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Have enormous private corporations ever been accountable to the governments that support them with tax dollars? Tackling this once-again urgent question, Schley traces the lamentable uncoupling of public money and public regulation over the course of the nineteenth century. Steam City is a lucid and learned account of railroad corporations and municipal governance, but the relationship of American democracy and capitalism is truly what's at stake in this important book. --Seth Rockman, Brown University Steam City is deeply researched, intellectually ambitious, and lucidly presented. Historians of capitalism and of the city, as well as cultural and historical geographers, will take note. Make no mistake: this is an outstanding and important book. --Tamara Plakins Thornton, University at Buffalo

""Recommended. . . Schley's illuminating central argument here is that corporate power rests in a physical landscape that facilitates its goals."" * Choice * ""Schley has succeeded in presenting a detailed study highlighting the relationship of the urban to national economy. Based on impressive research, Steam City should command an audience beyond Baltimore notably serving as a cautionary tale about the costs and benefits of public/private partnerships."" * The Metropole * ""Steam City is deeply researched, intellectually ambitious, and lucidly presented. Historians of capitalism and of the city, as well as cultural and historical geographers, will take note. Make no mistake: this is an outstanding and important book."" -- Tamara Plakins Thornton, University at Buffalo ""Have enormous private corporations ever been accountable to the governments that support them with tax dollars? Tackling this once-again urgent question, Schley traces the lamentable uncoupling of public money and public regulation over the course of the nineteenth century. Steam City is a lucid and learned account of railroad corporations and municipal governance, but the relationship of American democracy and capitalism is truly what’s at stake in this important book."" -- Seth Rockman, Brown University ""Explores the interconnectedness of the nineteenth century corporation and the growth of the nineteenth century city, providing a street-level perspective on the development of American capitalism through an examination of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad and the city of Baltimore.""  * Journal of Economic Literature * “Schley adopts a fresh and innovative approach. . . Steam City reflects his assertion 'that corporate power, as we understand it today, rests on a spatial order that took shape in city streets during the first half century of the railroad age.'” * Technology and Culture * ""David Schley has succeeded in presenting a detailed study highlighting the relationship of the urban to national economy. Based on impressive research, Steam City should command an audience beyond Baltimore notably serving as a cautionary tale about the costs and benefits of public/private partnerships."" * The Metropole *

Recommended. . . Schley's illuminating central argument here is that corporate power rests in a physical landscape that facilitates its goals. * Choice * Schley has succeeded in presenting a detailed study highlighting the relationship of the urban to national economy. Based on impressive research, Steam City should command an audience beyond Baltimore notably serving as a cautionary tale about the costs and benefits of public/private partnerships. * The Metropole * Steam City is deeply researched, intellectually ambitious, and lucidly presented. Historians of capitalism and of the city, as well as cultural and historical geographers, will take note. Make no mistake: this is an outstanding and important book. -- Tamara Plakins Thornton, University at Buffalo Have enormous private corporations ever been accountable to the governments that support them with tax dollars? Tackling this once-again urgent question, Schley traces the lamentable uncoupling of public money and public regulation over the course of the nineteenth century. Steam City is a lucid and learned account of railroad corporations and municipal governance, but the relationship of American democracy and capitalism is truly what's at stake in this important book. -- Seth Rockman, Brown University Explores the interconnectedness of the nineteenth century corporation and the growth of the nineteenth century city, providing a street-level perspective on the development of American capitalism through an examination of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad and the city of Baltimore. * Journal of Economic Literature * Schley adopts a fresh and innovative approach. . . Steam City reflects his assertion 'that corporate power, as we understand it today, rests on a spatial order that took shape in city streets during the first half century of the railroad age.' * Technology and Culture *

Author Information

David Schley is assistant professor in the Department of History at Hong Kong Baptist University.  

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