Today, most people think of the board game Monopoly when the Reading1 Railroad is mentioned ("Take a Ride on the Reading"). But there is much more to the history of the Reading than the fact that it's mentioned in a game. The history of the Reading is also the history of the anthracite coal regions in Pennsylvania. Anthracite was the most important industrial and home heating fuel of the 19th and early 20th century. It was the fuel that the industrial revolution ran on. The history of the Reading Railroad is the history of the rise - and bloody suppression of - the Molly Maguires. It is the history of bloody (and seemingly endless) confrontation between organized labor and the coal operators in the anthracite regions. It is the history of a railroad that had its own 3,000-member police force, and that could call out the state's militia under its own authority. It is the history of the Reading Railroad Massacre. This book gives a brief history of the Reading Company, using the mechanism of an illustrated timeline. It contains 38 illustrations, 18 of which are in color. It is the second in a series of books, the first being on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Hopefully, the series will expand in the future.
About the Author: Robert C. Jones grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. In 1981, he moved to the Atlanta, Georgia area, where he received a B.S. in Computer Science at DeVry Institute of Technology. From 1984-2009, Robert worked for Hewlett-Packard as a computer consultant. He now works as an author, researcher and videographer. Robert is President of the Kennesaw Historical Society, and Director of Programs and Education for the Kennesaw Museum Foundation. He has written several books on Civil War and railroad themes, including "The Pennsylvania Railroad: An Illustrated Timeline", "The W&A, the General, and the Andrews Raid: A Brief History", "The Reading Railroad: An Illustrated Timeline", "Civil War Prison Camps: A Brief History", "Famous Songs of the Civil War", "Retracing the Route of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea", "The Battle of Griswoldville: An Infantry Battle on Sherman's March to the Sea", "The Fifteen Most Critical Moments of the Civil War", "The Battle of Allatoona Pass: The Forgotten Battle of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign", "The Ten Best - and Worst - Generals of the Civil War". Robert is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church. He has written and taught numerous adult Sunday School courses. He is the author of "A Brief History of Protestantism in the United States", "A Brief History of the Sacraments: Baptism and Communion", "Heaven and Hell: In the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Dead Sea Scrolls", "Meet the Apostles: Biblical and Legendary Accounts", "Monks and Monasteries: A Brief History", "Revelation: Background and Commentary", "The 25 Most Influential Books in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church", "The 25 Most Influential People in the Post-Apostolic Christian Church" and "The Crusades and the Inquisition: A Brief History". Robert has also written several books on ghost towns in the Southwest, including "Death Valley Ghost Towns - As They Appear Today", "Ghost Towns of the Mojave National Preserve" and "Ghost Towns of Western Nevada". In 2005, Robert co-authored a business-oriented book entitled Working Virtually: The Challenges of Virtual Teams.