Fodor’s Railways of the World (1977)

     Fodor’s Railways of the World (1977) “Frimbo” (Roger E. M. Whitaker) contributes a pleasant narrative to this overview of passenger travel in the late 1970s. But the overview of railway travel is too vague and general to be of much use. There are no timetables whatever, so I wonder who’s the intended audience. The tone of the entries suggests the armchair traveller, but the dearth of interesting or curious details makes that unlikely. I haven’t seen Fodor’s Guides in years; perhaps too many people found them as pointless as I find this one. For the historian of passenger travel, the book may provide some useful data, since it lists classes and types of trains run, thus indirectly providing dates for these services. Jon found this book in a Toronto Public Library sales bin, but I don’t think I want to keep it. * (2007)