The Old Patagonian Express
by Paul Theroux
Buy on AmazonThe acclaimed travel writer journeys by train across the Americas from Boston to Patagonia in this international bestselling travel memoir. Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Paul Theroux takes a grand railway adventure first across the United States and then south through Mexico, Central America, and across the Andes until he winds up on the meandering Old Patagonian Express steam engine. His epic commute finally comes to a halt in a desolate land of cracked hills and thorn bushes that reaches toward Antarctica. Along the way, Theroux demonstrates how train travel can reveal ""the social miseries and scenic splendors" of a continent.…
Recommended by
"Theroux's candor and professionalism relaxed me. His idea to go, go alone, go far, don't come back for a long time — it didn't just make sense to me, it changed my life."
By the Book: Andrew Mccarthy · nytimes.com