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Getting There

The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the American Century

"A readable and concise overview of how U.S. transportation came to its present pass. . . . Goddard is at his best when recounting the complex and interesting history of what has come to be called ’the highway lobby.’. . . An excellent book for the general reader with an interest in getting around."—Larry Fish, Philadelphia Inquirer

"This is a riveting story: of mighty railroads hamstrung almost overnight by government bureaucrats; of road interests led by General Motors Corp. conspiring in city after city to destroy efficient trolley systems . . . and of freeways that are far from free."—Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

"The combination of forces and fates that turned America into a giant parking lot from sea to shining sea is the subject of Stephen B. Goddard’s lively pop history. . . . As Mr. Goddard ably points out, road-building and the creation of car-dependent suburbs have become ends in themselves."—James Howard Kunstler, Wall Street Journal

"The strength of Goddard’s book is that he understands the complexities of manipulating public opinion to influence legislatures."—David Young, Chicago Tribune

"[Goddard’s] book is a deft and easily read history of how transportation has shaped the nation and its economy, and ultimately, how a federation of truck and car interests drastically tilted national policies. . . . For many reasons this is an exceptionally important work."—Jim Dwyer, New York Newsday

366 pages | 15 halftones | 6 x 9-1/4 | © 1996

History: American History

Table of Contents

Preface
Prologue: 1917
1: The First Big Business
2: The Runaway Iron Horse
3: The Good Roads Crusade
4: The Electric Shooting Star
5: Motoring for Profit: The Birth of Trucking
6: The Trojan Horseless Carriage
7: Derailing the Trolleys
8: Applying the Brakes
9: Hard Times
10: A War Abroad, a Conflict at Home
11: Interstate Socialism
12: A New America
13: Trouble in Paradise
14: The Unshackling
15: Same Game, New Rules
16: Taking Stock
17: Technology to the Rescue?
18: Sinking or Swimming in a Global Economy
Notes
Bibliography
Interviews
Legal Cases
Acknowledgments
Index

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