Orient Express: The Story of a Legend

by Guillaume Picon (Contributor), Benjamin Chelly (Photographer), Kenneth Branagh (Preface)

- This beautifully illustrated book captures the history, the legends and the unique style of the most famous train on earth: The Orient Express - With never-before-seen archival material - With a preface by Sir Kenneth Branagh "The Orient Express, in the collective imagination, embodies the golden age of travel. The fabrics, the silverware, the woodwork; their evocative fragrance... all contribute to this particular atmosphere, created by the best craftsmen of the time. The experience on board is absolutely unique..." - Sir Kenneth Branagh, from the foreword The first train to connect Paris to Constantinople - the gateway to the Orient and epitome of all its associated desires and fantasies - the Orient Express was an immediate success. Quickly nicknamed 'the king of trains, the train of kings', it had already become a legend in its own time. This unique train and its celebrated passengers (both real and fictional) have become one of the great cultural icons of our times and have helped to create a limitless source of stories and fantasies to feed our imaginations. It's a story told here through fabulous new photographs of the restoration workshops where the historic train carriages are being brought back to life, through archive photos of famous and exotic destinations, and portraits of the most famous passengers who were lucky enough to climb aboard.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History

260 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2018

Reviews

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, the romance of the Orient Express! This coffee-table book is filled with stunning photographs, not just of the plush interiors of the train cars, but also of the inventors of sleeping cars, as well as the famous people who rode in them. It's a fascinating look at a bygone age of opulence, with a nod to the modern-day artisans who are restoring some of the cars to their prior glory. A must-read for anyone who loves train travel!

[Kristien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book with lots of amazing pictures and interesting texts on the legend that is the wagons lits.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Oriënt-Express is natuurlijk De Trein der Treinen, daar bestaat geen enkele twijfel over. Ik had dit boek zien liggen op de expo van Train World, maar met dit soort uitgaves ben ik altijd heel voorzichtig: knappe foto's, maar vaak slechts weinig tekst en erg duur voor iets dat je één keer leest en daarna in een kast stopt. (Het concept van 'salontafelboeken' is altijd langs mij heen gegaan, ik zie er totaal niet het nut van in.)

Maar ik wilde het natuurlijk wel lezen en ik ben blij dat de bib het heeft aangekocht. Het een keer lezen is zeker de moeite waard. Er komt heel veel basis- en diepgaandere info over Georges Nagelmackers, de CIWL (ik ga niet de volledige naam uittypen) in het algemeen en de Oriënt-Express in het bijzonder aan bod. Na een tijdje begon het wel wat vervelend te worden dat sommige info drie à vier keer vermeld werd - op den duur kende ik alle belangrijke data al bijna vanbuiten. En de stukjes tekst over de gerestaureerde restauratie- en andere wagens (sorry maar deze kon ik toch echt niet laten liggen hé), leek wat mij betrof meer op reclame voor die restaurateurs dan wat anders. Maar verder maakt dit boek je heel wat wijzer over de treinen zelf, over toerisme en reizen vroeger en over de (Europese) maatschappij in het algemeen.

Allemaal aangevuld natuurlijk ook met tientallen oude en recentere foto's en scans van oude kaarten, boeken, het werk achter de schermen, de hotels en veel meer.

Inderdaad niet iets dat ik ga kopen, maar zeker de moeite om eens op je gemak door te lezen en te doorbladeren!

8/10

[John Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful coffee table book, especially if you enjoy history ... or trains… or the history of trains. I really enjoyed it. There were some repetitious parts to it that made me scratch my head a little bit, wondering why they would repeat certain facts three or four times in different sections of the book. Probably my favourite sections are the ones profiling real life personalities that have travelled on, or been involved with, the train at some point. (Examples include Mata Hari, Agatha Christie, George Pullman, and King Leopold II of Belgium); and the section at the end featuring some exquisite photographs of some of the trains more famous cars. It certainly takes you back to an era where Travel was much more luxurious and civilized than what it is today, in many ways.

[John Ollerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've noticed a significant error on page 176, the page on Agatha Christie which states that Max Mallowan, the archaeologist and Christies 2nd husband was 14 years her senior when in fact he was 14 years her junior... A beautiful book with gorgeous photographs. As the book is intended to be a coffee table book with each section being stand alone, there is some minor repetition with is only noticeable when one read all the way through.

[Allan Halcrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by the Orient Express, and couldn’t pass up the chance to learn more about it. In that context, the book didn’t disappoint. Packed with history, trivia and visuals, the book paints a glorious portrait of the fabled train, its creator, and the rail network it was part of. The photos are stunning. My only quibble is with the translation. Sometimes it borders on the breathless and other times is just plain awkward. It lacks the grace and style of its subject.

[East Greenbush Community Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

The famous Orient Express and its illustrious history fill the pages of this lavish book. Its history, its metamorphoses make for potent reading.

[Carol Pouliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started to give this three stars but it was very interesting and had excellent pictures! The print on the maps and some of the posters was much too small to read. And, would have liked to have had a translation of all of the French that was used on the posters and all of the old descriptions.