The Oreo Book Club meeting was held at the home of Mary Crowl on September 17 where the group discussed the book Train, written by Tom Zoellner. Mary Crowl was the conductor and led us from station to station. Some members had been riding the rails of many of the lines the author writes about and had better information. We discussed the advantages of rail expansion—opening up new territories, spreading civilization and aiding the economy—and the disadvantages—disrupting local traditions, homogenizing the culture, loss of life in building lines and the lining of pockets of tycoons and politicians from the public purse. The merits and demerits of the proposed California Bullet Train were reviewed. The next meeting with be at the home of Chafer and Phyllis Tezer on October 15 and will review Strategic Vision by Zbigniew Brzezinski.
— Norton Schwartz
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