{"product_id":"2026200006580-secondhand-riding-the-iron-rooster-by-train-through-china","title":"Riding The Iron Rooster: By Train Through China","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: First Edition\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: Very good\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: No markings\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Usual aging. Pages clean and bright. Binding tight. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA landmark work of travel literature, Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China chronicles Paul Theroux's epic year-long journey across China by rail in the mid-1980s, a period of cautious opening after decades of isolation. With his signature blend of sharp wit, unflinching observation, and literary curiosity, Theroux presents an intimate and often irreverent portrait of a vast nation in transition — its landscapes, its people, and its contradictions. The narrative carries readers from the frozen steppes of Manchuria to the tropical south, through ancient cities and remote provinces rarely seen by Western eyes, capturing conversations with fellow passengers and local officials with equal candor. Theroux argues, implicitly and persistently, that the truest way to understand a country is to move through it slowly, at ground level, and his train journeys become a lens through which the complexities of Chinese society, history, and culture are vividly illuminated. Authoritative, funny, and at times provocative, this travelogue stands as one of the definitive accounts of China on the cusp of its modern transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48820246446299,"sku":"2026200006580-SECONDHAND","price":25.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/790e7245-8897-4f3c-b373-884279810004.png?v=1780055575","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200006580-secondhand-riding-the-iron-rooster-by-train-through-china","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}