Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean

by Les Standiford

Book Overview

Last Train to Paradise is acclaimed novelist Les Standiford's fast-paced and gripping true account of the extraordinary construction and spectacular demise of the Key West Railroad-one of the greatest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400049474
• ISBN13: 9781400049479
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

This is a fabulous read!

I found this book at a local thrift store - I love the old trains - been to Horse Shoe Curve - started to read this book thinking a long drawn out history on this RR - but I haven't been able to put the book down - a fascinating and ez to read account

A bigger piece of Florida history than I expected

Having made the drive from Miami to Key West a couple of times, I've been curious about the abandoned bridges that you see all the way down the Keys. When someone recommended this book to me I was excited to learn how those bridges got there - which I did - but I learned a lot more too. Henry Flagler, who made his fortune as Rockefeller's early partner at Standard Oil, spent that fortune as the pioneering developer of the East Coast of Florida. One of the most fascinating things you learn in this book is just how late in US history the development of Florida came about. As recently as the 1890s, Miami was just a small outpost called Fort Dallas that was reachable only by a trip of train, then boat, then horse-drawn carriage. In the 1890s! At the same time, Key West was the most populous city in Florida with 20,000 inhabitants and a thriving economy. Flagler imagined that Key West would become the most important deep-water port on the East Coast with the completion of the Panama Canal and that his railroad would carry all of that freight to the continental US. It never happened, and by the time contruction was halfway done Flagler knew it was incredibly unlikely, but by that time he was committed to "ride his own steel to Key West before he died." All of that is part and parcel to this story of man against nature in a manner that just can't happen in today's era of heightened environmental awareness (I guess we shouldn't block the flow of the Gulf Stream after all). In the end, all is undone by the biggest Gulf storm in recorded history, the Labor Day storm of 1935. A great read for any fan of history or anyone who is interested in the Keys or Florida.

The man who "invented" modern Florida

Ten years ago, when I visited Palm Beach, Florida, I noticed a lot of places named after someone called Flagler. At the time I had no idea who this person was, or why everything in the area seemed focused upon him, but after reading this book, I understand. It's pretty clear that, without Henry Flagler's vision, and money, Florida today might be an entirely different place. This man, almost singlehandedly, changed Florida from a hot, sleepy area into a mecca for tourists. His building of luxury hotels, the Florida East Coast Railway, and later the Key West Expansion, gave us our modern state. This story is extremely interesting, and I found it well-written. It tells something I did not know before, and that's always important to me when I read any non-fiction work. It's a tale of insight, struggle, ultimate success, and subsequent destruction by the forces of an all-powerful natural storm. Men such as Henry Flagler do not walk among us any longer, and perhaps we are all the poorer for that.

Go To Key West!

Les Standiford has put together a spell-binding tale of the last of the privately financed infrastructure projects undertaken by the larger than life 19th century businessmen. Here Henry Flagler races against his own mortality to complete a railroad from Jacksonville to Key West, with the final run south from Miami requiring herculean engineering, management, and financial resources. Flager was a partner of John D. Rockefeller in an earlier venture known as Standard Oil who decided in his 70's to pursue a second career in railroading, land development, and luxury hotels in the then desolate country of South Florida and the Keys. Standiford weaves together Flagler, Rockefeller, their arch-rival trust-busting Teddy Roosevelt, WWI bonus armies, and big-game hunting author Ernest Hemingway. While Rockefeller also owned vacation homes in Florida, he and Flagler ultimately had a parting of the ways, with Rockefeller pointedly not attending Flagler's funeral. Flagler had been an early supporter of Roosevelt in his successful bid for the New York governorship after Roosevelt's success in the brief Spanish American war. Later Roosevelt brought antitrust action against Standard Oil and at least in Flagler's mind was behind government resistance to his plan to build a deep water harbor in Miami. Ironically, the US victory in the Spanish American War, together with confirmed plans to build the Panama Canal, were the motiviation for Flagler's railroad adventures, as Flagler projected, incorrectly as it turned out, that Miami and Key West would grow in stature as ports. The final thread introduces Hemingway into the mix. The author was already a well-known Key Wester when the hurricane of Labor Day 1935 ravaged the Keys. Although Hemingway's home and his beloved boat Pilar were not seriously damaged, Flagler's railroad was destroyed. A group of WWI bonus army veterans were working on road construction. Many were killed, despite a daring railroad rescue attempt. By 1935, Flager was long dead and the railroad was in bankruptcy. It was never rebuilt, although some bridges are still standing, for the exclusive use of fishermen and birds.

Nonfiction that reads like a novel.

"Last Train to Paradise" is a nonfiction account of the construction of the railroad connecting Key West to the Florida mainland, a project headed by Henry Flagler.It is a well-researched and documented history of an exciting time in the exploration and development of Florida that reads like a novel.Building a railroad over 150 miles of water under the harshest of conditions was the vision of one man, Henry Flagler. Mr. Flagler used his personal fortune to make this dream come true. When he first arrived in Florida he was the second wealthiest man in the country. His fortune was made in partnership with John Rockefeller and the creation of Standard Oil.The ingenuity necessary to accomplish this task is absolutely incredible. The obstacles overcome included the brutal weather (heat and hurricanes), having to import every item from drinking water to food to nails.As I read the story I found the task more impossible with each accomplishment along the way. The closer they got to their objective, the more unattainable I thought the goal was. They truly did the impossible.That Mr. Flagler and his crew succeeded is a testament to the pioneer spirit of America.Dr. Standiford has written a fast paced book. He is a wonderful story teller. It is where truth and fact is so improbable, that one could not make up a superior fictional account.The photographs are a wonderful addition.With all the scandals in business today, it is enlightening to read the story of a man who put his reputation and own money on the line for what he believed in.As Dr. Standiford said: "Henry Flagler evolved from acquisitive robber baron to creator."Henry Flagler may not have discovered Florida, but he saw all the state's possibilities and created the framework and infrastructure that made Florida livable.

Couldn't put it down

I loved this book. Standiford is a tremendous storyteller, as good as Sebastian Junger, or David McCullough. The rise and fall of the Key West railroad, which was built over 150 miles of water by tycoon Henry Flagler, is a story I knew little about. Great fun and I learned a tremendous amount as well. One warning--be prepared to go to work a little bleary-eyed tomorrow--you won't be able to put this down until the last hurricane has hit...