James McCommons has been a journalist for more than twenty five years and published hundreds of articles in magazines and major newspapers. A former senior editor at Organic Gardening magazine, he specializes in ecology and travel writing. He grew up in a railroad family and has spent thirty five years riding trains in America. He currently teaches journalism and nature writing at Northern Michigan University and lives in Marquette, Michigan.
Library Journal, Editors' Pick-
Attention! Readers of travel memoir, of investigative reporting,
those seeking to understand America today, even devotees of fiction
of the American journey--heck, simply of fine writing! Look out for
James McCommons's Waiting on a Train. NOTICE!: Train chasers,
railroaders, and train hobbyists, you'll want to chase down this
book as well. DESCRIPTION: Height nine inches, approximately 272
pages deep. Instigated by veteran journalist McCommons, who was
last seen riding the rails in 2008 on extended trips covering all
regions of the country that still permit the possibility of
passenger rail travel. As he rides the California Zephyr, the
Silver Meteor, the Acela, the Empire Builder, he interweaves
stories of the men and women he encounters with an accessible and
expertly traced history of America's enchantment and subsequent
tragically wrongheaded abandonment of its railroads. In a year when
gas prices tipped the $4 mark, the speed and efficiency of freight
trains carrying shipping containers became all the more clear.
McCommons urges us not to fall back on train nostalgia but to look
to the future. He sees the possibility that with increased stimulus
support of America's railroad lines, age-old disconnects between
freight and passenger rail may at last ease, and we may cease to be
"a third-world country when it comes to passenger railroads."
McCommons is the son and grandson of railroad men. He does them
proud. Detain his work. Can be found as of November 2009. Reward:
The pleasure of reading prose that has the shimmer, strength, and
authenticity that our railroads can still inspire and that they may
yet attain again.
Library Journal-
McCommons sets out to rectify American ignorance of passenger
trains by describing his rail travels around the United States in
2008. He writes of the people he meets, the scenery, the long
decline in American rail travel, and its emerging renaissance,
interweaving discussions he has had with dozens of the leading
minds on American passenger rail. McCommons explains that Amtrak
has been starved for funding since its 1971 inception but argues
that a brighter future is coming with increased funding from the
Obama administration, states working on regional plans, a new
spirit of cooperation from the freight railroads, and the 2008
four-dollars-a-gallon gasoline price, which refocused the public's
attention on rail travel. Still, he's objective, and though
repetitious, his narratives get the mood of train travel right.
He's at his best when deftly connecting the lack of a salad in a
dining car with bigger issues like Amtrak's funding. VERDICT:
Essential reading for rail fans, policymakers, and anyone curious
about the future of transportation.
"Waiting on a Train is a timely and worthwhile addition to the
canon of transportation literature. It manages to be both a lively
account of rail travels across America--with insightful portraits
of the train enthusiasts and just plain folks met along the
way--and a deeply informative history of Amtrak in its short but
troubled existence. More than that, it points the way toward a more
dynamic future for passenger railroads, complete with heavily used
high-speed trains zipping around regional corridors."--Jim
Motavalli, author of Breaking Gridlock: Moving Toward
Transportation That Works and Forward Drive: The Race to Build
Clean Cars for the Future
"America once had a passenger railroad system that was the envy of
the world. Now we have one that the Bulgarians would be ashamed of.
The task of reviving it could not be more important if we wish to
keep people moving around this continent-sized nation, especially
as the airlines crap out and our system of mass Happy Motoring
founders on the shoals of 'peak oil.' The infrastructure of our
rail system is lying out in the rain waiting to be fixed; the
project would put scores of thousands of people to work at
meaningful jobs at all levels; and the fact that we're not even
talking about it shows how un-serious we are as a society. This
book is one small step toward the giant leap of consciousness
necessary to repair our battered country."--James Howard Kunstler,
author of World Made By Hand and The Long Emergency
"James McCommons has captured the adventure, the angst, and the
inadequacy of modern train travel. He also gives us perspective,
taking us from the days when trains were the pulse of America to
today when they could be so much but are on life support."--Don
Phillips, columnist for Trains magazine and former transportation
writer for The Washington Post and International Herald Tribune
"Like William Least Heat Moon's Blue Highways before it, James
McCommons' Waiting on a Train is a celebration of America's past
and a hopeful prescription for its future. It is one of those rare
books that will change the way you see the world, a fascinating and
engaging tale of how this nation's infatuation with the automobile
all but destroyed a once glorious passenger rail system. If you are
not already a rail lover, you will be by the time you finish this
book. You will want to pack your bags and hop aboard. Waiting on a
Train is an important story thoroughly reported and well
told."--John Grogan, author of Marley & Me and The Longest Trip
Home
"This is must reading for anybody who cares about the
transportation future of this country. It should be a call to arms
for all Americans who keep wondering why our friends in Europe and
Asia have terrific trains while we have poured billions into
highways and airports and a pittance into our national passenger
rail system."--Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts
and vice-chairman of the Amtrak Board of Directors, 1998-2003
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