The Railroad Mergers and the Coming of Conrail [Hardcover]

Richard Saunders (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 389 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group; 1st edition (October 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313200491
• ISBN-13: 978-0313200496
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,549,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Truth hurts, March 7, 2000

By 

Jon S. Stokes "A life without meaning is devo... (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Railroad Mergers and the Coming of Conrail (Hardcover)

Out of print as of 03/07/2000 I picked it up in a local library. As a novice railbuff I found it a very compelling read. I couldn't put it down. If you know anything about the the railroad industry you already know that this book doesn't have a happy ending. The most depressing thing I have ever read. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to see how governments good intentions can 'improve' anything into oblivion. A great analogy for the recent Microsoft hearings.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book tells the truthful inside story of mergers, December 23, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Railroad Mergers and the Coming of Conrail (Hardcover)

the book deals with the economic impact of railroad mergers. Why these economic factors played in the role of the history of american transportation from 1832 to 1977.joh

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential reading - railroad history, January 6, 2011

By 

mike j - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Railroad Mergers and the Coming of Conrail (Hardcover)

I bought this book in a general bulk purchase of anything related to Penn Central, one of my pet railroads. It actually sat on my shelf for quite awhile, while I read through other Penn Central books and photo albums - typical railfan: lots of words can be intimidating. BIG MISTAKE! When I finally pulled it down, it stayed down from start to finish. The author did an OUTSTANDING job of explaining the many different situations and personalities that influenced the latter 20th century of railroading. His writing style is, for lack of better terms, COMPELLING (a word used to describe current thriller novels). He adds significant color to what could be very dry subject matter (merger negotiations, court cases, technical minutia). I thought I'd read every take and version of the whos and whys of the Penn Central, Chessie System, and even western mergers, but especially after reading so many versions of the same stories, the book was like I learned them all again for the first time. I STRONGLY SUGGEST anyone with even passing interest to try and get ahold of a copy.