Compulsively Aimless

In a moment that out did Yogi Berra, General De Gaul is quoted as saying, "China is a big country inhabited by many Chinese."   I'll say the same with books-China is a big country with many books written about it.  I've mentioned books on China from my other lists (Paul Theroux, Colin Thubron, Ella Maillart and others) but this is a short list of  western writers and travelers who shared their insight and passion about the country.   1.  River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler (2001).  Hessler is a gifted writer and patient observer--two qualities that were well suited to his two years in the Peace Corps in a backwater of China.  His travels and experiences teaching English literature in China are wonderful and rewarding.  Hessler has since gone onto write other books on China and pieces for The New Yorker.  Bought new.   2.  Frontier of Heaven, Stanley Stewart: A Journey to the End of China, Stanley...

To the Western mind, Marco Polo is the grand daddy of all explorers--the top tier with Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong.  From 1275 to 1292, he traveled through China, Mongolia and Japan.  His accounts of Kublai Khan's Court, exotic animals and inhospitable deserts were so spectacular that he was not believed by his hometown Venetians.   Personally, Marco Polo was the gateway explorer for me as an armchair traveler.  He set out for the unknown through Central and Eastern Asia, areas that still intrigue me today.  Starting with his original book of Travels , I've added others.  1.  The Travels of Marco Polo, Edited with Introduction by Michael Komroff with Illustrations by Witold Gordon (1930).   Based on Polo's original account dictated to a fellow prisoner as well as the explorer's notebooks.  Hardback and paperback issued in 1982.  The hardback has contemporary color prints and beautiful wide margins that make it a ...

Vintage Books created a series of affordable paper back travel books--some of which have become modern travel classics.  I unintentionally started buying them because the travel topics interested me.  The series contains over 170 books.  Here's my collection: 1.  Iron & Silk, Mark Salzman (1986).  Before China was fully opened and before Peter Hessler wrote his insightful books on China, a young American martial arts student, Mark Salzman, went to live and travel in China.  The result is a series of sketches about his experience.  Salzman's experience is richer for his fluency in Mandarin. Bought used but can't remember where.  Contains a book stamp of the previous owner, Nell P. K. from Ormand Beach, Florida.   2.  Dazinger's Travels: Beyond Forbidden Frontiers, Nick Danzinger (1987).  In a fine tradition of English intrepid eccentric travelers, Danzinger creates his own epic trip He travels from Turkey to Beijing on f...

The original network for globalization.  Not one road but a network of roads running east to west that brought merchants, mercenaries, monks , missionaries connecting Europe, India, and Asia.  The Silk Road brought together different cultures. The heart of my fascination with Central Asia.  The remnants of the great cities are still there.  Connections still there to be reconnected.  I was lucky enough to travel to some of its sites--Merv, Bukhara, Tashkent and other unnamed ruins. 1.  The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia, Francis Wood (2002).  History and stories of the Silk Road.  Exquisite artwork and pictures and images.  Bought new.  2.  The Golden Road to Samarkand, Wilfrid Blunt (1973).  Blunt tells his story of the Silk Road through Alexander the Great, Ghingis Khan, Marco Polo, Tamerlane and the British explorer Ariel Stein.  Rich in photographs.  Bought used.  A stamp ...