"Delaware from Railways to Freeways covers eye-opening information about the region and its residents from 1800 to 1907. Laying out a captivating journey through pictures and offering up little-known anecdotes, entertainingly educational stories, and a comprehensive deep dive, Tabler gives insightful commentary on inventions, contributors to society, and transformative technology. History lovers of all ages will immensely enjoy this trove of 19th-century lore."
If you like stories about history this is the book for you, interesting storyline, I give this book 4 stars.
Thanks to netgalley, and the publisher for an opportunity to leave an honest review.
Published Nov 1st, 2023

I really enjoyed this book. It tells some of the history of Delaware and the US at that time. The book includes pictures of artifacts and illustrations from the time. The book was very interesting and I learned a lot in about 100 pages. The best part for me was the artifacts about the draft for the Civil War. The book showed the draft wheel used to pick names of who would be be drafted. A very good and quick read if you are interested in the history of the US and Delaware in particular..

This book had a lot of interesting history, fascinating pictures, and some random trivia. Much more than just rails and roads, there was a lot of maritime and agricultural info, as well. Would make a great gift for any Delawareans and older DuPonters (or "du Ponters" if you're old school). Got a smile seeing Scrapple with a shoutout.

Note some sensitive, possibly disturbing, historic topics are touched upon so be prepared for that. There's a beautiful quilt included that legend indicates was used for the Underground Railroad.

Note the design of the digital ARC version is a little disjointed. The stories with the pictures are often cut off and continue at the back of the book, like a magazine or newspaper. Also, in some spots, the text wraps around the picture in a way that looks cool but made it hard to read.

Overall though, I really enjoyed how this book included SO much Delaware history in both graphics and stories.

Would you like to time-travel to 19th-century Delaware? Have you always been intrigued by fascinating details on the daily life of your great-great-grandparents? Then this book is for you: with its blend of images, maps and texts it is sure to elicit the interest of curious readers both in the country and abroad. Tell your friends too!

This well-researched book is filled with any and everything you would like to know about Delaware during this time period. You will learn surprising facts among the pages of this book. If you reside in Delaware and are a lover of history, this is a must read. Even if you are not a Delaware native, but a lover of history, this book will enrich your knowledge about the Civil War, notable people, inventions, customs, and traditions of this state.

Dave Tabler announced his new book was headed to the editor for final review and I jumped at the chance to be among the first readers. Tabler’s first book in the series - Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States - was a pleasant exploration of early Delmarva Peninsula history. That book promised readers a rich future was opening up to Delawareans. Through Delaware Railways to Freeways, Tabler delivers on the promise and sets the stage for even more advances to come.

Where does Dave Tabler find all his fascinating photographs? The images included in this new collection are intriguing. Each is accompanied by a small paragraph of content which often raises more questions for the curious mind. Tabler serves the reader well by continuing the stories of colorful characters and interesting local artifacts through longer entries at the back of the book.

An example to note is a segment of content which ends with “Oh—then there was the goose that ‘tended bar.’” This one note will have readers flipping to the longer entry about the tavern and inn at Fleatown which boasted a bar keeping goose. Too bad that’s not longer around!

Readers may feel as if they are pinwheeling through a vast range of social history, local sites, and disjointed artifacts. However, Tabler has a rich tapestry he unfurls by bringing loosely associated threads together in just the right way.

For instance, did you know W.F. Quinby (1825-1918) made many attempts to fly long before the Wright brothers reached the sky? His pioneering role partly shaped their ambitions by lessons they learned from Quinby’s failures. All of his exploits took place in Newport, Delaware.

A few of the historical footnotes are repeated from his earlier work - Delaware Before the Railroads: A Diamond Among the States (AEJ LINK). But they are approached from a different angle and with new information conveyed. Examples include illustrator Howard Pyle, the Town of Arden, and the first murder by mail.

Readers will be enthralled at the wild and tall tales that thrived in the backcountry wilderness of the early Delmarva Peninsula. As Conestoga wagons and stagecoaches were replaced by railroads and steam engines, a healthy consolidation took place. Far flung watering holes and stage stops died off as new towns sprang up. Diverse agriculture solidified into almost industrialized production techniques of a few highly prized commodities.

The move from sailing ships to iron horses reshaped the region and unified the people even as the Civil War sought to tear the young nation apart. Delaware was involved, in great and small ways, every step of the way.

Still, one wonders if more of the magic would still be alive today without the advent of this modernization.

This is a lovely book laid out with beautiful graphics. It is what some call a "coffee table" book. You can pick it up on any page and follow the wonderful historical information. The pages are crisp, clean and easy to follow. Both a novice and researcher will enjoy the well written explanations that follow each photograph.

Who wants to know about Delaware history from the railways to the freeways? Not just residents of Delaware or the Delmarva peninsula, any historian or genealogist would find this book full of interesting facts, delightfully presented in print and illustration in the beginning, followed by more detailed information on each subject later on.

As an illustrator, I found this book very appealing and easy to read in its illustriative presentation of some interesting historical material as presented by Dave Tabler.

Once again Dave Tabler brings the state of Delaware to the attention of the world. Before reading the book, I thought of Delaware only as the president’s home state and as a place for companies to incorporate. I now know that, among other things, it also was a state divided during the Civil War between North and South, that the railroad there began as a horse-drawn carriage path run on iron-covered wooden rails, and that the DuPont chemical company began as an explosives manufacturer! I highly recommend Delaware: Railways to Freeways, the second in this series of fascinating books by Mr. Tabler.

In Delaware from Railways to Freeways, Dave Tabler provides intriguing images and fascinating information about little-known aspects of Delaware history. The book’s unique way of hooking the reader with snippets keeps his audience flipping pages to learn the next “rest of the story.” From tales of human interest to the backgrounds of inventions, this collection promises to evoke “Well, how about that?!” with each topic.