The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Paul Theroux (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2008

  $12.64

  The Old Patagonian Express tells of Paul Theroux's train journey down the length of North and South America. Beginning on Boston's subway, he depicts a voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip, via pretty Central American towns and the ancient Incan city of Macchu Pichu. Shivering and sweating by turns as the temperature and altitude rise and plummet, he describes the people he encountered - thrown in with the tedious, and unavoidable, Mr Thornberry in Limon and reading to the legendary blind writer, Jorge Luis Borges, in Buenos Aires. Witty, sharply observed and beautifully written, this is a richly evocative account of travelling to 'the end of the line'.

• Used

  Paperback
  1996

  $3.27

  Award-winning travel writer Paul Theroux invites you aboard The Old Patagonian Express by Train through the Americas ; packed with powerful descriptions and portraits of the many colours of humanity, The Old Patagonian Express is an unforgettable read. A witty sharply observed journey down the length of North and South America. Beginning his journey in Boston, where he boarded the subway commuter train, and catching trains of all kinds on the way, Paul Theroux tells of his voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts and Illinois to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip. Sweating and shivering by turns as the temperature and altitude shoot up and down, thrown in with the appalling Mr Thornberry in Limon and reading nightly to the blind writer, Borges, in Buenos Aires, Theroux vividly evokes the contrasts of a journey 'to the end of the line'. Fascinating, beautifully written ...a vivid travelogue described with the sensitive, richly observant pen of a born writer . ( Sunday Express ). This is travel writing at its most accomplished ...even the bored are funny and human, and the description of homeless children is painfully unforgettable . ( Sunday Telegraph ). American travel writer Paul Theroux is known for the rich descriptions of people and places that is often streaked with his distinctive sense of irony; his other non-fiction titles, Riding the Iron Rooster , The Happy Isles of Oceania , Sunrise with Seamonsters , The Kingdom by the Sea , The Tao of Travel , Ghost Train to the Eastern Star , The Great Railway Bazaar , Dark Star Safari , Fresh-air Fiend , Sir Vidia's Shadow , The Pillars of Hercules , and his novels and collections of short stories, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner The Mosquito Coast are available from Penguin.