This new book is an interesting perspective on the suburban stations on Auckland's Southern and Eastern lines. The layout is a little curious in that many of the historical, geographical and topical issues are dealt with in the relatively lengthy introduction. The table of contents is situated on the rear cover, keyed to a crisp map which makes referencing areas of interest straightfoward if unconventional. Each station has a page dedicated to it and the reference normally consists of a couple of recent photos and a lengthy caption detailing the degree of use, access, and the nature of the current building along with any other pertinent comments. The architecture ranges from classic NZR designs to uninspiring buildings more in keeping with a 1970's style public convenience although the new Glen Innes station seems to reflect an optimism in rail passenger transport which has been relatively rare in recent years.

The reader learns rather more about the authors family than might have been expected from a railway book and sees relatively few trains in the illustrations. Britomart and the old Auckland Station largely escape the attention of this book for reasons explained in the text. However, for people who don't know Auckland well, this could make it a little hard for them to relate to the book. However the coverage of the elegent Pukekohe station and the amusement gained from the remedial work shown on the Penrose footbridge provide adequate compensation.