Hear that Train Whistle Blow! How the Railroad Changed the World

by Milton Meltzer

From the very first passenger train to roll down the tracks in 1825 to the advent of today’s high-speed trains, the railroad has been and is still one of the most vital forces in civilization. Focusing on American railroad history but touching on other countries, award-winning author Milton Meltzer shows how something as ubiquitous as the railroad is, in fact, a force that changed the world.
Praise for There Comes a Time by Milton
“Readers of every ethnicity will leave this book with a more inspired understanding of what it means to be free.”— Boston Sunday Globe
H “An accessible and vivid outline of the events that led to changes in civil rights in the U.S.”— Kirkus Reviews , Starred
Among Milton Meltzer’s many honors are five nominations for the National Book Award and the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his substantial and lasting contribution to children’s literature. The author lives in New York City.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2004

About the author

Milton Meltzer wrote 110 books, five of which were nominated for the National Book Award. With Langston Hughes, he co-authored A Pictorial History of Black Americans, now in its sixth edition. He received the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to children's literature, the 1986 Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award, and the 2000 Regina Medal. He died in New York City of esophageal cancer at age 94.

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on the library shelves while I was moving shelves and thought I'd want to take a peek. It's a concise little book about how rail transportation, specifically in the United States, yet still mentions other countries in several instances, completely changed the way of life. It put people to work and brought immigrants from other countries (though their treatment was less than desirable). It gave jobs to women who helped as the railroads were being built to feed the workers and more. It allowed towns to be built in far-flung places. It allowed people to connect with those they never would have if they didn't allow this mass transit once it became more than moving goods but people too.

It includes some songs that were sung or poems written about the locomotive. It highlighted the innovators and the competitors who would rather build their custom rails than use others and the greed that ensued in hustling for the money to build them and the profit once they were roaring to go. Not a bad little history to learn about this this kind of transportation that's still used today.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9 stars

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. It talks about the railroad changed the world and it talked a lot about stories with trains.

[Dean Davison · Rating 3 out of 5]

J 385.97 Meltzer at JC