storyjj

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road

From

Tags: loved it alternative rock mourning motorcycles drumming grief loss widower book excellent book nonfiction trips and journeys spain - portugal - latin america overcoming adversity self discovery trip death memoirs - correspondence - interviews rush motorcycle

Average Rating

        Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing RoadIn less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. This memoir tells of the sense of loss and directionlessness that led him on a 55,000-mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again. He had needed to get away, but had not really needed a destination. His travel adventures chronicle his personal odyssey and include stories of reuniting with friends and family, grieving, thinking, and reminiscing as he rode until he encountered the miracle that allowed him to find peace.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #19409 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

An amazing life story by M. E. Hollowell
This book was inspirational! It provides a good reality check when you feel like life is handling you more than you can deal with.

CHRIS AND FRED GAVE A HORRIBLE REVIEW by Margaret Duhon
Fred and Chris’ review is shockingly disturbing. I read this book 3 times and wept uncontrollably at Neil’s losses. I cannot believe that you would complain that he is shallow, and complained about the number of pages it took to tell of the events. How much more does he need to tell? Selena lost control of her vehicle, flipped it, and it killed her. It was a terrible accident without cause. Jackie fell into the worst depths of a depressive state and it killed her along with the terminal cancer. A disease I battled personally for 2 years but actually ended up in remission.

To complain that this book reads like a Mapsco means neither one of you understand or care about how most readers like myself want to know everything, every description, every detail of what he is seeing and feeling. Neil writes so that you feel you are right there with him and that is what I love about his writing style.
To say that he cares more about his friend who is in jail for marijuana possession, (not HARD DRUGS) instead of Selena and Jackie is very callous. If he cared about his friend over his family, he never would have been in seclusion for so long and would have probably returned to drumming a lot sooner. HE LOVED HIS LITTLE GIRL MORE THAN ANYTHING!!! Look at the way he talks about her in all of his books. He was a very doting father and very involved in her life.
The fact that he did not just take a bottle of pills and end it all after those tragic events shows how much courage and strong character he really has. And just because he can handle his liquor does not mean he is teetering on the brink of alcoholism. Sounds like something a member of the infamous AA would say.
Saying that he has a diminishing respect for humans individually and as a whole just means that you don’t like the way he looks at some people and situations. After reading all his books I realize that I think and feel the exact same way as he does. You just don’t like his observations because he tells the truth and tells it like it really is, and no one ever wants to hear the real truth.
He can’t help it if he does not really like being famous, nor can he help it that he is pretty much the best damn lyricist and drummer ever!! Its a little nerve racking to have people running after you all the time.

This book takes you through his private hell and emotional wreckage that feels like he will never come out of, and in a lot of ways he never really will. Yes he has found a new soul mate and has a renewed zest for life, but one never gets over the loss of their baby and you can see it in his eyes in recent pictures, he is not completely the same person he was before and never will be again and to say he is in need of some personal work makes me feel the both of you need personal work a lot more than he ever did!! Let’s see how you handle it when you loose your loved ones.
I have more respect and admiration for Neil Peart than a lot of peope I personally know and I am glad that he was able to find the will to live.

masterpiece! by R. Burgess
i don’t know what more i can say, book more than worth reading, if you love music, RUSH, adventure, bikes, just to name a few and i you can appreciate what it takes for soul to lose everything an want to keep moving forward this is a worth wild read for you.

i personally love it for all that and the way he speaks so painfully honest of eventing, himself included. not to mention his amazing ability to be perfectly descript and yet it inst my method of choice to fall asleep, if you have ever read those kind of books im sure you can relate. and as you go you will see more and more of who Niel Peart is, much of it being hi sense of humor, all be it subtle r dark at times always there. all i can say is buy it and read it, i did it on a whim simply cuz i love Rush and always like to hear what fellow drummers have to say.

So So and boring by Analog Kid
First let me say that I am a big Rush fan. Peart is one of the best if not the best drummer in rock in role and I enjoy the lyrical content of his songs which are deep and profound. Second, I can not imagine or even pretend to imagine the extreme emotional pain he experienced losing his daughter and than his wife a short time later. He is a survivor. With that said, I did enjoy the very small parts in the book where he spoke about the loss of Selena (daughter) and Jackie (wife) and his experiences with them. I wish he would have spoken more about them. The description of his travels was nice as well especially the areas that I am familiar with. However, the letters he wrote to his friends, especially his pal Brutus who was in prison for trying to sell drugs in the United Stated, got very old and where as boring as hell. He called it an injustice in regards to Brutus being in prison. Hey, you do the crime than you got to do the time, Neil! The letters where just way too much. I heard more about his druggie friend Brutus than about Jackie and Selena. The only reason I finished the book because I am stubborn, what I start I finish even if it is boring as hell. Furthermore, I spent 20+ bucks on the book and I could not justify to myself not finishing it. I bought the book thinking that it would give some insight to a man who I admire as a drummer in my favorite band but it seems he was very guarded. Nonetheless, it is his book and he can do as he pleases. I would not recommend it and the only reason i gave it two stars was because I am trying to be nice because I am a big Neil Peart fan when it comes to music but not when it comes to this book.

Fragmented, Poor Editing, but Contains Many Jems by Gregory Canellis
As a faithful fan of the Canadian rock-trio Rush since 1976, I had read about the heart breaking double tragedy in drummer Neil Peart’s personal life: first the death of his daughter in a car accident, followed by that of his wife to cancer eight months later. Driving home from a recent Rush concert, I felt it was time to delve into Peart’s writings, beginning appropriately with _Ghost Rider: Travels of the Healing Road_.

Constantly surrounded at home by memories of his beloved wife and daughter, while consumed in his misery, loss and anguish, Peart, an empty shell of a man with no will to continue living realized he would die from the ravages of depression, if he did not keep moving “Book One” recounts Peart’s motorcycle journey of healing through some of North America’s most remote, rugged and majestically beautiful National Parks. Like many of his literary heroes, Peart set off with a writer’s eye and journal in hand. When not riding, Peart hiked forest trails, rowed on mountain lakes, anything to keep moving. Peart finds wonder in nature, its beauty, and is a knowledgeable bird watcher. Along the way, he investigates local used book stores, museums and the stomping grounds of some his favorite American authors. Peart often digresses and recounts the history of a little known piece of Americana and the people who laid claim to a piece of it.

Although a self-professed “saddle tramp,” Peart eats at the top of the food chain, and his efforts to satisfy his Champaign tastes (described in minute detail) on beer menus is sometimes comical. It soon becomes apparent that, despite his grieving heart, Peart is a loner, by nature, comfortable in his solitude. Yet, Peart the loner battles loneliness, especially at meal times or in crowded familial settings. Happy to sit alone in a darkened corner, he eats and vents to his journal about overweight tourists with “mullet” hair cuts, name tag wearing conventioneers, or “Califoricators.” When he goes as far as to label people “low lifes,” however, Mr. Peart apparently has forgotten that this social strata could easily buy Rush CDs and concert tickets too. Always polite (after all Peart is Canadian), he does not warm up to people easily, nor does he choose friends readily. When he does form friendships, they tend to be lifelong: his band mates, his wife’s relations, and his best friend and riding pal Brutus. After hearing that Brutus was incarcerated for illegal dealings in medicinal-herbal trade, Peart discovers a renewed purpose in the form of describing it through letters to Brutus in jail.

“Book Two” finds Peart in a winter hiatus at home, after a brief but unsuccessful relationship with a woman in California. Here, motorcycle treks are replaced by snowshoes and cross-country skies as Peart re-explores his snow covered winter soulscape, and intimates the process of his healing through more letters to colleagues and friends. Although at times repetitive, Peart’s letters are often more personal and revealing; less formal, and more soul bearing than his narrative. Skimming over these letters, one risks missing some of Peart’s most insightful self-analysis. Yet, several of the letters to Brutus containing nothing more than adolescent banter and coded insider jokes certainly should have been chopped.

It is said that wisdom is attained through pain. Neil Peart, through grief, and in spite of himself, has gained a wisdom some of us may never hope to grasp. The ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote: “Know yourself, then know others, and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.” Peart not only possesses the self-honesty to know himself, his human foibles, and character defects, but also came to identify the ghosts and demons that taunt a grieving soul on a daily basis. The more tangible aspects of the book contain a few flaws, though.

Travel narratives offer unique challenges to a writer. Anyone who has attempted to put pen to paper soon realizes that everything surrounding them is called something. Peart’s numerous descriptions of flora and fauna, and efforts to research afford the reader the joy of watching a writer in the process of developing his craft. Redundancy is another challenge. Keeping thousands of miles of roads, highways, rivers, valleys, mountains, forests, and Best Western Hotels fresh on every page is a daunting task indeed. The combination of Peart’s narrative, journal entries, and too many letters to Brutus, needless to say, created overlap that unfortunately escaped an editor’s keen eye. It seems Peart is enamored with the Shift-I keys. Peart’s more than generous sprinkling of italicized words, is quite distracting. After a few hundred pages, Peart’s final chapters and epilog take a steep nose dive. One can almost hear Peart’s publisher saying, “I need that manuscript tomorrow!”

Though bound handsomely the book contains some needless flair. Each new chapter shows an artsy black and white photograph of Peart’s riderless BMW motorcycle, pointed down a different stretch of scenic, yet lonely North American highway. Peart hints at having taken hundreds of photos on his journey, yet not one (other than the chapter photos mentioned above) appears in the book. A photo section offering views into Peart’s family life before, and during his healing journey would have been a joy. Likewise, Journal passages headed with a facsimile of Peart’s handwriting, only offers more needless attempts at flair. For map lovers, the absence of a simple rudimentary map outlining Peart’s route will surely disappoint.

At the risk of appearing fragmented, this book offers much to a varied audience. Lack of smoother flow and tighter ending is perhaps more the fault of a keen editor than the author’s. Yet the joy of watching Neil Peart grow both emotionally and literally makes Ghosts a must read, whether you are a Rush fan or not.

• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa
• Snakes & Arrows
• Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle
• Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

From

Tags: global community disparity photo essay poverty differences in cultures travel cultures food photo essays faith daluisio food cultures photography peter menzel

Average Rating

        Hungry Planet: What the World Eats It’s an inspired idea–to better understand the human diet, explore what culturally diverse families eat for a week. That’s what photographer Peter Menzel and author-journalist Faith D’Alusio, authors of the equally ambitious Material World, do in Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, a comparative photo-chronicle of their visits to 30 families in 24 countries for 600 meals in all. Their personal-is-political portraits feature pictures of each family with a week’s worth of food purchases; weekly food-intake lists with costs noted; typical family recipes; and illuminating essays, such as “Diabesity,” on the growing threat of obesity and diabetes. Among the families, we meet the Mellanders, a German household of five who enjoy cinnamon rolls, chocolate croissants, and beef roulades, and whose weekly food expenses amount to $500. We also encounter the Natomos of Mali, a family of one husband, his two wives, and their nine children, whose corn and millet-based diet costs $26.39 weekly.

We soon learn that diet is determined by largely uncontrollable forces like poverty, conflict and globalization, which can bring change with startling speed. Thus cultures can move–sometimes in a single jump–from traditional diets to the vexed plenty of global-food production. People have more to eat and, too often, eat more of nutritionally questionable food. Their health suffers.

Because the book makes many of its points through the eye, we see–and feel–more than we might otherwise. Issues that influence how the families are nourished (or not) are made more immediate. Quietly, the book reveals the intersection of nutrition and politics, of the particular and universal. It’s a wonderful and worthy feat. –Arthur Boehm

        Hungry Planet: What the World Eats It’s an inspired idea–to better understand the human diet, explore what culturally diverse families eat for a week. That’s what photographer Peter Menzel and author-journalist Faith D’Alusio, authors of the equally ambitious Material World, do in Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, a comparative photo-chronicle of their visits to 30 families in 24 countries for 600 meals in all. Their personal-is-political portraits feature pictures of each family with a week’s worth of food purchases; weekly food-intake lists with costs noted; typical family recipes; and illuminating essays, such as “Diabesity,” on the growing threat of obesity and diabetes. Among the families, we meet the Mellanders, a German household of five who enjoy cinnamon rolls, chocolate croissants, and beef roulades, and whose weekly food expenses amount to $500. We also encounter the Natomos of Mali, a family of one husband, his two wives, and their nine children, whose corn and millet-based diet costs $26.39 weekly.

We soon learn that diet is determined by largely uncontrollable forces like poverty, conflict and globalization, which can bring change with startling speed. Thus cultures can move–sometimes in a single jump–from traditional diets to the vexed plenty of global-food production. People have more to eat and, too often, eat more of nutritionally questionable food. Their health suffers.

Because the book makes many of its points through the eye, we see–and feel–more than we might otherwise. Issues that influence how the families are nourished (or not) are made more immediate. Quietly, the book reveals the intersection of nutrition and politics, of the particular and universal. It’s a wonderful and worthy feat. –Arthur BoehmThe age-old practice of sitting down to a family meal is undergoing unprecedented change as rising world affluence and trade, along with the spread of global food conglomerates, transform eating habits worldwide. HUNGRY PLANET profiles 30 families from around the world–including Bosnia, Chad, Egypt, Greenland, Japan, the United States, and France–and offers detailed descriptions of weekly food purchases; photographs of the families at home, at market, and in their communities; and a portrait of each family surrounded by a week’s worth of groceries. Featuring photo-essays on international street food, meat markets, fast food, and cookery, this captivating chronicle offers a riveting look at what the world really eats.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #4935 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Enchanting Book for the Foodie by Carolyn Smagalski
At the James Beard Awards in 2006, a huge, on-stage screen supplemented each presentation with images for the audience - images that illustrated themes within restaurants, foods, photos, and books. As a “foodie” who writes about beer, I was enchanted by a number of entries, including Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio.

So intense was this impression, that I was unable to leave the memory of this book at the Awards Ceremony. Two years later, the compulsion overtook me. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats stood on the shelf at my local bookshop, tempting me with what lived within the covers. This masterful display of “what the world eats,” is so alive that, as I read, I become a participant in every global society we pass through.

Each chapter (organized by country) begins with a photograph of a “typical” family unit. The families are posed within their living quarters, surrounded by the food consumed in an average week. We feel as if we are peering into their personal lives. We know how much they spend on this food, (converted into US dollars). We see what they wear, how their family unit is structured, and what we would encounter in the marketplace where they shop. We are exposed to the sudden realization that some societies physically work for an entire lifetime at the meager chance for survival, so harsh are their living conditions. In other societies, the threat of obesity and diabetes looms with constancy, despite an affluence that, in theory, should be the key to longevity and health.

The authors give us extraordinary details about foods in each land - how animals are slaughtered and preserved without refrigeration; the method used to patiently separate barley grains from sand; or the necessity of constantly hand-filling an animal trough with water, because the earth and the heat claim its own share. We imagine surviving on skewered scorpions, seahorses, cicadas and silkworm pupae; Spit-roasted cui (Guinea pig), narwhal skin, polar bear, and camel; Khova (partially caramelized condensed milk), mung beans, spiny lobster, and aiysh (porridge); espresso coffee, well water, jasmine tea, cocoa, and Ur-bock beer. We also contemplate the effect of preservatives, prepared foods, and fast-food franchises on our daily lives in the Western world.

So fascinated was I with this voyeur’s look into the personal eating habits within our fellow global societies, that I was unable to put this book down. As a documentary on global survival, it is superb. As a catalyst to our own self-examination, it is invaluable. It does not read like a novel, but is a rich tapestry that can be digested in bits and pieces - with leisure, or as an all-consuming, intellectual work.

interesting read by Ms. C. A. Sheppard
this book is facinating if you are at all interested in how the rest of the world lives

Superb reading!! by Lisa Hintz
I couldn’t put this book down! I was drawn to it because it mixed my loves of both food and culture into one superb read.The photography is stunning,the cultural facts immersing and the reading about different families addictive.

Very good book. I highly recommend it. by Katelin J. Roberts
This is a great book to pick up any time you have a minute and just read little pieces that are fascinating… or you can read it cover to cover. the photos are beautiful and it really gives you an incite into how other cultures around the world are living right now. It’s inspiring and made me want to inprove my own diet.

Book by M. Naveira
Nice wrapping– great delivery– Prompt. We received this book in perfect condition as stated.
Thank you.

• Material World: A Global Family Portrait
• Houses and Homes (Around the World Series)
• If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People
• A Life Like Mine
• Women in the Material World

1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die

From

Tags: book 1000 travel bestseller patricia schultz american highway places to see family road trips mom lets get going north america retirement fun things oprah book club usa canada check travel guide road trip travel ideas travel

Average Rating

        1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You DieIt’s a traveler’s life list, a guide, an inspiration, a memory book. Open it to check out where you’ve been, and where you should go next. What to see and what to do and what to show the kids. Where to eat and where to stay. And how to change your life.

Covering the U.S.A. and Canada like never before, here are 1,000 spectacular, compelling, essential, offbeat, utterly unforgettable places. Pristine beaches and national parks, world-class museums and the Corn Palace, mountain resorts, salmon-rich rivers, scenic byways, Chez Panisse and the country’s best taco, lush gardens and Holden Arboretum, mountain biking on the Maah Daah Hey trail, historic mansions, vineyards, hot springs, the Talladega Superspeedway, classic ballparks, and more. Includes more than 150 places of special interest to families, and, for every entry, the nuts and bolts of how and when to visit.

        1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You DieIt’s a traveler’s life list, a guide, an inspiration, a memory book. Open it to check out where you’ve been, and where you should go next. What to see and what to do and what to show the kids. Where to eat and where to stay. And how to change your life.

Covering the U.S.A. and Canada like never before, here are 1,000 spectacular, compelling, essential, offbeat, utterly unforgettable places. Pristine beaches and national parks, world-class museums and the Corn Palace, mountain resorts, salmon-rich rivers, scenic byways, Chez Panisse and the country’s best taco, lush gardens and Holden Arboretum, mountain biking on the Maah Daah Hey trail, historic mansions, vineyards, hot springs, the Talladega Superspeedway, classic ballparks, and more. Includes more than 150 places of special interest to families, and, for every entry, the nuts and bolts of how and when to visit.It’s the phenomenon: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die has 2.2 million copies in print and has spent 144 weeks and counting on The New York Times bestseller list.

Now, shipping in time for the tens of millions of travelers heading out for summer trips, comes 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die. Sail the Maine Windjammers out of Camden. Explore the gold-mining trails in Alaska’s Denali wilderness. Collect exotic shells on the beaches of Captiva. Take a barbecue tour of Kansas City—from Arthur Bryant’s to Gates to B.B.’s Lawnside to Danny Edward’s to LC’s to Snead’s. There’s the ice hotel in Quebec, the Great Stalacpipe Organ in Virginia, cowboy poetry readings, what to do in Louisville after the Derby’s over, and for every city, dozens of unexpected suggestions and essential destinations.

The book is organized by region, and subject-specific indices in the back sort the book by interest—wilderness, great dining, best beaches, world-class museums, sports and adventures, road trips, and more. There’s also an index that breaks out the best destinations for families with children. Following each entry is the nuts and bolts: addresses, websites, phone numbers, costs, best times to visit.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #1373 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Wonderful Travel Ideas by Lynn Michelsohn
New Mexico, South Carolina, Montana, Vermont, New York, Virginia, and Maine are some of the places I have lived that are well covered and reasonably represented in this guide (with the East certainly receiving more attention than the West). Although anyone can name worthwhile places not included, or argue about the appropriateness of some of the places that are included, overall, the balance of well-known attractions and lesser-known gems is a good one. There seem to be fewer expensive hotels featured in this book than in the world-wide volume, but emphasis on restaurants is stronger–not a bad thing for those of us who consider culinary treats an important part of travel and culture.
As with her other “1000 Places” volume, this guide provides more inspiration and travel ideas than practical travel details–that’s what conventional guide books and the Internet are for. I love the book and recommend it to anyone considering travel.
-Lynn Michelsohn, author of Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World!

1000 places to see before you die. by John Paul Jacobson
I have an ‘undying’ love for some of the places listed in this tome… and have a greater appreciation of the diversity and complexity of America to the South. I was hoping to see more similar places and people listed for Canada… but perhaps that is too much to expect from an American Publication. With todays Gasoline prices, reading about those American destinations and searching for them on the Internet is perhaps the only travel my family and I are likely to launch into.

No Rick Steves by El Kabong
1,000 places to go before I die? More like 1,000 spas and resorts and resturants. Big deal - the more money you spend, the bigger the wall you create between yourself and the local culture. Who wants to know about exotic resorts and five star restaurants? Don’t tell me about the big ticket items! Tell me about quirky offbeat places with personality and charm, things I cant get anywhere else. Tell me about Hole in the Rock, UT. Tell me about The Last Stoplight on I-90. Tell me about a PLACE, not about how to spend money at generic locations.

Worthless.

Good reference book. by Tina
I’ve been on a bit of a traveling kick lately. I’m really interested in seeing different parts of the world and different parts of the US. I bought this book because I was planning a road trip to quite a few different states and I thought it would be a good reference book.

Let’s talk about the positives first. In terms of how it’s written, the book is organized by sections of the country (New England, the west coast, etc.) It’s not hard to find a specific state. Second, there’s something listed for everyone in all of the states. From theme parks to museums, from parks to restaurants, there’s quite a bit of information in this book. The writer even mentions the best times of the year to visit a particular area as well as the cost. Also, the writer lists some recommendations (like what to eat at certain restaurants) which is a bonus.

And now for the negatives. I have to say that a good amount of the attractions listed are historical in nature. Now, I’m all for doing historical-related things but I wish there was a bigger selection of other attractions. Second, in my opinion, this book doesn’t read like a typical book. I wouldn’t find much enjoyment from reading it from beginning to end. This is simply a reference book.

Overall, I think this book is great to have on hand when you’re planning a trip to another state. It has some interesting tidbits that may be useful. However, I’m sure there are better books out there.

Some Good Selections But Still Too Concentrated On Luxury Travel by Chris Luallen
I was pretty harsh on Schultz’s previous international edition of this book. So I am going to be a little nicer here and admit that the book is fun to read through and does let readers know about some great places to visit that they might otherwise have never heard of.

But the fact remains that Patricia Schultz is who she is, a snobby writer for Conde Nast Traveler magazine who has an intense obsession with fancy hotels, restaurants, spas and resorts that are out of the price range of most travellers. I also agree with the previous reviewer that the more you enclose yourself within the gated confines of luxury the less of an authentic travel experience you are likely to have.

I was especially upset by Schultz’s international edition because it reinforced the notion, that too many Americans already have, that global travel is only possible for wealthy jetsetters. Instead the truth is that travel on a budget is available to everyone. And, in fact, many backpackers manage to spend a year or more travelling around places like Latin American and Southeast Asia for less then the costs of paying rent and bills at home. Of course, the declining U.S. dollar is making this harder to do now, but that’s a whole other story.

I see Schultz’s fascination with the lifestyles of the wealthy and fabulous to be slighty less problematic in this book because Americans and Canadians are generally more aware of domestic buget travel options as compared to travelling abroad. Still I think if Schultz focused a little less attention on the Hamptons and Palm Beach, on $700 hotels and $300 restaurants, then she might have been able to write a book that is more useful to the ordinary traveller.

• Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways.
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die Traveler’s Journal (Travel Journal)
• The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips
• Off the Beaten Path
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List

Valley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)

From

Tags: valley of silence always great exciting october wonderful fantasy series wicca traditional fantasy purchased nora roberts time travel romance irish fantasy adventure romance time travel trilogy sorcerers nora roberts series books celtic vampire lore ancient romance nora roberts novels favorite authors

Average Rating

        Valley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)The battleground has been chosen for the final showdown between those selected by the gods and the minions of the vampire Lilith. But there is one vampire who dares stand against her. And his love for the scholarly queen of Geall will complete the circle of six-and change the face of eternity.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #7985 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Special Offer Promotion
Buy 4 eligible items in the 4-for-3 promotion offered by Amazon.com and get 1 of them free.

Buy 4 Items for the Price of 3

To take advantage of this 4-for-3 promotion, follow these steps:

1. Add at least 4 eligible items to your Shopping Cart. Eligible items will have a message such as “This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion.” on the product detail page. Eligible products include select books, single-copy magazines, and Home & Garden items. You may include items from different product categories in a single order to qualify–for example, you can order an eligible book, an eligible magazine, and an eligible kitchen item.
2. Proceed to checkout. When you’re done shopping on our site, click the “Proceed to checkout” button in the Shopping Cart. Your shopping cart should include at least four qualifying items during the checkout process to qualify for this promotion. Additional conditions are listed below.
3. On the final checkout page, we will discount the lowest-priced item. A promotion credit for the amount of the lowest-priced item will appear in the upper right corner of your Order Summary during the checkout process. If you use 1-click ordering, the promotion will be automatically applied.

Terms and Conditions

1. Items eligible for this promotion will vary over time. Items placed in the Shopping Cart overnight may not be eligible for promotion at time of checkout.
2. Promotional offer applies only to qualifying items displaying the offer message on their product detail pages. Items that do not display the offer message do not qualify, regardless of the nature of the items. Items from different product lines may be used to qualify for the promotion, as long as each individual item is eligible.
3. Applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Items offered by other merchants on the Amazon.com Web site (e.g. Land’s End, Target, etc.) do not qualify. Does not apply to any products purchased in Amazon.com’s other sites, including Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, or Amazon.co.jp, or in Marketplace, zShops, or Auctions.
4. Unless the offer message indicates otherwise, the promotional offer applies to the lowest priced qualifying item(s).
5. Applies only when all qualifying and free products in the promotion are purchased in one order.
6. Applies only to complete orders shipping to a single address that meet all other promotional requirements.
7. Offer good while supplies last.
8. No substitutions or rain checks.
9. Shipping and handling charges apply to all products, including bonus items.
10. Offer may not be combined with other offers, including promotional certificates.
11. Void where prohibited.

Passionate and gripping — a keeper! by Lornwal
Valley of Silence is a stirring and emotional conclusion to the Circle Trilogy. There is enormous heart, struggle, and passion in this story, and characters’ thoughts, feelings, and relationships are beautifully and passionately drawn. Although the story is set in a fantasy/paranormal world, it is a world so vividly and fully evoked, so well-populated and so human (both in good and evil), that the reader is fully absorbed. Nora Roberts takes as much care with her villains as with her heroes and heroines, and unique, well-developed characters whose feelings and struggles are important are the great strength of this trilogy as a whole, and of Valley of Silence in particular.

Star-crossed lovers Cian the vampire and Moira the scholar-queen share powerful emotions: passion, sacrifice, heartbreak, sorrow, and elation. Roberts has a remarkable gift — her words go directly to the heart, and they feel true, not melodramatic. That Cian has such deep anger and defiance, and Moira such responsibilty and sorrow to bear, keeps these characters complex and compelling. Despite its fantastic world, this is one of Roberts’ mostly deeply human stories. I’ve reread it several times, and have also listened to the audiobook, which is beautifully paced and read, sensitively and passionately, with exceptionally clear characterizations.

Too good to put down by Yvette Sienkiewicz
I bought all three books at once. I got so wrapped up in them that I read one right after the other in about a week. They were so good, I could not put them down. I love Nora Roberts’ work. I was a little concerned that this trilogy was a little different from what I was used to reading, but was pleasantly hooked.

What Can I Add? by Douglas C. Meeks
I can’t really add much to what has already been written, but I felt I needed to add my voice to say what a great trilogy this was to read. I may have been a bit predictable in a few places but it was predictable in the way you wished for it to turn out, I am tired of depressing books and this was uplifting and entertaining. What else could you want from your reading, if I wanted to be educated I would read a school book, this is great entertainment.

Valley of Silence by Cheryl L. Snyder
Excellent read and a wonderful end to a great story. I loved the entire collection and would highly recommend the read to anyone who likes a good adventure story.

Not what I thought it would be. by A. E. Bradley
Good story, although it wasn’t what I expected. The first book in the series sat alongside the second for months after I’d purchased them. I finally got around to buying the third to complete the set and I wound up reading them all — in one weekend. Not your typical vampire story.

• Born in Death (In Death)
• Angels Fall
• Spellbound
• Morrigan’s Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1)
• Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

From

Tags: bryson 1993 reviewed by rennie - nonfiction yes john_donoghue hamburg lichtenstein yugoslavia turkey belgium switzerland amsterdam denmark sweden travel humor austria germany italy travelogues france bill byrson

Average Rating

        Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies — in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe’s most diverting and historic locales. Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies–in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe’s most diverting and historic locales.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #11769 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

More funny travel stories from Bryson by Andrew W. Johns
Bryson brings his characteristic humor to his explorations of Europe. While his observations can sometimes be a bit mean-spirited, he also pokes fun at himself, and many of his observations are quite funny, if clearly exaggerated. Starting in the artic north of Norway, and continuing in a zigzag pattern across the continent, Bryson explores many of the most famous of Europe’s cities, as well as some more obscure locals. While he notes the changes in Sofia that occurred after his visit, his descriptions of Yugoslavia are even more dated (starting with the fact that Yugoslavia doesn’t exist anymore!). Fans of Bryson’s humor won’t be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a guide to traveling in Europe, this probably won’t be your best resource.

An Early Effort from the Master Travel Writer by Graceann Macleod
Reading Neither Here Nor There made me think that I won’t die happy if I don’t get to see Capri, and I determined that there were several other cities I don’t ever wish to visit. I also learned that a certain brand of travelers’ checks is terrible, and I won’t be using them in this lifetime.

It is interesting to read this book in it’s Communist-era, pre-Euro context. Empty shops in Bulgaria and discussion of purchasing things with dinars and schillings was very interesting. Unfortunately, reading the book even as I did, spreading the chapters out over several days, I still got that “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium” feeling. I began to lose track of where Bill saw the beautiful sunset, or where his pocket was picked.

I was also disappointed by Bryson’s alarming views towards animals and cavalier comments about hating them and wanting them killed. Dogs hate him, and this fact has provided much humor in his writing over the years, but the tangents he went on regarding his loathing of companion animals were over the top and distinctly unfunny. So was his anti-Arabic rant during one of his many visits to queues for financial situations. I may be more sensitive to such things in light of recent world events, as comments about the guttural nature of German language or the expense of traveling in Switzerland didn’t bother me, but this did.

The funniest anecdotes were the ones Bryson shared about his previous travels through Europe with his friend Katz. Katz provided a hugely politically-incorrect thread of humor in the book, and at times I thought he would have made a more interesting traveling companion. Heresy, I know.

All in all, I’m very glad I read the book, and I got many laughs out of it, but it was no Walk in the Woods.

Full of clichés but entertaining by reader 451
Neither Here Nor There is probably more for the novice than the experienced traveller, but it is entertaining and has a usefully broad scope. Bill Bryson, an American resident in London, takes his readers from the Arctic Circle to Istanbul in something like a couple of months, mixing in parts of Scandinavia, the Benelux, France, Germany and Italy among others before passing through the Balkans.

Inevitably a lot is about finding hotels and places to eat, misplaced reservations and the pitfalls of communicating with strangers. This is travel writing, after all. And inevitably there tends to be quite a few clichés and national stereotyping. The commentary ranges from insightful (e.g. different perceptions of Amsterdam) to expected but fun (the police episode in Florence), to downright vulgar (”Quick restaurants - as in quick, pass the bucket!”). I found the first and last chapters, set in northern Norway, then Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, the most interesting. Bryson has more to say in out-of-the-way settings. And having travelled to the latter two at about the same time, I thought his observations both original and to the point. Nor does the book, written in the early 1990s, generally feel out-of-date.

Bryson’s style combines a wide descriptive vocabulary with a matter-of-fact, colloquial tone. It drips with irony and evinces plenty of sniggers. The same note is held too long, though, which may explain why one doesn’t laugh as much as one would expect: the jokes and witticisms eventually lose an essential element of surprise.

Perhaps not unusually for the genre, the book ends up saying as much about the observer as the observed. It provides a snapshot of how an educated and informed American views the European continent.

interesting antidotes by John Augsbury
I really enjoy Bill’s relaxed style in his travels. He doesn’t edit out the less complimentary aspects of his travels or of his own personality. Europe has such a rich history and varied cultures as well as climates are a treat as background for his dialogue. This is my 3rd Bryson read and thus far my favorite.

The best of this author’s many great books! by Jersey Reader
Bill Bryson has written so many hilarious books that it’s hard to say which is the funniest, but when I meet someone who is new to Bryson’s work, again and again I find myself recommending this one.

The one-liners (”Italians park as if they’ve just spilled a beaker of hydrocloric acid in their laps”) are funny no matter how well-travelled (or non-travelled) you are, and the prose is so descriptive and wonderful that you learn as you go along.

As far as I’m concerned Bill Bryson is the finest non-fiction writer of our time.

• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
• Bill Bryson’s African Diary
• In a Sunburned Country
• I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away
• Notes from a Small Island

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

From

Tags: astronomy physics for regular people perinatal amazing read star trek transporter altman matthew altman book good book science fiction the quantum revolution history intelligent sf digestible quantum weirdness physics michio kaku astrophysics theoretical physics

Average Rating

        Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

A fascinating exploration of the science of the impossible—from death rays and force fields to invisibility cloaks—revealing to what extent such technologies might be achievable decades or millennia into the future.

One hundred years ago, scientists would have said that lasers, televisions, and the atomic bomb were beyond the realm of physical possibility. In Physics of the Impossible, the renowned physicist Michio Kaku explores to what extent the technologies and devices of science fiction that are deemed equally impossible today might well become commonplace in the future.

From teleportation to telekinesis, Kaku uses the world of science fiction to explore the fundamentals—and the limits—of the laws of physics as we know them today. He ranks the impossible technologies by categories—Class I, II, and III, depending on when they might be achieved, within the next century, millennia, or perhaps never. In a compelling and thought-provoking narrative, he explains:
· How the science of optics and electromagnetism may one day enable us to bend light around an object, like a stream flowing around a boulder, making the object invisible to observers “downstream”
· How ramjet rockets, laser sails, antimatter engines, and nanorockets may one day take us to the nearby stars
· How telepathy and psychokinesis, once considered pseudoscience, may one day be possible using advances in MRI, computers, superconductivity, and nanotechnology
· Why a time machine is apparently consistent with the known laws of quantum physics, although it would take an unbelievably advanced civilization to actually build one
Kaku uses his discussion of each technology as a jumping-off point to explain the science behind it. An extraordinary scientific adventure, Physics of the Impossible takes readers on an unforgettable, mesmerizing journey into the world of science that both enlightens and entertains.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #1978 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Inspiring and Enlightening by Victor Grippi
Dr. Kaku presents another outstanding book to expand our minds to endless possibilities. Why limit ourselves when we need, more than ever, to think out of the box, and ask the big “what if” questions. In my own writing, vis-i-vis, The Ninth Cube, I have tried to answer these questions, alot of them inspired from the work of Dr. Kaku. I throughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. Great job, Michio!

Ho-hum by Vance
It is difficult to realize that a book about parallel universes, pyschic phenomenon, faster than the light travel, etc., could be humdrum boring - but this book proves it is possible to write a boring book about such topics. This was a superficial, half-hearted review of these topics written perhaps for the reader with absolutely no science knowledge. Very disappointing.

Impossible, therefore TRUE? by leo kim
Kaku has proven himself as a physicist, author, and television personality who can take complex concepts and make them understandable.
Many negatives reviews of this book call it silly or fantastic. I wonder if they understand the precipice phyics and cosmology are standing on. Just in the last decade we have witnessed “fantastic” hypotheses become popular concepts by scientists: Dark energy, Dark matter, challenges to the Big Bang Theory, parallel universes, and multiverses are known to the layperson.

Healing the Rift

Perhaps these concepts all seem too outlandish to be true but recall that phyicists believe that a vacuum and space is full of “stuff” as declared by Nobel Laureate Robert B. Laughlin. So “impossible” is a metaphor for one of the hypotheses which is thinking outside the box like the concepts above were at one time. This brings up the question: how do these concepts fit with spiritual teaching? I believe that 21st century science is moving towards the spiritual and ancient spiritual teachings. Kaku and scores of leading scientists make the case. Healing the Rift: Merging Science and Spirituality

new by Jan Dvorsky
this book is very interesting..in a few years we will thank kaku for formulating the ‘impossible’

Great examples that make scientific terminology digestible by Simon Cleveland
I have a very high respect for Mr. Kaku’s work. The first book I read from him was ‘Hyperspace’ and became immediately his fan. ‘Physics of the Impossible’ is another exceptional work. Like Brian Greene’s ‘Fabric Of The Cosmos’, the book is full of great examples, details that are easily visualized and exciting historical facts that make the scientific terminology digestible.

Mr. Kaku helps the readers by smartly classifying the ‘impossibilities’ (such as time travel and teleportation) and gives estimates as to when these may become ‘possible’. The book is very engaging and I highly recommend it.

• Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimens ion
• Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century
• Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos
• Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe
• Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them

Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

From

Tags: chinese chinese food food writing foodie book travelogues essays food history travel memoirs

Average Rating

        Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #19448 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Loved this book and the recipes by Mark Satlof
Between this wonderful book and another I’d also highly recommend, Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories, I have become immersed in Chinese food culture recently, to the point that my kids tease me about becoming Chinese. Luckily I live in NYC and have a few Chinatowns to choose from, so it’s been congee on the way to work for a couple of months now.

Jen’s personal search to learn Chinese cooking (and to practice it) is inspiring…telling about her travels and travails through a China in a tug of war between its culinary past and its current rush towards modernization.

I could tell just by looking at them that the dozen or 20 recipes, relating to each chapter of Jen’s journey, would be delicious and the few I’ve tried so far more than live up to their promise.

A Chinese-American learns China through its Food by Lynn Harnett
A Chinese American whose family fled to Taiwan (and later the US) after the revolution, journalist, food-writer and now cooking school owner, Lin-Liu knew little about cooking when she came to China in 2000. She soon realized that food was such an integral part of Chinese life, she would better understand the culture if she understood the food.

Enrolling in a Beijing vocational cooking school teaches her just how alien and American she is. The other students are male, they question nothing in class and do the minimum to get by. She, in contrast, seems loud, pushy and rich.

Humorous and energetic, her account of getting through school (with much help and great difficulty) and then apprenticing first at a noodle stall and later, in Shanghai, at a fancy restaurant, illuminates much about everyday life in China’s cities. Staffed by migrants from China’s rural provinces, restaurants offer diverse cuisines and backbreaking labor, perfectionalism and cut corners.

Lin-Liu learns stories about the Cultural Revolution while cooking, finds a long history of hardship in “exotic” ingredients like eyeballs and jellyfish, discovers China’s cultural diversity in its many cuisines, and Chinese provincialism in tourists’ unwillingness to eat anything but their own foods.

Her enthusiastic culinary tour of the culture is peppered with recipes for dumpling fillings, noodles and traditional favorites like Drunken Chicken and Fish Fragrant Pork Shreds as well as the (mostly difficult) stories of the individuals she meets.

Entertaining and eye-opening, Lin-Liu’s portrait of modern China reflects its changing trends and attitudes and its timeless cuisine.

Amazing book! by V. Foster
Once I starting reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. It is the story about a Chinese-American who goes to China on a Fulbright scholarship as part of her journalism career and ends up riding her bike down a narrow street to take cooking classes. The story (both humorous and touching) is told through her quest to learn about authentic Chinese cuisine both past and present, home cooking and high end restaurants. One of the many compelling things about the book are the Chinese people we are privileged to meet. It is a very personal portrait of Chinese people of all ages and classes. One memorable moment is when Chairman Wang finally tells about the Cultural Revolution and how it affected her and the people around her. It is heartbreaking to hear about it, but amazing to see how the Chinese people survived and continued their lives. And of course there are the mouth watering recipes peppered through out the book — favorite recipes from people the author meets along the way — Beijing-Style Noodles, “The Best” Mapo Tofu, Tea-Infused Eggs, Smashed Cucumbers, Drunken Chicken, Lamb-and-Pumpkin Dumpling Filling — the list goes on and on. The recipes are why I bought the book, but got so much more. This is a book that I will keep, cherish and use as a cookbook forever.

Satisfying, great portrait of Beijing by Tim Wu
Satisfying book that is as much about Beijing as cooking; it captures a sort of mix of optimism and sadness that is contemporary Beijing, through Lin-Liu’s writing you really see the city as it is today; especially vibrant if you’ve lived here for any time.

Jen runs a small cooking school in Beijing where you can learn to cook some of these recipes.

The characters, especially Chairman Wang, grow on you; I also liked the brief appearance of Allison Moore.

• Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China
• The Last Chinese Chef: A Novel
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
• The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed
• Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

The Milepost 2008 (Milepost)

From

Tags: yukon territory northwest territories bc alberta milepost travel travelogues alcan yukon rv highways travelguide north alaska highway british columbia trave guide guidebook alaska denali

Average Rating

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #8395 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Milepost Review by Michael P. Watkins
The only way to travel the Al-Can and the best way, (short of actually being there), to remember the great state of Alaska!

The most useful tool for your travel! by J. Dixon
A little background, we are Air Force and we recently PCSed to Elmendorf, AK. We used the milepost to plan our stops and it was a lifesaver. Everything that you could ever want to know about any route to Alaska, the scenic markers, the stops, even road conditions and pullouts, they are all in there. A must for any traveler.

couldnot live with out this book by H. Payne
Milepost was invalueable for my Alaska Highway trip.
the only drawback was Williams Lake had little mention and there is a lot of lodging and dining establisments.

Milepost 2008–the complete Alaskan tour guide by jimbo44
I bought Milepost 2008 for a friend, so I have not used it myself. However, I was so intrigued by the contents of this book, that I am have developed a strong desire to make the trip. The book is very detailed, and seems to cover everything one needs to know to tour Alaska.

Milepost 2008 by Traveler
Excellent reference guide for trips to and within Alaska by road. We flew a small plane to Alaska and found it very useful once we were on the ground and moving around by car. Information is detailed, well-organized, and unbiased.The Milepost 2008 (Milepost)

• Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer (Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer)
• RVing Alaska and Canada
• Traveler’s Guide to Alaskan Camping: Alaska and Yukon Camping with RV or Tent (Traveler’s Guide series)
• The Milepost Souvenir Logbook
• Frommer’s Alaska 2008 (Frommer’s Complete)

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

From

Tags: humour wisdom travel hapiness - a journey essays travelogues organizing colbert report iceland switzerland moldova india uk qatar netherlands bhutan thailand maybe books the geography of bliss 0446580260 9780446580267 bliss

Average Rating

        The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the WorldPart foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author’s case, moments of “un-unhappiness.” The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions. (2007)

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #7455 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

I Got a Boot Out of It… by Zirondelle
Not a bad book - could have used some more editing (some phrases repeated on the same page)but not bad. I did get a tad tired of hearing people compare themselves to the US - I wondered just where they got their impressions of Americans from. Like the guy in Thailand who said that Thais are different from Americans ’cause they like to laugh and joke at work. What? I don’t think I’ve ever worked in an environment where laughing and joking didn’t go on. And dear Mr. “Whiner” - you’re not really a grump, you’re just a Melancholy. Check out the Personality books by Florence Littauer (and others) and you’ll see for yourself.

A good read by Loveswaterfalls
I liked reading this one. The content is very superficial , yet a brief run arround the world. I must say the penmanship was not to my taste and at times disrespectful. - But I can still recommand this one!!

A very funny grump, if he insists on calling himself a grump! by Dagmar F. Pelzer
Excellent writing. I loved every chapter and giggled when he unexpectedly whipped in an amusing quote, a witty word, or added his funny explanatory words in parentheses. I loved his descriptions. Had the fortune of traveling some of the places and thoroughly enjoyed his insights, saying ahhhhhh to myself when he again hit the nail right on the head. My two favorites were the chapters on Iceland and Switzerland. Weiner sure recognized them in a hurry!

A fine book with fine insights, funny, and easy reading.

Just Wonderful by Kara K. Tyson
I thought this was a great book and I plan on giving it as a gift.

Funny, light, entertaining…. by J. Renkey
Great read–recommended. Part travelogue–just as interesting learning about the different countries and their cultures as it was learning about what makes people happy. Would have liked to have learned more about specific regions/cities in America where people are happiest–but perhaps that is for another book.

• One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good
• Helping Me Help Myself: One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone
• Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy
• The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
• The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead

China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

From

Tags: china travelogues

Average Rating

        China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising PowerRoute 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down.

In this utterly surprising and deeply personal book, acclaimed National Public Radio reporter Rob Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, takes the dramatic journey along Route 312 from its start in the boomtown of Shanghai to its end on the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford reveals the rich mosaic of modern Chinese life in all its contradictions, as he poses the crucial questions that all of us are asking about China: Will it really be the next global superpower? Is it as solid and as powerful as it looks from the outside? And who are the ordinary Chinese people, to whom the twenty-first century is supposed to belong?

Gifford is not alone on his journey. The largest migration in human history is taking place along highways such as Route 312, as tens of millions of people leave their homes in search of work. He sees signs of the booming urban economy everywhere, but he also uncovers many of the country’s frailties, and some of the deep-seated problems that could derail China’s rise.

The whole compelling adventure is told through the cast of colorful characters Gifford meets: garrulous talk-show hosts and ambitious yuppies, impoverished peasants and tragic prostitutes, cell-phone salesmen, AIDS patients, and Tibetan monks. He rides with members of a Shanghai jeep club, hitchhikes across the Gobi desert, and sings karaoke with migrant workers at truck stops along the way.

As he recounts his travels along Route 312, Rob Gifford gives a face to what has historically, for Westerners, been a faceless country and breathes life into a nation that is so often reduced to economic statistics. Finally, he sounds a warning that all is not well in the Chinese heartlands, that serious problems lie ahead, and that the future of the West has become inextricably linked with the fate of 1.3 billion Chinese people.

“Informative, delightful, and powerfully moving . . . Rob Gifford’s acute powers of observation, his sense of humor and adventure, and his determination to explore the wrenching dilemmas of China’s explosive development open readers’ eyes and reward their minds.”
–Robert A. Kapp, president, U.S.-China Business Council, 1994-2004

From the Hardcover edition.

• amazon.com Sales Rank: #1663 in Book
• ABIS_BOOK

Shows a lot, tells too much by MG
For me, this book raised the perennial writers’ struggle between showing vs. telling. I wish Gifford would have done less of the latter. When he presents characters and situations, the book can be downright powerful. But then he waters it down with what I think is way too much of him giving his own opinion about China, at which time the material slides into shallowness or possibly (I wonder) personal bias. I’d give this book 10 stars if Gifford would have let it really be about China, as opposed to his having forced China to share the stage with himself.

China 101: If You Don’t Know Much About China This Gets You Started! by Munich Girl
I was initially intrigued with the China “road trip” concept that is the backbone ofthe book. The narrative about the trip was fantastic. You are drawn into the sights and sounds of places far removed from Shanghai and Beijing and his interactions with real Chinese people from throughout the country and very insightful.

Mr. Gifford does a great job of explaining why things might be the way they are in China based on historical and cultural reasons. If you don’t know much about key pieces of Chinese history not only does he provide background information, but links it to understanding China today.

I was completely naive as to some of China’s practices regarding their one child policy and found this very disturbing. This and the corruption that runs rampant throughout the country is very troubling in terms of quality of life for Chinese people. You come to empathize with their situation and perhaps gain a better understanding as to why they are as determined as they are for economic growth.

Five stars for both a great journey and an informative look at where China is today, why it is the way it is, and some interesting perspectives on what the future may hold. Read it!!

True through not flattering picture of China by Qi Zhang
The author has painted a sympathetic picture of China, more realistic of the existent problems facing billions of Chinese people, instead of sticking to the useless ideological issues like social system, etc. The book tells readers the best things that the government has done regarding human rights is to make sure billions of people are free from cold and starvation. People do not need empty talks about freedom and democracy when their stomaches are empty and they do not have enough clothes against cold weather.

Great book!

this is the real China by Yasar Faster
When I saw that the author worked for PBS, I thought propaganda, red flag, don’t buy, etc. Well I bought it anyway, and was glad I did. Gifford does a great job painting contemporary China on a printed page. Gifford, obviously identifies with the Chinese, but he hasn’t gone completely native. His ability to speak Chinese opens doors and allows him to relate the thoughts of ordinary Chinese and minorities living in ‘China’ to the reader. Here is my perspective: I loved Paul Theroux’s RIDING THE RED ROOSTER. Theroux rode the trains, while Gifford travels by road. Theroux wrote about some of the obnoxious habits of the Chinese, like spitting and seeing all Caucasians as big nosed White devils. Gifford has not wrote that yet (I’m 2/3 through the book). Also, Gibbon’s gives more in terms of historical background to bring the reader up to speed. So like Theroux, but different; but destined to be a classic. A great book which brings the reader up to speed relative to contemporary China. Strongly recommended.

Great balanced of view on China by Marc Onetto
A must read during these times when China is in the news every day. The best balanced view of what is going on there.

• Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (P.S.)
• China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Rise and Troubled Future — and the Challenge for America
• River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (P.S.)
• The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us
• China: Fragile Superpower