last train to paradise by les standiford

In 1904, the brilliant and driven entrepreneur Henry Flagler, partner to John D. Even if you don't plat to travel to the Florida Keys, the story is engrossing.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.

The author includes mile marks on the coastal highway in his narrative. Passing by Mattakumbae, Grassy Key, Sugarloaf Key and others, we could see how flat those little islands are and how easily the twenty foot storm swell would have wiped everything away. I could feel the fear of mothers for their children and husbands for their wives as the storm drew down on the Keys that horrible weekend. As we drove our rental car across those same Florida straits from Miami, I could envision the terror of being out there in what seems like the middle of the Ocean. Listening to the narrator, I found myself holding my breath as the evacuation train headed down the line trying to outrace the storm, picking up stranded rail workers and their families on its way. I shook my head at the terrible snafus of weather forecasting and 'failure to communicate' that lead to so many lost lives. The author spins a tale of harrowing rescues, and recounts the post storm devastation, penned by author Earnest Hemmingway and others.

The storm also killed hundreds of people.

Unfortunately the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed the Florida East Coast Rail Line Key West Extension. The old rail bed became the foudation of the highway to Key West, parts of which are still in use. Parts of the original train bridges are still standing. It was called the eightth wonder of the world for a time. It offers the story of oil barons, and the high life of pre-Great Depression society, and the dreams and goals of Henry Flagler as he envisioned and built the rail line that spanned the ocean to Key West, FL. I wanted something a bit more 'meaty' than the typical vacation read. I bought this book prior to our first trip to Key West for listening to on the train.

Last train to paradise by les standiford