The race to the future : 8,000 miles to Paris--the adventure that accelerated the twentieth century / Kassia St. Clair
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York, New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2024Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First American EditionDescription: xxii, 359 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 1324094915
- 9781324094913
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
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Dr. James Carlson Library | NonFiction | New | 796.7209 S774 | Available | 33111011472954 | ||||
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Adult Book
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Main Library | NonFiction | New | 796.7209 S774 | Available | 33111011357213 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The racers--an Italian prince and his chauffeur, a French racing driver, a con man, and several rival journalists--battle over steep inclines, through narrow mountain passages, and across the arid Gobi Desert. Competitors endure torrential rain and choking dust. There are barely any roads, and petrol is almost impossible to find. A global audience of millions follows each twist and turn, devouring reports telegraphed from the course.
More than its many adventures, the Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge took place on the precipice of a new world. As the twentieth century dawned, imperial regimes in China and Russia were crumbling, paving the way for the rise of communist ones. The electric telegraph was rapidly transforming modern communication, and with it, the news media, commerce, and politics. Suspended between the old and the new, the Peking-to-Paris, as best-selling historian Kassia St. Clair writes, became a critical tipping point.
A gripping, immersive narrative of the race, The Race to the Future sets the drivers' derring-do (and occasional cheating) against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological race to the future. Interweaving events from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the departure of the horse economy and the rise of gendered marketing, St. Clair shows how the Peking-to-Paris provided an impetus for profound social, cultural, and industrial change, while masterfully capturing the mounting tensions between nations and empires--all building up to the cataclysmic event that changed everything: the First World War.
"Consistently mind-boggling, often funny, and occasionally hair-raising" (Philip Ball), The Race to the Future is the incredible true story of the quest against the odds that propelled us along the road to modernity.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-345) and index.
"An Italian prince and his chauffeur, a French racing driver, a conman and various journalists battle over steep mountain ranges and across the arid vastness of the Gobi Desert. The contestants need teams of helpers to drag their primitive cars up narrow gorges, lift them over rough terrain and float them across rivers. Petrol is almost impossible to find, there are barely any roads, armed bandits and wolves lurk in the forests. Updates on their progress, sent by telegram, are eagerly devoured by millions in one of the first ever global news stories. Their destination: Paris. More than its many adventures, the Peking-to-Paris provided the impetus for profound change. The world of 1907 is poised between the old and the new: communist regimes will replace imperial ones in China and Russia; the telegraph is transforming modern communication and the car will soon displace the horse. In this book bestselling author Kassia St Clair traces the fascinating stories of two interlocking races - setting the derring-do (and sometimes cheating) of one of the world's first car races against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological rush to the future, as the rivalry grows between countries and empires, building up to the cataclysmic event that changed everything - the First World War. The Race to the Future is the incredible true story of the quest against the odds that shaped the world we live in today"--Publisher's description.