Across China

I have read several of Peter Jenkins' books, and all were exciting. This book took me to places I likely will never go, and told of people and their customs that were just fascinating. He integrated himself into rare cultures and was privy to some of their innermost customs. A truly great read!

Have read most of Peter's books, his walks across America, his boat trip around the Gulf of Mexico, his adventures to Alaska and find this book to be in keeping with his personna as a traveling author. His writing style is a bit folksy and down to earth. In his books, you do feel like your traveling alongside him, meeting the people and experiencing the trip. Through the books, you come to know a lot about his life and family as well as wherever he is traveling. Certainly his books will not go down as a marvel of literary accomplishment, but I do enjoy simply sitting back seeing new places and experiences though the eyes of someone who has taken the initiative to travel places and write about it for us readers. All in all his books are good, comforting reads. And I'd recommend this and any of his books if you're looking for a story of one's travels to places we otherwise may never visit. Lastly, it's probably worth noting that China has radically changed since this book was written, so it's somewhat dated, yet looking past that, it's a glimpse into another place, another time.

this is an exciting and easy read. i couldn't put it down!

This book was pretty good, and it read really fast. I would have liked a little more detail about some of the places. It was very hard to get a feel for the time element in Jenkins' trip. Also, it seemed like a lot of China was left out. I know Jenkins set out to see the "real China," but it seemed as though much of it was unaccounted for. Then again, I guess the book is called "across" and not "all around." I thought that he did a good job conveying the impact of the cultural revolution, but, overall I was left a little cold by the way the whole book seemed to hurry me back to America. Read this to get you acquainted with places and ideas, then read "7 Years in Tibet" and "The Snow Leopard" to really teach you something.

>I fell in love with Peter Jenkins work when I read WALK ACROSS AMERICA. After reading a few pages you feel like you are right beside him during his adventures. This book is wonderful, because he opens up an entire new world that the West knows very little about. The people in the book become real. This will be one of the best books that you will ever read.