-
"Follow the Flag"
- A History of the Wabash Railroad Company (Railroads in America)
- Narrated by: Steve Twitchell
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
"Follow the Flag"
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Branch Line Empires
- The Pennsylvania and the New York Central Railroads
- By: Michael Bezilla
- Narrated by: Josh Albert
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
The Pennsylvania and the New York Central railroads helped to develop central Pennsylvania as the largest source of bituminous coal for the nation. By the late 19th century, the two lines were among America’s largest businesses and would soon become legendary archrivals. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) first arrived in the 1860s. Within a few years, it was sourcing as much as four million tons of coal annually from Centre County and the Moshannon Valley and would continue do so for another quarter century.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very Detailed
- By D. Craven on 02-29-20
By: Michael Bezilla
-
Amtrak, America's Railroad
- Transportation's Orphan and Its Struggle for Survival (Railroads Past and Present)
- By: Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, Eugene E. Harmon
- Narrated by: Gary L Willprecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, and Eugene E. Harmon explore the fascinating history of this popular institution and tell a tale of a company hindered by its flawed origin and uneven quality of leadership, subjected to political gamesmanship and favoritism, and mired in a perpetual philosophical debate about whether it is a business or a public service. Featuring interviews with former Amtrak presidents, the authors examine the current problems and issues facing Amtrak and their proposed solutions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed analysis regarding Amtrak executive leadership and political headwind
- By Mars4404 on 08-18-22
By: Geoffrey H. Doughty, and others
-
Railroader
- The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison
- By: Howard Green
- Narrated by: Howard Green
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Hunter Harrison, the revolutionary railroader from Memphis, dramatically turned four publicly traded companies into cash machines. Starting as a laborer when he was a wayward teenager, Harrison spent a half century in the rail business and nearly two decades running Illinois Central, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and CSX. Railroader offers insights into running all businesses. Howard Green’s highly personal biography is deeply researched, based on conversations with Harrison over several years.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By James on 04-03-24
By: Howard Green
-
The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
-
Santa Fe Locomotive Development
- A Pictorial History in Chronological Order Steam to Diesel 1869-1957
- By: Larry E. Brasher
- Narrated by: Paul Bright
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
This book encompasses in brief the story of Madame Queen and embraces steam locomotive development on the Santa Fe from 1869 to the officially announced end of steam operations in 1953. The actual end date of steam operation was August 1957. Presented for the first time in chronological order in one publication, here is a brief story of motive power development on the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent was better then expected
- By Kline on 12-19-19
By: Larry E. Brasher
-
The Edge of Anarchy
- The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America
- By: Jack Kelly
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America. The Edge of Anarchy offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the US Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! every workingman should read.
- By Calemos on 01-18-20
By: Jack Kelly
-
Branch Line Empires
- The Pennsylvania and the New York Central Railroads
- By: Michael Bezilla
- Narrated by: Josh Albert
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
The Pennsylvania and the New York Central railroads helped to develop central Pennsylvania as the largest source of bituminous coal for the nation. By the late 19th century, the two lines were among America’s largest businesses and would soon become legendary archrivals. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) first arrived in the 1860s. Within a few years, it was sourcing as much as four million tons of coal annually from Centre County and the Moshannon Valley and would continue do so for another quarter century.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very Detailed
- By D. Craven on 02-29-20
By: Michael Bezilla
-
Amtrak, America's Railroad
- Transportation's Orphan and Its Struggle for Survival (Railroads Past and Present)
- By: Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, Eugene E. Harmon
- Narrated by: Gary L Willprecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, and Eugene E. Harmon explore the fascinating history of this popular institution and tell a tale of a company hindered by its flawed origin and uneven quality of leadership, subjected to political gamesmanship and favoritism, and mired in a perpetual philosophical debate about whether it is a business or a public service. Featuring interviews with former Amtrak presidents, the authors examine the current problems and issues facing Amtrak and their proposed solutions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed analysis regarding Amtrak executive leadership and political headwind
- By Mars4404 on 08-18-22
By: Geoffrey H. Doughty, and others
-
Railroader
- The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison
- By: Howard Green
- Narrated by: Howard Green
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Hunter Harrison, the revolutionary railroader from Memphis, dramatically turned four publicly traded companies into cash machines. Starting as a laborer when he was a wayward teenager, Harrison spent a half century in the rail business and nearly two decades running Illinois Central, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and CSX. Railroader offers insights into running all businesses. Howard Green’s highly personal biography is deeply researched, based on conversations with Harrison over several years.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging
- By James on 04-03-24
By: Howard Green
-
The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
-
Santa Fe Locomotive Development
- A Pictorial History in Chronological Order Steam to Diesel 1869-1957
- By: Larry E. Brasher
- Narrated by: Paul Bright
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
This book encompasses in brief the story of Madame Queen and embraces steam locomotive development on the Santa Fe from 1869 to the officially announced end of steam operations in 1953. The actual end date of steam operation was August 1957. Presented for the first time in chronological order in one publication, here is a brief story of motive power development on the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent was better then expected
- By Kline on 12-19-19
By: Larry E. Brasher
-
The Edge of Anarchy
- The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America
- By: Jack Kelly
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America. The Edge of Anarchy offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the US Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! every workingman should read.
- By Calemos on 01-18-20
By: Jack Kelly
-
Iron Empires
- Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America
- By: Michael Hiltzik
- Narrated by: Nicholas Tecoksy
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 28
In 1869, when the final spike was driven into the Transcontinental Railroad, few were prepared for its seismic aftershocks. Once a hodgepodge of short, squabbling lines, America's railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators, crooks, and visionaries. The vicious competition between empire builders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, J. P. Morgan, and E. H. Harriman sparked stock market frenzies, panics, and crashes; provoked strikes; transformed the nation's geography; and culminated in a ferocious two-man battle....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History doesn't get any better
- By Philo on 02-06-21
By: Michael Hiltzik
-
Gotham
- A History of New York City to 1898
- By: Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wallace
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 67 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 220
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
In Gotham, Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace have produced a monumental work of history, one that ranges from the Indian tribes that settled in and around the island of Manna-hata, to the consolidation of the five boroughs into Greater New York in 1898. It is an epic narrative, a story as vast and as varied as the city it chronicles, and it underscores that the history of New York is the story of our nation. The events and people who crowd this audiobook guarantee that this is no mere local history. It is in fact a portrait of the heart and soul of America....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
THANK YOU!!!!!
- By Stephen F (SPFJR) on 09-29-18
By: Edwin G. Burrows, and others
-
The Rise and Fall of American Growth
- The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War
- By: Robert J. Gordon
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 30 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 513
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 422
In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from 45 to 72 years. The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Over-detailed, with no engaging message
- By BehA on 01-31-17
By: Robert J. Gordon
-
Capitalism in America
- A History
- By: Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 822
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 820
From the legendary former Fed Chairman and the acclaimed Economist writer and historian, the full, epic story of America's evolution from a small patchwork of threadbare colonies to the most powerful engine of wealth and innovation the world has ever seen.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Explains a lot
- By Scott on 02-18-19
By: Alan Greenspan, and others
-
Nature's Metropolis
- Chicago and the Great West
- By: William Cronon
- Narrated by: Jonah Cummings
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
In this groundbreaking work, William Cronon gives us an environmental perspective on the history of nineteenth-century America. By exploring the ecological and economic changes that made Chicago America's most dynamic city and the Great West its hinterland, Mr. Cronon opens a new window onto our national past. This is the story of city and country becoming ever more tightly bound in a system so powerful that it reshaped the American landscape and transformed American culture. The world that emerged is our own.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Moving
- By JB on 02-09-18
By: William Cronon
-
Door to Door
- The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 150
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Using interviews, data, and deep exploration of the hidden world of ports, traffic control centers, and the research labs defining our transportation future, acclaimed journalist Edward Humes breaks down the complex movements of humans, goods, and machines as never before, from increasingly car-less citizens to the distance UPS goes to deliver a leopard-printed phone case.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Preachy but valuable
- By B. Pelton on 04-21-19
By: Edward Humes
-
The Power Brokers
- The Struggle to Shape and Control the Electric Power Industry
- By: Jeremiah D. Lambert
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
For more than a century, the interplay between private, investor-owned electric utilities and government regulators has shaped the electric power industry in the United States. Provision of an essential service to largely dependent consumers invited government oversight and ever more sophisticated market intervention. The industry has sought to manage, coopt, and profit from government regulation. In The Power Brokers, Jeremiah Lambert maps this complex interaction from the late 19th century to the present day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Evolutionary Discourse on US Utilities
- By Bala on 10-31-21
-
Crash Course
- The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster
- By: Paul Ingrassia
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
In Crash Course, Ingrassia answers the big questions: Was Detroit's self-destruction inevitable? What were the key turning points? Why did Japanese automakers manage American workers better than the American companies themselves? Ingrassia also describes dysfunctional corporate cultures (even as GM's market share plunged, the company continued business as usual) and Detroit's perverse system of "inverse layoffs" (which allowed union members to invoke seniority to avoid work).
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Contemporary History at Its Best
- By Roy on 04-19-10
By: Paul Ingrassia
-
Glory Lost and Found
- How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era
- By: Seth Kaplan, Jay Shabat
- Narrated by: Joseph Durika
- Length: 25 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era tells the story of Delta's dramatic tumble into bankruptcy and how it climbed its way back to pre-eminence despite hurricane-force headwinds: high fuel prices, a hostile takeover bid, relentless competition, economic meltdowns, and geopolitical shocks.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
For Aviation Enthusiasts & the Business Industry
- By Striker on 03-24-17
By: Seth Kaplan, and others
-
Detroit
- A Biography
- By: Scott Martelle
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
When we think of Detroit, we think first of the auto industry and its slow, painful decline, then maybe the sounds of Motown, or the long line of professional sports successes. But economies are made up of people, and the effect of the economic downfall of Detroit is one of the most compelling stories in America. Detroit: A Biography by journalist and author Scott Martelle is about a city that rose because of the most American of traits - innovation, entrepreneurship, and an inspiring perseverance.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Native Detroiter
- By Teresa on 07-10-12
By: Scott Martelle
-
Full Steam Ahead
- How the Railways Made Britain
- By: Peter Ginn, Ruth Goodman
- Narrated by: Peter Ginn, Ruth Goodman
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
The Age of Railways was an era of extraordinary change which utterly transformed every aspect of British life - from trade and transportation to health and recreation. Full Steam Ahead reveals how the world we live in today was entirely shaped by the rail network, charting the glorious evolution of rail transportation and how it left its mark on every aspect of life, landscape and culture. Peter Ginn and Ruth Goodman brilliantly bring this revolution to life in their trademark style, which engages and captivates.
By: Peter Ginn, and others
-
Colossus
- Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century
- By: Michael Hiltzik
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
As breathtaking today as when it was completed, Hoover Dam ranks among America's greatest achievements. The story of its conception, design, and construction is the story of the United States at a unique moment in history: when facing both a global economic crisis and the implacable elements of nature, we prevailed.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Political Biography of the Dam
- By Roy on 02-20-11
By: Michael Hiltzik
Publisher's summary
Follow the Flag offers the first authoritative history of the Wabash Railroad Company. Like most major American carriers, the Wabash grew out of an assortment of small firms, including the first railroad to operate in Illinois, the Northern Cross. Thanks in part to the genius of financier Jay Gould, by the early 1880s what was then known as the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway reached the principal gateways of Chicago, Des Moines, Detroit, Kansas City, and St. Louis. In the 1890s, the Wabash gained access to Buffalo and direct connections to Boston and New York City.
The Great Depression forced the company into another receivership, but an effective reorganization during the early days of World War II gave rise to a generally robust road. Its famed Blue Bird streamliner, introduced in 1950 between Chicago and St. Louis, became a widely recognized symbol of the "New Wabash." When "merger madness" swept the railroad industry in the 1960s, the Wabash, along with the Nickel Plate Road, joined the prosperous Norfolk & Western Railway, a merger that worked well for all three carriers.
Immortalized in the popular folk song "Wabash Cannonball", the Midwestern railroad has left important legacies. Today, 40 years after becoming a "fallen flag" carrier, key components of the former Wabash remain busy rail arteries and terminals, attesting to its historic value to American transportation.
The book is published by Northern Illinois University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
"A major contribution to our understanding of American railroad development." (The Journal of American History)
"One of the best in the genre of traditional corporate history." (Technology and Culture)
"A well-written, in-depth history of the railroad." (Trains Magazine)
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Tycoons
- How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
- By: Charles R. Morris
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 311
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 281
The modern American economy was the creation of four men: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan. They were the giants of the Gilded Age, a moment of riotous growth that established America as the richest, most inventive, and most productive country on the planet. Acclaimed author Charles R. Morris vividly brings these men and their times to life. The Tycoons tells the incredible story of how these four determined men wrenched the economy into the modern age, inventing a nation of full economic participation that could not have been imagined earlier.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book wrong title
- By Hectoris on 10-06-16
-
Divided Highways
- Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- By: Tom Lewis
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis offers an encompassing account of highway development in the United States. In the early twentieth century Congress created the Bureau of Public Roads to improve roads and the lives of rural Americans. The Bureau was the forerunner of the Interstate Highway System of 1956, which promoted a technocratic approach to modern road building sometimes at the expense of individual lives, regional characteristics, and the landscape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of interesting facts. Poor narration
- By Richard Joyce on 06-01-21
By: Tom Lewis
-
Americana
- A 400-Year History of American Capitalism
- By: Bhu Srinivasan
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Bhu Srinivasan
- Length: 21 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 624
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 544
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 535
From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life. Americana takes us on a 400-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things - the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio, and banking, to flight, suburbia, and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the 21st century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent history!
- By L. Maranto on 10-14-17
By: Bhu Srinivasan
-
The Road Taken
- The History and Future of America's Infrastructure
- By: Henry Petroski
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 45
Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers has, in its latest report, given American roads and bridges a grade of D and C+, respectively, and has described roughly 65,000 bridges in the United States as 'structurally deficient'. This crisis - and one need look no further than the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota to see that it is indeed a crisis - shows little sign of abating short of a massive change in attitude amongst politicians and the American public.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well put
- By Lawrence on 08-10-17
By: Henry Petroski
-
How the Post Office Created America
- A History
- By: Winifred Gallagher
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 81
The founders established the Post Office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time it was the US government's largest and most important endeavor - indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind 13 quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen - a radical idea that appalled Europe's great powers.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Super interesting. I'm so disappointed.
- By william kearns on 07-21-16
-
Crabgrass Frontier
- The Suburbanization of the United States
- By: Kenneth T. Jackson
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
There is so much to think about here.
- By Richard McKown on 06-25-23
-
The Tycoons
- How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
- By: Charles R. Morris
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 311
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 281
The modern American economy was the creation of four men: Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan. They were the giants of the Gilded Age, a moment of riotous growth that established America as the richest, most inventive, and most productive country on the planet. Acclaimed author Charles R. Morris vividly brings these men and their times to life. The Tycoons tells the incredible story of how these four determined men wrenched the economy into the modern age, inventing a nation of full economic participation that could not have been imagined earlier.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book wrong title
- By Hectoris on 10-06-16
-
Divided Highways
- Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life
- By: Tom Lewis
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
In Divided Highways, Tom Lewis offers an encompassing account of highway development in the United States. In the early twentieth century Congress created the Bureau of Public Roads to improve roads and the lives of rural Americans. The Bureau was the forerunner of the Interstate Highway System of 1956, which promoted a technocratic approach to modern road building sometimes at the expense of individual lives, regional characteristics, and the landscape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Lots of interesting facts. Poor narration
- By Richard Joyce on 06-01-21
By: Tom Lewis
-
Americana
- A 400-Year History of American Capitalism
- By: Bhu Srinivasan
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Bhu Srinivasan
- Length: 21 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 624
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 544
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 535
From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life. Americana takes us on a 400-year journey of this spirit of innovation and ambition through a series of Next Big Things - the inventions, techniques, and industries that drove American history forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio, and banking, to flight, suburbia, and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the 21st century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent history!
- By L. Maranto on 10-14-17
By: Bhu Srinivasan
-
The Road Taken
- The History and Future of America's Infrastructure
- By: Henry Petroski
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 45
Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers has, in its latest report, given American roads and bridges a grade of D and C+, respectively, and has described roughly 65,000 bridges in the United States as 'structurally deficient'. This crisis - and one need look no further than the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota to see that it is indeed a crisis - shows little sign of abating short of a massive change in attitude amongst politicians and the American public.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well put
- By Lawrence on 08-10-17
By: Henry Petroski
-
How the Post Office Created America
- A History
- By: Winifred Gallagher
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 81
The founders established the Post Office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time it was the US government's largest and most important endeavor - indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind 13 quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen - a radical idea that appalled Europe's great powers.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Super interesting. I'm so disappointed.
- By william kearns on 07-21-16
-
Crabgrass Frontier
- The Suburbanization of the United States
- By: Kenneth T. Jackson
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
There is so much to think about here.
- By Richard McKown on 06-25-23
-
Drive!
- Henry Ford, George Selden, and the Race to Invent the Auto Age
- By: Lawrence Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christopher Price
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
From the acclaimed author of Birdmen comes a revelatory new history of the birth of the automobile - an illuminating and entertaining true tale of invention, competition, and the visionaries, hustlers, and swindlers who came together to transform the world. With a narrative as propulsive as its subject, Drive! plunges us headlong into a time unlike any in history, when manic innovation and consumerist zeal coalesced to forever change the way people got from one place to another.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ford Detractor.
- By Eric Johnston on 08-15-22
-
The Big Roads
- The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways
- By: Earl Swift
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
From author Earl Swift comes the surprising history of the U.S. interstate system, a fascinating route through the dreams, discoveries, and protests that shaped these mighty roads.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lessons from The Big Roads
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
By: Earl Swift
-
The Dawn of Innovation
- The First American Industrial Revolution
- By: Charles R. Morris
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 75
In the 30 years after the Civil War, the United States blew by Great Britain to become the greatest economic power in world history. That is a well-known period in history, when titans like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan walked the earth. But as Charles R. Morris shows us, the platform for that spectacular growth spurt was built in the first half of the century. By the 1820s, America was already the world's most productive manufacturer and the most intensely commercialized society in history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
How our industries started
- By Jean on 02-22-13
-
Railroaded
- The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America
- By: Richard White
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 124
The transcontinental railroads of the late 19th century were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating panics in the US economy. Their dependence on public largess drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, and remade the landscape of the West. As wheel and rail, car and coal, they opened new worlds of work and ways of life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Correcting the Myth of the Transcontinentals
- By Keith on 06-23-18
By: Richard White
-
Fulfillment
- Winning and Losing in One-Click America
- By: Alec MacGillis
- Narrated by: Danny Gavigan
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 202
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 170
Alec MacGillis’ Fulfillment is not another inside account or exposé of our most conspicuously dominant company. Rather, it is a literary investigation of the America that falls within that company’s growing shadow. As MacGillis shows, Amazon’s sprawling network of delivery hubs, data centers, and corporate campuses epitomizes a land where winner and loser cities and regions are drifting steadily apart, the civic fabric is unraveling, and work has become increasingly rudimentary and isolated.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Missing some important angles
- By D. Zimmerle on 08-19-21
By: Alec MacGillis
-
Sun, Sin, Suburbia
- The History of Modern Las Vegas Revised and Expanded
- By: Geoff Schumacher
- Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
Las Vegas is gambling's mecca - Sin City the Entertainment Capital of the World with 40 million visitors a year. But that's just part of the story. This carefully documented history tracks the rise of Las Vegas from its vital role in World War II, of the Rat Pack era of the 50s, the explosive growth of the 90s, and it's colossal collapse in the post 2008 real-estate crash. It offers a history of the iconic Strip, but also profiles the neighborhoods where over 2 million people live.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good History of Vegas - old, modern and mundane
- By Amazon Customer on 06-13-14
By: Geoff Schumacher
-
A Brief History of Motion
- From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next
- By: Tom Standage
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted fans and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Now, he returns with a provocative account of an overlooked form of technology - personal transportation - and explores how it has shaped societies and cultures over millennia. Beginning around 3,500 BCE with the wheel - a device that didn't catch on until a couple thousand years after its invention - Standage zips through the eras of horsepower, trains, and bicycles, revealing how each successive mode of transit embedded itself in the world we live in.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen
- By CKerb on 11-09-21
By: Tom Standage
-
Capitalism in America
- A History
- By: Alan Greenspan, Adrian Wooldridge
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 822
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 820
From the legendary former Fed Chairman and the acclaimed Economist writer and historian, the full, epic story of America's evolution from a small patchwork of threadbare colonies to the most powerful engine of wealth and innovation the world has ever seen.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Explains a lot
- By Scott on 02-18-19
By: Alan Greenspan, and others
-
Behemoth
- A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Joshua B. Freeman
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 247
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 210
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 208
We live in a factory-made world: modern life is built on three centuries of advances in factory production, efficiency, and technology. But giant factories have also fueled our fears about the future since their beginnings, when William Blake called them "dark Satanic mills". Many factories that operated over the last two centuries - such as Homestead, River Rouge, and Foxconn - were known for the labor exploitation and class warfare they engendered, not to mention the environmental devastation caused by factory production.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Get rid of the fake accents
- By J. R. Valery on 03-13-18
-
An Empire of Wealth
- The Epic History of American Economic Power
- By: John Steele Gordon
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
Throughout time, from ancient Rome to modern Britain, the great empires built and maintained their domination through force of arms and political power. But not the United States. America has dominated the world in a new, peaceful, and pervasive way - through the continued creation of staggering wealth. In this authoritative, engrossing history, John Steele Gordon captures as never before the true source of our nation's global influence: wealth and the capacity to create more of it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
KNOW YOUR HISTORY!
- By CP Guy on 12-22-20
-
The Yugo
- The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History
- By: Jason Vuic
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 544
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 350
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 355
Six months after its American introduction in 1985, the Yugo was a punch line; within a year, it was a staple of late-night comedy. By 2000, NPR's Car Talk declared it "the worst car of the millennium." And for most Americans that's where the story begins and ends. Hardly. The short, unhappy life of the car, the men who built it, the men who imported it, and the decade that embraced and discarded it is rollicking and astounding, and it is one of the greatest untold business-cum-morality tales of the 1980s.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Better Than The Car!
- By Chris Reich on 08-25-10
By: Jason Vuic
-
Street Smart
- The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars
- By: Samuel I. Schwartz, William Rosen - contributor
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
With wit and sharp insight, former Traffic Commissioner of New York City, Sam Schwartz a.k.a. "Gridlock Sam", one of the most respected transportation engineers in the world and consummate insider in NYC political circles, uncovers how American cities became so beholden to cars and why the current shift away from that trend will forever alter America's urban landscapes, marking nothing short of a revolution in how we get from place to place.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, thought provoking, and hopeful
- By JKuster on 03-07-20
By: Samuel I. Schwartz, and others