I was interested having done the Amtrak from Chicago to San Francisco. The overall impression is the book is too long, too detailed and tends to cycle back over itself often. However, provided you are interested in the subject its got a lot going for it in terms of the history, the haphazard nature of the development, the miracle the railways actually succeeded. Possibly reading it now what struck me was the rampant greed and naked fraud of many of the people involved.

American trains are frustrating, now I understand why.