Rating: 
Summary: More on Aurel Stein would have added to the authenticity
Review: It is unfortunate that the author did not have the opportunity to visit Bamiyan in Afghanistan. As you know, Sir Aurel Stein is buried in Kabul. I found Wilfrid Blunt's THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND to be more informative as it included the travels of many Europeans and Asians that ventured into Central Asia. I had the opportunity to visit Herat, Qandahar and Kabul in 1972 when I was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran, 70-72. I travelled overland, crossing the frontier at Islam Qala. Qandahar represented the western most city of Ashokan influence. To the West was the Zoroastrian realm of influence. How did Zoroastrianism and Buddhism interact?
Rating: 
Summary: Buddhism lite or "what I did on my summer vacation"
Review: OK. I admit to being unduly influenced by what I read in the NY Times Book Review. That's what hooked me on reading Ultimate Journey. I must also confess that I'm not done with the book yet, but I'm sufficiently disappointed to pen a review based on what I've read because I might not finish it. Bernstein doesn't seem that interested in what this trek meant for Buddhism. He tells us early on he doesn't feel any spiritual connection to Buddhism, and he spends far too much time telling us about his Chinese girlfriend, his feelings about his own Jewish heritage, and his own paranoia about getting thrown out of China because he bashed the Chinese in his previous book. His writing is also so loose and "diary-like" that it looks like his editor let him off far too easily on re-write. It's not what I was looking for, and I think the Times reviewer would have done better for its readers by telling them this is essentially an exotic travelogue, but one lacking the wit of Michael Palin or the lush descriptions of Paul Theroux or James Michener.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good writing, puzzling motives
Review: Other reviewers have made good points about Bernstein's ethnocentrism, so will not repeat those. I came away from the book wondering why Bernstein took the trip at all. He doesn't seem to enjoy seeing the vairied landscapes, meeting local people, meeting other travellers, visiting Buddhist sacred spaces, or the mere novelty of being uncomfortable in ways that he could not be in New York. He undertakes his trip not as a spiritual pilgrim, he does little investigation into the life and times of his subject, nor does he enjoy travel for its own sake. As he got grouchier, I wanted to assure him that it is ok just to go home without "finishing" the journey, since he had lost his enthusiasm for it. Berstein's competent writing saves the book and made it worthwhile for me to finish reading. He is a good enough writer that the account helped me to visualize the immensity of the lands along his route and the diversity of the peoples of the region. I did learn a bit of geography from this rather crotchety teacher, and I thank him for that.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good writing, puzzling motives
Review: Other reviewers have made good points about Bernstein's ethnocentrism, so will not repeat those. I came away from the book wondering why Bernstein took the trip at all. He doesn't seem to enjoy seeing the vairied landscapes, meeting local people, meeting other travellers, visiting Buddhist sacred spaces, or the mere novelty of being uncomfortable in ways that he could not be in New York. He undertakes his trip not as a spiritual pilgrim, he does little investigation into the life and times of his subject, nor does he enjoy travel for its own sake. As he got grouchier, I wanted to assure him that it is ok just to go home without "finishing" the journey, since he had lost his enthusiasm for it. Berstein's competent writing saves the book and made it worthwhile for me to finish reading. He is a good enough writer that the account helped me to visualize the immensity of the lands along his route and the diversity of the peoples of the region. I did learn a bit of geography from this rather crotchety teacher, and I thank him for that.
Rating:
Summary: Mid-life Crisis
Review: Poor Hsuan Tsang, whose 10,000 mile 17 year journey beginning in 629 A.D. is the subject of this book, just cannot compete with the ego of the writer Richard Bernstein, whose name is emblazoned on the cover with nary a mention of the monk. This sets the tone of the book which is as much as about Bernstein as about Tsang. This is a shame because this has the makings of a great read were it not for the author's ego. Few westerners have the opportunity to travel in this part of the world. The famous caves of Ellora, parts of which existed during Hsuan Tsang's time, are barely mentioned with no description at all whereas 19th Century Jewish diaspora receives 2 pages. I doubt the general reader has much interest in learning about the author's high school days in Connecticutt or his personal thoughts on why we are on earth. Mr. Bernstein, a book critic for the New York Times, does write well and many parts of the travelogue are fascinating. The maps at the beginning of each chapter are helpful. There are surprisingly no photographs. Too bad he did not pack a camera rather than his personal baggage.
Rating:
Summary: great journey
Review: Richard Bernstein's ULTIMATE JOURNEY is a splendid account of his recreation of the extraordinary pilgrimage of a legendary seventh century Buddhist monk named Hsuan Tsang, arguably the greatest traveler in history. Retracing the monk's steps through western China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and finally to India, Bernstein traverses seemingly impassable deserts, crosses formidable mountain passes, and meets a whole cast of colorful characters along his route. With the eye of a practiced journalist, Bernstein shares with the reader the experience of visiting out-of-the-way ancient ruins, traveling on primitive trains and sleeping in flyblown cheap hotels, producing in so doing a hugely entertaining read. What makes ULTIMATE JOURNEY truly outstanding is the manner in which Bernstein contrasts his own experience with that of his seventh century hero. Because Bernstein speaks Chinese and possesses an impressive familiarity with Chinese culture and history, he is able to bring the legendary Hsuan Tsang vividly to life, transforming even the more abstruse corners of the monk's Buddhist beliefs into page-turning reading Carefully researched and elegantly written, ULTIMATE JOURNEY is a work that can be favorably compared with such classics of travel literature as Paul Theroux's THE GREAT RAILWAY BAZAAR and Peter Matthiessen's THE SNOW LEOPARD. It deserves a place on the shelf alongside such splendidly-written evocations of the Chinese past as Jonathan Spence's THE DEATH OF WOMAN WANG and THE DREAM PALACE OF MATTEO RICCI. For anyone who loves loves Chinese history, cares deeply about the triumphs of the human spirit and loves a good old-fashioned page-turning read, ULTIMATE JOURNEY is a trip not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: a jouney home
Review: Some reviewers complain about the personal aspects of this book. But there is nothing wrong to blend a personal story into a travel account, is there? To me, the most compelling part of the book, is exactly the fusion, or the divergion, of the monk's and the author's journeys. There are other books devoted to historical or geographical facts, if that is what you are after. What Bernstein describes in the book, the pulls between going-home and leaving-home, pertinent to himself, is also touchingly universal. Leave home we must,like Huan Tsang and Bernstein, in order to come home to find meaning and wisdom in our seemingly mundane lives.
Rating:
Summary: TWO INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS
Review: The Ultimate Journey by Richard Bernstein was recommended to me by a friend who is a Buddhist scholar. Because of his strong recommendation, I read the book before I read the book's reviews in Amazon.com. I am fortunate to have read the book first, because reviews might have caused me to overlook an otherwise excellent book. The value of a book is determined by what transpires between the author and the reader based on a complex intellectual, cultural and personal synchrony. For me, this is the perfect book. In my opinion, a good book satisfactorily answers three questions: Is the writing literate? Am I entertained? Have I learned anything? Bernstein's book is not only literate, the writing is superb. He is a respected journalist, a book critic for the New York Times and an author of books. In my view, he and his editor have done a marvelous job in presenting a complex physical and contemplative journey that weave in and out of the present and the past, and encompass immense historical, cultural and spiritual domains. Am I entertained? Tremendously! I appreciate his subtle humor and irony,even his dissatisfaction with his life and the frustration he experienced as he travels through China and central Asia. Anyone who really knows China would appreciate his humorous treatment of the bureaucracy, the peculiar and sometimes comic mindset and behavior of the people ( as seen from the Western viewpoint), and the overcrowding, dusty, monotonus cities. As a Chinese person, I don't think he is being arrogant or condescending. He was telling the truth and he hasn't told the worst. Have I learned anything? An enormous amount! Born and raised in China, the first novel I read in 4th grade was "Journey to the West." It was about a Tang dynasty monk who went on a long journey to the "Western Heaven" in search of the sutra. The monk was accompanied by his three desciples: a monkey and a pig in human forms and Frior Sand. The pig was greedy, the monkey cunning and they have supernatural power that had protected the monk from demons and wild beasts on the way. The book was an all time classic,loved by children through the ages, but it was a mythological novel. Now in my golden years, I am thrilled to learn the truth about the Tang monk Hsuan Tsang, his incredible 16-year journey to India, the landscape, the history and the politics, then and now. I am delighted to learn about the modern-day pilgrim Richard Bernstein, his childhood, his ethnic and religious background, how he started his career, his inner thoughts and feelings. It sounds like a fairy tale that a Jewish boy from a chicken farm in Connecticut and a girl from a State farm in Helongjian undertake a joint adventure retracing the steps of a 7th century Chinese monk! Frankly I am puzzled by the criticism,obviously from younger readers,that the book was fueled by Bernstein's mid-life crisis and that he traveled by jet planes and puddle-jumped from one nice hotel to the next. True, had he undertaken the journey while in his twenties, he would have been physically more adventurous, he might have climbed the icy mountains, crossed the scorching desert on camel back just as the Tang monk had done.But then we have to wait 16 years to read his chronicle assuming he survived. Had he undertaken this journey as a young man, I am not sure he would have had nearly as much wisdom and insight as he does in his fifties. Last, but not the least, is the love story. Again I can relate to his loneliness as an unmarried person, and his ambivelence about commitment. Lukily for Bernstein, he found love in the nick of time. I hope he and Zongmei have beautiful, dark-eyed children and live happily ever after. H. Mei Liu, M.D. author of GRANDFATHER'S MICROSCOPE
Rating:
Summary: Journey Into Melancholia
Review: This is a disheartening book. On paper, it seems an exciting project. A modern retracing of the footsteps of the Chinese monk Hsuan Tsang. Excursions into Central Asian locations such as Tashkent and Samarkand whose very names are redolent of romance and exotica. Unfortunately, the results strike me as the product of a rather listless exercise. The author, in the grips of a mid-life bout with melancholia and increasingly prone to travel fatigue, seems out of sorts with his original project. Yes, he completed his trip but you get the strong sense that it was conducted with gritted teeth. Bernstein is a good writer and a good journalist. I very much enjoyed his prior book on France ("Fragile Glory") as well as his thoughtful book reviews and topical surveys of current trends in modern thought in the New York Times. In the present instance, however, he seems to have run out of gas. What do you hope to get out of this book? A better understanding of Buddhism perhaps? Sorry, but you would do just as well reading a few good survey articles on Buddhism in an encyclopedia or even some old Alan Watts books. Bernstein offers little more than a desultory ramble through the literature. He is, by temperament and "tribal connections," unwilling to explore the experiential element of one of the world's great religious traditions. It's not so much the skeptical and secular outlook that I find off-putting. (Indeed, I tend to share this perspective.) Rather, it is the over-intellectualized cognitive distancing. Appropriate, perhaps, for a grad school seminar, but way off the mark in attempting to apprehend and elucidate a monk's quest for ultimate enlightenment. Well then. How about insightful reporting of life and socio-political developments in modern day Central Asia. Nope. Not really on the agenda for this trip. This distinguished journalist is clearly on sabbatical. No sniffing about for news and political intrigues here. O.K. How about vivid accounts of the people met and situations encountered. Yes, there is some of this. But, on the whole, even this narrative is not particularly engaging. The author just doesn't seem all that interested. For he is in the troughs of lingering depression. China, the ex-Soviet Republics, Pakistan, and India are merely colorful backdrops -- scaffolds for his ruminations on what direction he should adopt in his personal life. Interesting in its own way, I suppose, but hardly meriting the investment of either your dollars or your time.
Rating:
Summary: ultimately somebody who bought Lonely Planet
Review: While I have often admired Bernstein's book reviews, it is quite evident in reading this book that his connections to the literary world are what lead to its publication and not the merits of the text itself. Ultimate Journey is little more than a fleshed-out volume of Lonely Planet. Bernstein's attempt to "retrace the path of an ancient Buddhist monk" was little more than puddle-jumping from nice hotel to nice hotel with the occassionally uncomfortable train ride or long wait in line in between. I'm certain this was a powerful experience for the author, however, it just isn't the stuff of great travel writing. As I read I cringed many a time at his often elitist statements about the cultures he was visiting and he seemed like little more than a wealthy New Yorker in the midst of a mid-life crisis who was trying to get back to his youth by becoming a backpacker again but not enjoying himself. He was forced to veer from the Monk's path so many times by modern political realities that this underlying historical strand of the text was essentially meaningless. The few attempts Bernstein made to come up with a deeper spiritual connection to his journey through an evaluation of his Judaism were totally superficial and even wrong (at one point he describes how he feels looking at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and feeling a connection with it as a relic of Solomon's Temple - the Western Wall is what remains of Herod's temple, 1000 years later).Where the book does have its merits is as a decent travel guide/companion for anybody planning to visit the region. Had it been advertised as such, I would have been perfectly happy to stuff it in my back pack to read on my next long trip somewhere.
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