Christian Wolmar writes regularly for a wide variety of publications including the Independent, Evening Standard and Rail magazine, and appears frequently on TV and radio as a commentator on transport issues. His previous books include the widely-acclaimed The Subterranean Railway; Fire and Steam; Blood, Iron and Gold; Engines of War; The Great Railway Revolution and To the Edge of the World.
Christian Wolmar masterfully chronicles the iconic journey of the
Indian Railways, deftly navigating his way through the varied
complexities of an enterprise that - though it was undertaken
solely in the self-serving interests of Empire - would go on to
form an integral part of Independent India. Instructive, inspiring
and even endearing, Railways & The Raj is a captivating read.
*Author of INGLORIOUS EMPIRE*
An engaging and welcome account of this magnificent institution and
its dramatic history up to the present day.
*Spectator*
Wolmar tells an epic story, at once shocking and inspiring.
Stripped of false nostalgia for the Raj and all its deceptions,
India's railways emerge greater than ever, and still central to the
nation's identity and future.
*Author of THE RAILWAYS*
Railways & The Raj is brilliant - absorbing, engrossing and
definitive.
*Author of ON THE SLOW TRAIN*
Christian Wolmar helps to explain what is special about Indian
railways, and why despite being the work of a colonial power, they
fit so well with the country... Wolmar entertainingly examines the
complicated legacy of the railway, the most palpable element of
British imperialism.
*Michael Portillo*
Christian Wolmar brings to life the early days of trains in India
and describes with great clarity and wit how railways have spread
across the vast country over the years. This is not a dry, stuffy
read merely for rail enthusiasts. It's full of energy, enthusiasm
and erudition, explaining the role of railways at key moments in
the country's history from early mutinies against the colonialists
to independence and beyond. Highly recommended.
*Author of TICKET TO RIDE*
This is one up-to-date book on Indian Railways that captures its
history, life, stories and status... A must-read for all those keen
followers of India's railways and for those who want to know all
about it.
*Author of HALT STATION INDIA*
Eschewing the dryness of other books on the subject, Wolmar's
historical detail is pumped with colour and life... If we're ever
to trust a writer on India's railways, it should be one who isn't
afraid to sit in the open doorway of a moving train, chai in hand,
watching the country roll past in all its glory.
*Author of AROUND INDIA IN 80 TRAINS*
Wolmar... has an instinctive feel for transport as both politics
and culture, and a gift for communicating it to his readers...
Railways and the Raj is valuable not only as a lively history of
the Indian railways, but as an intervention in our own political
moment.
*TLS*
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