If you are familiar with the author David Baldacci you will find that his THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN to be a more gentle book, just right for Holiday reading.
Tom Langdon had been a journalist covering some of the hottest spots on the globe. His job has disillusioned him and he is presently writing for home and garden types of magazines. From covering war torn Asia, he is now covering flower shows and describing how a good compost should be made.
After an ugly incident at an airport, he has been banned from flying and since he has to get from Washington, D. C. to Los Angeles by Christmas, he is forced to take the train.
Inspired by Mark Twain and a promise that he had made to his father, Tom decides to do an article on how traveling across country by train is very different than going by stage coach, as Twain had done.
Along with colorful fellow passengers and dedicated train employees, Tom also runs into a thief, a boa constrictor, a movie crew, a run away wedding and a life and death situation involving an avalanche.
This is a great book for the train enthusiasts on your shopping list. The plot is secondary; what comes through clearly is Baldacci’s love of trains. He has high praise for the workers that “ take care of the passengers”. Among the people that Tom meets is an old man, Herrick Higgins, an ex-railroad employee who had been left go due to budget cuts. He spends his time riding the rails and his ex-coworkers see that he has a bunk in the workers’ dormitory car and meals. As he shares his love of trains with Tom, we get to share that love.
The “crime” in THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN may not be as bloody as in Baldacci’s mainstream books, but the attention to detail and the characters are true Baldacci.
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