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First published more than thirty years ago, Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey has become a modern classic of travel literature. Here Theroux recounts his early adventures on an unusual grand continental tour. Asia's fabled trains—the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express—are the stars of a journey that takes him on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo Central, then back from Japan on the Trans-Siberian. Brimming with Theroux's signature humor and wry observations, this engrossing chronicle is essential reading for both the ardent adventurer and the armchair traveler.
In this unique and hugely entertaining railway odyssey, Theroux vividly recounts his travels--and the people, places, and landscapes he encountered--on the Orient Express, the Khyber Mail, and the Trans-Siberian Express, through such countries as Turkey, Iran, India, Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Soviet Union.
PAUL THEROUX's highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, Hotel Honolulu, My Other Life, Kowloon Tong, and The Mosquito Coast. His 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.
Anonymous
Posted Mon May 28 00:00:00 EDT 2012
This is among the finest travel books ever written.
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Posted Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Paul Theroux's "Great Railway Bazaar" wasn't as much as a travelogue as I had expected or hoped; I wanted to know more about the countries themselves - the "good, bad and the ugly." However, I did enjoy learning new tidbits about the history of the countries, as well getting to know the diverse cultures that he presented, via ordinary people that he met during his train journey. In addition, I found it refreshing that the book didn't seem to have a political agenda. Of course, that was in an earlier time. Nowadays, it seems that every book, from the lightest fiction to the deepest history, takes a side - even if some of the authors perhaps don't realize their bias is obvious, and this goes for both ends of the political spectrum. I look forward to reading the Bazaar's sequel / followup soon, "Ghost Train to the Eastern Star."
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Posted Sun Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2013
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Posted Fri Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2009
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Posted Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014
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Posted Sun Dec 11 00:00:00 EST 2011
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Posted Thu Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2011
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Overview
First published more than thirty years ago, Paul Theroux's strange, unique, and hugely entertaining railway odyssey has become a modern classic of travel literature. Here Theroux recounts his early adventures on an unusual grand continental tour. Asia's fabled trains?the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express?are the stars of a journey that takes him on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo ...