Observant, spiriting writing that conveys the author’s infectious enthusiasm for railroads.
A train enthusiast recalls a lifetime of rail journeys in this evocative memoir.
After teaching biology for 41 years, Heppner (Emeritus, Biological Sciences/Univ. of Rhode Island; Railroads of Rhode Island, 2012, etc.) decided to fill his retirement time by writing about his lifelong passion: trains. At the age of 3, he received his first toy engine, named “Big Red,” and not long afterward, his first train book, Smokey the Lively Locomotive. So began his fascination. In this endearing book, he charts his most memorable rail journeys, although his first, he concedes, occurred prenatally—when his mother traveled from San Francisco to Auburn, California (“I must have been a passenger in the ‘baggage car’ ”). Born in 1940, Heppner counts himself fortunate to have experienced an exciting period in railroad history, having witnessed “cab-forward steam locomotives” and ridden high speed trains such as the French TGV. Among countless other journeys, Heppner recalls the severe grades of the Raton Pass in New Mexico and Colorado, the ugliness of the Italian Settebello, and the efficiency of the Japanese bullet train. Heppner admits to being “a certifiable nerd” and gives enough attention to railway minutiae to satisfy other train geeks—a photograph of the train to Tenom, Malaysia, bears the caption: “Japanese equipment, but note the American style knuckle coupler.” However, it is Heppner’s attention to detail that beguiles the reader. An early train journey took place when he was 10 years old—an overnight from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. He recalls lying in his bunk: “It was a moonlit night on the Nevada desert. I could see in the distance the shadowy outline of the Great Basin mountain ranges, and there was a hint of sage smell through the vent.” Heppner’s sensory descriptions transport the reader to the very carriage in which he traveled. On occasion, the author digresses, making the memoir read more like generalized travel memoir as he discusses air and sea travel. All but the most hardcore rail fans will forgive these meanderings. Illustrated with the author’s accomplished photography, this is a treat for anyone with a love of trains.
Observant, spiriting writing that conveys the author’s infectious enthusiasm for railroads.Pub Date: March 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7989-2553-9
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Ornis Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.
The renowned writer offers advice on information-gathering and nonfiction composition.
The book consists of eight instructive and charming essays about creating narratives, all of them originally composed for the New Yorker, where McPhee (Silk Parachute, 2010, etc.) has been a contributor since the mid-1960s. Reading them consecutively in one volume constitutes a master class in writing, as the author clearly demonstrates why he has taught so successfully part-time for decades at Princeton University. In one of the essays, McPhee focuses on the personalities and skills of editors and publishers for whom he has worked, and his descriptions of those men and women are insightful and delightful. The main personality throughout the collection, though, is McPhee himself. He is frequently self-deprecating, occasionally openly proud of his accomplishments, and never boring. In his magazine articles and the books resulting from them, McPhee rarely injects himself except superficially. Within these essays, he offers a departure by revealing quite a bit about his journalism, his teaching life, and daughters, two of whom write professionally. Throughout the collection, there emerge passages of sly, subtle humor, a quality often absent in McPhee’s lengthy magazine pieces. Since some subjects are so weighty—especially those dealing with geology—the writing can seem dry. There is no dry prose here, however. Almost every sentence sparkles, with wordplay evident throughout. Another bonus is the detailed explanation of how McPhee decided to tackle certain topics and then how he chose to structure the resulting pieces. Readers already familiar with the author’s masterpieces—e.g., Levels of the Game, Encounters with the Archdruid, Looking for a Ship, Uncommon Carriers, Oranges, and Coming into the Country—will feel especially fulfilled by McPhee’s discussions of the specifics from his many books.
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-14274-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
The memoir of George Dawson, who learned to read when he was 98, places his life in the context of the entire 20th century in this inspiring, yet ultimately blighted, biography. Dawson begins his story with an emotional bang: his account of witnessing the lynching of a young African-American man falsely accused of rape. America’s racial caste system and his illiteracy emerge as the two biggest obstacles in Dawson’s life, but a full view of the man overcoming the obstacles remains oddly hidden. Travels to Ohio, Canada, and Mexico reveal little beyond Dawson’s restlessness, since nothing much happens to him during these wanderings. Similarly, the diverse activities he finds himself engaging in—bootlegging in St. Louis, breaking horses, attending cockfights—never really advance the reader’s understanding of the man. He calls himself a “ladies’ man” and hints at a score of exciting stories, but then describes only his decorous marriage. Despite the personal nature of this memoir, Dawson remains a strangely aloof figure, never quite inviting the reader to enter his world. In contrast to Dawson’s diffidence, however, Glaubman’s overbearing presence, as he repeatedly parades himself out to converse with Dawson, stifles any momentum the memoir might develop. Almost every chapter begins with Glaubman presenting Dawson with a newspaper clipping or historical fact and asking him to comment on it, despite the fact that Dawson often does not remember or never knew about the event in question. Exasperated readers may wonder whether Dawson’s life and his accomplishments, his passion for learning despite daunting obstacles, is the tale at hand, or whether the real issue is his recollections of Archduke Ferdinand. Dawson’s achievements are impressive and potentially exalting, but the gee-whiz nature of the tale degrades it to the status of yet another bowl of chicken soup for the soul, with a narrative frame as clunky as an old bone.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-375-50396-X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
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