The Race to the Future Audiobook Libro.fm

The story of the worlds most epic race you have never heard of

10 June 1907 Peking Five cars set off in a desperate race across two continents on the verge of revolution

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 PekingtoParis 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 derringdo and sometimes cheating of one of the worlds 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

PRAISE FOR KASSIA ST CLAIR

Excellent innovative and idiosyncratic history that will colour your thinking St Clair writes with style energy and knowledge SPECTATOR

Hugely ambitious sparklingly erudite and wonderfully engaging PETER FRANKOPAN HISTORY TODAY

P 2023 Hodder amp Stoughton Limited