Book excerpt: Mark Smith is the Man in Seat Sixty-One. Although this might make him sound like a fictional spy, he is in fact the man behind the massively popular www.seat61.com website, which offers invaluable advice on worldwide train travel. This book is the essential guide for anyone who wishes to travel to Europe and beyond by train. Packed with insider knowledge and top tips, it offers advice on everything from the quickest routes and the cheapest fares to the best weekends away; travelling with children and changing trains; timetables and maps; essential items to travel with; and everything in between. More and more people are choosing to avoid air travel and seek alternatives, and this is the only book they need to plan those journeys.