BART: The Dramatic History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System

I saw an article in the paper today about this book that I read about 6 months ago, and I think I remember it well enough to write a review.The book is well-written enough and not dull, but isn't "dramatic" or some grand page-turner worthy of a 5-star review. It is definitely interesting local history about not just Bart but the Bay Area as a whole. I would ordinarily give something like this 3 stars, but what other books are there about the trains we ride every day? The author has a mild pro-Bart bias, but it isn't annoying or proselytizing, like the unfortunate trend is becoming today in our literary society.The books covers: The old Key system (I wish the author had talked about this more--all we get is that the Key System was old and 19th century, while Bart is modern and hi-speed low-drag, but I would like to know more); early ideas from Emperor Norton to a federal study in WWII; the 1950s increase in car traffic over the Bay Bridge spurring local businessmen to get a train system built; the politicking of those who either didn't want people coming into or out of their communities & how close Bart came to never getting built back in the day when the Bay Area was still half ag-towns and half suburbs and mass transit wasn't a trendy thing... it took one Contra Costa Supervisor selling out the farming buddies who elected him because he saw that they would soon be outnumbered by suburbanites; all the technical difficulties of the first commuter railroad being built in the U.S. in 50 years which was no small thing--the last time someone had built a railroad, the vacuum tube was a new thing, but now the U.S. was a transistor-tech society; Bart was built mostly locally financed whereas everything built since got huge infusions of federal cash and was built & financed based on that assumption; an overview of construction issues and local obstruction such as that by Berkeley; upgrades to the cars over the years. Note that the book was written before the current new 3-door cars were a concept and thus they are not covered.A few scandals of the typical government kickback type are gone into in moderate detail. The labor issues are mentioned but almost no detail is given, thought based on the inside info I've heard from Bart (I know a current employee), I can't say much of importance was left out. There are some humorous anecdotes given but I wonder how much was left out, for instance -- the employee I know was looking at pictures of the Transbay Tube before installation, and he said, "Oh, so that's what we use for bulletproofing the maintenance yard in Richmond against gunfire was originally built for!" Note, Bart has also had to bulletproof the yard control tower in Richmond because the locals like to shoot out the windows for fun.

The author, given his history as a BART employee with key access to the major players and behind the scenes activity of BART, is the perfect person to write this combination history and tell-all book about the San Francisco Bay Area's highly dysfunctional, yet desperately needed, public transport system. Michael Healy provides abundant detail around key decisions and events during BART's history, but also has an engaging writing style that makes this book a real page turner, rather than a dry book of statistics and dates. His telling of the internal mole hunt around a group of whistle-blowing engineers is really like a well-crafted mystery tale that had me on the edge of my seat. But he also highlights some lighter moments, such as his unorthodox decision to hire Henny Youngman (Take my BART - please!) as a spokesman. And his retelling of the many (literally) backroom deals that created BART is riveting, especially where he shows how close BART was to never existing due to political machinations. But most of all, the author shows how many of the problems plaguing BART today (technical problems; poor management; union issues; arrogance leading to poor planning (no redundancies built into the system because the initial engineers boasted of an ongoing 0% failure level!) have their origins in the heady mishmash of personalities, technologies, and ego that came together 50 years ago.

Michael C. Healey has written a very enjoyable, entertaining, and engaging book that I consider a pioneering work discussing the history of the Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART’s commuter train system. Healey, BART’s former media affairs manager and official spokesman, is a great story teller and showed that even a passenger train that will turn forty-five this September has a story to tell. I have grown up riding BART, so this book brings back many childhood memories as well as introduces me to brand new facts I have never known before. A partly autobiographical book in which he mentions himself in the first person and details his career as a BART employee makes this book especially entertaining to read.

I found the book very interesting and clearly written in regards to the significance, myriad political issues, staffing/governance, and construction-related issues of how the BART system was created as well as its initial years of service. It sounds like full aspects but the author makes them compelling and interesting. Personally, I found the later sections about BART's extensions and more recent challenges informative but less incisive. For those with an interest in the subject, it doesn't disappoint.

I purchased this book last month due to reviews on various train enthusiast boards, and was intrigued into reading this for myself. A week later, I came away impressed by the stories told within. A lot of detail surrounding the shortcomings and successes of this 40 year old agency leaves me very satisfied with the content. A must read for Northern California History Buffs!

This book gives a good description of the trials and difficulties that a transit system has in order to survive. The author does show a engaging writing style and familiarity with his subject (being head of media relations) does help. It is a fine addition to a library of mass transit systems. It is primarily about the operations and politics that happened behind the scenes. He does touch on most of the problems and people that influenced this emerging system.

The reason why I chose this rating is because of its great detailed reading. I love the value of the money. I recommend it.

A real insider's and behind the scenes look at how BART came to be. The stories are fascinating. I remember visiting SF as a kid during BART's construction in the early 70's and also riding it as a commuter in the 80's and 90's. So many memories and Mike has done a great job recouting that era when big things really could be built!