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Loading... Ghost Train Through the Andes (original 2006; edition 2007)by Michael Jacobs
Work InformationGhost Train through the Andes by Michael Jacobs (2006)
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It was not until long after his grandmother, Sophie, had died that Michael Jacobs was eventually permitted to read the lengthy and passionate letters that his grandfather Bethel had written her from nine thousand miles away. In these letters, Jacobs discovered a remarkable story of hardship, deprivation and enduring love. His grandfather's work on the railway through the Andes was exhausting and desperately lonely. He had little in common with his fellow workers and became consumed by a mounting despondency, from which only his love for Sophie could save him. But, as the months and years of separation passed, the world in which Sophie was blossoming appeared more and more remote from his own. Michael Jacobs' journey back through time takes him from a rain-swept Hull churchyard to desolate Antofagasta in Chile and to the former silver capital of Potosí. Climbing through ghostly, lunar-like scenery towards the snow-capped summits of the Andes, he follows the route of his grandfather's railway - across giant rocky plateaux, through terrifyingly steep gorges and valleys of tropical lushness, and past grim mining townships buffeted by winds, rain and snow - to reveal an extraordinary love story. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)918.30466History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography of and travel in South America ChileLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Jacobs takes up the trail left by his grandfather, a trail which opens up Latin America to him. He meets interesting people who help along the way, despite bureaucracy and landslides. While looking for traces of his grandfather, Jacobs hears of another Engineer Jacobs, still remembered.
I really enjoyed this, especially as he passed through some of the places I went through with my brother. It's just a pity that so few of the routes are still open. ( )