9 h 43 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 43 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Ships, railways, prisons and a race around the globe: George Francis Train has a life he wants you to hear.
In My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands, George Francis Train tells his own story at speed. The American merchant and railway promoter takes you through shipping offices in Boston and Liverpool, then into Melbourne as gold discoveries draw crowds to Australia. Business is only the beginning of his restless journey.
Train wants to build, persuade and be heard. In England, he promotes street railways; in America, he champions the Union Pacific and a railroad reaching toward the Pacific coast. Public speeches, prisons, politics and a presidential run widen the story. His voice is vain, boastful and often funny: this is a showman's view of his own life.
What you’ll discover
- A childhood marked by loss Meet the Boston boy who loses his family and grows up with relatives in Massachusetts.
- Melbourne in the gold rush Follow Train into a city swelling with people drawn by Victoria's gold discoveries.
- Railways and restless ambition Explore his drive to bring street railways to Britain and promote the Union Pacific.
- A life beyond business Encounter the public speaker and traveller whose story includes prisons, politics and a global race.
- The showman tells his story Enjoy a boastful, often funny voice that asks you to see its owner differently.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy larger-than-life memoirs, tales of ships, railways and gold rushes, and a narrator who tells every story with a wink and a boast.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Loss sends a boy north
- Farm rules become lasting habits
- Quick figures open the shipping office
- Bigger ships need new passengers
- Acting first can protect others
- Melbourne gives boldness more room
- Travel turns observation into public action
- Street railways meet public resistance
- Speed runs through every venture
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands
by George Francis Train · 1902
A four-year-old is shipped from plague-struck New Orleans like freight, and George Francis Train never stops moving.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“I have been silent for thirty years.”
In short
What does it feel like to be shipped across the sea at four years old, labelled like a bag of coffee, after your mother and sisters have died? George Francis Train answers that question in the first pages of his memoir, and then never stands still.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 20 min4 h 15 min fast, 6 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 76,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1902by George Francis Train
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An orphan shipped north like freight
Train opens with his earliest memory, and it is a dark one. In New Orleans in 1833, yellow fever empties the city.
His three little sisters are laid in rough pine boxes. Then a larger box is carried out for his mother. The boy watches from the window and never forgets.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Train, George Francis. My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/my-life-in-many-states-and-in-foreign-lands.
Train, G. F. (2026). My life in many states and in foreign lands. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/my-life-in-many-states-and-in-foreign-lands (Original work published 1902)
Train, George Francis. My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/my-life-in-many-states-and-in-foreign-lands.
@book{train2026my,
author = {Train, George Francis},
title = {My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/my-life-in-many-states-and-in-foreign-lands},
note = {First published 1902}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands about?
It is the dictated life story of George Francis Train, from his orphaned childhood in New Orleans through shipping, railways, travel and politics. He describes clippers, Liverpool, Melbourne, Asia, the Union Pacific, the French Commune and his trips around the world.
Did George Francis Train really inspire Around the World in Eighty Days?
Train says Jules Verne based his novel on Train's own 1870 trip, which he completed in eighty days. That is his claim in the book. He also made two later circuits, in sixty-seven and a half days and in sixty.
What is the Crédit Mobilier in Train's story?
Train says he adapted a French credit idea to American use by buying a Pennsylvania charter and renaming it the Crédit Mobilier of America. It financed the Union Pacific Railway, and he calls it the first trust in the country.
The author
George Francis Train
1829–1904 · American businessman and travel writer
George Francis Train was an American businessman and writer, born in Boston in 1829. He travelled widely and lived in the United States and abroad. He published his autobiography, My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands, in 1902. He died in New York City in 1904.
“I have been silent for thirty years.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
