The Great Train Race

"The breadth of [this] comparative study of French and German railroad development - the largest and most important railway systems on the continent - is a signal achievement... A brief sketch of the book's trajectory does justice neither to the wealth of detail nor to the arresting insights that future historians will draw on for years to come." · Central European History

"... a fine book. Indeed, it is a labour of love, informed by intensive research and a lifetime's interest. All historians of European railways will be greatly in its debt." · The International History Review

"The Great Train Race is a well-researched book, full of useful comparative insights into French and German railway development, and doubtless an important contribution to the history of Franco-German rivalry before World War One ... [R]ecommended to economic historians as a study which shows, in well-balanced comparative perspective, the great importance of their field for understanding political history." · Journal of Modern History

"For Mitchell, this was clearly a labor of love, and it is a pleasure to see a job well done. The book has a full scholarly apparatus along with vital charts and maps to keep things clear." · H-German

"Allan Mitchell is presenting, with The Great Train Race, a highly informed and ambitious study, in which the fundamental importance of trains for the societies of both countries has been convincingly argued." · Historische Zeitschrift

"...Presents a rich and understandable overview...The book provides an excellent model for researching and writing comparative railway histories. Such analyses of the relationship between state and railway are rare events." · The Journal of Transport History