Rating: 
Summary: Solid book, but . . . .
Review: I read this book during a recent trip to Southeast asia, Including many of the countries (Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam) that the Author travelled in his 'year on the mekong'. I found it to be an enjoyable read, & applaud the author for seeking out several engaging personalities along his trip. I do not think that Gargan's work is on a par with Norman Lewis' 1950s classic A Dragon Apparent & would have liked a more balanced assessment of the historical & economic situation in some of the southeast asian countries he visited. Like many people who were involved in the anti-war movement, Gargan seems to glorify his years as an anti-war protester & revels in the fact that he went to prison rather than serve in Vietnam. For those of a younger generation this got somewhat tiring as the book went on. He seemed shocked that modern day Vietnamese, Cambodians & Laotians would look up to the United States and may think that a better life could be had there. I mean, I only spent 3 weeks on the Mekong & did not have to stretch my imagination too far to understand how many locals (living on less than $500/year in countries with much less freedom) could hold that exact viewpoint. Other than that, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read, & Gargan is a gifted storyteller. I guess I just would have liked it more if Robert Kaplan had made the trip . . . . & I read it right after A Dragon Apparent, which made for a tough comparison.
Rating:
Summary: The River's Tale - worth a second look
Review: The first time I read this book I felt bogged down and board, but I decided to give it a second chance. And I'm glad I did, because Gargan's travels are, at times, incredibly entertaining. As we travel the Mekong River with Mr.Gargan we are introduced to many interesting characters one of my favorites was Dakpa Kelden, a Tibetan man who accompanies Gargan early on his journey. The histories of the people we meet along the way, as well as that of the countries themselves are remarkable. Mr. Gargan on top of being accurate is also lyrical with this work. At times his description of a flower, town, or the river it self are so magnificent that you have to read it again. Overall a good read, especially for those interested in travel, but easy to over look.
Rating:
Summary: a reporter of goes down the Mekong, but remains unchanged
Review: The journey of Gargan's year of travelling down the Mekong begins interestingly in Tibet, but gradually becomes less and less so. He describes one poor village after another and they all begin to coalesce. You increaingly find it hard to tell the Laotians, from the Cambodieans, from the others. One dusty bus ride or poorly functioning boat after another becomes tedious.
What is missing is the sense of the traveller, who seemingly remains uninfluenced by the travel. A haunting initial dedication which suggests a lover lost, is unmentioned in the story. In fact, as far as one can tell, Gargen never met an attractive woman, had no feelings, in fact did not suffer from homesickness or nostalgia, or any feelings whatsoever save for the mundane discomforts of the trip.
It is all reporting, but there is no reporter.
Rating:
Summary: a reporter of goes down the Mekong, but remains unchanged
Review: The journey of Gargan's year of travelling down the Mekong begins interestingly in Tibet, but gradually becomes less and less so. He describes one poor village after another and they all begin to coalesce. You increaingly find it hard to tell the Laotians, from the Cambodieans, from the others. One dusty bus ride or poorly functioning boat after another becomes tedious.
What is missing is the sense of the traveller, who seemingly remains uninfluenced by the travel. A haunting initial dedication which suggests a lover lost, is unmentioned in the story. In fact, as far as one can tell, Gargen never met an attractive woman, had no feelings, in fact did not suffer from homesickness or nostalgia, or any feelings whatsoever save for the mundane discomforts of the trip.
It is all reporting, but there is no reporter.
Rating: 
Summary: Gargan's Tale Takes You To The River
Review: The thing that really grabbed me about The River's Tale was Gargan's seamless weaving of the political/historical context of the region on a general level (and he does indeed know the region well) with his own insightful unpackings of particular interactions along the river. The book has the ability to "put you there" in a way that is too often lacking in traditional political/historical attempts and which I have never found in other writings regarding the region. I'll never be able to spend a year on the Mekong, but Gargan has let me know what I've missed. I hope he takes the same trip in a decade; I'd bet we would get a very different book in many respects. Post script: is this the same Ed Gargan who was once the fastest schoolboy in Massachusetts??
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good but...
Review: This is a well-written book, sometimes overwritten I felt, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed in Gargan's dislike/contempt for the Han Chinese. It felt a little unfair to color so many of his prejudices into the story. I'm sure he has still angry about his experiences as a journalist working in China, who knows? Let's be honest, anyone who travels from communist China to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam will enjoy the lack of Chinese government control but what was especially sad to see as a reader was the fact that Gargan, who speaks Mandarin, never attempts to engage the Han Chinese, never gives them a chance to talk. The Chinese are like adults in a Charlie Brown movie: abstract shapes who speak in gargles and gurgles. It's the polar opposite of writer Peter Hessler, and I think this is unfortunate for Gargan. He comes across as aloof in the end and though he weaves a wonderful tale once he gets out of China, he never really engages with other locals along the route either. I couldn't help but become more interested in the people along the way rather than the river. As soon as Gargan set some wonderful scene, like the China/Lao border, I hoped he would find a translator good enough to enable him to talk with the locals. It didn't happen, so he relied on his colorful prose to carry the story along...The recurring complaints about people overcharging him grew old very fast, though. If he has really spent as much time in Asia as the book flap said he did then he should know how to deal with situations like those he described. But it became tiresome to see him fall into the same trap each time, ascribing the blame on the other party again and again. But this book was still an enjoyable read, but if the reader wants to read a more realistic and less biased account of China then they should steer themselves toward Peter Hessler's work....
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable travelogue - good backgrounder
Review: This is an enjoyable travelogue to read that covers Tibet, Southern China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The author has a different perspective on the countries than an ordinary traveller, and even has his own ideas about travellers. I enjoyed reading this book as I prepared for my upcoming trip, because it gave me a taste of what I would experience. You can easily read a chapter, all of which stand alone, or read the entire book from cover to cover.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable travelogue - good backgrounder
Review: This is an enjoyable travelogue to read that covers Tibet, Southern China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The author has a different perspective on the countries than an ordinary traveller, and even has his own ideas about travellers. I enjoyed reading this book as I prepared for my upcoming trip, because it gave me a taste of what I would experience. You can easily read a chapter, all of which stand alone, or read the entire book from cover to cover.
Rating:
Summary: A moving account of postwar Asia and Indochina.
Review: What brought Ed Gargan to explore the Mekong river was not only his interest in Southeast Asia, but also the desire to exorcise his war demons. During the Vietnam War, he was one the many conscientious objectors who protested against the war and ended up in jail. Gargan spent a whole year traveling the Mekong from its source in the Tibetan mountains to its mouth in Vietnam. What resulted from this year of solitude and disconnection from western civilization was a beautifully written and detailed analysis of the people who lived along this mighty river. He visited Tibet, a country invaded by the Chinese, then southwest China, Burma, Laos, the golden triangle where opium was mass produced, and finally Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam he journeyed through the delta towns of Can Tho, Chau Doc, My Tho, and Ben Tre where he described the activity of the floating markets and took the pulse of the local people. He visited with a bui doi, product of an American soldier and a Vietnamese woman then talked to a former South Vietnamese translator for the US Army who spent three years in a reeducation camp after the fall of Saigon. The father of a businesswoman he met in Can Tho was also interned and died in a communist reeducation camp. He noticed that, while southerners were straightforward, northerners were at best vague, if not duplicitous. Southerners, with their sense of identity and culture, deplored what they called the invasion and occupation of their land by northerners who "brought a rigid authoritarianism that has stunted the lives of Vietnamese." This is a tale of war, suffering, and destruction. This is also a moving account of postwar East Asia and Indochina where people attempted to rebuild their lives and struggled for survival under communist control while still yearning for the world beyond (read freedom and education).
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