Last Train to Toronto; A Canadian Rail Odyssey

xii, [4], 380, [4] pages. Map. Selected Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Terry Pindell is an American travel writer known primarily for three North American 'rail odysseys', through the USA, Canada and Mexico, each of which became the subject of a travel book. He has also written a book on migration within the United States. The Toledo Blade said of his first book, Making Tracks: "Not since John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley has anyone put together a better story about America on the road." He is the grandson of a railroad engineer. Derived from a Kirkus review: Pindell rides ``the steel of Canada'' for a year. To Canada, railways have had an importance far beyond transportation needs. Pindell describes the role that trains and tracks have played in Canadian history. But he is also set on a little pulse-taking, so he talks to his fellow passengers who tell him about their lives, their politics, and their views on the US. Pindell begins with a trip from Toronto to Winnipeg on the Canadian. He ends a year later with the Canadian's last run from Vancouver to Toronto--a victim of cutbacks. In between, Pindell travels northwest as far as Prince Rupert; to Gaspe, where the people are predominantly French; to Churchill, where polar bears gather to hunt seals--and to wherever else all the other lines that still carry passengers over the Rockies and through the Maritimes take him. A sturdy piece of travel writing: readable, informative, and a railway buff's delight. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated].…