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The River's Tale: A Year on the Mekongby Edward Gargan
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:From Tibet to Vietnam, from windswept plateaus to the South China Sea, the Mekong flows for three thousand miles, snaking its way through Southeast Asia. Long fascinated with this part of the world, former New York Times correspondent Edward Gargan recounts his ambitious exploration of the Mekong and those living within its watershed. Gargan invested over a year traveling the length of the river, and he gives us an unforgettable account of his immersions into the unique and varying cultures lining its banks. He vividly portrays regions shaped by colonial occupation, brutal wars, and unspeakably corrupt governments. But he also documents communities courageously moving forward while wrestling with the past. On dirt streets Internet cafes stand next to thatched huts without electricity. A thriving tourist industry lays adjacent to Pol Pot's killing fields. New highrise office buildings tower over the disenfranchised children of American soldiers. The River's Tale is a seminal examination of the Mekong and its people, a testament to the their struggles, their defeats and their victories. Review:"Gargan's passion for the subject makes him acutely sensitive to the rhythms and details of the communities he visits; it also makes his prose slightly purple. At times so many faces and facts are packed in that they blur as if Gargan were traveling by train instead of the various rickety contraptions he does take." Publishers Weekly Review:"Gargan...writes poignantly of illiterate peasants, war-hardened natives, and his fellow travelers. He paints a candid picture of the varied Mekong cultures as they are today. An account to savor." Library Journal Review:"The River's Tale is an engrossing discovery of the lands and peoples along a river that has stirred the imagination of wanderers and adventurers for as long as I can remember." David Lamb, author of The Arabs Review:"This is a great journey Ed Gargan takes us on, weaving down the deep river through seven countries, encountering tea, elephants, monks, Kublai Khan, dolphins, ferries, and things inexplicably horrible, and beautiful, all along the way. The River's Tale is a lyrical, clear-sighted account of the ancient, roiling soul of the Mekong." David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered Review:?The River?s Tale guides us through a river of strange and untamed scents and sensibilities, taking us through the battles of peoples who for centuries have tied their lives to the relentlessly flowing lifeblood of the Mekong. Ed Gargan?s sharp and lyrical images have the power to both soothe and sting, to tickle and temper, to enrage and enrapture.? Sheryl WuDunn, coauthor, Thunder from the East Review:"Ed Gargan?s remarkable journey along the Mekong takes us well beyond the cliches of Asian exoticism and clashing civilizations. This sensitive account reveals the variety of Asian life, as well as a humanity common to us all." Ian Buruma, Author of Bad Elements Review:"For all his lyric descriptions of the great river and its moods, Mr. Gargan has written far more than a picturesque personal travel diary. He offers an insider's look infused with sympathy and often with anguish at the political and societal tragedies he meets on the way....Not many Americans would attempt the trek of this huge river, from sources to delta....Still fewer would possess the knowledge, the imagination, the wit and the deep-rooted sympathy with Asian peoples that characterize Mr. Gargan's writing. He tells a unique and thought-provoking story." Frank Gibney, New York Times Synopsis:Gargan's travels down the Mekong River reveal a frame of modernity settling uneasily on regions still mired in backwardness and poverty. 34 photos. 11 maps. About the AuthorEdward A. Gargan worked as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the New York Times in West Africa, China, India, and Hong Kong, was a magazine writer for the Los Angeles Times, and now covers Asia for Newsday. He was an Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and is the author of China?s Fate. He is based in Beijing and has a home on Martha?s Vineyard, Massachusetts. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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