Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations
Simon Jenkins
Discover the architectural gems that are Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations in this Sunday Times top 10 bestseller
'This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book' Chris Evans
It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station.
Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best railway stations. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories.
Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of our social history shows the station's role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation, celebrated like never before.
'However spectacular the book's photographs, it's the author's prowess as a phrase-maker that keeps you turning the pages' The Times
'An uplifting exploration of our social history' Guardian
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About Simon Jenkins
Reviews for Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations
Christopher Howse
Telegraph
However spectacular the book's photographs, it's the author's prowess as a phrase-maker that keeps you turning the pages
Richard Morrison
The Times
A most beautiful book . . . full of information. I'd like to travel to every one of the stations. Simon Jenkins is a blessing to the nation, keeping an eye on our buildings and making sure they are not forgotten or neglected.
Claire Tomalin Jenkins has unearthed a lot of gems. The photography is stunning
Christian Wolmar
Spectator
This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book
Chris Evans Simon Jenkins extols the virtues of 100 of them, as well as offering a brief history of the rise, fall and rise again of Britain's railways. And he is the perfect person to do so. Excellent, enticing.
Gavin Stamp
Evening Standard
This glorious and utterly essential guide to Britain's best railway stations is also a history of some of the remarkable - but often undersung - landmarks to our social history
The Bookseller
Masterly, perhaps a masterpiece
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Every house in England should have a copy of this book
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Literary Review, Book of the Century
Jenkins is, like all good guides, more than simply informative: he can be courteous and rude, nostalgic and funny, elegant, convincing and relaxed'
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Evening Standard