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Riding the Iron Rooster
Riding the Iron Rooster
Author: Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux invites you to join him on the journey of a lifetime, in the grand romanttic tradition, by train across Euope, through the vast underbelly of Asia and in the heart of Russia, and then up to China. Here is China by rail, as seen and heard through the eyes and ears of one of the most intrepid and insightful travel writers of our time.
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ISBN-13: 9780804104548
ISBN-10: 0804104549
Publication Date: 3/28/1989
Pages: 464
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 32

3.9 stars, based on 32 ratings
Publisher: Ivy Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Riding the Iron Rooster on + 64 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
As Theroux admits early on in this fascinating account of his journeys through China in '86, the reader learns more about the author in a travel book than they do about the journey. I also was left feeling that there was much being "told" between the lines, until at last as his journey's end in Tibet is emminent, Theroux lets out all his pent up "political" emotion. His adventure occurs during one of China's most interesting recent cultural periods, and Theroux correctly captures the changing political climate, post Mao/pre student revolt, with an emphisis on his conversations with many Chinese citizens and polititians alike. I was left with a clearer understanding of how a culture so politicly structured, repressed, and conservative could be poised today to become one of the world's next great economies.
reviewed Riding the Iron Rooster on + 119 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you like to armchair travel to places you will probably never get a chance to see, you will like Paul Theroux books. Since I really like trains and traveling by train, I felt right at home with this book and traveling through China on one of their best known trains.
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CocoCee avatar reviewed Riding the Iron Rooster on + 404 more book reviews
I liked Theroux's insights of China and of his fellow travellers!
treehuggernumberone avatar reviewed Riding the Iron Rooster on
Excellent story of Theroux's travels through China. Was on the NY Times best-seller list.


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