The Old Iron Road : an Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West / David Haward Bain

Bain, David Haward

ISBN 10: 0670033081 / ISBN 13: 9780670033089

Published by New York : Viking Press, 2004

About this Item

In the summer of 2000, David Haward Bain and his family left their home in Vermont and headed west in search of America's past. From Omaha to San Francisco, Bain and his family retraced the entire route of the first transcontinental railroad. Following abandoned railroad tracks and the traces of old wagon trails, cruising down back roads and main streets, they discovered the deep, restless, uniquely American spirit of adventure that connects our past to our present. A superb writer and an exacting researcher, Bain conjures up the marvelous sense of coming unstuck in time as he lingers in the ghost towns and battlegrounds, prairies and river ports, train yards, museums, and diners that line the old emigrant routes of the railroad and the Lincoln Highway. As he cruises west to California, Bain encounters a fascinating cast of characters, both historic and contemporary? From Willa Cather to Marlon Brando, from pathfinder John Fre'mont to naturalist Terry Tempest Williams. Here, too, are memories of Bain's own grandparents and the journeys that shaped his own heritage. Writing in the tradition of William Least Heat-Moon and Ian Frazier, yet with an engaging warmth and a deep grasp of history all his own, Bain has fashioned a quintessentially American journey. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. ; 434 pages; Description: xii, 434 p. : ill. , maps ; 25 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. [399]-412) and index. Subjects: Bain, David Haward --Travel --West (U. S. ) . Railroads --West (U. S. ) --History. West (U. S. ) --Description and travel 1 Kg.

Seller Inventory # 38419

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Old Iron Road : an Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West / David Haward Bain
• Publisher: New York : Viking Press
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670033081
• ISBN 13: 9780670033089
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Weight: 1 kilogram

About this title

Synopsis

The award-winning author of Empire Express describes his and his family's odyssey west as they retraced the entire route of the first transcontinental railroad, offering a fascinating glimpse of the American spirit of adventure, determination, and character that led to its construction, as well as the journeys that shaped both his own heritage and American history. 50,000 first printing.

About the Author

David Haward Bain is the author of four previous works of nonfiction, including Empire Express and Sitting in Darkness, which received a Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award. His articles and essays have appeared in Smithsonian, American Heritage, Kenyon Review, and Prairie Schooner, and he reviews regularly for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and Newsday. He is a teacher at Middlebury College and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.