The opening of the pioneering Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railway network's vital role in changing the face of Britain. "Fire and Steam" celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide railway to emerge. As Christian Wolmar's wide-ranging history shows, the rise of the steam train allowed Britain as never before, stimulating the growth of towns and industrialisation, as well as many of the facets of modern life, from fish and chips to professional football.

The name John Muir has come to stand for the protection of wild land and wilderness in both America and Britain. Born in Dunbar in 1838, Muir is famed as a pioneer of American conservation and his passion, discipline and vision still inspire. Combining acute observation with a sense of inner discovery, Muir's writings of his summer in what would become the great national park of Yosemite in California's Sierra valley raise a close awareness of nature to a spiritual dimension. His journal provides a unique marriage of natural history, lyrical prose and amusing anecdote, retaining a freshness, intensity and brutal honesty which will amaze the modern reader.

Each volume in this new series will include 40 maps updated and revised from Colonel Cobb's originals. The maps show the railway network in terms of those lines still open, those open for freight traffic only, lines which have been preserved and those closed completely. Alongisde the railway lines, the book also includes an outline of the road network in simplified form to allow the inter-relationship between railways and roads to be clearly identified. In addition to mapping, each volume will also include a detailed historical sketch outlining the development of the area's railway network, a representative selection of photographs as well as a detailed index and a gazetteer of stations with opening and, where appropriate closure dates. As such, each volume in the series becomes a detailed reference book on the area featured.

The author recounts how the London Passenger Transport Board was established in 1933 and how it evolved during these years. The changing nature of the LPTB's vehicle fleet is also discussed. Alongside the author's entertaining and pertinent text, the book includes some 175 mono illustrations that portray the great variety of scenes visible on London's roads and rails during this fascinating period.