I just wrote a short synopsis of an old novel called The Driver by Garet Garrett. I figured I would copy my summary from the New Jersey Railfan forum:
The plot centers on a few men who run a late 19th century railroad, with detailed passages about its operation and financing. Although it is a work of fiction, it was written by a financial journalist named Garet Garrett - lending credibility to its depictions of business practices.
The protagonist appears to be based on E.H. Harriman. The events described occur in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893 (which in real life was partially caused by the failure of the RDG). In addition to describing late 19th century business practices, the book serves as a nice primer on history of that time. The author also fictionalizes minor episodes of American history (such as the breakup of the Iowa Pool), which the historically-astute may enjoy.
I will say two things against the novel. The first three paragraphs of Chapter IV make very little sense (and almost ruin the book IMO). Second is that some readers may be offended by the author's attempt to write in dialect (such as a banker character whose style ov speeking ees wreeten like dees).
The Driver by Garet Garrett was originally published by E.P. Dutton (New York) in 1922. It is now available at the following links:
The plot centers on a few men who run a late 19th century railroad, with detailed passages about its operation and financing. Although it is a work of fiction, it was written by a financial journalist named Garet Garrett - lending credibility to its depictions of business practices.
The protagonist appears to be based on E.H. Harriman. The events described occur in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893 (which in real life was partially caused by the failure of the RDG). In addition to describing late 19th century business practices, the book serves as a nice primer on history of that time. The author also fictionalizes minor episodes of American history (such as the breakup of the Iowa Pool), which the historically-astute may enjoy.
I will say two things against the novel. The first three paragraphs of Chapter IV make very little sense (and almost ruin the book IMO). Second is that some readers may be offended by the author's attempt to write in dialect (such as a banker character whose style ov speeking ees wreeten like dees).
The Driver by Garet Garrett was originally published by E.P. Dutton (New York) in 1922. It is now available at the following links:
- Paperback: http://mises.org/store/Driver-The-P418.aspx
- Audiobook: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_3?asin=B005V0QN1O
- Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037QGM06/
- Free PDF: http://mises.org/books/driver.pdf
Book exists in the public domain and so PDF copy is legitimate. Note however that this is not OCR'ed and thus is not searchable. - Free audiobook: https://mises.org/media/categories/144/The-Driver
This is a version of the audiobook listed above, and is provided for free by the copyright holder. Each chapter is provided as a separate .mp3 file, with the entire book contained in this RSS feed.
