Few steam locomotives so thoroughly embodied the spirit and character of their owner -- or were so widely respected. In the capable hands of NKP crews, Berkshires carded the weight of the railway's post-Depression solvency squarely on their shoulders. Published to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Berks' retirement, this volume documents the fascinating history of these locomotives, from the dawn of the Super-power era through dieselization and today's museum-line survivors. A huge collection of action photographs and evocative paintings illustrate the Berkshires class by class, and complement rosters, diagrams and engineering records.

The ultimate guide for train lovers, Field Guide to Trains is fully loaded with pictures and fun facts on all the machines that ride the rails

The story of how an independent railroad fought for its life throughout its competitive history. Presents the history of the famed New York. Chicago & St. Louis Railroad with a system map, division profiles, illustrated rosters, chapter maps and more. By John A. Rehor. 8 1/2 x 11; 484 pgs.; 527 b&w photos and 15 illus.; includes dust jacket.

A New York Times bestseller with an "engaging narrative and array of detail” (The Wall Street Journal), the “intimate and sweeping” (Raleigh News & Observer) untold, true story behind the Biltmore Estate—the largest, grandest private residence in North America, which has seen more than 120 years of history pass by its front door. The story of Biltmore spans World Wars, the Jazz Age, the Depression, and generations of the famous Vanderbilt family, and features a captivating cast of real-life characters including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Henry James, and Edith Wharton. Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York’s best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness. He summoned the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to tame the grounds, collaborated with celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to build a 175,000-square-foot chateau, filled it with priceless art and antiques, and erected a charming village beyond the gates. Newlywed Edith was now mistress of an estate nearly three times the size of Washington, DC and benefactress of the village and surrounding rural area. When fortunes shifted and changing times threatened her family, her home, and her community, it was up to Edith to save Biltmore—and secure the future of the region and her husband’s legacy. This is the fascinating, “soaring and gorgeous” (Karen Abbott) story of how the largest house in America flourished, faltered, and ultimately endured to this day.

In this first biography of Jack Kerouac to fully portray the intense inner life that inspired his work, Kerouac's last editor addresses the writer's homosexual relationships with men, and sheds a new light on their profound impact upon his life. of photos.

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time Published in 1975, Ragtime changed our very concept of what a novel could be. An extraordinary tapestry, Ragtime captures the spirit of America in the era between the turn of the century and the First World War. The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, New York, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. And almost magically, the line between fantasy and historical fact, between real and imaginary characters, disappears. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J. P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emiliano Zapata slip in and out of the tale, crossing paths with Doctorow's imagined family and other fictional characters, including an immigrant peddler and a ragtime musician from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice drives him to revolutionary violence.

Carol Milford dreams of living in a small, rural town. But Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, isn't the paradise she'd imagined. First published in 1920, this unabridged edition of the Sinclair Lewis novel is an American classic, considered by many to be his most noteworthy and lasting work. As a work of social satire, this complex and compelling look at small-town America in the early 20th century has earned its place among the classics.

Although Nickel Plate Road was widely known and respected for its great steam locomotives, its diesel roster was equally interesting. Keven Holland tells the complete story of Nickel Plate Road's dieselization and traces the history of all its diesel locomotives down to and after the N&W merger. Filled with official Nickel Plate Road photographs plus a variety of photos from railfan photographers. The last word on the diesel fleet of Nickel Plate Road diesel locomotives!