The Man In Seat 61 [Import] [Paperback]

Mark Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2008

The essential guide for anyone planning a trip to Europe and beyond by train. It is packed with insider knowledge and top tips; advice on the quickest routes, best fares, rail passes, timetables and maps, travelling with children, essential travel items and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Smith lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and their son. He is a career railwayman. He was the Station Manager for Charing Cross, London Bridge and Cannon Street stations in London in the early to mid 90s, and later the Customer Relations Manager for two UK train companies. He has also worked as a European rail agent issuing tickets and advising other travel agents on train travel across Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Press (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0593058682
• ISBN-13: 978-0593058688
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,904,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive guide for global rail travel, December 24, 2008

By 

N. Hawkins "whereishawkins" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man In Seat 61 (Paperback)

If you're not familiar with the Seat 61 website, you're doing yourself a disservice. There's not a finer resource on the web for rail travel. I've used it myself on 4 continents, and think that it's an amazing resource.

The book itself covers European rail travel in a nice, easy to use format. When I say everything, I mean it: timetables, descriptions of cabins on sleeper trains to routes to the basic logistics from getting from A to B. Before discount airlines, rail was the only way to see Europe. I say forget the discount airlines and hop on a rail and actually see Europe. I'd highly recommend this to anyone - from the backpackers going through Europe to families to older adults. This book brings back the romantic aspect of going through Europe via train.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Designed Well to Be Lugged Around Europe and Limited by Mostly Being a London to (Insert Destination) Trip Book, May 15, 2010

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Man in Seat 61: A Guide to Taking the Train Through Europe (Paperback)

The Man is Seat 61 is easily the best of the travelling Europe by rail books out there. It's pretty much just a reprint of what the publishers assume are the most likely trips (maybe the most clicked on web pages) from the brilliant Seat 61 website. If this was a review of the website it would be five stars but it's not, it's a review of the book. If you have access to the Internet you really don't need this book as everything is on the website. The book is also not designed for the backpacker or person who is travelling a lot other than just the train and taxi, such as on foot to their hostel for example. It is quite needlessly large, a lot taller and thicker than even your Let's Go or Lonely Planet entire Europe continent books. It didn't need to be as there's a lot of white space, and the print and tables are in large print. No doubt this is because a lot of people interested in train travel are elderly people who prefer or even need large text but it does make the book very big and heavy to lug around in a backpack.

Basically the book lists how to get to pretty much every country in Europe on a trip from London. It tells you in great detail which trains to catch, what they are like and everything else you can expect on that journey. But there in lies a lot of the limits of this book. It assumes you want to go from London each time. It would have been better with after the from London part, including going to other local destinations from the capital or major city of each country done the same way and even common major journeys between countries. Such as a say from Vilnius in Lithuania to Warsaw Poland. This would have been mighty handy as it's not simply a get on one train go to sleep and wake up at the destination as you have to change trains in small towns, especially since you have to avoid going through Belarus if you don't want to pay and waste time getting the ridiculous transit visa.

The book does give the websites of each country's train networks but a lot of these aren't simple easy to use websites, so providing the information would have been handy.

The book also has a few intro chapters on rail passes, tips on train travel, buying your tickets and things like this which are good if you've never been on a train before but nothing you don't come across in every other guidebook.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful, July 23, 2010

By 

SB - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Man in Seat 61: A Guide to Taking the Train Through Europe (Paperback)

Slightly 'geeky' but most helpful, especially if you live abroad and want to travel to UK by train - or other places in Europe - and beyond. Written in an easy to follow manner. Roll on High Speed trains throughout the whole of Europe!