In May 1923,when Shanghai publisher and reporter John Benjamin Powell bought a first-class ticket for the Peking Express,he pictured an idyllic overnight journey on a brand-new train of unprecedented luxury-exactly what the advertisements promised. Seeing his fellow passengers,including mysterious Italian lawyer Giuseppe Musso,a confidante of Mussolini and lawyer for the opium trade,and American heiress Lucy Aldrich,sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller Jr.,he knew it would be an unforgettable trip.Charismatic bandit leader and populist rabble rouser Sun Mei-yao had also taken notice of the new train from Shanghai to Peking. On the night of Powell's trip of a lifetime,Sun launched his plan to make a brazen political statement: he and a thousand fellow bandits descended on the train,capturing dozens of hostages.Aided by local proxy authorities,the humiliated Peking government soon furiously gave chase. At the bandits'mountain stronghold,a five-week siege began.Brilliantly written,with new and original research,The Peking Express tells the incredible true story of a clash that shocked the world-becoming so celebrated it inspired several Hollywood movies-and set the course for China's two-decade civil war.
Publisher: PublicAffairs,U.S.ISBN: 9781541701700Number of pages: 352Weight: 560 gDimensions: 238 x 158 x 36 mm
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