Resilient Pioneers A History of the Elastic Rail Spike Company Book

There's a ton of information here, but this is like a college text book - zero pictures & dense text. I prefer having at least some pictures/maps in my guide books.

I'd recommend this if you are planning a trip a year from now, are prepared to look up things on your phone/computer while you're reading, and are going to buy another "easier" guide book to take on your actual trip (lugging this thing around in Italy seems like a non-starter).