TALES OF THE IRON ROAD: My Life...

TALES OF THE IRON ROAD: My Life as King of the Hobos by “Steam Train” Maury Graham and Robert J. Hemming (Paragon House: $12.95; 222 pp., illustrated). For much of his life, Graham rode the “iron road,” working when a job was available, visiting friends, but mostly just traveling for pleasure. He stresses the distinction he perceives between industrious, honorable ‘bos and idle bums and winos--although he has no qualms about his colleagues using railroad cars for transportation, despite the owners’ attempts to prevent it. Graham laments the passing of a legion of vagabonds he portrays as clever, resourceful men and women, bound by a rigid code of honor. But occasional hints of a darker, hard-drinking, womanizing, gambling side of Graham’s nature creep into the text, which leave the reader wondering if there isn’t a more interesting story hidden behind this almost chivalric self-portrait.