{"product_id":"1400049474","title":"Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean","description":"\n\n\u003cp\u003eLast Train to Paradise is acclaimed novelist Les Standiford's fast-paced and gripping true account of the extraordinary construction and spectacular demise of the Key West Railroad one of the greatest engineering feats ever undertaken, destroyed in one fell swoop by the strongest storm ever to hit U.S. shores.\u003c\/p\u003e Publishers Weekly \u003cp\u003eA good idea to have a novelist tell the story of Henry Morrison Flagler, the 19th-century mogul credited with developing Florida as a vacation paradise goes sadly astray here. Readers hoping to learn about the man will be disappointed, as will those looking for a good yarn about the engineering marvel that is this tale's centerpiece Flagler's creation, in the early 20th century, of a rail line that traversed 153 miles of open ocean to link mainland Florida with Key West. The narrative bumps along, frequently veering off into tantalizing detours that lead nowhere. Standiford presents pages about the power of hurricanes to destroy property and savage the human body, an emphasis that is the book's undoing: readers are led to believe that storm damage in 1935 was the sole reason for the railroad's abandonment. This prompts Standiford to argue that Flagler's undertaking was a folly from the start, as his contemporaries claimed, and that his story constitutes a classic tragedy. In fact, the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) was undone as much, if not more, by a force Standiford never mentions: the internal combustion engine. After the hurricane of 1935, investors and the government considered rebuilding the FEC, but decided instead on a highway. The book's conclusion references Shelley's cautionary poem Ozymandias, a gloss on the impermanence of man's works. The warning might apply to this unsatisfying book. 8 pages of b\u0026amp;w photos. (Sept.) Forecast: An author tour will concentrate on Florida, where this book should sell well. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCategories:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistory\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnited States\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003e20th Century\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eState \u0026amp; Local\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eWorld\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScience \u0026amp; Math\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNature \u0026amp; Ecology\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnvironment\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eNatural Disasters\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEarth Sciences\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eAtmospheric Sciences\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEngineering \u0026amp; Transportation\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTransportation\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRailroads\u003cul class=\"category-tree\"\u003e\u003cli class=\"category-tree\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eBook details\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Standiford, Les\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Reprint\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Crown\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e English\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781400049479\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Used - Good","offer_id":49280662962366,"sku":"1400049474-4","price":5.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0640\/9689\/5166\/files\/811cHyRb7AL.jpg?v=1791952578","url":"https:\/\/shop.sustainablebooks.com\/products\/1400049474","provider":"Sustainable Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}