Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American CenturyUniversity 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 |
326 | |
HARD TIMES | 145 |
A WAR ABROAD A CONFLICT AT HOME | 158 |
INTERSTATE SOCIALISM | 173 |
A NEW AMERICA | 192 |
TROUBLE IN PARADISE | 201 |
328 | |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 329 |
333 | |
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Common terms and phrases
AASHO America's Highways American Automobile Association American Railroads American roads Amtrak Association auto automakers automobile bill buses carriers cars century chapter Chicago cities Committee commuters companies competition congestion Congress Conrail costs Couzens created decades Detroit dollars drive early economic Eisenhower electric engineers European farmers federal Federal Highway Administration financing Fitzgerald freight gridlock Harriman haul highway system highwaymen Hilton and Due Hoogenboom Ibid Interstate Commerce Commission interstate highways interurbans J. P. Morgan Keeshin land lines lobby MacDonald mass transit miles million motor vehicles National City Lines operating Pacific passenger percent political president profits railways rates regulation road and rail road building Roosevelt routes shippers soon Stover Street streetcar superhighways thousand tion toll toll roads track traffic trains Transportation trolley truckers trucks U.S. Senate U.S. Supreme Court urban Washington York