In the summer of 1907, five automobiles roared over a start line near the Forbidden City. The racers--including an Italian prince, an impetuous con man, and a French racing driver--battled over steep mountain ranges, through dense forests, and across the arid Gobi Desert. A global audience followed every twist and turn, devouring reports telegraphed to journalists around the world. More than its many adventures, the Peking to Paris took place on the precipice of a new world, born, as best-selling historian Kassia St. Clair writes, "out of profound social, cultural, and technological change." A gripping, immersive narrative of the race, The Race to the Future sets the drivers' derring-do (and occasional cheating) against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological race to the future, interweaving events from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the rise of gendered marketing, and from the departure of the horse economy to the First World War.
The racers--an Italian prince and his chauffeur, a French racing driver, a con man, and several rival journalists--battle over steep inclines, through narrow mountain passages, and across the arid Gobi Desert. Competitors endure torrential rain and choking dust. There are barely any roads, and petrol is almost impossible to find. A global audience of millions follows each twist and turn, devouring reports telegraphed from the course. More than its many adventures, the Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge took place on the precipice of a new world. 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. Suspended between the old and the new, the Peking-to-Paris, as best-selling historian Kassia St. Clair writes, became a critical tipping point. A gripping, immersive narrative of the race, The Race to the Future sets the drivers' derring-do (and occasional cheating) against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological race to the future. Interweaving events from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the departure of the horse economy and the rise of gendered marketing, 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 eve