Freight

My three year old loves this book. I've never seen anything quite like this. The pages actually slide apart to reveal the cargo each train car is carrying. Your child, train crazy like mine or otherwise, is sure to love this innovative book. Be sure to look at other books by Donald Crews, especially "Truck". His illustrations really make all of these books.

If your child loves trains, you are undoubtedly always on the lookout for railroad-themed books and toys that are a little special -- this is one of them. Alternate pages pull out to reveal the goods that are carried on a freight train -- a novel concept that helps a toddler understand how a bit of the world works. Simple text defines the various types of train cars, and the cover and back illustrations are very nice too. The book is quite durable.

Normally I'd be upset if a book fell apart on me like Crews' Inside Freight Train. But the truth is, the book had no chance. From the moment we bought this book our 14-month-old son had to read it. And read it. And read it. Worse, he had to have it read to him. And to him. And to him. I don't know what the guaranteed amount of "pull-outs" the page had, but I'm sure we exceeded them in the first week. No sooner would we turn the last page and slide it back in than he'd sign more and we'd start all over. I stopped counting after 20+ readings in one sitting. The pages slide in and out easily even for little hands. The illustrations are clear and colorful, not overly busy. The amount of text is just right. The interactiveness--being able to pull the pages out, being able to anticipate what will be inside--is a wonderful bonus. Highly recommended. Though I'd also recommend buying two--we eventually did.

My 18 month old grandson loves this book. He insists on it being read to him, usually 5 times in a row at each reading session.

This is our third copy of this book. My children have literally loved this book to shreds. Even before children can speak words, they love to learn the sounds of animals -- especially easily identifiable farm animals. Thomas picks up cars filled with cows, pigs, horses, and ducks -- on each page, the child and I make the animal's sound. I am considering buying a couple more to save for the next generation of Thomas the Tank lovers

Thomas the Train has delighted babies and toddlers for years. But the real treasure is the zany illustrations and attention to detail that illustrator Owain Bell creates in his world. The illustrations are a source of humor for children and adults... but you must take care to point this out to your child. Trains ride by men falling from ladders, grandma's snoring in the back of cars, and all under the guise of "Mr. Topham" who is modeled after the Vanderbuilts. I love this book, it just keeps on going.

"Mark Gardner, who is one of the foremost trail historians of our day, an eminent researcher, and an excellent writer, has now entered the ranks of vehicle historians trying to make some sense out of transport history and the vehicles involved therein. This contribution to both historical trail documentation and the vehicle bibliography as well is superb. No serious scholar involved in either discipline can ignore this book." -- from The Carriage Journal

Among the abundance of literature on various aspects of Santa Fe Trail history, Mark Gardner's _Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade_ begins a new dialog about the development and variance of Trade-related wagon technology. The book documents advances in wagon building techniques as the Trade became more complex and sophisticated. The story of Santa Fe Trail wagon making is the story of the growth and changes in the development of wheeled vehicles designed for heavy-duty long range freighting. The Santa Fe Trade was a primary proving ground for freight wagon building and adaptability. This book grew out of a National Park Service report Gardner prepared on Santa Fe Trail wagons intended for use as a resource for the Santa Fe National Historic Trail project. This version is greatly expanded from the original. From the outset it will become obvious to readers how much painstaking work and time went into its production. During the course of his research he discovered a personal side to the story. His chapter "From Shop to Factory" allowed him to connect with the wagon building business through four generations of his own ancestors, some of whom had worked in the Missouri sawmill industry, and had probably cut lumber intended for the construction of the very freight wagons he now writes about. Gardner has a reputation in the profession for sifting through mounds of paper and microfilm, uncovering lost treasures of material. This reviewer has respectfully nicknamed him "The Mole" because of his research skills. His ability to dig and root through archive and manuscript collections and find the most obscure and previously unknown, yet meaningful bits of information has earned him a place among the great names in today's western historiography. With many books and articles to his credit, Mark Gardner is arguably one of the foremost authorities on the Santa Fe Trade. This latest effort guarantees Gardner's place as heir apparent to the title of Dean of Santa Fe Trail historians. _Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade_ is a detailed, yet coherent guide to nineteenth century freight vehicles. It is a highly beneficial research tool, as well as a pleasant recreational read.

Henry B. Crawford, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Perhaps the trade in wagons on the Santa Fe Trail is best summarized in one breathtaking quote from a newspaper in 1841:

"Six horse wagons are constructed in Pittsburg, loaded with assorted goods from New York and Philadelphia, transported to Independence in Missouri, and there driven across the country to Mexico . . ."

The great wagons of trade were the means by which the Far West was opened. Mark L. Gardner's "Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade," tells who built these wagons, how they were built and the changes in design as the years passed. Perhaps what comes through most clearly is that the great freight wagons were complex pieces of technology, best constructed by a factory system, not unlike how automobiles are assembled today. By means of these wagons, the South West was brought into contact with the United States, and, eventually, absorbed into the Union. An important and vital chapter of American history well told and well documented.

The final chapter deals with the adventure of the Wind Wagon. In these days of high gas prices it is charming to consider that an attempt was made to avoid high mule prices. A sailed wagon was actually patented (the patent drawings are in the book) and launched. Sometimes the stuff of legend is the truth.

Paul Zimmer's review in the fall 2002 issue of The Georgia Review is a good introduction to this collection: "Sondra Upham's title, Freight, is the lodestone of this carefully constructed work. There are poems of resilience and happiness, but the main theme returns continually throughout the text. . . . "Rape. . . . The freight of his chest / fixes me to the rough, wood floor. . ." The poems are more than therapeutic writing; they are artful and bravely considered. . . . There are good poems on other subjects, mostly common and domestic, and she renders these with a trim freshness . . . . This is a brave, human, and heartening performance."

The miracle of these poems is how much more they address than just the misfortune of rape. That experience reappears intermittently throughout the book, often in glimpses, but the details and scenes in the foreground are the comical, mysterious, and redemptive moments of everyday life - testaments to healing. The poems are clear and spare, deft in surfaces that evoke depths. I read straight through this book with pleasure and by the end was ready to begin again just to taste more fully its understatements and juxtapositions. As a writer I found it a book I can learn from as well as enjoy.

This book, although relatively small, is filled with a large amount of info. It is an easy read and when I finihed it I was disappointed it was not longer.

Like many others, as a child I was fascinated by trains, an interest I recently discovered. Unlike many other railroad enthusiasts, my interest was not primarily on the locomotives, nor the cabooses at the end. It was the freight cars that fascinated me, in their variety of types and colors.

This book gives a very good overview of railroad freight cars. There is discussion about the earliest freight cars of any type, as well as the history and usage of the various types and some insight in to modern freight trains. It has many interesting notes about the design and construction of these cars, in the past and the present, but stops short of getting mired in a lot of details that are likely to bore many readers.

The outstanding photographs are what really make this book, including some of the details revealed in the captions. I wish there were more of them - a lot more - and was tempted to give it a rating of one less star for that reason, but for the price of this book vs. the quality of the printing and binding, such a complaint is not really justified. If trains interest you at all, buy this book!

Freight Weather is the complete railroad book. You can enjoy it simply for the beautiful photos, or for the great writing, or for the details about trains. This is one of the few books that combines all three -- words, photos and info. I have looked at a lot of railroad books and I highly recommend this one. Well worth owning.

I now have all three of this author's books and this one is by far the finest of the trio. The photography is breathtaking and the anecdotes are quite interesting. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who likes trains or even anyone who just appreciates some of the fine scenery this country has to offer.

Intersted in the Rio Grande Railroad? This book has everything you ever needed to know about freight and passengers cars. Great photos and infomative captions. A must have reference book for Railway modellers and Rio Grande fans.

This wonderful book is a truly catalog of Grande rolling stock. For each boxcar/flatcar/stock car (and the passenger cars too) it give comprehensive explanation, with the road numbers series and one fantastic color image of each item in its class. A real must not only for the Rio Grande fans, but for all railroad lovers.

This was a very entertaining book that kept the readers interest from page one to the end. The author takes us into a world that very few people know much about and does it in a very engaging way. The book details what life is like on the oil supertankers that move oil between Alaska and Washington. The bit that makes this book so great is that this part of the world's oceans is one of the worst in terms of weather and rough seas, kind of like the Perfect Storm all year around. Because of this hard and dangerous environment these ships are built to take the punishment and the crews have very difficult jobs.

The author does a great job in describing the ships, the routes and the dangers they face. We also get an inside view of what it is like to work in one of the most dangerous jobs in the world of shipping. What struck me was that there are a number of foreign flagged ships that are working in this area and these countries and ships have far fewer safety regulations then the U.S. so a good number of these sailors get washed over board or injured in other ways.

This is just a good old fashion interesting and exciting book that would be enjoyed by many readers, not just readers that have an interest in the oil business. I suggest you give this book a try, you will be glad you did.

It's hard to imagine a better explanation of the issues of tanker hazards. Nalder shows that it's more complicated than just requiring double hulls, that the very nature of the shipping industry means ships will be built and operated ever closer to the edge, and the push to cut costs will continue to result in spills, leaks, and disasters. The mind-boggling size of the supertankers itself causes accidents: hosing out the cavernous hulls causes clouds to form, causing, literally, lightning inside the hull, which has caused explosions. The writing is clear, concise, and renders technical issues clear. If you live in a coastal state, or drive a car, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I recommend Tiger Tales to those with a passion for aviation. The effort to collect all the short stories and anecdotes from previous employees shows how dedicated all the personell, including the author, were to their jobs and company. This book will tranport you to another time, with drive, curiosity, bravery, and passion, that, unfortuneately, is now gone. I could not put it done 'til it was done.

I recently mentioned to a Hawaiian Airlines Captain that I was a retired Tiger pilot. He smiled and said "what a wonderful club you guys had", I agree. Vern's book gives everyone a peek into that club and its exclusive membership. It's gone now but what memories we have.

My 16-month-old son loves trains, and we have read many train books. Freight Train is his favorite (and has been his favorite book for the last two months). The illustrations are spare and clear, use primary colors, and have enough detail that my son finds some new train hardware to point at each time we read the book. As the train moves, its different-colored cars blur together for a nice visual effect.

Freight Train teaches children about colors and the names of train cars. The book also has a distinct beginning, middle and end which helps the children to identify story parts. The pictures of the train moving look realistic, which makes the Caldecott Honor award well deserved.

My three year old nephew loves "Freight Train"--it's simple enough that he can "read" it--he's learned the names of the different cars and it reinforces color recognition. The illustrations are big and bold and colorful. A winner!