The Marching Wind

Rating:
Summary: The Marching Wind
Review: Although The Marching Wind was written in the late 40's, this non-fiction story is still very intriguing in today's world. It relates the story of traveler/explorer Leonard Clark and his yak caravan journey through Tibet. Clark convinced the Chinese Nationalist leaders that he could find them an escape route through Tibet as the communists approached. At the same time, Clark plans to measure a mountain in Tibet that is reputably higher than Everest.
The book is written as a detailed travel log of the expedition through the wilds of forbidding Tibet during incredibly cold weather for which none of the modern equipment used for extreme weather is available. The caravan is constantly on watch for the fierce Ngolog tribe members reputed to be highly aggressive and murderous. It is a well written and exciting story.

Rating:
Summary: The Marching Wind
Review: Although The Marching Wind was written in the late 40's, this non-fiction story is still very intriguing in today's world. It relates the story of traveler/explorer Leonard Clark and his yak caravan journey through Tibet. Clark convinced the Chinese Nationalist leaders that he could find them an escape route through Tibet as the communists approached. At the same time, Clark plans to measure a mountain in Tibet that is reputably higher than Everest.
The book is written as a detailed travel log of the expedition through the wilds of forbidding Tibet during incredibly cold weather for which none of the modern equipment used for extreme weather is available. The caravan is constantly on watch for the fierce Ngolog tribe members reputed to be highly aggressive and murderous. It is a well written and exciting story.

Rating:
Summary: an adventurer from the past
Review: I noticed this book on my parent's book shelf when I was growing up. My 5th grade class had studied Tibet and I always meant to read it. Well, many years later, I finally got around to it and it turned out to be a rather interesting book. What makes it interesting is this glimpse at the many different people who make up the vast area of Tibet.

The author, Leonard Clark, is a rather archaic type of fellow to read in the 21st century. It's somewhat akin to reading about a 19th Century explorer 50 years ago. The man, fresh out of World War II intrigue in this general area of China, decides that he wants to explore the area of a sacred mountain. The name of the mountain is Amne Machin and it is located deep in the thinly explored areas of Tibet. Mr. Clark briefly explains the background to his quest and, before we know it, he is on his way to Tibet with a mere $1200 to finance his travels. He is an odd sort of fellow who reminds you of a middle-aged bachelor British nobleman who explores for a living. His rare reflections on life indicate a rather detached point of view.

We sense his quest to find and measure the height of Amne Machin although I didn't feel particularly excited about this aspect of his travels. I was most interested in the many different tribes of peoples and their remoteness from the rest of the world. Many of these different tribesmen are Mongols who date back to the original Horde. Mr. Clark has convinced the local military leader of the need to find an escape route from the unstoppable advance of the Red Chinese. Thus he is able to explore this lawless area accompanied by a small army. Mr. Clark is an astute observer of the many different tribes, flora, fauna, customs, topography and travails of the area. I found myself shivering with him in the many blizzards he seemed to encounter. I also found myself wondering if I, too, could survive on the various forms of food and drink that he subsisted on.

This book didn't exactly grab me once I started reading it. In fact I kept it at the office and would read a bit of it several times a week during my lunch break. It left me wondering about whatever happened to these many tribes of people rather than wondering whatever happened to the author.

Rating:
Summary: an adventurer from the past
Review: I noticed this book on my parent's book shelf when I was growing up. My 5th grade class had studied Tibet and I always meant to read it. Well, many years later, I finally got around to it and it turned out to be a rather interesting book. What makes it interesting is this glimpse at the many different people who make up the vast area of Tibet.

The author, Leonard Clark, is a rather archaic type of fellow to read in the 21st century. It's somewhat akin to reading about a 19th Century explorer 50 years ago. The man, fresh out of World War II intrigue in this general area of China, decides that he wants to explore the area of a sacred mountain. The name of the mountain is Amne Machin and it is located deep in the thinly explored areas of Tibet. Mr. Clark briefly explains the background to his quest and, before we know it, he is on his way to Tibet with a mere $1200 to finance his travels. He is an odd sort of fellow who reminds you of a middle-aged bachelor British nobleman who explores for a living. His rare reflections on life indicate a rather detached point of view.

We sense his quest to find and measure the height of Amne Machin although I didn't feel particularly excited about this aspect of his travels. I was most interested in the many different tribes of peoples and their remoteness from the rest of the world. Many of these different tribesmen are Mongols who date back to the original Horde. Mr. Clark has convinced the local military leader of the need to find an escape route from the unstoppable advance of the Red Chinese. Thus he is able to explore this lawless area accompanied by a small army. Mr. Clark is an astute observer of the many different tribes, flora, fauna, customs, topography and travails of the area. I found myself shivering with him in the many blizzards he seemed to encounter. I also found myself wondering if I, too, could survive on the various forms of food and drink that he subsisted on.

This book didn't exactly grab me once I started reading it. In fact I kept it at the office and would read a bit of it several times a week during my lunch break. It left me wondering about whatever happened to these many tribes of people rather than wondering whatever happened to the author.

Rating:
Summary: Superb adventure story!
Review: This is truly a well-written, great adventure. Although I think that Clark embellishes the dangers of his trip, you definitely get a good feeling of the difficulties and potential threats.
(Immediate post WW-II period, during Chinese Civil War). Basically, it details Clark's expedition to explore Amne Machin, which he suspected to be higher than Mt. Everest. The probable real mission was however to map the region and prepare for a retreat of the defeated Chinese Moslem/Nationalist Army through Tibet. In any case, it makes for exciting reading, and Clark is a fine writer, with a good sense of humour and insightful comments. He's not a scholar, but a true adventurer; nevertheless, he seems to exhibit detailed knowledge over many subjects and appears to be an astute observor.
I first read this book (hardback edition from the 1950s) some 30 years ago, and was quite pleased when I discovered that LongRiders has re-issued in paperback form. The paper and binding seems pretty decent, and the only real negative is the poor quality of the photographs, which are not reproduced on glossy paper. The other minor quibble is the fact that since this is a reprint, an introduction/retrospective would have been useful. This could have included some info on the fate of the author (he died under somewhat mysterious circumstances in the late fifties in South America) or Amne Machin (it's not higher than Everest) or even some info on the Qinghai region today. But again, these are minor points that shouldn't detract from a great story...