On the precipice of a new world

The sensational, high-risk Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge suspended its contestants between the old and the new. 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.

Interweaving events from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the departure of the horse economy, 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.

Review Quote

"Kassia St. Clair has clearly done her research. . . . She tells a thrilling tale." ―Country Life

Additional Book Details