Customer Reviews
Wolmar takes you down under. - By: Daniel Storey, 03 Apr 2008 
Christian Wolmar is a journalist who happens to have an interestin trains & this is one of many books he has written on the subject over the last 10 years.
Subterranean Railway focuses on the London Underground & how it grew to what we travel on todayin our millions year on year.
Now personally I can just about tolerate the Undergroundin off peak times but when it comes to the peak hours it has to been one of the worse traveling experiences known to man or woman.
So with thatin mind this book made me sit up & take notice of what a great feat on engineering the London Underground really is & still remains, the photo of Piccadilly Circusin chapter thirteen illustrates this point very well indeed.
In Chapters 1 to 13 Christian takes you on a journey from the Underground's construction during the 1850's & the subjacent creation of the first underground line the Metropolitan, then he goes on to explain the building & politics behind all the lines & finishes this part of the book with the story behind the creation of what is know as Metroland or to use another term, suburban London.
In Chapter 14 Christian goes onto explain the use of the underground during the war years & how it helped save many lives during the German bombing raids.
The London Underground is not without its problems by any means &in the last chapter Christian briefly explains why a lack of investment since the 1960's lead to a sad decline which was only turned around after the Kings Cross firein the 1987.
Christian has done his research & because of this his book introduces & brings alivein your mind all the people that have played their partin the history of the Underground.
The reason I give this book a 4 star rating & not a 5 is I don't think there is enough pictures to compliment the Underground's early history & it can be sometimes hard to image what the old coaches & carriages use to look & feel likein them early years.
The book won't change your journey experience on the Underground but it will help you to appreciate & be proud of it.
A compelling account of a masterful creation - By: Bones, 22 Mar 2008 
This book looks at the creation of the underground from all angles: political, technical, social - & is interesting throughout. The author's sense of humour & well chosen quotes brings a sense of reverie to the experience, as one imagines what it must have been like at the beginning, &in comparison to the present day. It's nice to see a book which really underlines what a remarkable achievement the London Underground, was how important a creation it has proved to be.
surprisingly fascinating and readable history - By: R. J. Brady, 05 Jan 2008 Well researched lively & interesting history of the World's oldest and
most respected underground railway.
What amazing people the Victorians werein their vision & their incredible technological bravura.Also the many thousands of workers who built & ran the line are given due acknowledgement.
A great read.
Travelling to Burnt Oak - By: Lewis Graham, 18 Nov 2007 Christian Wolmar has produced an excellent book with a fair sprinkling of characters, politics & high finance. Anyone who is seen to take the underground for granted should be handed a copy of this book to learn just how remarkable a thing it is. Similarly, as a history of the underground, this is an excellent start.
The only disappointment is the brevity of coverage of events post 1945. The building of the Victoria & Jubilee lines are covered, but nowhere to the depth of earlier lines. Some discussion of how these lines came about would have been an interesting studyin allowing politicians to run a railway.
But such criticisms are small compared to a book on railways that doesn't require an anorak to enjoy.
An Interesting and Intelligent Book - By: Dr. R. Brandon, 17 Nov 2007 This excellent & intelligent book charts the history of the London Underground from the early 1870s until the present day. Naturally the period of early development & expansion up to the establishment of Herbert Morrison's London Transportin 1933 is given most space with the Victoria Line & Jubilee Extension being briefly covered. The building of the cut & cover Metropolitan & the District Railway & the intense rivalry of their respective chairmen Edward Watkin & James Forbes is most interesting. The simultaneous relating of the story of the deep line electric railways, the technological developments & the always interesting roles of the great characters & engineers involved is the strength & pleasure of this book. The complex story is related with a speed & clarity that gives the feeling of excitement & wonder that must have existed at the time. The contribution of American technology brought over by Charles Yerkes, the station designs of Leslie Green & the later Art Deco of Charles Holden, the administrative genius of Ashfield & Frank Pick who between them formed the look of the Underground system that we now take for granted as 'naturally' correct, are all covered with immense flairin this excellent book. Read this & then rush to buy Wolmar's 'Fire & Steam'.
