Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century

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University of Chicago Press, 1996 M11 15 - 351 pages
"A readable and concise overview of how U.S. transportation came to its present pass. . . . Goddard is at his best when recounting the complex and interesting history of what has come to be called 'the highway lobby.'. . . An excellent book for the general reader with an interest in getting around."—Larry Fish, Philadelphia Inquirer

"This is a riveting story: of mighty railroads hamstrung almost overnight by government bureaucrats; of road interests led by General Motors Corp. conspiring in city after city to destroy efficient trolley systems . . . and of freeways that are far from free."—Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

"The combination of forces and fates that turned America into a giant parking lot from sea to shining sea is the subject of Stephen B. Goddard's lively pop history. . . . As Mr. Goddard ably points out, road-building and the creation of car-dependent suburbs have become ends in themselves."—James Howard Kunstler, Wall Street Journal

"The strength of Goddard's book is that he understands the complexities of manipulating public opinion to influence legislatures."—David Young, Chicago Tribune

"[Goddard's] book is a deft and easily read history of how transportation has shaped the nation and its economy, and ultimately, how a federation of truck and car interests drastically tilted national policies. . . . For many reasons this is an exceptionally important work."—Jim Dwyer, New York Newsday
 

Contents

1917
THE RUNAWAY IRON HORSE
16
THE GOOD ROADS CRUSADE
37
THE ELECTRIC SHOOTING STAR
59
MOTORING FOR PROFIT THE BIRTH OF TRUCKING
78
THE TROJAN HORSELESS CARRIAGE
96
DERAILING THE TROLLEYS
114
APPLYING THE BRAKES
132
THE UNSHACKLING
220
SAME GAME NEW RULES
229
TAKING STOCK
240
TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE?
251
SINKING OR SWIMMING IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
265
NOTES
277
BIBLIOGRAPHY
308
INTERVIEWS
326

HARD TIMES
145
A WAR ABROAD A CONFLICT AT HOME
158
INTERSTATE SOCIALISM
173
A NEW AMERICA
192
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
201
LEGAL CASES
328
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
329
INDEX
333
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