrates the creative life of the most prestigious European and American car manufacturers in history. An in-depth examination of their design process and technological innovations offers an unprecedented look into the well-known names of the automobile age, as well as some of the world’s rarest models. From the creative process to the making of timeless automobile design, this publication presents the automobile culture in all its glory.

The 2013 merger of American Airlines and US Airways marked a major step in the consolidation of the U.S. airline industry. A young management team that began plotting mergers a decade earlier designed a brilliant strategy to seize an industry prize. In doing so, it enlisted the help of unions who engineered one of the labor movement's biggest corporate victories. The airlines' histories and the inside story of the takeover is told by two veteran airline reporters.

a gripping, in-depth look at how America's $200 billion aviation industry took flight "To understand the industry, this is necessary reading." --The Miami Herald "With the precision of a scientist, a good reporter's marshaling of disparate facts, and the vigor of a natural storyteller, Heppenheimer offers an absorbing narrative." --Richard Snow, Editor American Heritage. "Tom Heppenheimer tells a fascinating story." -- R. T. Jones Inventor of the swept wing. "An important addition to the history of technology as well as business." -- Publishers Weekly. "An airworthy briefing firmly grounded in the applied science and allied realities that permit air transport of passengers and cargo over long distances and high speeds." -- Kirkus Reviews.

Rudi Volti explores the economical, political, cultural, and social events that propelled the technological advances of the airline industry. From more advanced airplanes to better security and safety, Volti also presents how the contributions of air travel have shaped the world that we live in today.