"'Christian Wolmar brings the era of railway mania alive: both the imagination and the daring that made it possible.' David Dimbleby * A marvellously informative, entertaining and rightly partisan book... that has given me more pleasure than any I can remember in quite a while. - Rod Liddle, Sunday Times * [Fire and Steam is] expertly explored and explicated, Wolmar never forgets the human dimension... A beautifully written, detailed (but never anoraky) history of two centuries of life on the iron road. - Judith Flanders, Daily Telegraph * Fire and Steam tells a rollicking tale. - Michael Binyon, The Times * A sure-footed guide to the oft-told tale of British railway history. The author has an unerring eye for relevant detail. His scholarship is everywhere evident... There are innumerable anecdotes and lashings of informative asides... Excellent. - Frank McLynn, Independent * A wonderful account of how our railways came to be. - Jon Snow"

Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster. He writes regularly for the Independent and Evening Standard, and appears frequently on TV and radio. His previous books include the widely acclaimed The Subterranean Railway, a history of the London underground and On the Wrong Line, an account of rail privatization.