The strength of this book lies in the photos and poster reproductions. If you are a visual person, you will enjoy this book. If you are like me, and you enjoy looking at old time vintage images, then you will like the book as well. Most of the text is pretty interesting, especially, the first part of the book that contains the historical things. However, text is often pretty small (the font they chose), making it a little hard to read. Overall, this is a book to browse and enjoy for the visual appeal. Railroad buffs will very likely enjoy it. ( )

This book consists of two parts; the first is a rather desultory topical presentation of railway maps to illustrate various themes, and the second part aspires to present at least one map of each nation of the world's railway system, if they have one. The second part, especially, represents an accomplishment. The book's physical presentation is poor, however. The map reproductions are almost always so small that they cannot be studied, and all that remains is to admire their aesthetics, if that. Even worse is the excruciatingly fine print of the text, which is even less legible when, as it frequently is, it's displayed on pastel colors. The author has a limited command of prose style; among many other solecisms, he seems to think that 'infamous' means 'very famous'. This is a browser's paradise,. but it gets a halfhearted recommendation as something to actually read. ( )

This is a handsome collection of railway maps from all over the world. This is a must for any transportation buff or historian. There is a nice aesthetic appeal to many of the maps, and the coverage seems reasonably representaative considering the enormity of the possible selections for inclusion. Mark Ovenden has done it again having compiled a sampling of transit maps already. ( )

Bright, informative and fascinating at the same time, this is a real must-have for map geeks, transit-lovers and frequent travellers (armchair or real!). ( )