In this wide-ranging and entertaining book, acclaimed author Tom Zoellner travels the globe to tell the story of the innovation and sociological impact of the railway technology that transformed the world - and could very well change it again. From the frigid trans-Siberian railroad to the antiquated Indian railways to the Japanese-style bullet trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of this most indispensable form of travel. A masterful narrative history, Train explores the sleek elegance of railroads and their hypnotizing rhythms, and explains how locomotives became living symbols of sex, death, power, and romance. 'Tom Zoellner is a literary magician . . . . once you open it up there are so many reasons to keep reading that it's nearly impossible to put down.' La Weekly 'Spirited and bighearted . . . Zoellner enlightens us about an industry that's hiding in plain sight.' San Francisco Chronicle 'Highly entertaining, lucid and perceptive . . . It's a train lover's celebration of the great epic story of rail travel itself.' Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times 'In Train, Zoellner has made himself a veritable Walt Whitman of rail travel. It's a great read.' Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb