Rating: 
Summary: Not his best, but pretty good anyway
Review: The first 100 pages of this book are a delight to read, with Theroux taking the Trans-Siberian railway through the vastness of Russia, then travelling down through Mongolia and into China. His observations amuse and enlighten, and as always he brings a literary context to all his travel books. Reading Main Street by Sinclair Lewis as he went through a similar flat boom town in the middle of Siberia was just an example of the way he weaves literature into his narrative.Once Theroux gets into China, he tends to get lost in the vastness of it, as well as the restrictions of having his own special companion specially selected by the folks in the People's Republic. These are minor quibbles, with Theroux I treasure every paragraph, as he puts the effort into making every paragraph important and interesting. Riding the Iron Rooster is no exception. Of course so much has changed in China since the mid-80's, and Theroux addresses these changes in his newer collection Fresh Air Fiend. Theroux observes the places and people in China in his own usual way, he is curious and unsentimental (some say grouchy). My favourite book in this genre is still The Old Patagonian Express, but Iron Rooster is not far behind.
Rating:
Summary: A vivid description of Theroux's travels accross China
Review: Theroux has been toted as "the perfect traveller". This book does nothing but affirm that boastful description. He
describes cultural interactions, human observations, and
sensory overload in eloquent detail. It is a "must read"
for anyone who is travelling to China.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting account of recent China
Review: Theroux is definately an introspective writer who has an ability to convey facts with a twist. Once you get past his arrogance, Theroux does a great job at describing details about China which really bring out the richness of that country. His conversations are interesting, especially when he realizes he is up against a stubborn mind, such as his Chinese escort
Rating: 
Summary: Billions with only one thought on their mind: Change Money?
Review: Theroux writes his travel account with one part wit and three parts sarcasm. He casts a jaundiced eye upon everything and everyone. Because of this his account becomes suspect and probably owes more to fiction than non-fiction. Still, who can resist a good story?
Rating:
Summary: A Journey into the Chinese Psyche
Review: This is a first rate travelogue. Paul Theroux travels the length and breadth of China by train and this account is a must for railway buffs.The construction and language is simple, but the flavour and nuances are deep and rich. One can literally feel the cold of a poorly heated chinese winter. The eating and spitting habits of Chinese have been repeatedly evoked. Though politically outdated it is a fine exploration of the Chinese psyche.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Insight , Good Writing, Great Laughs
Review: This is a well-written literay account of Theroux's travels through the difficult land of modern China. I first read this while living in (British) Hong Kong and making trips to and through the mainland. I have never laughed so much at the crazy predicaments Theroux gets himself into or observes (many the same as I was experiencing), and was struck not only at the quality of his writing but how rare a writer he is for covering this difficult and insecure part of the world. What shines through in the pages of this book is that Theroux the writer is beholden to no one; he delivers accuracy of description everytime, and while this is the essence of a good travel writer, it is not a trait relished by governments out east like China's, where in fact the culture demands "saving face" over telling the blunt truth (see Bo Yang's book The Ugly Chinaman for an in-depth account of this fascinating aspect of Chinese culture). Even some westerners who live out East (and might like us to think of the Third World as some kind of paradise posting) can get upset at this kind of sober truth-telling about "their" China. For the detached reader, Theroux's book is an honest, funny, non-spin-doctored account. If you like this book, try Theroux's Kowloon Tong, his Hong Kong novel banned in China, a very accurate depiction of that small city and the people (both westerners and easterners) who lived in it at the time of the Handover (I read it while living there). Timothy Mo's The Monkey King is another classic China novel about an eccentric Chinese family - a witty, poignant tale, and a book so on the mark that, if anything, it was even more attacked by certain frumps out East than Kowloon Tong!
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: this is an excellent travel book as well as an insightful, unsentimental look into the chinese psyche (and i should know - i am chinese).
Rating:
Summary: Delicious (except some of the food)
Review: This was a deliciously written book, full of narrative that captures the soul and takes it straight to China. And even the food, occasionally a bit more than peculiar, was described brilliantly. Wonderful people, fascinating history. A fully satisfying book. I intend to sit right down and read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Still Applicable
Review: This was the first book that I ever read by Paul Theroux. Since then I have taken every possible opportunity to read each of his works. I think that many may be set off by his ego and attitude but in reading other books of his it seems to me that alot of his writing is double-edged. You can follow his life through his marriage and divorce and his times with VS Naipaul. Being a voracious reader of anything to do with China and having lived there on and off, I find his book to be an objective view of CHina. WIth many people writing travel stories about what they think the "real" China is these days, it is good to see behind the facade most travellers experience when they travel to China. I recommend this book and all of Paul Theroux's travel books.
Rating: 
Summary: if only there were fewer of them
Review: Train after train after train! A most fascinating, thorough narrative of travel through China in the mid-eighties, which, by the way, is the only reason I did not give this book five stars. It is old-more time has past since Paul Theroux took this trip than the time that had passed since the cultural revolution when Theroux wrote this book. But I still recommend this book. There is really nothing else like it available, and it does give a wealth of information about the lay of the land. The physical geography of China has not changed that much since the mid-eighties. But I would not have you think that this books only value is its descriptions of scenery. There is plenty to learn about China, and the Chinese mindset, as long as you are able to transpose it a bit to the present time. For example, I don't think you would be followed around quite so much as Paul Theroux was on this trip. Theroux is a novelist by profession, and a good storyteller. This book contains a lot of interesting anecdotes, such as a delightful description of the few days he spent in the city of Dalian with a travel guide who was obsessed with American idioms. Kipling said, "East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet." In the years since World War II, several countries in the Pacific Rim, starting with Japan, have seemed to defy this adage, and have really become western democracies. What is the future of China? Will this proud culture become more western? Will it become more democratic? Although this book is not a political tretise by any means, it is very useful as a post Cultural Revolution look at China. Nobody can predict what China will become, but surely the most casual observer would have to take note of the major paradigm shift represented by recent changes. This book was written before Tiananmen, hence its weakness. However, I still think the book would be very useful for anyone who has at least a modicum of understanding of the events surrounding the Cultural Revolution. I found it to be a very useful addition to the body of literature I have been reading over the past few years to gain a better understanding of the tremendous changes that have taken place in China since I first saw the pictures of the Red Guards on the cover of my Weekly Reader when I was in elementary school. Get a cup of coffee, put your feet up, and enjoy.
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