Paul Theroux was born in Medford Massachusetts, in 1941, and published his first novel, WALDO, in 1967. His subsequent novels include Picture Palace, winner of the Whitbread Prize for Fiction, The Mosquito Coast, and the hugely acclaimed, Kowloon Tong. His travel books include The Great Railway Bazaar and The Pillars of Hercules.

The 15.30 - London to Paris; the Direct-Orient Express; the Van Golu ("Lake Van") Express; the Teheran express; the Knight Mail to Meshed; the Khyber Pass Local; the Khyber Mail to Lahore Junction; the Frontier Mail; the Kalka Mail fro Simla; the Rajdhani ("Capital") Express to Bombay; the Delhi Mail from Jaipur; the Grand Trunk Express; the Local to Rameswaram; the Talimannar Mail; the 16.25 from Galle; the Howrah Mail; Mandalay Express; the Local to Maymyo; the Lashio Mail; the Night Express from Nong Khai; the International Express to Butterworth; the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur; the North Star Night Express to Singapore; the Saigon-Bien Hoa Passenger Train; the Hue-Danag Passenger Train; the Hatsukari ("Early Bird") Limited Express to Sapporo; the Hikari ("Sunbeam") Super Express to Kyoto; the Kodama ("Echo") to Osaka; the Trans-Siberian Express.