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moonrakerz
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« on: July 13, 2009, 09:05:42 » |
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Could I take a few lines to bring to the attention of a wider audience a really excellent book ?
Eleven Minutes Late ^ A train journey to the soul of Britain: by Matthew Engel.
This book is half history and half the story of a trip around Britain by train. Some of the history part may be a bit ^old hat^, Brunel, the Stephensons, etc, but the section from nationalisation through privatisation up to the present day is a well written record of opportunities lost and huge sums of money wasted. Very educational ^ well, for me, anyway.
The book makes you want to cry with rage at times, then you cannot stop laughing at the next bit. The author is described as half-John Betjeman, half-Victor Meldrew; a very good description.
A Sample:
The author recounts, in detail, how ^mine host^ in the Virgin shop on a Glasgow bound train assails him with obscenities, then goes on:
^I mean, what if, one day, instead of a harmless bloke like me, he picked on someone who was writing a book about the railways, someone vindictive enough to stick this incident in his book, using his real name, to illustrate the sheer awfulness of Britain^s railways.
Seems like he had a narrow escape.^
My copy of this book will be back in Warminster library this morning. I can really recommend it.
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