Railroad Books

When I received this book in the mail, I tore it out andstarted reading it and didn't put it down. Couldn't put it down.I've been a Funk fan for almost 30 years having grown up with their music. I was really looking forward to this book when I heard it was coming out, and it didn't let me down. Well written, lots of facts with some great quotes I've heard and some I haven't heard from all the band members. It was interesting reading about their early days, and how they felt during all that since TK didn't really let them talk at all except (with a fight it sounded like) through their music. Billy James (AKA Ant Bee) is obviously a Funk fan, but this didn't shy him away from putting in the bad press and reviews the band received over the years, which if memory serves me right were most of the reviews they received, but this didn't stop them from going gold on their albums and selling out arenas. It is written mostly it seems from articles and interviews given by the band over the years with some correction from Don Brewer and Mel Schacher. It has an extensive bookmark section from where these articles and interviews came from. Very little dirt if that's what you're looking for, but a few amusing stories. Some good pictures too. I highly recommend this to any Grand Funk fan. It's a must!

An American Band, The Story of Grand Funk Railroad is a wonderful new book by Billy James that covers the History of the American Band Grand Funk Railroad (1969-1999).

An American Band covers GFRs Meteoric rise to Rock N roll Superstardom; there fall (due to the break up with there manager and the ensuing lawsuits) and there rebirth and reunions. The Book Goes through an album by album and tour by tour synopsis. It also covers Mark Farner's, Don Brewer's and Mel Shcacher's personal lives and solo careers. An American Band covers the origins of GFR (Bossman, ? and the Mysterians, Pack and Jazz master Days), The critical disdain and loyal fan support, The break Ups, The 80s reunion and the current reunion (96-98). It also covers GFR on the Internet and has a list of all the fan based sites.

Grand Funk Railroad formed in 1968 and released there first album, "On Time," in 1969. It was a first in a series of huge selling records ("On Time", "Grand Funk", "Closer To Home", "Live," "Survival," "E Pluribus Funk," "Mark, Don and Mel," "Phoenix," "We're An American Band," "Shinin' On," and "All The Girls in the world Beware"). GFR was an underground FM type band and received little airplay and nothing but negative media attention (if not outright hostility). Even with all that, Grand Funk Railroad with the support of a huge and loyal fan base, was the largest selling Rock group in the 1970s (1970-79); they sold twenty-five million albums in the United States and another 20 million more worldwide. They were the first band to sell 12 straight Gold Albums and 10 straight Platinum albums. They charted many times (With a switch to a more polished sound in 72 and the addition of a permeant keyboard player Craig Frost) with two songs reaching #1, "The Loco-Motion" and "We're An American; with also "Bad Time" and "Some Kind Of Wonderful" reaching the top 5. In 1975, GFR won the BMI award for having the most played song on the radio, which was "Bad Time". There were thrown off the Led Zeppelin tour in 69, cause Zeppelins manager could not stand the fact the GFR was the crowd pleaser (GFR blew the mighty Zep off the stage). They went on to tour on there own. They sold out Shea Stadium faster than the Beetles, and sold out in the US and in their worldwide tours breaking records where ever they went. All this is covered in An American band in detail and Billy makes great use of critics reviews (both good and bad) and also the reactions of Mark, Don and Mel, to show what they thought about all that was happening around them. Billy also goes on to detail GFRs later and solo albums "Caught in the Act," "Born To Die," "Good Singin Good Playin," "Flint" (Don Mel and Craig's band), and Mark Farner's solo albums "Mark Farner," No Frills," "Just Another Injustice," "Wake Up," "Some Kind Of Wonderful." And GFR's New efforts "Bosnia," A double Live CD with proceeds going to the Bosnia war orphans and refugee relief fund, and "Thirty Years Of funk-1969-99," a 3 CD set Anthology covering the band from the pack days to three brand new songs.

GFR has always been the "People's Band." If they had something to say they did it, Mark Farner was always very political and it came out in his songs. His Anti Vietnam sediments were shown in songs suck as "Closer To Home," & "People Lets Stop The War;" His worry about the environment issues was shown in songs such as "Save The Land," & "Ban The Man." Overpopulation and spiritual searching in songs such as "So You Wont have to die," & "Comfort Me." Mark who was always a Christian became a devout follower of Jesus in the 80s and Mark's God Rock albums are covered in Billy's Book as well. Back in the early 1970s, GFR took a stand against hard drugs by doing promotional ads urging their generation not to destroy their lives with drugs. This was not a popular thing to do, at that time, but they showed the caring necessary not to worry about record sales and do what was right. They also helped establish the Phoenix House, which started in New York City. Phoenix House worked mostly with teens who were drug dependent. Mark, Don, and Mel named an album after the Phoenix House, "Phoenix," in its honor and played concerts for free to raise money for that institution. They also did advertisements for the Red Cross to get young people to Give Blood. Billy does a great job showing all sides of the band.

An American Band is the most documented and complete History that can be found on the great American Band, Grand Funk Railroad. Billy does a great job showing there whole history the good with the bad, the book is excellent and a must have for every GFR Fan. Billy also documents how the band was ripped of by the Manager Terry knight, and for this section alone, every young inspiring musician sound read this book. Its on SAF publishing and its ISBN is 0 946719 26 8

Rick Cappetto

This book documents the history of the legendary American rock group - Grand Funk Railroad. It tells of their early rise to fame; from a garage band from Flint, MI. to selling out Shea Stadium faster than the Beatles. From a $6,000,000 lawsuit with their former manager to ten consecutive gold records. It tells of the groups demise in 1976 to it's rebirth in 1996; still packing stadiums like they did 20 years previous! With the help of Grand Funk band members Don Brewer and Mel Schacher, 'An American Band - the Story Of Grand Funk Railroad' is the definitive source for the history of one of the world's greatest rock and roll groups! As a bonus, Don Brewer has written the forward to the book as well!

The book was in excellant condition for a 'used' book, and arrived very fast, within 10 days! I'll be back!

This book gives history and interesting facts with color illustrations; a very good choice. All American manafactures covered. I always enjoy my copy finding new information i missed the last reading.

I really enjoyed this book,useful for information.Another book
full of excellent photographs showing locomotives in various duties.

The railroads, the first national industry, the industry on which giant battles were waged not just between the workers and the employers, but a major factor in farmers fight for land, and their continued fight for their fair share of the profits from their labor. This book talks about the railroad's real history in American capitalism, a history of class struggle, class war. This book also talks about how at a much earlier easier stage of the crisis of capitalism, the railroads themselves
were torn apart by economic crisis, thousands of employees lost their jobs, and the economy of this country was thrown amuck.
Read this now,
because the crisis of the railroads at they were when this book was written in the 1970s is nothing compared to the growing crisis. Read this now because it is written not as nostalgic lying history, or armchair economics, but as a contribution to the need for all working people, not just railroad workers, to know what is coming, know how our predecessors have shown the way to fight, know how to win!

Read this now because a crisis in the airline industry of exactly the same character with questions of nationalization is going on now. Here in Miami where the airlines are a major employer many of my friends and neighbors are afraid that their jobs will be lost. Read this book for them as well!

A short, lively study of labor and capital in one of the key industries in modern society. The railroads have been one of the biggest money-makers for their wealthy owners from the mid-1800s on, and also one of the scenes of fierce strike battles as bosses brutally resisted workers' demands for better wages, job security and safer working conditions.
I found Robert's detailed look at stock ownership of the railroads in the 1970s very helpful in figuring out how modern capitalism works, and an example that could be applied to other major industries. His discussion of why essential industries such as transportation cannot be left to the mercy of the profit needs of private capital is really relevant for anyone grappling with the economic crises of the 21st century.
Roberts also presents a lively history of capital-labor struggles over the past 150 years. I'd suggest reading it along with the more detailed books on working class leadership in the United States by Farrell Dobbs, especially his two-volume series Revolutionary Continuity.

The labor movement today encounters calls for patriotic sacrifice as well as threats of employer bankruptcy and government attack. We need to be educated on these issues. For example, the Railway Labor Act has recently been used to deny airline workers the right to strike. This book by Dick Roberts tells you how this package of laws was first used against labor in the 1920s, to satisfy the needs of big business. Roberts tells the story of the rail barons' greed and the bailouts they got from bought-and-paid-for politicians. He also tells the story of the great struggles by rail workers. Throughout, the government has backed the railroad companies and called on rail workers to sacrifice in the name of patriotism, just as airline workers are today being pressured in the name of Homeland Security to abandon their right to strike and continue down the slippery slope of take-backs.

I wrote instructive technical weather articles for pilots for a number of years, and I know first hand how difficult it is to convey new concepts and techniques to people who are unfamiliar with a topic. Jeff Wilson has created a PERFECT book on structure modeling for model railroads. Without a doubt this is the very best I've seen on any model railroad topic. The keys to his success lie not only in his clear, concise and complete writing style, but also in the visual support through an abundance of photographs which detail what he's trying to teach. I immediately bought his other book, Basic Painting and Weathering after reading the first. And I will order any others he produces sight unseen. You simply cannot go wrong. Your success is immediate with this book.

This is a gold mine of information, especially for the beginner. Little things mean a lot, especially with putting together a structure. You can take some or many of the tips & tricks shown in this book for a multitude of kit types, to make your buildings look more realistic. I was very pleased at Jeff's descriptions, his ideas, simple explanations, and pictures (lots o' those) on how to bring Model Railroad buildings "more to life". It doesn't get into a lot of the lighting, so you may wish to look for more on that elsewhere, but for everything else, this is THE REFERENCE BOOK TO HAVE.

If this is your goal then the book will serve as valuable introduction to the subject. It provides a great introduction to creating model structures that are more then "glue and glop" jobs. As someone who just entered into the hobby, I did not have a stack of back copies for either Model Railroader or Model Railroad Craftsman. Consequently, I did not have the knowledge to create fine structures at my disposal. Without purchasing this book I would have been subject to a great deal of experiential learning. Given the price of many structures, such a path would have got me in trouble with wife. This book saved me a huge amount of time and error, and got me to the point were I can create a very nice model. All in all, the price was justified by the store of useful information contained within the covers. So if you need an introduction to topic, get this work.

The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series appears to be underappreciated. The series is excellent and all of the books I have seen from it are first-rate; I currently own 4 books and have leafed through many others. They also represent the only book-length accounts of some battles.

The Battle of Cloyds Mountain is a great example of the quality of the series. It details the events of a relatively small campaign that occurred in the western portion of Virginia during the spring of 1864. The campaign was launched by the Union with the goals of destroying part of the Virginia and Tennessee railroad and the Confederate saltworks at Saltville. The main battle of the campaign took place near Cloyds Mountain. The result was a Union victory with 688 Federal casualties and 538 Confederate casualties.

The book is very well written and easy to follow. McManus provides a balanced treatment to both sides and clearly presents the events seemingly without bias. 7 maps are provided which are of very high quality. I strongly recommend this book to Civil War buffs. This is likely to be the only account of this campaign to be written for the foreseeable future.

Howard McManus discovered and researched this forgotten Southwest Virginia battlefield. Before his research, even the location of the battlefield was unknown. This interesting battle deserves more attention than it has gotten. Not only is McManus a thorough researcher, he can write also.

A terrific account of a very often overlooked Civil War battle. Quite detailed but still manages to be a good read.

My Grandson, now 15 months old, received this book when he was a newborn. At about 3 months he fell in love with the lights and sounds. He loved it so much, it wore out. I purchased this one from Amazon and the result is the same. It has calmed many a tear, entertained for hours (and I do mean hours), and makes him smile. I highly recommend this book.

We have a 3 year old son and a 1 year old son. The book doesn't just make train sounds it also has lights up. The book opens up like a train on the tracks. On one side you have the story on the other you have pictures and lights. This is one awsome book. It is not have annoying sounds like some books I recomond it highly!!

This book is very interactive and you can set it upright and unfold it and it turns into a train. When you press the train's nose, the train lights up throughout the book. Very cool and keeps our son interested for long periods of time.

Davis' book is a rare scholarly exploration of the history of the American circus. She makes smart conclusions about this Amercan instituion. Her work is well documented and a pleasure to read.

After a surprisingly interesting visit to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota I was anxious to know more about this unsung chapter of American History. This book was everything I wanted and more.

Full of well researched facts, insightful conclusions and fascinating details, it reads like a dream. If I could give it 6 stars I would! Well done Janet M. Davis.

after reading "WATER FOR ELEPHANTS" I needed some circus history and this book was great. Love the pictures. This was a pleasure to read.

As long as your interested in Model railroading, as I am. This is a definative work. it make fascinating reading.

The late John Armstrong is considered by many in the model railroad community to be the Dean of layout planning and now I know why. The tricks, tips, and explanations he gives are first rate and I understand so much more about layout planning and design such as why to use easements for curves and how to plan them (P. 18) or how to integrate crossovers into a simple dog bone layout for the best effect (use two, P. 30). Never have I seen any designs get more use out of space but at the same time keeping a regard for scenery and not looking "toy-like." I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it extremely useful.

This book is a great companion to "Track Planning for Realistic Operation: Prototype Railroad Concepts for Your Model Railroad", also by John Armstrong. Unlike other layout plan books, this has many details on the operational aspect of these layouts, decisions on how to recreate in scale an specific prototype and notes that make the book a complete reference on these layouts, not only a set of plans gathered on a book with no further detail (which is exactly what we often see in layout books). Layouts range from small to larger size, so there's is inspiration for everyone inside, from begginer's to advanced modellers.

This is a mini book that is perfect for baby and toddler hands. My son loves the Little Engine and he loves this book.

This book is wonderful. My 11 month old son received it as a party favor. This is the only book he actually hands to us to read...and it has to be read several times. I never leave home without it. I also bought a couple of more copies for the grandparents houses. Inexpensive and perfect for little hands!

I bought this for my son when he was 8 mos. old. He loved the pictures and different colors. He is now 12 mos and entertains himself by flipping through the pages in search of the elephants. This is a small book, so it's perfect for little hands. Don't expect a great learning experience from it, but it does cover basic colors and a few objects related to the train (freight car, caboose) and has cute clowns in every color, but someday my son will probably ask why the train carries green balloons....

'Don't lean out of the Window' and 'Don't mention the war'chronicle the travelling experiences of three barely post-pubescentyoung men as the tour Europe aboard train, truck, tram and ship. Being lost in war-torn Serbia seems a hilarious way to spend your summer holidays thanks to Bassett and Ferris. All manner of shenanigins in Holland; including a few young ladies to please you menfolk. Brits have to love the shameless Franco-bashing, or should I say, hilarious observations of our European neighbours. Excellent.

This book is seriously funnier than Bill Bryson, the antics that these guys get up to round Europe ! Any young person considering coming to Europe should read this, and as it was so good, I had to read their next book "Don't Mention the War!" - for the complete European travel experience you can't go wrong with these.

This book is funny as the War books by Spike Milligan. It gives a witty account of the ups and downs of inter-rail travelling along with the added bonus of meeting all those gorgeous 'Dutchies' along the way. Starting at home and travelling down to the South of France on to Venice, almost being shot by a 'fascist' policemen, up to Austria, Germany and Switzerland then to Scandinavia and then back to Venice, only to get arrested. Finally up to the Netherlands to meet up with holiday lovers.

A delightful read from start to finish and has convinced me to go busking round Europe next summer. Anyone who can tell me how to achieve such a trip, I would love to hear from you!!!!