Last Train to Paradise
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Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford
The fast-paced and gripping true account of the extraordinary construction and spectacular demise of the Key West Railroad--one of the greatest engineering feats ever undertaken, destroyed in one fell swoop by the strongest storm ever to hit U.S. shores.In 1904, the brilliant and driven entrepreneur Henry Flagler, partner to John D. Rockefeller, dreamed of a railway connecting the island of Key West to the Florida mainland, crossing a staggering 153 miles of open ocean--an engineering challenge beyond even that of the Panama Canal. Many considered the project impossible, but build it they did. The railroad stood as a magnificent achievement for more than twenty-two years, heralded as "the Eighth Wonder of the World," until its total destruction in 1935's deadly storm of the century.
In Last Train to Paradise, Standiford celebrates this crowning achievement of Gilded Age ambition, bringing to life a sweeping tale of the powerful forces of human ingenuity colliding with the even greater forces of nature's wrath.
Les Standiford is the author of several critically acclaimed books, including Last Train to Paradise, Meet You in Hell, and Bringing Adam Home. His book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, was a New York Times 'Editors' Choice' and was made into a feature film starring Christopher Plummer and Dan Stevens in 2018. He is a professor of English and founding director of the creative writing program at Florida International University and holds a MA and PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah. He attended the US Air Force Academy and Columbia School of Law and is a former screenwriting fellow and graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781400049479 |
| ISBN 10 | 1400049474 |
| Title | Last Train to Paradise |
| Author | Les Standiford |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Crown Publishing Group (NY) |
| Year published | 2003-08-05 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Prizes | Commended for Independent Publisher Book Awards (South-East Nonfiction) 2012 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |