Hayes is no novice to authoring a good historical atlas, having written several previous to this one, which concentrates on the North American railroad. It is based on solid research, as can be seen from the list of 400 Map Catalog and Sources in the back of the book, not to mention the many historical photos, brochures, and posters Hayes found to add to the beautiful old railroad maps that he inserts. Hayes traces the North American railroad from the short local lines that sprung up early in the east to the flow of trains across the continent, linking the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. A final section looks at current systems and makes note of President Obama's plan for high-speed rail. Every page of the atlas has wonderful original maps as well as photos, brochures, or posters. The maps are reproductions of actual original documents rather than re-creations of the routes. Complementing Firefly's Historical Atlas of World Railroads (2009), this atlas is highly recommended for any library, from public to academic, that has an interest in the history of railroads.--Donaldson, Christy Copyright 2010 Booklist

With 400-plus color maps ranging from 1821 to President Obama's report "A Vision for High Speed Rail," this historical atlas reveals the richly variegated visual culture of railroad mapping in the US and Canada. Always utilitarian, railroad maps are differentiated into four types: those required to survey the land for construction and attracting investments, timetable maps for passengers, maps in advertising, and engineering maps. As illustrated in the introduction, maps are schematic tools to present complex information visually: they adapt scale to emphasize rail lines (or roads) in relation to other features. The scale of reproduced maps is more conducive to historical exploration than cartographic study; here the concise historical text is enhanced by extensive captions that outline significant features in each map. Supplementing the index and concise bibliography is a complete list of sources for maps; most are from private collections, but also acknowledged, with complete references, are the holdings of museums and public collections. The wealth of visual information, comprehensive coverage, and optimistic stance for the future of railroads on the North American continent make this an important purchase for all reference collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. M. Nilsen Indiana University South Bend

Consider this another spectacular atlas from accomplished geographer Hayes, author of a number of historical works, including these recently published by the University of California Press: Historical Atlas of the United States (2006), Historical Atlas of California (2007), and Historical Atlas of the American West (2009)-the LJ review for the latter notes that "among the most interesting [maps] are those that were part of promotionals produced by the regional railroads and real estate interests to entice easterners to go west." Hayes has now assembled nearly 400 similar maps, beautifully reproduced in full color, that trace the development of railroads in the United States and Canada from their local and regional beginnings in the early 19th century, through their heyday in the early and mid-20th century, to the era of mergers for survival as the century drew to a close. They provide the primary-source documentation, along with other illustrations, for the historical narrative written for general readers. In addition to extensive captions, there is a "Map Catalog" that lists all the maps with their sources and accession numbers when applicable. BOTTOM LINE Similar in scope is Bill Yenne's Atlas of North American Railroads (MBI, 2005), while John Westwood's The Historical Atlas of World Railroads (Firefly Books, 2009) expands the geographical bounds. Hayes's latest atlas is a delight-highly recommended for all public and academic libraries, railroad buffs, and map enthusiasts.-Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.