Customer Reviews

The Alluring Target: In Search of the Secrets of Central Asia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thanks for this opportunity to write something about a really good book. Aficionados of Central Asia (east of Kashgar) are going to like this book. It brings to life the exploits of such famous travelers as Roy Chapman Andrews, Hedin, Younghusband, and the intrepid Alexandra David-Neel who reached Lhasa in 1923. It is full of interesting historical anecdotes and photos. For example, the author has a wonderful photo of Sir Francis Younghusband (p.96) in full dress uniform receiving the Chinese Amban in Lhasa. Another is Alexandra David-Neel in Tibet (p.148) with her Lama traveling companion. The book is well researched, has an index, useful bibliographies, and reads easily. My only quarrel is with the title which says little about the contents and its subtitle which is hard on eyes over 65. Nevertheless, if you've seen this part of the world or are planning a trip there, this is the book for you. A really good read. Submitted by the Assistant Dir (ret) Colorado State University Libraries.

Former foreign service officer Wimmel has written an accessible introduction to eight different "explorations" of Central Asia--which in this book means Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of China, moreso than current day Uzbekistan, Khazakstan, etc... Wimmel's goal is to remind modern readers of the amazing exploits of intrepid adventurers and scientists of the past, and he wholly succeeds. The book is full of fun little anecdotes and tidbits, as well as excellent photos. My favorite chapter was the description of the Houston Expedition to be the first to fly over Mt. Everest. Good stuff.

"Alluring Target" is a captivating collection of the exploits of eleven explorers and travelers in Central Asia. Written in the splendid tradition of Peter Hopkirk's "Foreign Devils on the Silk Road," Wimmel's work is even easier to read.

No armchair explorer should miss the real-life exploits of these "super-heroes" of Central Asia--both male and female. You may be familiar with one or two of these intrepid adventurers, but some are bound to be new. Action, privation, triumph, discovery, mysticism--and an absolutely bizzare quotation attributed to Winston Churchill--await you. Order this book before it goes out of print!

As an Indian reader my strong conviction is that Mr. Wimmel has done justice to the subject with lot of research and supplementing it with first hand experiences while serving in various parts of Asia including India. Of course I do wish if Nepal and Bhutan was also included it would have been of a greater interest to wider cross section of Asians interested in such informative travelogues. The author has really done justice to the subject. Inclusion of historic pictures depicting the active participation of Cartographers of "Survey of India Department" of Govt. of India has really added to the authencity of the travelogue. A great book to read in a long week-end.

Overviews of exploration in Central Asia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when virtually nothing was known about the region. In the West, anyway.

Of particular value are the bibliographies at the end of each chapter, tempting you with hard-to-find books on each of the explorers or expeditions. It is tragic (not to mention expensive) that the books written by the participants are so difficult to come by.

It's too bad the book doesn't cover the Haardt-Citroën expedition, something I've been unable to turn up much information on.

This book is a real bargain, buy it now while it's still in print!!! I personally couldn't put it down (much to the chagrin of my three year old son, who wanted to do something other than watch me read)!

Buy this book! It's a kind of roadmap to a lost world of real life adventure from a far more innocent time when the world was a much larger place.

If you are a history buff, outdoor enthusiast, or armchair adventurer, you should read this book. In today's fast paced world we forget that travelling was once a major undertaking, and travel to the unknown points of the globe was an act of risking one's life. These are the true stories of men and women who pushed beyond the conventional and acheived the extraordinary. Kenneth Wimmel has produced a work that is easy to read, and packs a lot of information into 245 pages. I specialize in collecting the books of many of the people mentioned in this work, and never before have I read such easily approachable accounts as Mr. Wimmel has written. I opened the book one sunny afternoon and could not put it down until I was finished. The travels of these explorers gripped the world long before the advent of Television, and they will grip you too! My single brickbat is that such an important work is in paperback.

Kenneth Wimmel's re-telling of the fascinating discoveries and achievements of these adventurer-explorers in Central Asia at the close of the 19th century is both informative and fine reading. His extensive research and deep interest in this region are evident by his knowledgeable and graceful handling of his subject. We learn much about the hardships and highlights of this intrepid brother-sisterhood of adventurers who discovered buried cities along the Silk Route, found the Cave of the Thousand Buddhas, rescued dinosaur eggs and were the first to fly over the Roof of the World -- as well as the remarkable "escapade" of Ella Maillart and Peter Fleming from Peking to Kashmir in 1935. It's an exciting journey for all armchair explorers.

At my husband's urging I recently read Kenneth Wimmel's books, Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet as well as The Alluring Target: In Search of the Secrets of Central Asia. I recommend both these books to history buffs. Both books are well researched, and Wimmel's style is both scholarly and conversational. Not many authors can achieve that.

Mr. Wimmel has done us all a favor by rescuing these true stories of eleven daring explorers from obscurity. The fascinating accounts of their treks into Central Asia will satisfy anyone seeking discovery and adventure. Of special interest to me were the two women travelers; both had incredible journeys!

Each of the nine chapters contains its own special story. When I don't have the time to indulge in a long book, I find just one of these stories is enough to carry me off on an exotic adventure.

Kenneth Wimmel's intimate knowledge of Asia adds just the right amount of detail to color the tales delightful. And don't miss the foreword by Ella Maillart. What a lady!

Thanks for this opportunity to write something about a really good book. Aficionados of Central Asia (east of Kashgar) are going to like this book. It brings to life the exploits of such famous travelers as Roy Chapman Andrews, Hedin, Younghusband, and the intrepid Alexandra David-Neel who reached Lhasa in 1923. It is full of interesting historical anecdotes and photos. For example, the author has a wonderful photo of Sir Francis Younghusband (p.96) in full dress uniform receiving the Chinese Amban in Lhasa. Another is Alexandra David-Neel in Tibet (p.148) with her Lama traveling companion. The book is well researched, has an index, useful bibliographies, and reads easily. My only quarrel is with the title which says little about the contents and its subtitle which is hard on eyes over 65. Nevertheless, if you've seen this part of the world or are planning a trip there, this is the book for you. A really good read. Submitted by the Assistant Dir (ret) Colorado State University Libraries.