3 comments about Delano's Voyages of Commerce and Discovery: Amasa Delano in China, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and South America, 1789-1807 (American Classics).

1. Berkshire House Publishers and Eleanor Seagraves have performed a service of great value in resurrecting this account of sea voyages that played a critical role in establishing America's place in the field of maritime commerce and exploration. Truth can be stranger than fiction. Delano's extradordinary exploits are every bit as fascinating as the tales told by Patrick O'Brian and will appeal to the same readership. Handsomely illustrated.



2. Fans of Patrick O'Brian will love Amasa Delano's Voyages. Delano's travels took him through the same uncharted waters and touched the same exotic lands as O'Brian's intrepid Captain Jack Aubrey and his ever-curious companion Stephen Maturin, but with a difference: O'Brian's heroes live in fiction; Delano was for real.

   Seldom have I read a seafarer's account with so many varied and interesting observations about the world through which he traveled. Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin and other professional naturalists wrote a good deal about the flora and fauna they studied, of course, but Delano's curiosity takes him everywhere and informs the reader about an amazing range of contemporary details of life and human behavior.




3. The only reason I gave this review four stars instead of five is that this volume is abridged. It is missing a great deal of material about actual shiphandling and navigation in the period, including detailed descriptions of harbors. It is worth seeking out a used volume of the original.

No comments about Beautiful Xiangxi.

No comments about Among the Mongols.

5 comments about Spy On The Roof Of The World: Espionage and Survival in the Himalayas.

1. As a Indian I was naturaly drawn to read an account of a brit mountaineer who was engaged in a spying operation for the Indian army...

   The feat of endurance is graphically elucidated by the author and is replete with descriptions of the freezing cold and the hardy spirit of the mountain people




2. This book goes into the period just after the Chinese 'liberation' of Tibet and the war with India due to their land grabbing.
   The author has written out of personal experience, and his lack of writing skills must be excused. Sometimes the narrative might get kinda boring, but the work has to be read as a historical gem rather than an interesting story.
   Goes into good detail about the crimes committed by the Chinese against the Tibetans.
   A very good read.



3. A truly amazing story with right dosage of travelogue, high altitude mountaineering, History of India, Nepal, China & Tibet's along with the behind the scenes patriotism of Indian army and of self centered Nehru & Menon. A must read for who truly believe in the cause of Tibet's Liberation!



4. This is the best book I have ever read, on any topic. My husband and I had to move to a new house with two extra bedrooms and a finished basement - just so we could accomodate all our books. So I don't say lightly that this is the best book I have ever read.
   
   This is a great survival story, but, more than that, it is an amazing human drama. Other reviewers have done an excellent job of describing the plot, so I'll just say that Sydney Wignall's writing is clear, detailed, and emotionally charged. This book is amazingly powerful.
   
   Read this book!



5. I read this book sometime ago and was thrilled and captivated by it! I could not put it down. It was so unusual and so interesting - a view point of the Chinese by a Scotsman (who worked as a spy for the Indian army that he loved and respected, in addition to climbing the treacherous Gurla Mandhata, which had been his lifelong mountaineering ambition as a member of the Scottish Himalayan Club) who suffered being captured, imprisoned and tortured by them. All of this and subtly funny throughout! I could not put the book down until I had finished reading all of it! Tellingly, this adventure cured the author of his mountaineering passion.
   
   I highly for recommend it as a movie worth producing by Hollywood or Bollywood - within the next 5 years. I predict that this will be a blockbuster unlike any other!

1 comments about In Tibet and Chinese Turkestan: Being the Record of Three Years' Exploration.

1. A Google search for Hugh Deasy throws up me or Henry Hugh. So we are the only two famous people rejoicing in this combination of names. My own book, "Grannies and Time Machines", has a totally different subject matter.

1 comments about Tourism And Hotel Development In China: From Political To Economic Success.

1. I have been working in the Chinese hospitality industry as a senior manager since 2000. I find the book to be a total waste of time and money to tourism professionals with a little knowledge of China. The statistics and general data available in the book are far too old to be useful. One example: page 150, the Table 10.3 about Hotel Management Companies in China, is from 1998!
   For the tourism professionals that want to enter this market, I recommend any "how to" book about business in China and the reading of free articles available on the internet. Don't waste your time.

2 comments about China Map (Independent Travel Series).

1. The map showed backordered for over two months without any future estimate date for delivery so I cancelled the order.



2. I've given this map a 5 star rating, not because it is filled with specifics or provides great directions or good detail, but rather that it orients you to Chinese geography.
   
   As a result, making travel plans is greatly simplified because you really do have a sense of where you are going. For instance, I initially thought I could visit 5 cities by train, but when I looked on the map and found each city was a separated by a great distance and that the railroad lines were not as the crow flies...I realized air travel was the only practical option between the cities.
   
   If you already know Chinese geography intimately well, the only use for this map is for hanging on the wall or showing your friends where you are going or where you have been.

No comments about Passport's Illustrated Travel Guide to Singapore & Malaysia (Passport's Illustrated Travel Guide to Singapore and Malaysia).

No comments about The Chinese Walking Stick: And Other Short Stories.

No comments about The Classical Gardens of Suzhou.