Jack Simmons – författare

Of all the products of the Industrial Revolution, none left its mark on the landscape of Britain, or changed the lives of the British people, more than the railway. The encyclopedic Oxford Companion to British Railway History reveals, for the first time, the full story of this remarkable achievement: the inspired pioneers, the unprecedented feats of engineering, the romance, and the reality. From the primitive wagonways of the seventeenth century, through the eras of horse, steam, diesel, and electric traction, it explores the railway's unique place in our history, and the reasons for its extraordinary and enduring hold on our collective imagination. Unrivalled authorityOver 600 entries by 88 distinguished contributors chart the progress of rail travel from 1603 to the late twentieth century. Comprehensive coverageCovers not only the technical and historical development of the railway, but its social, economic, political, and artistic aspects. Illustrated throughoutMaps, diagrams, tables, and illustrations bring the text to life and demystify technical concepts. People, places, and politicsCovers the key figures who influenced the development of the railways, the towns that were changed forever, and the policies that brought about the network's rise and fall.

Professor Jack Simmons was the most eminent railway historian of his time. His magnum opus was to have been a four volume study of the railways in England and Wales between 1830 and 1914. It is a regret the work was never completed but Faber Finds are proud to reissue the two volumes that were published.The first volume describes the growth of the railway system from the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway to the outbreak of the First World War. The second half of the book discusses the technology of railways, their track and civil engineering, the machines and vehicles used and the safety precautions developed for controlling an increasingly complex system. A final chapter considers the private companies that built and owned the railways. An appendix examines the services offered to passengers, especially that English invention, the express train.

Professor Jack Simmons was the most eminent railway historian of his time. His magnum opus was to have been a four volume study of the railways in England and Wales between 1830 and 1914. It is a regret the work was never completed but Faber Finds are proud to reissue the two volumes that were published.The second volume considers the railway's impact on British towns and countryside. London and provincial cities like Bristol, Leeds and Birmingham are examined and special attention is given to certain types of towns: railway towns like Crewe and Swindon, and seaports and holiday resorts many of which were developed in conjunction with the railways. Also discussed are the effects the railways had on the supply of food and coal, holidays and sport, urban or suburban growth in and around the big cities.

American culture is changing, a sentiment echoed in phrases such as “the new normal,” and “in these uncertain times,” that regularly introduce all forms of public discourse now, signally a national sense of vulnerability and transformation. Cultural shifts generally involve multiple catalysts, but in this collection the contributors focus on the role changing discourse norms play in cancel culture, corporatism, the counter-sexual revolution, racialism, and a radically divided political climate. Three central themes arise in the arguments. First, that contemporary discourse norms emphasize outcomes rather than shared understanding, which support institutional and political goals but contribute to the contemporary political divide, and the notion that we are engaged in a zero-sum game. These discourse norms give rise to a form of Adorno’s administered world, such that we order society according to dominant opinions, which generally means those well acclimated to institutional and corporate culture. Finally, as Arendt feared, the personal has become political, meaning that the toxic public discourse invades private discourse, reducing personal autonomy and leaving us perpetually under the scrutiny of institutional authority.

Jack Simmons sympathetically tells the history of the railways and describes every major aspect of their equipment and operations: permanent way, buildings, locomotives, rolling stock, signalling and labour relations. He also makes journeys through the Pennines, Scotland, Essex and Southern England on which he acts as observer and guide.

This book examines the intricate web linking water science and society using diverse philosophical lenses. Highlighting the tensions within the threads of this web, we spotlight major conceptual tightropes that water researchers tread daily. To effectively navigate these delicate threads, a 'healthy' tension in the encompassing web is necessary. Drawing inspiration from Freud's examination of tensions in "Society and Its Discontents," we illuminate the tension-filled paradoxes inherent to water science, emphasizing the challenges in keeping these paradoxical threads taut enough to ensure a navigable and sustainable bond with society.Central to our narrative is the escalating societal urge to quantify and 'manage' water—something interwoven throughout every environmental layer, including the fabric of our being. An excessive focus on management may alienate users from their water realities, jeopardizing the vital threads that sustainability tether water science and society. Consequently, this book explores compelling and inescapable tensions that resist tidy universal resolution, such as: the language of water science, including its mathematical reductions (i.e., models); the effect of water's commodification on its science; hydrology’s intersection with colonialism; and other concerns that reveal distortions in our hydrology.We aim to aid water professionals in recognizing and fine-tuning the paradoxes intrinsic to their work. To underscore the interwoven complexity of contemporary hydrology, "Hydrology and Its Discontents" guides readers into the tempestuous depths of water research, all the while urging a recalibration of perspectives and motivations.