Items related to The railway journey: The industrialization of time...

The railway journey: The industrialization of time and space in the 19th century - Softcover

  • 4.10 out of 5 stars
    557 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780854965052: The railway journey: The industrialization of time and space in the 19th century

Synopsis

Because it made possible rapid movement and shipping across large distances, joining far-off towns to economic and cultural capitals, many people who lived in the early 19th century regarded the railroad as an instrument of progress. Because anyone with the price of a ticket could board a train, regardless of social class, the railroad was also seen as a democratizing technology.

But, Wolfgang Schivelbusch notes in this vivid history of early rail travel, the promise of progress and democracy was swiftly compromised. The railroads became an agency for the concentration of wealth in a few hands, and they created a class of passive consumers who simply got aboard and waited to arrive at their destinations. The railroads, Schivelbusch writes, changed the 19th-century world for good and ill. They helped rewrite the industrializing world's sense of time, for now precise schedules had to be kept; they reinforced a sense of forward-plunging movement into the future; they even introduced the reality of mass disaster, for railroads were always crashing, sometimes taking hundreds of riders to their deaths.

Delving into urban planning, psychology, architecture, and economics, as well as the history of technology, Schivelbusch paints a revealing portrait of the role of the railroad in shaping the 19th-century mind. --Gregory McNamee

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review

Because it made possible rapid movement and shipping across large distances, joining far-off towns to economic and cultural capitals, many people who lived in the early 19th century regarded the railroad as an instrument of progress. Because anyone with the price of a ticket could board a train, regardless of social class, the railroad was also seen as a democratizing technology.

But, Wolfgang Schivelbusch notes in this vivid history of early rail travel, the promise of progress and democracy was swiftly compromised. The railroads became an agency for the concentration of wealth in a few hands, and they created a class of passive consumers who simply got aboard and waited to arrive at their destinations. The railroads, Schivelbusch writes, changed the 19th-century world for good and ill. They helped rewrite the industrializing world's sense of time, for now precise schedules had to be kept; they reinforced a sense of forward-plunging movement into the future; they even introduced the reality of mass disaster, for railroads were always crashing, sometimes taking hundreds of riders to their deaths.

Delving into urban planning, psychology, architecture, and economics, as well as the history of technology, Schivelbusch paints a revealing portrait of the role of the railroad in shaping the 19th-century mind. --Gregory McNamee

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Buy Used

Condition: Very Good
May have limited writing in cover...
View this item

FREE shipping within U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Search results for The railway journey: The industrialization of time...

Stock Image

Wolfgang Schivelbusch
Published by Berg, 1986
ISBN 10: 085496505X ISBN 13: 9780854965052
Used Paperback

Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.7. Seller Inventory # G085496505XI4N00

Contact seller

Buy Used

US$ 30.42
Convert currency
Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

Schivelbusch, Wolfgang
Published by Berg Publishers, UK, 1986
ISBN 10: 085496505X ISBN 13: 9780854965052
Used Soft cover

Seller: Harry Righton, Evesham, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Size: 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Book. Seller Inventory # 906838

Contact seller

Buy Used

US$ 32.02
Convert currency
Shipping: US$ 16.22
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Seller Image

Schivelbusch, Wolfgang
Published by Berg Publishers, 1986
ISBN 10: 085496505X ISBN 13: 9780854965052
Used Soft cover

Seller: Hanselled Books, Burntisland, FIFE, United Kingdom

Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars 4-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. P/B 203 pages, condition is very good. Seller Inventory # 084670

Contact seller

Buy Used

US$ 32.02
Convert currency
Shipping: US$ 22.97
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket

Stock Image

Schivelbusch, Wolfgang
Published by Berg, 1986
ISBN 10: 085496505X ISBN 13: 9780854965052
Used Softcover

Seller: Hay-on-Wye Booksellers, Hay-on-Wye, HEREF, United Kingdom

Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars 5-star rating, Learn more about seller ratings

Condition: Good. Light scuffs & scratches to the softcover. Marks to the edges of the textblock. Content is in very good, clean condition. Seller Inventory # 2403-27-03-2025-LMC

Contact seller

Buy Used

US$ 23.35
Convert currency
Shipping: US$ 87.84
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket