Selected Reviews:
“THE CROWBAR HOTEL”
“The Crowbar Hotel is a unique travel-adventure that details an unusual expedition through Canada, as well as a glimpse into the hidden world of transportation via freight trains.” ~ The Hood River News, July 18, 2009
“TRAVELOGUE FROM AN UNRULY YOUTH”
“Your use of language was certainly in keeping with the era, and it was very well written.” ~ Washington Press Association
“I waited to resume reading Travelogue for when I could really absorb myself into it and did so over the past few days. It’s a hard book to put down. What a journey; a wonderful job of bringing the sights, smells and feelings associated with train travel to the written page. Particularly freight train travel, which so few of us know about, but for the time was a dream many shared. The camaraderie of the adventure, the vast open plains where there wasn’t a soul for miles, just train tracks setting the path forward. The characters met along the way. A happy life among the bare necessities. The vernacular of the times. He brought it all to life. And then there’s the inner journey ~ a glimpse into the restless soul, into what drives men forward in their lives. We may not be from different planets, but we are wired differently … Of course the reader begs to ask, ‘how could you ever leave a woman like that??’ And the answer was because, of course, he had to follow his instincts ~ we all have to follow our personal paths.” ~ Susan Groshans
“Ran across your book on the Internet so I had to get it. I also was born and raised in Jackson, Michigan. Interesting book. I always wanted to ride the rails, but never did. Now, judging from the cold, train-hopping, sometimes dangerous story you tell, I’m glad I didn’t. The book came off as a young man who was afraid of commitment. Very good book. There must be something to riding the rails I don’t get, because you didn’t seem to have a lot of interaction with any locals or enjoy the towns you were in; just freight trains. I’m curious as to whether you and Marie are still together. And were you and Marie married to anyone else in the 25 years you were separated? Thanks for the look into your life.” ~ Tim Marks
“I read your book and loved every page. In what may have been the only generation free enough to pursue dreams at such a young age, you took a very focused and committed route. In an era where commitments in relationships were shaky, you held fast to your commitment to yourself. The beauty of the book for me was in finally getting a glimpse into the male mind at the time. You guys had the same angst we did in relationships and I never understood that. The male mind was at once very simple and complex to me in the 1970s. I loved reading your inner-voice, which I took as a sort of ‘everyman’ voice from the time. Clearly, you knew how to connect. Thank you for sharing so deeply and for taking me on a fascinating romp where I anticipated men to be mean, but who were actually wonderful to you and yet there was danger ~ and you even found that. Many of us did when we least expected it.” ~ Suzie Conklin
“Mr. Burkhardt has written another fine monograph in celebration of railroads. His previous books have captures the history, technology, and geography of trains. This book expands upon this and tells a tale of love of trains and of women. Through his travels in the West and Old Northwest the writer weaves parallel stories of love: his love of the rolling sojourn and his haphazard love with Marie. This is a book of celebration for Burkhardt. He is able to do well writing of this poetic and endangered mode of transportation, and he found his Marie … and married her. I look forward to his next publication.” ~ James Tindall
“Growing up in a railroad town can change life’s direction. Author D. C. Jesse Burkhardt was born and raised in Jackson, Michigan, at the tail end of its prominence as an important railroad town. At the time, Jackson was home to two railroads ~ the New York Central and the Grand Trunk Western. The NYC was the major player, with lines radiating out of the city in seven different directions. There was a roundhouse, large classification yard, and a dispatching office in the handsome brick depot. Not surprisingly, the author hung aournd the tracks, became a rail enthusiast, and developed a passion for riding freight trains. FREIGHT WEATHER was the title of Burkhardt’s third published work (in 2001) and is also a slang expression for the summer months, when the weather is favorable for riding empty boxcars across the country. Travelogue From an Unruly Youth is about Burkhardt’s ‘freight weather’ journeys of 1977. In the preface to his 2001 book, the author mentioned that he lived in Ashland, Oregon, for a few years before moving to Corvallis ~ in Oregon’s Willamette Valley ~ in September 1977. Both towns were located on Southern Pacific lines, about 225 miles apart. This volume is a detailed account of that move, which took five months to complete, and took him there by way of Michigan, Ohio, Nova Scotia, Florida, and California. For 24-year-old Burkhardt, it was the trip of a lifetime, with no lack of excitment along the way. More than 25 years after the journey, a belated surprise arrived in Burkhardt’s mailbox, which provided an interesting ending to the story. A gifted writer to be sure, this book is without question his finest effort.” ~ David Mrozek, The Michigan Railfan, March-April 2007
“Just wanted to say I really enjoyed your book. I was the totally
opposite person that you were, job, family, responsibility from age 18 on, so
reading how you just up and jumped on the first train that came along without
knowing where the road was leading, or even where you would sleep that night
really boggled my mind, and made for great reading. Almost science fiction
from my staid point of view. I have a collection of over 100 hobo related books, and am glad to add yours to my collection. You really had good luck with the bulls. I thought you’d have had more run-ins. And so many other dangers: jack rollers, drunks, etc. Thanks again for a great read.” ~ Dan Allen
“As I read each chapter, I found myself wanting the writer to turn around and find his way back to Marie. Burkhardt was young and innocent and was not ready for a long-term commitment. Yet, my heart ached every time he would leave Marie!
Burkhardt’s attention to detail and his creative writing skills had me feeling every bit of what he must have been feeling. You wanted him to find warmth when he was cold, and food when he was hungry. He captured the excitement of getting to his next train and the anticipation of getting to his next stop. I hope there is a second book in the works.” ~ Pat S.
“I cracked open a copy of your Travelogue yesterday and the next time the book budget is funded I am going to buy a copy of that. I was going to skim the first couple pages and I ended up reading into the second chapter, and I am neither a fast reader nor someone who usually reads memoirs and such. What prompted me to do this, besides having an hour to browse the bookstore was that I had gotten into reading your prose in Freight Weather, and that was prompted by my having read good chunks of Backwoods Railroads. I realized in Backwoods Railroads that I liked your writing. That prompted me to start reading the prose in Freight Weather the umpteenth time I cracked it open. So, yesterday, I thought I would sit down in one of the store armchairs and read it … I lived in Eugene for most of three years when I was going to architecture school, and I spent a good chunk of time walking out to the SP line along the Willamette River waiting for freights to come through. I got to where I knew the general schedule and would sometimes use a ladder on the side of a car as part of my transportation system, seeing as how I did not have a car most of the time I was living there … Please keep writing and taking pictures.” ~ Adam R.
“Photojournalist D. C. Jesse Burkhardt’s writing forged strong images in my head ~ neither could I, nor would I, describe it any better … My interest in modeling contemporary Oregon shortline operations got started when my dad moved to Portland, Oregon, from 1995 to 1997 and I was able to spend three consecutive long, warm and lucky summers in the Pacific Northwest. I soon became fascinated by the lifestyle and natural setting of the area. What really got me started were the books by D. C. Jesse Burkhardt, which offered me a more sensual insight into the slow-paced world of branchline railroading. I therefore mention his books Backwoods Railroads, Rolling Dreams and Freight Weather as a major source of inspiration.” ~ Stephan Besier, Leipzig/Zurich, Germany
NOTE: Visit Stephan’s Web site at: wolfram-mohr.de/besier/index.htm
“I just finished Travelogue about a week ago. I bought it from you at GorgeRail without even skimming the table of contents. And because of that, you can’t imagine my surprise when your journeys started out in Ashland, Oregon. Though I wasn’t yet living in Oregon until 1979, and lived an hour further north in Grants Pass, I still felt so much closer to the story, since it happened in my neck of the woods. Well, the far greater surprise was discovering that your journey would take you to Corvallis. My job of eight years is in a building that was built right next to the Willamette & Pacific, only about 0.2 miles south of the bridge over the Marys River … I could almost picture you there, 30 years ago this fall.” ~ Charles Bonville (Note: Charles also delivered the following sad news report: “I am also writing to let you know of the coming end of an era. The Portland & Western Railroad has announced an embargo of the line south of Corvallis beginning June 16, 2007. The run up to Dawson on June 14 will be the last run for the foreseeable future, if not forever.” Seeing the 10-car last train at Alpine Junction ~ where I once worked loading Christmas trees ~ was an emotional connection.)
“THE ANN ARBOR RAILROAD”
“The Arcadia Publishing photo-essay series continues with Images of Rail: The Ann Arbor Railroad, by Jackson, Michigan native D. C. Jesse Burkhardt … The book features more than 200 photos, some never before published.” ~ The Ann Arbor News
“This certainly seems to be the definitive work on the Ann Arbor Railroad and has the right blend of emphasis on all aspects of it! It will be something worthwhile looking at again and again. Lots of nostalgia there for me.” ~ Jim Hannum, M.D., Olympia, Wash.
“For $19.99 the Ann Arbor book is a fantastic buy. It has steamers, diesels, cars, carferries, ads, etc. There are even a couple of M&LS shots. The quality of all but one or two of the pictures is excellent. As always with Arcadia publications, all are
in B&W. Anyone interested in the Annie would be missing a bet if they didn’t pick up this book and do it soon.” ~ Hugh Hornstein
“A worthy member of the ‘Images of Rail’ series. The book has mostly images of locomotives and stations of the Ann Arbor Railroad, with a fair representation of the carferries. My copy was donated to the library of the Kalamazoo Model Railroad Historical Society, and it has not stayed on the shelf for more than a minute or two since. The text gives enough information to put the pictures into context, but doesn’t go into a lot of corporate history. I consider that an asset in this case.” ~ Mark E. Tomlonson
“FREIGHT WEATHER”
“As always, Burkhardt provides an accurate, lively text and thorough cutlines for the many photographs. But this time he has outdone himself. This time, he has reached down into the human heart and tried to help us understand what it is about trains that creates so visceral a reaction in so many people. Why does the sound of that whistle or horn in the night affect us? Why does the sight of rolling stock produce such unique reactions? This is art and trains unified. If you don’t believe such a thing is possible, just look at this book.” ~ Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal, June 10, 2001
“Each of Burkhardt’s previous books were well written and nicely illustrated, and this volume [FREIGHT WEATHER] is no exception. His writing is insightful, colorful, and grounded in reality … This volume was unique and refreshing in its approach, and comes highly recommended.” ~ The Michigan Railfan, July-August 2001
“I loved Freight Weather. Everything from the opening quote,
which so perfectly expressed my own feelings, to your choice of photos.
Congratulations.” ~ Ken Byers
“BACKWOODS RAILROADS”
“This [BACKWOODS RAILROADS] is a fascinating profile of a fragile web of tracks and trains that will surprise even many longtime residents of Oregon.” ~ The Oregonian, July 24, 1994
“BACKWOODS RAILROADS is a must-have for railroad buffs. It’s also a book with a great deal to offer to the general reader. Its discussion of types of loads hauled, volumes hauled, lost routes, and threatened routes is, in many ways, a detailing of the economic and social health of western Oregon.” ~ Salem Statesman Journal, August 19, 1994
“Burkhardt is too young to have experienced the era when the shorts and branches were an indispensable link in the economy, but he writes of them with charming nostalgia in this handsomely illustrated book.” ~ Tacoma News Tribune, March 25, 1995
“The text is a readable mix of fact and sentiment … This volume is handsome as well as informative.” ~ Trains Magazine, November 1994
“ROLLING DREAMS”
“While the text is filled with fascinating information, it is the collection of photos that makes this book [ROLLING DREAMS] exceptional. You get the feeling that in generations to come, people will pick up this book and be praising Burkhardt for capturing images that may eventually be wiped out by so-called progress.” ~ The (Vancouver) Columbian, Feb. 23, 1998
“ROLLING DREAMS visually chronicles a decade of change in the Northwest’s rail transportation network. Author and photographer D. C. Jesse Burkhardt’s 88 pages of superb images, taken between 1988 and 1997, effectively capture the feel of this transition period when mergers and divestitures forever changed the region’s railway landscape.” ~ Oregon Historical Quarterly, Fall 1998
“ROLLING DREAMS is great. Absolutely wonderful photos.” ~ Bob Melbo, president, Willamette & Pacific Railroad
Miscellaneous
E-mail from KEITH W., Lacey, Washington: ”First, I would just like to say your books are outstanding. They are in a category of their own. Your books have really enhanced my interest in trains. Thank you.”
E-Mail from SEAN BONNIWELL, lead singer and songwriter from the 1960s band, THE MUSIC MACHINE (aka THE BONNIWELL MUSIC MACHINE): ”Thanks for the book; nicely done. It looks and presents itself as uniquely thought-provoking.”
The e-mail from Sean Bonniwell was especially gratifying. His music, lyrics, and image ~ I always admired the tough, black-gloved look ~ are among the very best of the 1960s.
THANKS to all of you for supporting ROLLING DREAMS PRESS.