Synopses & Reviews
Commissioned by the Chinese to map a road through one of the most inhospitable regions in the world, Hedin set out on a journey that saw him become entangled in a bloody war for independence that was raging in the province. Struggling through the battle-scarred land, he encountered rebel fighters and bandits, was imprisoned and nearly executed. An enthralling account of drama and high adventure, The Trail of War is an extraordinary portrait of Central Asia and its people.
Review
"There is breathless excitement in this story. Suspense, action, all the elements of a good adventure story, only this is not fiction." --New York Herald Tribune
"Hedins lively account of his travails is related with the immediacy and urgency of a war correspondent." --John Hare
About the Author
Sven Hedin (1865-1952) was one of the worlds greatest explorers. His travels through Russia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Central Asia, China and Tibet led to important discoveries and achievements: he produced the first detailed maps of vast parts of the Pamir Mountains, the Taklamakan Desert, Tibet, the Silk Road and the Himalayas. He was the first to unearth the ruins of ancient Buddhist cities in Chinese Central Asia and in 1899 he discovered the ancient Chinese garrison town of Lou-Lan in the Taklamakan. The many manuscripts he found there are of huge historical importance. His books, which include Through Asia, A Conquest of Tibet, A Journey through Persia and Mesopotamia, Transhimalaya and My Life as an Explorer have been excerpted, translated and published in dozens of languages throughout the world.
Table of Contents
Preface* List of illustrations * Foreword by John Hare * Introduction: The War in Sinkiang * “The Die is Cast! We cross the Rubicon” * Through ruined villages to Turfan * With Big Horse Chief of Staff and the Tiger Prince * Through gorges and burning villages in Robberland * To Korla, the City of our Sorrows * Our lives are threatened * In search of Georg * The convoy is attacked and fired on * Ma Chung-yin takes our lorries and Korla is bombed from the air * An anxious night * Big Horses soldiers loot Korla * The victors entry * General Bektieieff * The second imprisonment * The drivers return * How Georg and Effe feld with Big Horse * Big Horse flight to Russian Turkestan