Horseshoe Curve : Sabotage and Subversion in the Railroad City

By Dennis P. McIlnay and Dennis P. McILANY

Book Overview

In this riveting book, the author brings history alive with the stunning tale of three interconnected - but little-known - events in American history. Part WW2 spy story and part historical epic this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977980510
• ISBN13: 9780977980512
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Seven Oaks Press
• Length: 455 Pages
• Weight: 1.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

History At Its Best

Mr. McIlnay has written a very good history of events concerning the railroad Horseshoe Curve near Altoona Pennsylvania. The Horseshoe Curve was a great instance of civil engineering in America. Mr. McIlnay's book is history at its best - very well written, very informative, well referenced, and of great interest. Mr. McIlnay divides his book in three sections. The first two sections concern World War II. One is of the Nazi saboteurs in America in 1942. These saboteurs had Horseshoe Curve as their target as well as other sites. The second section concerns the restriction and sometimes internment of designated enemy aliens (aliens who originally came from countries the United States was at war with). Both well written sections are quite relevant to issues surrounding the present war on terror as well as being very thorough and interesting. However, the most interesting section concerns the building of the Horseshoe Curve for the Pennsylvania railroad. The Pennsylvania transportation system in the 1830's and 1840's lagged behind the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Maryland and the Erie Canal in New York as a means of east west transport. This lag changed due to J. R. Thomson of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the engineers and managers he hired. The Horseshoe Curve and uninterrupted railline of the Pennsylvania Railroad through the Alleghenies was the result. Mr. McIlnay tells this very interesting story like a novel but with ample detail for the historical specialist to learn much. This book is absolute must for anyone even remotely interested in American history.