David Nice reviews the circumstances, expectations, and politics that led
to the creation of a national passenger rail system out of what had been a
myriad of struggling private services.

The book begins with a discussion of the various challenges that Am-
trak faced when it was developed over twenty years ago. Nice covers the
complex politics behind decisions about the reach and frequency of Amtrak
service, as well as the fiscal issues involved in the railroad's continuing at-
tempts to modernize its equipment. He examines the different roles of U.S.
national and state governments in subsidizing Amtrak; the factors that have
contributed to the wide, year-to-year variance in the system's ridership and
financial performance; and the uneven results of Amtrak's experiments with
international service. Noting that the system faces continued criticism and
threat from a variety of sources, Nice concludes with an evaluation of how
Amtrak fits with the nation's overall transportation needs.

David C. Nice is professor of political science at Washington State Uni-
versity. He is author of Policy Innovation in State Government and Feder-
alism: The Politics of Intergovernmental Relations.

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