5 comments about Frommer's Hong Kong (Frommer's Complete).

1. Just got back from a quick jump over to HK and Macau for business and I brought this book along. Contrary to some other readers reviews, I found the book absolutely invaluable! The walking tours were quite insightful and with good directions and time estimates -I never got lost. Some of my most memorable experiences were from the walking tours in HK. The information was accurate and concise. It provided everything I needed to know about getting to the outlying islands on my free day, getting to the airport and getting around town. Nightlife recommendations were great for the foreign visitor on business. I compared the recommendations to that in Lonely Planet and my own experience and I thought the Frommer's was a lot more true to the scene than Lonely Planet. I didn't run into any snags while using the Frommer's book. I also took a side trip to Macau with the book and had a great time. Info was accurate, although the maps a little inadequate, but nothing a quick stop into the tourist office couldn't solve. I'd highly recommend the book and I'd pass it along to any colleagues or friends who might be going to HK since it never failed me once.



2. Just back from Hong Kong and of the three guide books I took, Frommer's was the most helpful. The restaurant suggestions were great. The maps accurate. The walking tours terrific. The only downside is that the design of the book is ugly. Really ugly. Also wish that it included information about the two closest cities in China - Guangzhou and Shenzhen so I could have left one of the guides home.



3. Loved this guide, excellent contents, great walks and suggested itineraries. It's a pitty it doesn't have pictures. It will be the ideal travel guide.



4. I just returned from a March 2008 week-long visit to Hong Kong. I used the 2007 Frommer's Hong Kong and found it worked out just fine. Good descriptions of sites, handy public transit tips (especially of how to purchase/use/return the essential Octopus card), reasonable reviews of hotels and restaurants, and decent Macau information. The book is easy (and enjoyable) to read; I feel it prepared me well for my first trip to Hong Kong. Combined with pamphlets and maps from the Hong Kong and Macau tourists boards I picked up at the airport and ferry terminal, I had all the information I needed for a great trip!



5. One of the reviews below declares that the author of the Frommer's guide to Hong Kong should burn in a hell for guidebook writers. I don't find this funny. In fact, I find this to be a pretty mean thing to say, and I doubt the author of that review would say such a thing to Ms. Reiber in person. The author of that review should be ashamed of himself, and apologize here in a follow-up to his original review.
   
   I am very familiar with the guidebook scene to Hong Kong, though I've never met Ms. Reiber, and I happen to think that her guide is one of the better ones out there. Her book has an honest and thoughtful tone; it also offers some of the more astute observations about Hong Kong to be found in the current crop of guidebooks. If there is a weakness to her guidebook, it is that it does not cover the more far-flung regions of Hong Kong--Tap Mun, Tai Mo Shan, and so on. But in a way this omission reflects well on Reiber and her book. Most guides to Hong Kong cover places like Tap Mun or Tung Lung Chau, but they provide such sketchy information that I doubt the author ever went there. Of course, authors never admit this. Reiber, on the other hand, has the integrity to only include in her guidebooks the places in Hong Kong that she has actually visited. In any case, Reiber's book covers all the locations that 99% of all visitors to Hong Kong go to. If you are that 1% of travelers who want to hike in the more remote areas of the New Territories or explore some of the more hard to get to islands, this is not the book for you. Otherwise, I can certainly recommend this guide.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Thailand's Islands & Beaches.

1. The Lonely Planet travel books are really the very best choice. This new edition of "Thailands Islands and Beaches" covers areas up to date after the tsunami. It is complete and informitive. I go to Thailand every year and always bring my Lonely Planet.



2. This book is particularly helpful as it contains many detailed maps. As well, the accomodation section is very useful for the traveler who does not have any set plans as it helps to show several different price ranges from budget to high end & includes phone numbers & websites of them frequently.
   there are also tips for every type of traveler here in very detailed sections on every province in thailand. although it says islands & beaches there is a very good section on Bangkok city itself which is good as most people start & end up their Thailand vacation there anyway & spend some time in the city.



3. One of the worst guide books I have ever read Sparse inaccurate information. Even though published March 2004 tells readers a Tuk Tuk in Patong Beach costs 10 baht (it costs 150 baht!)Full of broad information obviously culled from other (older) guides, not learned by personal experience. Garbage. Don't waste your money.



4. I bought this travel guide for my upcoming trip to Thailand. I plan on spending 3 weeks, one in massage school in Bangkok and the rest at various dive sites in the South. So far this book has been very thorough on what to expect from Thai food, culture, etc. This is a great reference/guidebook. Supplement it with more current reviews/prices on-line.



5. Thailand's Islands & Beaches is a great book, as most of the books by Lonely Planet. Though you get tons of infomation that sometimes seems a little too musch. You have to learn to navigate around it, but when that is in place, it is really a big help.

4 comments about The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau - Edition 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting HK and Macau.



2. I recommend this guide, it was quite useful.
   
   The descriptions of various areas were quite accurate, and the maps were mostly very good. The one of Macau seemed to have some minor errors, but that place is very confusing to walk around, so it could have been me. Anyway, you want the maps in this book or something pretty good, because the free tourist map is basically worthless.
   
   I really like Rough Guides, because their reviews are very honest and balanced, and they are excellent about cross-referencing recommended locations, restaurants, hotels, etc and maps in each book. This guide is up to the same high standards, so it was very easy to use.
   
   I would recommend that the walking tours guide (available for free at the airport, etc) is a good supplement to this guide. I used it extensively.



3. I used the sixth (2006) edition of the ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU during a recent two-week stay in Hong Kong. Reading it before my trip, I found it to portray Hong Kong as a fascinating and immense place to visit, where one can spend weeks covering all manner of out of the way places. This was a great contrast to the Berlitz guide to Hong Kong I also took along, which make the region seem like a two-day stop where the only interesting thing is shopping.
   
   There's a chapter each on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the outlying islands. The description of each town or wilderness inside these divisions takes the form of a walking tour. The authors guide the reader through the streets well, and like all Rough Guides the maps here are clear and accurate. I unfortunately didn't visit Macau, so I cannot comment on that portion of the guide.
   
   I didn't use the accommodation listings, as like many travelers I prefer to stay with local from hospitality associations for closer contact with the local culture. As the Rough Guide does not cover this option, I have removed one star from my rating. However, there does indeed seem to be an adequate amount of both budget and luxury accommodation, with the stops in between of course. The needs of shoestring travelers are not given short shrift here, as in the offerings of all too many guidebook publishers. I did use the recommendations for restaurants, which do a great job of steering travelers to hole-in-the-wall eateries with little English signage which might not look fancy, but which show you the real Hong Kong in a way flashier places don't.
   
   At the end of the book one finds a history of the region, as well as some general information on Hong Kong culture. The history soberly discusses the uncertainty of Hong Kong's true autonomy after the handover, while other guidebooks I read gave only a rosy view. In these appendices there's also a list of films and books, fiction and non-fiction, about Hong Kong, letting the reader learn more about the place before he visits.
   
   If you're an independent travelver going to Hong Kong, I'd certainly recommend ROUGH GUIDE TO HONG KONG & MACAU. I find it better than the Lonely Planet guide due to the range of its listings and the quality of its maps, and light years ahead of the paltry listings and assumption that the reader is a millionaire which one finds in many other guidebook lines.



4. Great walking tours are included in this Rough Guide to Hong Kong and Macau-the directions are explicit and easy to follow and the places to which we ventured exceeded expectations. There were GREAT shopping tips for a shopping mecca and we scored on several fronts! This is a great way to introduce yourself to Hong Kong and Macau before you get there and a great way to bring what you read into reality. A must-buy for travel to Asia.

3 comments about My China: A Feast for All the Senses.

1. Having lived in southern China for nearly 3 years, our family had nearly given up on finding authentic Chinese cuisine here in upstate NY. Thankfully, there is this wonderful book. Our daughter made us a holiday feast (including dumplings, yum!) from a few familiar recipes found here and we were almost back in Xiamen! Outstanding photos, stories, and great recipes. If you've ever lived in China, this is for you. If you've ever wanted to visit or live in China, this is for you, too! Try some of these meals and you will understand what real Chinese food is about.



2. I have all of Kylie Kwong's books and they are all great but this is her best so far. The stories add to the book but the real stars are the recipes. I've only tried a few so far, but there are so many already on my do list. There is a fabulous rare beef with Ginger sauce which got rave reviews from the family. Last night we tried the Hot and Smoky chicken with Ginger and Chilli - YUM. We do have an industrial strength wok burner which probably helped with the smokiness, but it was very good on all levels. I am a bit of a cookbook collector (500 or thereabouts)and I have a shortlist of books I think are really excellent. This one has already made it to that list - I knew from the moment I opened it!



3. Kylie Kwong was born into one of Australia's oldest Chinese families. She is a 29th generation Kwong, and a 4th generation Australian-Chinese. Kylie is known to many Australians through her wonderful television series, as the proprietor of the Billy Kwong restaurant in Sydney and through her magnificent books.
   
   `My China' is the fourth of Kylie's books, and invites the reader to travel with her as she rediscovers her Chinese heritage and explores the history, culture and cuisine of China and Tibet. This book contains magnificent photographs of places, people and food. The book is also a travelogue containing recipes specific to particular regions. There is a map, as well, so the reader can see where these places are.
   
   The recipes themselves are easy to follow, clearly explained and are accompanied by delicious photographs. Ms Kwong provides serving numbers based of shared meals (ie a recipe will serve 4 to 6 as part of a shared meal) thus enabling someone to plan how many dishes they might wish to prepare based on the number of guests and type of gathering. I particularly like her section on ingredients, and found the paragraph on the relative uses of different soy sauces especially helpful.
   
   In summary, `My China' is a delightful addition to the home library for anyone who enjoys Chinese cuisine. Those interested in Chinese culture and history will also enjoy this book. The photographs are simply stunning.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith

5 comments about Shanghai (City Guide).

1. I recently returned from a trip to Shanghai and thought this was a great guide to the city. Although I love to explore most places on my own, I found Shanghai to be slightly intimidating (especially with all the ongoing construction), so I was definitely thankful I had this book with me.
   Pros:
   * Up-to-date information
   * Offers a lot of good insight into Shanghai and the Shanghainese. I found the sections like identity, cuisine, economy, and architecture to be quite readable and interesting.
   * Good maps
   Cons:
   * I was surprised by the other reviews, as my edition has Chinese for each address mentioned in the book. I agree that you initially expect the Chinese to be in the text (next to the romanization), but it's actually on the map keys. This is a minor flaw but did not affect me, as I often looked at the maps when I decided where to go. I guess if you never consult this section however, you might not realize that it's there.
   Bottom line:
   This was the most up-to-date guide I saw, and (as far as I know)is the only one with comprehensive listings in Chinese--they got me where I wanted to go every single time I took a cab. Good job.



2. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Shanghai.



3. This book is amazing. First time using a guidebook and first for the Lonely Planet. Will definitely buy more. Maps wonderful, chinese names for everything and very good restaurant recommendations. Found a tiny restaurant off a back alley and was amazing for a great price. Wonderful spend and would recommend to everyone!!!



4. I have read this book cover to cover in anticipation for my trip to Shanghai. I am hoping that it will save me time and money by giving me a view of the city and details that would take many months to aquire. It was an easy read and well organized. I would however recommend that you do a search online for hotel rooms as there are many deals in the hotel market that were not even mentioned in the book. Happy Trials, BB.



5. As of June 2007, this book has become out of date. Many of the shikumen houses that I went to visit have been torn down in Shanghai in an effort to modernize the city by 2010 for the World Expo. Maps of the metro subways are also out of date. The book currently has partial maps of the 2 lines. There are now 5 different subway lines and still many more to be built. This book is a great introduction to Shanghai, but it is out of date (just like pretty much all the other books on the city).
   
   To sum it up, pretty good book, but just don't count on the book being your only source of information on Shanghai.

5 comments about Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea.

1. It is truly a gifted writer who sets you down in a strange and foreign land such that the boundry between the narrative and your personal grasp of the story is effectively blurred. Eric Hansen is such a writer.
   
   Hansen is pursuing the grail of his buried notebooks in a off-limits military zone on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. His story, and it is a great one, is about the cultural adventures he experiences in his hope to retrieve a lost part of himself, the journals he had buried 10 years previously.
   
   "So intent was I on uncovering the traces of my past that no object or thought seemed too insignificant. Even the litter spoke to me that first morning. I wandered aimlessly, searching for deeper meanings."
   
   His depictions of Yemeni culture are riveting & compelling, a culture that is still holding on to its ancient orientations. Hansen becomes captivated by the Yemeni people & their customs. His search for the buried notebooks moves to the background as his visa is extended and he settles into the daily round of an ancient way of life.
   
   "That morning, for the first time, I was willing to admit that the search was not going well, and that maybe it wasn't important anymore. Accepting this fact, I caught a glimpse of my own fate. Regardless of what the notebooks contained, it was clearly my need to wander to remote places and lose myself in strange situations that had drawn me back to Yemen . . ."
   
   Narrative entertainment doesn't get any better than this - most highly recommended.
   
   Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   



2. This is a fascinating (and educational!) travelogue about the geography, environs, people, culture and customs from a part of the world that too few people are familiar with. In an odd coincidence - while I was reading this book - a veritable storm-in-a-teacup whipped up, as US DEA cracked down on qaat (khat) chewing across the country.



3. I have read many books that fall within the "travel literature" genre; Motoring With Mohammed is hands down my favorite. I rarely read books twice, but I read this book once every few years and never tire of the way Eric Hansen describes his experiences in Yemen during his quest to recover his lost journals. His eclectic combination of anecdotes are simple but beautifully written. Upon reading this book, you are left with the essence of Yemen, her people, and Mr. Hansen himself. A warning: If you lend this book to a friend, you will never get it back. I am on my seventh or eighth replacement copy!



4. "Khat ... also known as qat, gat, chat, and miraa ... is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula... Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant which causes excitement and euphoria... Traditionally, khat has been used as a socializing drug, and this is still very much the case in Yemen where khat-chewing is predominantly, although not exclusively, a male habit... Khat consumption induces mild euphoria and excitement. Individuals become very talkative under the influence of the drug and may appear to be unrealistic and emotionally unstable. Khat can induce manic behaviors and hyperactivity... A recent British study found khat to be much less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol." - from Wikipedia
   
   Peripatetic scribblers wander to such obvious destinations as Italy, France, Greece, China, India, Australia, the Amazon, or Alaska, then write a book to tell the rest of us vegetables all about it. Here in MOTORING WITH MOHAMMED, accomplished travel writer Eric Hansen immerses the reader in North Yemen. (Where, you say?) North Yemen squatted next to the Red Sea just to the south of southwest Saudi Arabia, and joined with South Yemen in 1990 to become the Republic of Yemen.
   
   Hansen's narrative is served up in two parts. Well, three, actually. The first takes place in 1978 when, after a 7-year period of wandering in other backwaters, the author is shipwrecked in the yacht "Clea", on which he was part of a five-person crew, on the uninhabited North Yemen island of Uqban. The first four chapters describe this experience, during which, for safekeeping, he buried on the island the wrapped journals of his previous adventures. The trouble is, he forgot to take them along when he and his companions were eventually rescued after fourteen days.
   
   The book's second part - thirteen chapters - takes place during a ten-week period a decade later when Hansen returns to North Yemen to retrieve his cached journals. Unbeknownst to him, however, is that Uqban Island lay in a security zone virtually inaccessible to foreigners. This fact becomes frustratingly clear as he unsuccessfully conspires with local help to cross the twenty miles of water separating the mainland from the island. Meanwhile, he cools his heels exploring, and falling in love with, much of the rest of the country. It's this developing love affair with North Yemen that's the basis for most of MOTORING WITH MOHAMMED.
   
   Whether he's tiptoeing across a precarious slope in the interior mountains, or witnessing the execution of a murderer, or participating in a communal qat chew, or sweating in a bathhouse, or feasting on stewed sheep's heads, Eric has a talent for observing the details that enrich the subsequent tale:
   
   "There is a trick to cracking open the skulls. You place the thumb of one hand in an eye socket (with the eyeball still intact), and span the skull and grip the roof of the mouth with the fingers. The other hand grasps the lower jaw. A sharp twisting motion is accompanied by a sickening snap and a popping sound. When done properly, the slippery skull and jawbone come away in two pieces. Then you prise open the cranium." (Happily, this passage refers to the feast, not the execution.)
   
   As the eighteenth and last chapter reveals, the author made the fortuitous acquaintance of the Yemeni ambassador to the United States at a Washington, D.C. photo exhibit of his nation's architecture eight months after the former returned to America sans journals. In the Middle East especially, it's all about whom you know. Thus, five months after that, Eric, shovel in hand, is sloshing through the Yemeni surf to a "fishing boat that smelled of rancid shark oil and pureed dates", which, Allah willing, can convey him and an agent of the National Security Police across the sea to Uqban. Truly, as the title of this chapter implies, "It was written."
   
   I shall most certainly never make it to Yemen. Yes, researching "San'a", the capital of Yemen, on the Web does almost compel me to visit on a whim. But, being married, my own happy-go-lucky journeying days are over. Besides, Yemen seems at times to be, um, a bit too raw. But, through Hansen's eyes and wonderfully evocative prose, I'm taken there in fine style, and that's what a five-star travel essay is all about.



5. This is a very interesting book that proves life is more interesting than fiction. The improbablity of searching for those notebooks....
   I like the calm approach that Mr. Hansen took to the most unpredictable of circumstances he was in.
   If you need a prod to get up and go on that trip you have been dreaming about for years, let this book fuel the fire.

5 comments about China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps.

1. I bought this as a gift. It turned out to be a delightfully helpful little guide for the recipients.



2. I just returned from my first trip to China, so this is not a theoretical review of how helpful the Herzberg's book is. I began using their tips from the moment we set foot in the Guilin airport. (It's empowering to know where to find the toilet paper!) We encountered various situations that should have been strange to me, but weren't. Some of my fellow travelers wondered how I knew what I knew. I don't know what guidebooks they had read, but they clearly didn't contain the same down-to-earth, real life info that the "China Survival Guide" does. (The book gets bonus points for being small and for being written in a truly entertaining manner.)



3. I just moved to Shanghai a month ago and bought several books beforehand to familiarize myself with the culture and etiquette. A friend of mine gave me this one as a going away present. I read it on the plane over (cover to cover - it's a short book) and it was the most candid and informative books on China that I've read so far. Larry writes in a story-like format so it keeps your attention and helps you retain the info better. The encyclopedia-like guide books just don't keep me engaged after the first few chapters. His amusing anecdotes help portray Chinese life and accurately describe the people, customs and culture. I would highly recommend this book to anyone visiting or moving to China. I've convinced my family and friends to buy the book to help prepare them for the culture shock when they visit.



4. Larry and Qin Herzberg have managed to create an inexpensive, easy-to-carry but highly informative--and very humorous--guidebook. It seems to me to stand by itself in terms of genre. Derived from many experiences of taking student groups to China, taking his own private trips including some with his wife Qin, and creating an insightful documentary video on China today (a joint project of the two), this little book is full of sound advice for novice travelers/first time tourists and seasoned businessmen alike. One of the most valuable parts is the short introduction to the Chinese language, incuding an appropriate (i.e. ralistically manageable)number of useful Chinese phrases. So before you go to China get ahold of this book; you will not be sorry--I guarantee it!



5. This book is great! It is an easy and very enjoyable read! I recommend it to anyone traveling to China or for pure amusement. I have read many books about china and this has to be the best one yet!!

5 comments about Bangkok (City Guide).

1. Compared to LP London and LP Paris I read and have been early this year, I'm a bit disppointed with LP Bangkok. Although it has an amazing section on food/noodles, I'm rather disappointed that the book does not clearly direct and describe to readers how to get to the places/famous spots it suggested!!!! Also the book does not include a map on the Bangkok transit system - making public transit commuting difficult!!!



2. Amazon.com says this book will be published on March 2005. But try to go to Lonely Planet's online shop, then you can see that it has been published on Sep. 2004. Next, bn.com says it's been publised on March 2004. I don't know which is right. But I'm sure that this book came out already.
   
   I gave 5 stars, however, because I knows LP is a great series at least.



3. I was fortunate enough to spend a month in Bangkok and bought both the Lonely Planet and the Moon Guides. I generally read both books before I went anywhere, so I can fairly compare them.
   
   The Lonely Planet guide was always worth reading -- it often added something I didn't find in the Moon guide. The highly detailed map in the back of the book was also quite worthwhile. However, if I had to have just one book, it would have been the Moon guide by Carl Parkes.
   
   Carl's explanations always seemed a little bit richer, and a little bit more in touch. His introduction to the Thai language left me much better equipped to try my hand, and his culture and language sections also stood out. The overall impression, true or not, is that Carl has a deeper understanding and familiarlity with the Thais and Bangkok than Joe. But to be fair, I was happy with both books, and happier still that I had brought both with me.
   
   Its too bad that the Moon guide is harder to find than Lonely Planet's .... but I definitely recommend it.



4. As a frequent visitor to Thailand I recently used this latest guide for Bangkok from Joe Cummings (plus his assistants) and found it to be more than adequate. If anything, I would personally like more hotel recommendations for each area of this city, those one could call "a find". I found some on my own by walking the area I stayed in and moved to one of them as Joe was too kind in the description of hotel I first stayed in.
   
   Be sure to call about open times for restaurants as two I went to were closed earlier than was given in the guide (no fault of Joe's I'm sure).



5. I took this book everywhere I went. It gives you a great perspective on the things you will find, things to look out for, and a great guide on how to get to the places you want to go.
   
   I went on business to Bangkok, and during the 3 days that I had to go around, this book helped me find those things that mattered most.
   
   I think it is a great read for anyone who is planning to go to amazing Bangkok and it is a must when travelling around in the city. Lonely Planet books are seriously great!

5 comments about Seven Years in Tibet.

1. I'm about half way through this book and I am amazed! I've not seen the movie yet so I really didn't know what the book was going to be about. What brave men these were! It's like a diary into these mens lives for a short time when the whole world was in turmoil. Definately read this book!



2. Before I start the review, let me point out, that Heinrich Harrer was a Nazi and did leave his wife behind to go mountain climbing in Asia. Now that is dealt with, this book focuses on Tibet. From when he escaped the English to when he fled Chinese invasion he tells a tale of surviving in a strange land, a strange culture and a strange language. His book is about Tibet, the people, places and life. About the brief period of time before the land of Lamaism was turned into just a part of China.



3. Adventurous, curious. The books reads like a biography, a travel book, a cultural study. Little by little, slowly, the culture of the distant mountains seeps into the reader's mind to open a welcome window on spirituality.



4. Don't let the fact that Seven Years in Tibet has been made into a movie stop you from picking up a copy of Heinrich Harrer's classic, real-life adventure. Whatever the movie's merits, or lack thereof, by most accounts the original story--the book--remains the best-told version of an incredible journey. Originally published in German in 1953, Harrer's Tibetan travelogue did not appear in English until the 1980s or become widely read until the 1990s. Harrer's tale provides the amazing details of his escapes, survival, evasion, and physical challenge. Beyond the reward of finally arriving in Tibet, Harrer experiences the greater victory of actually creating an enjoyable life for himself in Lhasa and eventually serving the Dalai Lama himself.
   
   Born in Carinthia, Austria, Harrer spent his youth skiing and hiking in the alps. In 1936, the author secured a place on the Austrian Olympic Ski Team and became the winner of the World Students' Championship Downhill race. Reluctant to make ski movies as a follow-up career, Harrer strove to win a place on a Himalayan climbing expedition. In 1943, the author was invited to join a German-Austrian team on the Nanga Parbat Expedition, which was led by Peter Aufschnaiter. After this second thrill of a lifetime, the young mountaineer found himself facing yet another unusual life challenge. After the expedition, while waiting in Karachi, India (which was then British territory) for return transportation to the West, World War II broke out. The climbers were arrested and taken to an internment camp at Dehra Dun, near the border of Tibet.
   After two years and two failed attempts, Harrer and Aufschnaiter finally succeeded in escaping. Their subsequent struggle to reach Tibet, and eventually Lhasa, required them to draw on every skill they knew as mountaineers and athletes, as well as their college educations and general handy man know-how. They faced obstacles and dangers--rugged terrain, the altitude, winter weather, diminishing supplies, lack of funds, injury, roving bands of thieves, and the hazards of traveling without documentation--that only the truly determined could overcome.
   As though a gift to reward their efforts, when the two men finally did reach the "forbidden city" of Lhasa in January of 1946, after nearly two years enroute, they were not turned away. In their isolation from the rest of the world, the Tibetans were just as curious about these two Europeans as Harrer and Aufschnaiter were about the citizens on "the rooftop of the world." In addition, the Tibetans in and around Lhasa assumed that any foreigner who had made it this far must posses proper paperwork. Once in Lhasa, the Tibetans actually found it quite amusing that these two men had managed to make it into the mystical city without passes. It was truly a feat, considering the measures Tibet's leaders undertook to keep out foreigners--in fact, Harrer notes that he met no more than seven other foreigners during his five years in Lhasa.
   While the first half of the book deals with the two mountaineers' struggles to reach the holy city, the second half of the book concerns the fascinating details of how Harrer and Aufschnaiter managed to ingratiate themselves with the locals, eventually becoming respected members of the community. Harrer presents his understanding of Tibetan daily life, culture, and society, and details how he established himself as a citizen. Harrer finds his first job when he builds a fountain in a friend's yard--which leads to more work as a landscape architect. He is commissioned to conduct a geographical survey, and later to construct a dam. He even serves as an ice skating instructor to the locals. Eventually his work leads the Dalai Lama's family to befriend him. As a result, he becomes a tutor to the young holy man. One of the more interesting duties he had was to make films of various ceremonies and festivals for His Holiness, and he is even asked to construct for him what might be the first home cinema. He managed to take advantage of his status as royal film maker and shoot his own photos whenever possible. They must be invaluable today!
   For many readers, the most valuable part of this book is that which concerns Harrer's interactions with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and his resulting observations. As an outsider and non-Buddhist, Harrer reports that the Dalai Lama was impressively intellectually curious and intelligent, hard working and full of initiative. Despite his youth, the boy king had already established a highly developed sense of diplomacy and vision for his country. As he helped this famous young man learn as much as possible about the wide world beyond, Harrer laments that Tibet's desire to remain neutral in world affairs and her resulting political isolation made her an easy target. If only this boy had had a chance to rule, he notes, Tibet may have met with a different fate.
   Unfortunately, both Harrer and the His Holiness' good intentions were foiled in 1950, when the country was invaded. Harrer knew his time had come to leave his adopted country, but he has remained a life-long champion for his beloved second home.
   Few places on earth conjure up as many images of tantalizing mystery as Tibet. Fortunately, Seven Years in Tibet offers us a unique glimpse, from a what is truly an insider's view, into the untouched culture of Tibet. Harrer's book is often regarded as the best account of the "real" Tibet, as it once was, and as many hope it will some day return.



5. An amazing true story about the escape of a German from a POW camp in India during the second world war. Somehow he and his friend beat the odds and were allowed to stay in Tibet. I haven't seen the movie, but just cannot imagine that Brad Pitt could be convincing in this role.

5 comments about Iron and Silk.

1. If you're interested in martial arts or planning a trip to China, this book will give you a great perspective. Comical and true-to-life, this is a story about perfecting an art form.



2. I've seen this movie some 15 years ago and very much enjoyed to see it again.



3. "Iron and Silk" is a delightful book and film. I had the pleasure of reading the book awhile ago; but was delighted to see the film in a local Asian film festival in my community.
   
   The author Mark Salzman plays Mark Franklin in the movie of the same name. It is a memoir (a true story) of Mark's travel and teaching experiences in China (Changsha, Hunan Province). The events took place during 1982 - 1984 and Mark became as much of a student of Chinese life, martial arts, calligraphy, tai chi as he was a teacher of the Middle Aged English Teachers (a group of Chinese Russian teachers at the Hunan Medical College who had been told to forget Russian and now learn English).
   
   Mark always wanted to be a Kung Fu master growing up, and he took lessons from a local teacher; but always felt like the smallest kid on the block. From a young age, he loved all things Asian. His mother was a musician and his father a social worker; but he found that he had developed an exceptional talent for the cello. He was admitted to Yale at 16 because of his cello expertise; but soon decided that he would major in Chinese languages and philosophy (again not much of a surprise). As part of a Yale program, he found himself traveling to Changsha, Hunan Province, China to teach English to a group of Chinese Russian teachers who were being asked to retrain. For two (2) years he lived, taught and learned a great deal in China about the Chinese people and also about himself.
   
   He always wanted to study martial arts from a true wushu master and was fortunate enough to find as his teacher, the grand master himself: Pan Qingfu (known as the Iron Fist). Pan was the best in the world and was known as the Iron Fist because he punched a heavy iron plate 10,000 times a day! Mark was also learning Tai Chi and Chinese manners and etiquette from Teacher Wei and calligraphy as well from other teachers.
   
   Mark soon found that "as a student in America, he had searched for ancient wisdom, as a teacher in China, he learned to find it in himself." Mark Salzman, when interviewed, stated: "Learning about another culture doesn't mean you have to reject your own, It allows you to see yourself from another perspective, see your good side and your bad side and appreciate what you have." Some will say that the book and the movie focus on martial arts and in part that is one of the major themes; but the blending and the co-existence of the two cultures in the classroom and in social interactions is illuminating.
   
   There are many humorous and philosophical revelations in both the book and movie. Telling Mark that he has a big nose by saying, "You have a very 3 dimensional face"...is probably the most diplomatic way of stating the obvious. Mark might have been able to name the book, "Let's Make a Regulation" if he wanted to only focus on the difficult aspects he faced in being a foreigner living in China. The Washington Post reviewed that "Salzman demonstrates with skill and subtlety just how China society works."
   
   This Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1987 is dated; but describes the undercurrent that still exists in part today. The movie's script stayed true to the book; yet the movie was shot in Hangzhou and not Changsha. Make sure to stay for the vignettes and movie credits at the end; they are another joyful experience of the film and you will not be disappointed that you waited. Mark found out that happiness was not a simple thing in China and though he valued being well liked and mastering a skill; his Chinese friend felt that "these goals can be achieved easily. All you have to do is to be kind and work hard. But to eat and sleep well that is a difficult wish, because you cannot control these things yourself."
   
   One interesting note is that on the last night of the shooting of the movie, the brutal crackdown occurred in Tiananmen Square (June 3, 1989).
   
   I loved this book and the movie and the delight that two very different cultures shared in learning about each other. All that I can say is "very well done" (Manhaodilei!)
   
   Mark really learned Qong Fu: a skill that transcends mere surface beauty!
   
   Bentley/2007
   Iron and Silk



4. This was how Mark Salzman's students thought of him in China. His account of his time spent there in the early 1980s is a fantastic journey in and of itself. His narrative style is intriguing as he does not probe into the thinking of the Chinese people that he encounters day to day. He presents his experiences always on the surface and rarely speculates on the speakers intentions. Even though he is fluent in Chinese he does not seek to offer insight in the mindset of the culture he lived; he only reports it. Although such dialogue may sound superficial and trivial it is not. Salzman draws us into the events by merely presenting his encounters with his Chinese friends and acquaintances, and chance meetings. So powerful are the stories that the words and actions of the individuals portray an honesty and passion that is captivating.
   The uniqueness of everyday Chinese thinking he faced for two years is inherently surprising, delightful, curious, odd, shocking, and hilarious.This was truly a memorable account of a young man who came not only to teach but to learn as well.



5. This memoir is light and humorous and a wonderful way to learn about Chinese culture.