The Chinese Bandit

I read this book for the first time in the late 1970's and I've read it 3 or 4 times since then. For plain, old fashioned adventure, this is one of my favorite books. Let me say first of all that if I could have one job for the rest of my life, I'd want to be a guard/scout on a caravan, traveling the Silk Route from the Med to Peking. Yeah, I know, it doesn't exist any more, but that's the job I want. Marco Polo's travels, Marshall's Caravan to Xanadu, Michener's Caravans (I especially enjoy his Harvey Holt character in The Drifters) are all great adventure stories, and I've read them all. Any of the Errol Flynn's swashbucklers, Tyrone Powers in The Black Rose, Gunga Din or any old B & W movie on late night TV and I've packed my gear and I'm ready to go. I'm familiar with all of them. Throughout my life I've encountered a lot of Jake Dodds; men and women who do their jobs extremely well when it matters most, but become bored and trouble-prone when they are required to sit around and mark time. These people are worth keeping, but they need purpose in their lives. Jake's travels through China and over the roof of the world rank with any of the above titles, but where the classic adventurer as realized today is an archetypal cliche and quickly approaching comedy, e.g., Indiana Jones, Becker goes one step further and allows Jake to examine the consequences of his actions. Jake moves beyond being a one dimensional character and realizes what he gains and loses through his journey. Eventually he becomes a fully-fleshed protagonist. He accepts what he is and what's he has done. It just doesn't necessarily mean he's going to change. The beauty of Becker's writing is that he does not preach to us about Jake's insights and awareness, nor does he give the book a "new-agey touchy-feely" taste. Jake makes mistakes and corrects them, or learns from them and moves on. No group hugs in this book, as is almost de rigueur in today's novels. We all have flashes of insight in our lives, but we don't get together and talk about it as someone beats a drum. Usually, we just give it an "humph" or "that's pretty cool." Becker does not "dumb down" his story, nor does he pander to the reader. The Chinese Bandit is his story, not the censor's or the PC crowd, and he tells it well. Jake is the hero with a thousand faces (Joesph Campbell's excellent theory of heroes) and he faces his trials, tests, adventures, loves, and losses with fortitude and courage. Becker never stops the action for long, just enough to let Jake and his comrades rest and recover. The only inquiry I have is: who wants to help look for the kegs of nails? I originally wrote this review and submitted it under the hardcover edition banner. But, I wanted to get it out to more readers. This is a great book more readers should be aware of. And I'm glad I still have my hardcover edition. It was going to be a movie at one time, but that fell through. You can still find the proposed ads for it on t

This is the best adventure book I have ever read. It's the kind that sinks its claws into your mind and won't let go until you're done. I have read it many times and enjoy it each time I read it.

A thrilling yet thoughtful adventure, set in the chaotic China of 1947. An American marine, fleeing military justice, hooks up with a gang of Chinese bandits and learns some universal truths while dodging bullets of many armies.

This book makes me really want to travel. Being a citizen of the world, I found this book to be well written and a very exciting book. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in exotic places and/or travelling.