Freight Train Across The Outback: On Board The First Train To Cross Australia From South to North

National Geographic writer, Simon Worrall, was the only writer on board the first train ever to cross the Australian continent from south to north. Traveling more than 3,000 miles from Adelaide to Darwin on a fright train making history, he takes readers on an evocative journey through the Red Centre of Australia. On the way, we meet a colorful cast of characters that includes an Afghan camel driver; a skinny-dipping construction worker; a minerals prospector who lives on sardines and garlic; and an Aborigine elder, whose dream of coming home has come true thanks to the railroad. Interviews with leading Australian historians and politicians set the the dream of the south-north transcontinental in the context of Australian history. And Worrall gives us fascinating insights into Aboriginal culture; the exploration of the Red Centre; and the role that distance has played in shaping the Australian character. The result is a work that will take its place alongside such classics of the genre as Paul Theroux's Great Railway Bazaar; Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country; and Bruce Chatwin's Songlines.