David Gwyn; The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History, 1750-1850, YUP, 202

[rogerfarnworth]

A review of what Yale University Press calls, 'The first global history of the epic early days of the iron railway.'

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/10/04/david-gwyn-the-coming-of-the-railway-a-new-global-history-1750-1850-yale-university-press-london-new-haven-2023

I found this book to be easy to read and yet deeply scholarly. A superb, informative and enjoyable read! It is not too often that you find a railway history book as readable as a novel.

It seems to me that it is possible that the individual chapters are developed from the text of a series of lectures on early railway history. The readable text is backed up by very comprehensive notes and references. There is also a wide-ranging bibliography.