Simpson Kalisher (–2023)

Railroad Men, subtitled "An Image Gallery Book" is an extended photo essay about the men who worked on the railroad. With permission from an un-named railroad Kalisher took his camera and tape recorder down to a railroad yard, moved into the yard bunk car, was assigned a bed, and was introduced to the men who worked there. He was permitted to go where he wished and he photographed and interviewed the men at all hours of the working day. He asked them to talk about friends, incidents, old times, characters, and memorable episodes. At first he was met with a mixture of curiosity, interest, and reserve but, in time as they got to know him they began to open up and talk about anything and everything.
Kalisher culled his recordings for stories and comments that are both colorful and informative. The portions of the interviews he put down in his book are written as they were spoken. Each interview or interview segment is titled and the stories vary in length from a single page to a single paragraph.

As an example of the latter consider the following:

"About Black Smoke
I caught that job with him as a daylight job, and the first pay trip I made. And I was fighting that son of a gun trying to keep down the smoke, you know, and he didn't like for the engine to pop and I was trying to keep it from popping. and we got over about House Street, going to Clearing and I ended up with no water, no steam, no fire.
That's when you know you're in bad shape."

Railroad Men does an excellent job of capturing the way it was and the way the men viewed the way it was. I think it is a very good read.

(Page Count: 84, Book Dimensions (Width x Height) 9.5" x 9.5")… (mais)