"As a researcher and railroad history writer, Grant is one of the best."--Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., author of The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad "Roger Grant has taken on a formidable challenge, a history of a railroad that was never built, and he has succeeded in writing an excellent book on the Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad. He takes the reader through the undeveloped hinterlands of the South, to the bustling ports of Charleston, to the Knoxville Railroad Convention, to the halls of the State Capitol in Columbia and to the homes and hearts of the individuals who dreamed of building or stopping this railroad. It is an epic tale and Roger gives us a very readable book that is grounded in sound scholarship. This is an excellent addition to any railroad library."--Nicholas Fry, Curator, John W.

Barriger III National Railroad Library "This book holds appeal within the market segments of both railroad and U. S. Civil War scholars and enthusiasts, especially in view of the attention that will be generated by the forthcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial activities."--John Spychalski, Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University "The history of American railroading is littered with overambitious plans, failed schemes, unfinished lines, bankrupt corporations. Grant turns his sights on one such failure, the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Rail Road. and in the process reveals as much, if not more about the messy business of railroad construction, as one could learn from a history of a successful line."-- Ohio Valley History "H. Roger Grant has written an interesting book about something that did not happen.

Grant speculate[s] that a healthy LC & C would have influenced American history, perhaps to the point of changing the trajectory towards war. Railroad enthusiasts will certainly like this book . but Civil War scholars should find the last chapter an interesting exercise in Civil War causation. [H]e has written a well-researched book that should make you think about the antebellum South and the coming of the Civil War."-- Civil War Book Review "Professor Grant has produced an outstanding work on an important element of American railroad history. Grant has devoted much of his life to the story of America's railroads, and it shows. The book is rich in detail, and he very skillfully places what was happening in South Carolina within the context of railroad history throughout the country. The endnotes reveal an extensive mining of primary and secondary sources.

In short, The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road tells an important story--and tells it well."-- The Civil War Monitor "Professor Grant's well-researched book traces the attempt to connect Charleston with the Ohio, and muses on what might have been, had the projects succeeded. Thanks to the author's treatment of the subject matter, the book should appeal to anyone interested in the history of early railroads, not just those of the Old South."-- The Lexington Quarterly.