Customer Reviews

Across Asia on a Bicycle: The Journey of Two American Students from Constantinople to Peking

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an incredible story these young men had to tell! The book picks up with the Asia part of their journey and while reading their accounts of the people and places they saw I was transported back to a time when all travel was "adventure" travel. Included is the account of their insane-by-today's-standards summit of Mt Ararat. This book is for cyclists and non-cyclists alike and is compelling reading - giving a world view and pre-World War perspective on the people of the middle and far east. These young men from America were the first to demonstrate the "safety" bicycle to the Asian people and may very well have sparked the common use of bicycles throughout the world.

A fast moving narrative, interesting and full of twists of fate. Two young men take on the world in bygone times, when nations allowed such things. Riders of today will wonder at the challenge - but the same lure that drives cross-country cycling today is certainly in these pages.

Had heard about this book a few years ago and wanted to get it after traveling in some of the areas they traveled in. It helped fill in some of the gaps in understanding what I saw / experienced from a historical perspective. Would definitely recommend. I only wish I had the guts those guys had.