Having studied and lectured about the implications of railroads for about 30 years, Stilgoe (Orchard Professor of Visual & Environmental Studies, Harvard) picks up where he left off in his previous work, Metropolitan Corridor, sharing his observations (and celebration) of the restoration of rail travel for freight and passengers. He details how railroads shape the physical environment (people and economic activity collect around them; there's money to be made), and the ways in which their return signals social, cultural, and economic changes as well as decisions to be made concerning government expenditures, and land use and development policies. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)