"Zephyr" now an updated ebook

[TimePeace]

I just bought this on my Nook and I'm waiting to read it until I get on the LSL this Sunday (Hey, not the Zephyr, bu an LD train nonetheless). From what I've heard, the author's writing is amazing, and I am asking you, Henry Kisor, if there are any other books by you or other authors with a similar background or just any train book you like in particular. Anybody else may answer though if you have something I'm looking for (generally more informational than anything else). I can;t wait to start raving about the book once I read it!

The novelist Paul Theroux ("Riding the Iron Rooster" is my favorite of his) has written a number of books involving train travel. They are highly literary and highly subjective (he's kind of cranky) but I think he's the best out there. You might also try E.M. Frimbo and Lucius Beebe in the library.

I have read most of Theroux's travel books (not such a big fan of his novels) and think they are great. The train ones are the best! He is a bit of a crank, I agree, but very funny. And he is certainly prolific!

 

[vwalton]

Just bought it for my Kindle. I'm going to try to wait til my upcoming EB trip to read it, because there's nothing better than reading about trains while riding a train, but I may not be able to wait!

 

[pennyk]

I also bought it for my Kindle. I plan to wait to read it until one of my 3 upcoming train trips. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DocJohnB]

I am about a third of the way through the book. Things like spring clean-up, family and Easter keep getting in the way.

Thank you Mr. Kisor for the entertaining read.

 

[railiner]

The interesting thing about the Burlington Pioneer Zyphyr is the 13 hour 5 minute "Dawn to Dusk" run from Denver to Chicago. The average speed was only 77 MPH but the train did hit 112 MPH on a few sections of the route. That time over 80 years later, has never been duplicated. Amtrak now takes 43 hours (nearly two full days) to do the same trip. Talk about progress!

That was never duplicated, indeed. Except a couple of years later, to answer the skeptics that said that previous run was 'all downhill from Mile-high Denver', they ran from Chicago to Denver in 12 hours, 12 minutes, and 27 seconds at an average speed over the 1,017.22 miles of 83.33 mph. It is still the world's record for a long distance run of that length. It peaked at a blistering 116 mph near Brush, Co.

source: pp80-82, "Diesel's West--The Evolution of Power on the Burlington", by David P. Morgan, Kalmbach Publishing, 1963.

 

[lthanlon]

If I may be permitted a blatant commercial announcement: My 1994 book "Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America" has been updated with new photographs and a new epilogue and republished in Kindle and Nook ebook formats. (Other formats are on the way.) Details are at LINK.

This forum was invaluable in the updating process, and I thank all those who helped.

I'm enjoying your book right now on my iPad. I like your writing style -- especially phrases like "Skinnerian rat mazes" used to describe pre-renovated parts of Chicago Union Station.

 

[Henry Kisor]

Thank you! Comments like these make a writer feel good.

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Henry, I bought Zephyr in the San Diego Airport on my Nook, before flying to Chicago. I want to say that I waited until the LSL to read it, but I couldn't hold out. I'm a little more than half-way through, and I find it very hard to put down. Thank you.

 

[TimePeace]

I got it for the Kindle app on my "smart" (debatable) phone, and also can read it on the computer. Forcing myself to read it all again before getting to the new epilogue. Not that it's hard to read it again; it's just hard not to skip ahead!

I also got "All Aboard With E.M. Frimbo" from the library and am laughing my you-know-what off reading it too. (I commute on a boat every day which gives me chunks of time to read; too bad it's not a train!) Frimbo is a humorous book, but also beautifully describes trains, locations and situations.

Well, actually, if I was commuting on a train I'd be working in or near a city, not on a coastal island - so I'll keep the boat ride - but will be dreaming and scheming about train rides while I'm on the water.

 

[zephyr17]

Hey, Henry,

I own the original edition of "Zephyr" in hardcover and love the book. Are the any plans to publish the update in a "dead tree" edition?

 

[DocJohnB]

Finished the book.

 

Thank you Henry Kisor for a most enjoyable sojourn.

 

I think as much as the original book, I enjoyed the epilogue that brought us up to date on some of the characters written of in the original manuscript.

 

I do believe that I will put this in my Kindle repository and withdraw it once again about the time I start my Amtrak adventure next year.

 

Thanks for an excellent read.

 

[Henry Kisor]

Thanks to all for your kind words!

Zephyr17: I haven't yet researched print-on-demand paperback "tree-books," but I am told by other authors that sales rarely recover the costs of production. I need to crunch the numbers on this. Stay tuned.

MaineRider: Frimbo is great, isn't he? I reread that book every couple of years.

All: If you see anything amiss, or anything that needs further updating, please let me know. One big advantage of an ebook is that it can be corrected, updated and republished almost instantly.

 

[vwalton]

I bought the Kindle version of this book in April, when this thread first started, but made myself wait to read it until I was on the Empire Builder this month. It was worth the wait! I had not read the original from the mid-90s, so I especially enjoyed seeing the contrast of the Amtrak of the 90's with the Amtrak of today. The epilogue was great, both for pointing out some of those differences, and for following up on the people who worked for Amtrak in the 90s. Thanks for a great read, Mr. Kisor!

 

[TimePeace]

I'm glad to see this thread surface again.

Since I got it for my computer's Kindle app, I have gotten a tablet and have it on there as well. I am rationing it to myself slowly, so that I will still have the ending and then the new epilogue to read on my trip to New Mexico (LSL - SWC) in the end of Sept.

If anyone reading the thread hasn't read the original and/or the new edition, wait no longer. If you like riding LD trains (or are thinking about doing it), this book is for you! Reading it the first time is what made me want to travel on Amtrak.

 

[Trainmans daughter]

I read it on my iPad last week and loved it. Thank you so much, Henry. The way you wove together that trip with your past trips, the characters along the way, and the history of places along the route kept me riveted . I was sorry when you trip ended!

 

[Henry Kisor]

Thank you very much for the kind and encouraging words.

For those undecided about acquiring "Zephyr," I have posted a page with the entire introduction to the book on my freshly refurbished web site, henrykisor.com.