Timetable For Tramps

Timetable for Tramps

"Tibor Koeves, a Hungarian journalist now living in this country, begins his book with the statement, 'I stood in a public square in Budapest, determined to shoot myself or hop the Rome express in twenty-four hours.' This is the spirit of men to whom travel is a passion comparable to love, greed, poetry, and religion. After a preliminary section on travel in general and the chief varieties of vagabonds, he writes of cities and travelers, of the soul of cities, of the soul of the traveler, of famous individual travelers. 'Timetable for Tramps' is a delicious and sophisticated book, 'as urbane as an ambassador, as witty as Aldous Huxley, as civilized as dinner at Foyot's.' If you have traveled, expect to travel, or have an imagination that responds to brilliant writing, this book will give you rare pleasure." --Dust jacket.

British Shipping and Australia 1920-1939

A History of British Tramp Shipping, 1870-1914 (Volume 1)

Winner of the Canadian Nautical Research Society's Keith Matthews Award for Best Book, 2024 Celebrated in the novels of Joseph Conrad and vintage films, tramp ships - the precursor of bulk carriers - are not well understood today. Yet, these vessels transported in bulk essential minerals and ores, grains, timber, and other commodities and played a vital role in creating the modern global economy. While the histories of some individual tramp firms have been written, this book uses personal correspondence and surviving company records to chart the development of the entire industry - the largest in the world- during a period of transformational technical change. Who were the bold, risk-takers who founded tramp firms? How did they mobilise the resources needed to enter this dynamic sector, build immense companies, and accumulate vast fortunes? Why did others fail? This study reveals how executives learned ‘the art’ of managing tramps and developed strategic networking skills. Tramp shipping resonates with many of today’s high-growth industries: it was an information intensive, high stress operation that required rapid - sometimes instinctive - decision-making within a turbulent market. Building business networks was supported by a distinctive culture that streamlined communication. This innovative study places information, knowledge, learning, culture, and communication at the centre of the analysis in order to transport readers into the minds of those fascinating entrepreneurs who helped build the modern world.