In this masterpiece of travel writing, Paul Theroux takes us from his homeland to nearly the end of the world with his book The Old Patagonian Express, which includes a new foreword by the author and is part of the Penguin Modern Classics series.

The journey, not the arrival, is the essence. The Old Patagonian Express narrates Theroux's train journey from the top of North America to South America. Starting from the Boston subway, he describes a trip from icy Massachusetts to the dry square of the southernmost point of Argentina, passing through beautiful Central American cities and the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu.

Between frostbite and sweat, as temperatures and altitude alternate, he recounts his encounters with people, from the loaded but inevitably dull Mr. Thornberry in Limon, to reading to the legendary blind author, Jorge Luis Borges, in Buenos Aires. A well-written and insightful portrait of the journey to 'the end of the line'.

Paul Edward Theroux (born 1941) is an American travel writer and novelist, known for his lively travel works such as The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), The Old Patagonian Express (1979), and Riding the Iron Rooster (1985). He has published many literary works, some of which have been adapted into films.

If you enjoyed The Old Patagonian Express, you might be interested in Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, also available in the Penguin Modern Classics series.

"One of the most enchanting travel books written in our time" - Financial Times

"Travel writing at its most adept" - Sunday Telegraph

Pages: 448, Dimensions: 13x13cm