A Channel Four book
4 total works
Exploring the "golden age" of trains - a period of privately owned, competitive railway companies - this book details the early explosion of competitive fervour which resulted in the carving-up of the English countryside to accommodate the new "iron horses". From those dramatic and turbulent beginnings, readers are led through the birth, demise and possible resurgence of the much loved and environmentally friendly rail-cars and trams, and behind the scenes of one of the busiest commuter systems in the world - the London Underground.
Linked to a Channel 4 documentary by the producers of "Classic Trucks", this book explores maritime history and architecture, and vessels from warships to dinghies, fishing boats, working boats and merchant ships, as well as pleasure boats. It also considers the huge social changes that have taken place in Britain's shipping history, and includes interviews with people who are directly associated with ships and the sea: sailmakers, boatbuilders, dockers, and the crews of working and fishing boats.
The author of "Black Box" here transfers his attention from air disasters to car crashes, from the first fatality in 1896, exploring why they happened and whether human error or technology was at fault. He argues that, with 80 per cent of drivers blaming accidents on other people, there has been deep-seated resistance to safety measures as motorists believed their "good driving" would protect them. But he claims that car manufacturers were also at fault, being opposed to the introduction of air bags and other safety measures. The book includes a report on the recent incorporation of black boxes in Saabs, to record what happens to a car prior to an accident.