Well known railway writer Adrian Vaughan, and author of the very successful title Railway Blunders, now turns his attention to what he considers to be the greatest blunder the railway industry has ever perpetrated, the privatisation of the 1990s. A personal polemic, he first gives a history from the dawn of the railway age up to 1948 when the industry developed into a number of large, centralised, integrated self-supporting companies, but the efficiencies borne from a common gauge and common standards enabled the railways to withstand even the very worst pressures that two World Wars brought to the transport system. The author then goes on to analyse the process of privatisation and the effects it has had on the industry in the ensuing years. He looks in detail at the franchisees, the contracts, the costs, the successes and more prevalent failures, the comparison with railways abroad, and to the final chapter where he poses the question 'Has privatisation achieved anything that could not have been achieved by BR?' All readers can judge for themselves in this often controversial but always absorbing study.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
More than you ever wanted to know!,
By
This review is from: History of the White Star Line (Hardcover)
This book covers the history of the White Star Line from the beginning of time. Not the most exciting read this year. The paper is of poor quality, seems to still have chunks of wood in it and the type face is not to my taste. The writing style is pedestrian at best. Lots of detail though, I haven't found any glaring errors, but you really have to be an ocean liner fanatic to get through this. Thankfully I am. For a more entertaining and interesting view, look for something by John Maxtone-Graham like The Only Way to Cross. J. P. Morgan's biographers also have lots of comments about White Star. Pictures are good, information is accurate as far as I know, but definitely not a page-turner.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate history,
By historygirl2037 (Maryland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: History of the White Star Line (Hardcover)
While I do agree that it is not neccessarily a page turner, this book is accurate. The author spent a lot of time putting the research in this book. At times it does seem like a lot of facts strung together, but he keeps the timeline of events very well and I think its better to just state the facts at times rather than write a barage of opinions (let people draw their own conclusions). Anyone interested in shipping history would find this book interesting enough to maintain a focus. If you want this book because you are a Titanic fanatic, your money would be better spent on one of the author's other books which explores the POSSIBLITY of a conspiracy or another book dedicated solely to Titanic. Overall I thought the book was great, very informative and I learned a lot I didn't know before, especially about the very early years. Transatlantic and The White Star Line: An Illustrated History are great too.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not recommended,
By A Customer
This review is from: History of the White Star Line (Hardcover)
Regrettably Gardiner's latest offering "History of the White Star Line" is little more than a poorly written chronology of largely disconnected events in the history of the famous shipping company. While apparently factual (in contrast to his earlier "Titanic Conspiracy" which suggested that Titanic had been secretly switched with her sister ship and intentionally sunk) I found "History of the White Star Line" to be a largely unreadable assembly of historical tidbits which seem as if a collection of unrelated newspaper clippings had been bound together and covered with a dust wrapper. His research seems to be adequate, however style and editing are largely nonexistent.
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