Paul Theroux, the author of the train travel classics The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express, takes to the rails once again in this account of his epic journey through China. He hops aboard as part of a tour group in London and sets out for China's border. He then spends a year traversing the country, where he pieces together a fascinating snapshot of a unique moment in history. From the barren deserts of Xinjiang to the ice forests of Manchuria, from the dense metropolises of Shanghai, Beijing, and Canton to the dry hills of Tibet, Theroux offers an unforgettable portrait of a magnificent land and an extraordinary people.
Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"[Theroux's] books have enriched the travel literature of this century...China, with its guard down, its buttons undone, and its fingers greasy, looks even more magical with a little of its mystery revealed." USA Today
"[A] very funny, beautifully written, wonderfully observant, and deeply insightful description of the vagaries of life and politics in China." -- Conde Nast Traveler
"Fascinating...the portrait that emerges is a luminous, almost uncanny, and situationally accurate one. Theroux is particularly good at catching the surreal quality of China." The Miami Herald
"Theroux's genius is in his clear-eyed rendition of a fresh world and the deeper observations he attaches to it." The Chicago Tribune
"[A] very funny, beautifully written, wonderfully observant, and deeply insightful description of the vagaries of life and politics in China." -- Conde Nast Traveler
"Fascinating...the portrait that emerges is a luminous, almost uncanny, and situationally accurate one. Theroux is particularly good at catching the surreal quality of China." The Miami Herald
"Theroux's genius is in his clear-eyed rendition of a fresh world and the deeper observations he attaches to it." The Chicago Tribune
About the Author
PAUL THEROUX is the author of many highly acclaimed books. His novels include A Dead Hand and The Mosquito Coast, and his renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star and Dark Star Safari. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Paul Theroux's highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, and The Mosquito Coast. His renowned travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, and The Happy Isles of Oceania. He lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riding the Iron Rooster,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (Paperback)
This is an often hilarious and extremely informative look into Chinese culture and geography from a travel standpoint. Very enjoyable for anyone who likes Chinese culture, as well as those who know little to nothing about it (which was once me). It was on a college class list of mine, but now I buy it for people. A good read, tho he does get slightly vulgar from time to time.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (Paperback)
I actually read this book nearly twenty years ago and have never forgotten it. I was so pleased to find it available at Amazon.com. One of the things that especially stuck with me was the eating habits of the Chinese at that time---fascinating! Never forgotten was the pail of eels in the "bathroom" ready for the evening meal.
This reading I was able to take more time with the book and get more out of it because I wasn't working and raising three children. I even looked up Paul Theroux on Encarta to get a feel for his personality. This is a fabulous armchair travel of China, a detailed description of the beautiful, the ugly and the strange parts of that vast country. I highly recommend it!
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Along for the ride,
By
This review is from: Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China (Paperback)
The book, like a long train trip, gets tiring after a while, but Theroux loves traveling this way. His observations of the people, land and culture are well worth reading.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
train number, ping mei, shansh marnie, iron rooster, yak butter Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cultural Revolution, Hong Kong, Dalai Lama, Red Guards, Miss Sun, United States, Cherry Blossom, Great Wall, The Slow Train, Chairman Mao, Deng Xiaoping, Comrade Ning, The Fast Train, The Shanghai Express, Miss Wilkie, Ulan Bator, The Night Train, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic, Lei Feng, Blind Bob, The Boat Train, The Qinghai Local, Marco Polo, New York Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
train number, ping mei, shansh marnie, iron rooster, yak butter Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cultural Revolution, Hong Kong, Dalai Lama, Red Guards, Miss Sun, United States, Cherry Blossom, Great Wall, The Slow Train, Chairman Mao, Deng Xiaoping, Comrade Ning, The Fast Train, The Shanghai Express, Miss Wilkie, Ulan Bator, The Night Train, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic, Lei Feng, Blind Bob, The Boat Train, The Qinghai Local, Marco Polo, New York Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
56
books
cite this book:
See all 56 books citing this book
- The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain by Paul Theroux on 4 pages
- The Family Arsenal by Paul Theroux in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Back Matter
- Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Back Matter
- Tears of Blood: A Cry For Tibet by Mary Craig on page 183, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees: A World War II Dilemma by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto on page 34, and Back Matter
See all 56 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > Travel > Asia > China
- Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Essays & Travelogues
