Doug Riddell, Railway Age, Author, Retired Amtrak Company Photographer and Locomotive Engineer, provides the following book review:

A Life Off The Tracks Restored

Ghost written accounts of celebrities with sordid pasts are a dime a dozen, and appear intended solely to generate furthering publicity. Rescued: A True Story of Redemption, Pardon and Second Chances, is definitely not one of them.

Author, John P. Eschenbach, is not a celebrity. He is, in fact, one of the most unlikely persons to want to share details of someone who has not only survived incarceration, addiction, and disappointments, but a person who, through disciplined character and self-determination, has motivated those he met, not only to offer him their heartfelt encouragement, but to give him a second chance.

Those of us who came to know Eschenbach as a master builder of railroad structures, with intricate technological skills, which evidence an uncanny ability to solve complex problems, would never in our wildest imagination have guessed that his life had gone completely off the track. It was in fact a virtual train wreck.

While the journey to right his life is a testament to his faith, Rescued is not merely a book espousing the plan of salvation. It should not be confused with a religious tract, handed out on street corners, or left at one’s door, claiming to have all the answers to all of life’s problems.

The author seems as amazed as the reader will be, to discover that there can be redemption and fulfillment hidden in plain sight, and that help can be obtained to salvage a lost and troubled soul, if only there is the wisdom and a genuine desire to ask for that help, and a willingness to seek it out.

There are some stories that deserve to be told, that need to be told, and should be told, but not all are told, for the lack of someone with the courage to allow themselves to bare their souls and step onto the stage, not for self-aggrandizement, but to share the good fortune. Rescued is one such good read.