Railroad Memoir

On August 28, 1997, just as she was starting her junior year of college at the University of Kentucky, Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along railroad tracks on their way home from a party when they were attacked by notorious serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, a.k.a. The Railroad Killer. After her boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault.

The term robber baron has largely fallen into disuse in the 21st century but there was a time when it was a popular epithet that described the kind of man who, it was believed, built his fortune by taking things belonging to others. Of all the men labeled as robber barons during the Gilded Age, few were as influential as Henry Clay Frick, who rubbed shoulders with men like J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie while overseeing some of the era’s biggest companies.

Celebrated for her courageous exploits as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman has entered history as one of 19th-century America's most enduring and important figures. But just who was this remarkable woman?

Of all the men labeled as robber barons during the Gilded Age, nobody was as notorious during his time as Jason Gould, known to his few friends as Jay and his many enemies by names not suitable to print. Famed editor Joseph Pulitzer called Gould “[o]ne of the most sinister figures that ever flitted, bat-like, across the vision of the American people,” and Robert G. Ingersoll said of him, “I do not believe that since man was in the habit of living on this planet anyone has ever lived possessed of the impudence of Jay Gould.”

Named one of the "75 People You Should Know" by Trains Magazine, Jim McClellan was a railroading legend and one of the railroad industry’s titans. An iconic and innovative executive, McClellan participated in the creation of both Amtrak and Conrail and worked for the Norfolk Southern, the New York Central, US Railway Association, and the Federal Railroad Administration. My Life with Trains combines a world-class photographer’s love of railroading with the insights of a government and railroad official.

The Diary of a Black Railroad Pioneer shares the exceptional journey of Jennette Spencer, the first African American woman Signal Maintainer (Engineer Department) in the United States, a profession historically governed by men yet boldly dominated by a determined female pioneer. In The Diary of a Black Railroad Pioneer, Spencer’s impact on the countless railroad workers she encountered is immeasurable, yet her mission is to reach the masses through her story of perseverance and dedication illustrates a life unlike any other.

Self-taught slave and underground railroad worker James Williams' memoir of his escape, time during the Gold Rush, and observations of the world around him. He starts with his birth and then escape - feeling the pull of the California Gold Rush. In these few pages, James gives a fascinating account of the people he met and events he witnessed.

Rosie Schaap has always loved bars: the wood and brass and jukeboxes, the knowing bartenders, and especially the sometimes surprising but always comforting company of regulars. Starting with her misspent youth in the bar car of a regional railroad, where at age 15 she told commuters’ fortunes in exchange for beer, and continuing today as she slings cocktails at a neighborhood joint in Brooklyn, Schaap has learned her way around both sides of a bar and come to realize how powerful the fellowship among bar patrons can be.

Uplifting and occasionally heartbreaking stories of love from the time of slavery in the American south.

Leland Stanford retains a double legacy as both a robber baron and a great philanthropist. He got his start in business as a merchant during the California gold rush, but he worked his way up to president of both the Central and Southern Pacific Railroad companies by 1861. He became a railroad mogul, a leading force in an under-regulated industry wherein he gained a reputation for corrupt and greedy practices. Yet, he and his wife benevolently founded Stanford University in memory of their deceased son.

Harriet Tubman was known as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. But this wasn’t a railroad that carried trains and freight but rather human lives that were desperately seeking freedom. It was a clandestine group of individuals (hence the name “underground”) scattered across the United States and Canada who helped facilitate the migration of those ensnared in the South’s scourge of slavery to the so-called free states and provinces of the North.

Born into sickness and slavery, Harriet Tubman scarcely survived her childhood. Brutally beaten while laboring in the swamp lands of Maryland, she was left with hellish memories and permanent neural damage. Despite it all, she did live on...to claim a place in history’s annals, for Tubman wasn’t content to be free while others remained in shackles. Guided by compassion and unwavering faith, she emancipated herself and led hundreds of others to refuge. Along the way, Ms. Tubman experienced heartbreak and poverty at every turn. Mortal danger was ceaseless.

"The employee is regarded by the employer merely in the light of his value as an operative. His productive capacity alone is taken into account." (Stanford) Leland Stanford: The Life and Legacy of the Railroad Executive Who Became California’s Governor and the West’s Most Famous Robber Baron chronicles the remarkable life of Stanford.

Delving into the incredible legacy of America’s most successful railroad tycoon, this illuminating biography offers a powerful glimpse into the mind of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Nicknamed “the Commodore”, this influential and cunning businessman represents the classic rags-to-riches story. His life is an inspiring and empowering tale of triumph against adversity and a burning desire to persevere no matter what obstacles stood in his way.