{"product_id":"the-peking-express-the-bandits-who-stole-a-train-stunned-the-west-and-broke-the-republic-of-china","title":"The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe thrilling true story of train-robbing revolutionaries and passengers who got more than they paid for in this \u003ci\u003eMurder on the Orient Express\u003c\/i\u003e-style adventure, set in China's republican era.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Aided by local proxy authorities, the humiliated Peking government soon furiously gave chase. At the bandits' mountain stronghold, a five-week siege began. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Brilliantly written, with new and original research, \u003ci\u003eThe Peking Express\u003c\/i\u003e 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.","brand":"PublicAffairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48123907965117,"sku":"BS-TC0-701700","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0771\/9767\/2637\/files\/9781541701700-HD.jpg?v=1787090727","url":"https:\/\/boundigo.com\/products\/the-peking-express-the-bandits-who-stole-a-train-stunned-the-west-and-broke-the-republic-of-china","provider":"Boundigo Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}