by Andrew Dow
MORE than 3400 'remarkable, memorable' quotations which 'tell us something about railways' are included in this comprehensive dictionary of what people have said about railways and when.
While anthologies of railway writing and books of anecdotes have been produced before, a comprehensive dictionary of quotations has been absent from the bookshelves. Using mostly British and North American sources. Dow draws from private documents, conversations and advertising materials in addition to the speeches, literature and songs more usual in dictionaries of quotations. Quotes are arranged by subject matter rather than by author for easy comparison of attitudes and expressions, and 'show that, while attitudes have changed, few problems are wholly new'. Two indexes list the quotes by subject and by the 1300 writers and speakers within the 384 pages.
Details have been checked with the original source or speaker where possible, and further information is appended to some quotes, explaining the story of Britain's infamous 'wrong kind of snow,' or why Chattanooga Choo-Choo 'should not be regarded as an accurate portrayal' of the train service of the time. ISBN 9-8018-8292-3
£30 from The Johns Hopkins University Press, c/o John Wiley & Sons, 1 Oldlands Way, Bognor Regis, PO22 9SA, UK
