by Simon Winchester
A journey along one of the worlds
greatest and most mysterious rivers.
Reviewed by: Alan McClymont
About Alan McClymont
Simon Winchester, a trained geologist and well written
author on Pacific rim countries decided to follow up
on his long standing dream and travel along the full
3,900 mile long Yangtze river. The river, one of the
biggest in the world, splits China in two and is at
the center of much of the culture and folklore of this
huge country. The route which he follows takes him
from the mouth of the river near Shanghai, on the
Pacific coast all the way across the country into the
foothills of the Himalayas and the deepest recesses of
Tibet.
As the author himself notes, this is not only a
journey through distance but also a journey through
time. From the ultra modern east coast he travels
backwards through time to the West and Tibet where
everything still seems as it was 1000 years ago. This
is probably the most interesting aspect of the
journey. The way in which different parts of the
country have changed over the years is well documented
here.
My original interest in this book came solely from
having lived in China and from having taken much of
the same journey as the author. Obviously the
enjoyment of the book would be greater if you knew the
places which were being described to you but no
knowledge of China is necessary to thoroughly enjoy
this great read. By the end of the book I realized
that much of what he had seen and done was very
different from my own experiences. This though did
not stop me from feeling like I was traveling with him
along the way.
Much of this feeling came from the way in which the
writer described the places that he visited and the
people that he met. Everything and everyone that he
came into contact with seemed to be given a life of
their own. He describes what he sees as if everything
is completely new to him. It is wonderful to be able
to experience such unknown lands in the company of
someone who can show you them in such wonderful color
and detail.
The book also looks into the building of the 'three
gorges dam' in the middle of the river. This project
should become the world's biggest hydroelectric dam
after its completion in a few years but has been the
subject of much criticism. This and many other
political subjects are also dealt with and they show
how dangerous it remains for foreigners to question
authority in some of the more remote parts of the
country.
Basically the book is a wonderful description of the
history, culture, politics and the people of this
huge, wonderful and largely unknown country. It is
well written and the author shows a real love for his
subject. I only wish my own journey could have been
half as eventful as his.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: The River at the Center of the World
Copyright © by Alan McClymont, 2003
Reviewed by Alan McClymont :
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