Robert M. Goldstein

My new book - The Last Passenger Train - hatched from the comment I constantly heard from friends when I described the train trips my wife, Melinda, and I had taken across Canada. "I've always wanted to do that," was the inevitable reply in a tone tinged with envy. This book is for those who "always wanted to do that." Perhaps it will nudge them in the direction of our big, friendly neighbor to the north, once the Covid-19 pandemic has run its course. Time appears to be running out on The Canadian, Canada's last trans-continental train. Departures, once a daily occurrence, are now twice a week. Some members of parliament would like to get rid of it altogether. That would be a mistake. The Canadian, despite its habitual tardiness, is a national treasure in my view. As soon as the pandemic subsides, Mindy and I plan to ride at least a portion of it again. And we don't care if it's behind schedule.

Regarding my second book, Riding with Reindeer, I was usually asked, Why Finland?

Writing always involves a bit of serendipity and that is certainly the case for me. During my book tour for "The Gentleman from Finland - Adventures on the Trans-Siberian Express," I was approached by readers who said they were disappointed the book really wasn't about Finland. These incidents became so common that at last a told a woman (she appeared to be a Finnish descent) that I would devote my next book to her native country. I just wanted her to leave happy. To tell you the truth, I had no inkling that my next book would actually take place in her native country. On a lark, I began reading about Finland. I soon became absorbed in its history, particularly how it managed to survive during the Winter War of 1939 and the two subsequent wars that followed. I got to the point where I wanted to read a travel literature account of modern-day Finland, but a search of the library and Amazon turned up nothing recent. The most relevant title was a book published in 1799 by Italian traveler, Giuseppe Acerbi (Travels through Sweden, Finland and Lapland to the North Cape in the Years 1798 and 1799). And so in the summer of 2007, I packed by folding bike into its suitcase and set off for Helsinki on a trip I dubbed the Riding with Reindeer Expedition. The only way I could afford to spend a reasonable amount of time in Finland, soak up its atmosphere and travel, was to travel by bike and camp or stay in low-cost accommodations. Two months after pedaling out of Helsinki, I reached the Arctic Ocean at Varanger Fjord in Norway.

I am often asked the topic of my next book. The answer is, I don't know. I only feel compelled to write if I have a story to tell that has not been told. I am not the type of writer who spends his time in his lonely writer's hovel, pecking away, word after word. I would rather be out doing stuff, being with people.

I go into a bookstore or library and see all the books and I wonder if the world really needs another book. But then again...

Stay tuned.