Listen to these interviews for an in-depth discussion of the book:

Praise for The American Transportation Revolution:

“The book offers a remarkable understanding of how rapidly Americans came to see these constructions of coal, steam, and iron to be as natural as their surrounding landscapes, and even to represent the commonplace familiarity of home.” - John Dean Davis, Journal of Southern History

“The American Transportation Reovlution makes a convincing case that historians should think of the development of steam transit not only as an economic phenomenon but as a social and cultural one as well. Historians of the United States seeking a primer on the cultural influence of these technologies will benefit from Marrs's synthesis, and historians of technology will appreciate his sensitivity to the ways in which everyday users interact with new inventions.” - David Schley, The British Journal for the History of Science

“Lively and sweeping. … Rich in detail from period sources and strong its overarching treatment of riverboats and railroads as a transportation system, The American Transportation Revolution is a welcome addition to the literature. It is both thorough enough for a graduate seminar and approachable enough for an undergraduate survey.” - David Lucsko, Technology and Culture

“From a fresh vantage point, Marrs delivers many fine insights. … Marrs is especially good in discussing developments in the arts, focusing on popular culture.” - John Brown, Journal of American History

“The American Transportation Revolution should be a welcome addition to the libraries of researchers, museum professionals, and educators alike. Each chapter is instructive: sources are contextualized with appropriate conceptual frameworks, such as secondary literatures on the gendered construction of public and private space. Thus, the individual chapters are ideal for course readings in survey courses on United States history as well as thematic courses and upper-level seminars. … We have long needed this social and cultural history on railroads and steamboats in the antebellum period.” - Jake Wolff, H-Soz-Kult

From the back cover:

“The adoption and spread of steamboats and railroads rapidly and profoundly influenced antebellum American culture and experience. From published and private sources, Aaron Marrs traces their effects on language and the arts, on race and gender, and on religion and childhood, offering an important account of the implications of technological change.”
— Christopher Clark, University of Connecticut

“Incorporating an expansive range of primary source material, Marrs captures the transformative power of steam transit in the antebellum period. The result is a rich account of how the impacts of new technologies are shaped by complex webs of experience and meaning-making.”
— Amy G. Richter, Clark University

“This book about the transportation revolution is truly fresh, smart, and fun to read. Aaron Marrs has scoured the archives through seven topical lenses, producing lively reports from an extraordinary sweep of sources. Marrs’s approach infuses an old story with something of that urgency and human interest that contemporaries knew firsthand..”
— John Lauritz Larson, Purdue University

“The development of steam power induced a profound change in human mobility. With detailed analysis and lucid prose, Aaron Marrs shows how steam became interwoven with every aspect of American society and culture.”
— Kenneth W. Noe, Auburn University