Alone on the Great Wall [Paperback]

William Lindesay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British runner Lindesay longs to be a traveler in the grand manner, admitting that he was drawn to make his grueling 2500-kilometer run along the length of China's Great Wall because it was ``the last great adventure opportunity.'' This chronicle of his two-year obsession describes two ill-planned and abortive attempts ending in sickness and retreat and his final successful journey. Lindesay battles bureaucracy, blisters and the elements, all of which seem bent on preventing his attainment of an avowedly quixotic goal. Along the route, he meets his future wife and gains the rare privilege of seeing behind the facade of a totalitarian state and into the faces of its people. Well-written and entertaining, the book should appeal to runners, who vicariously will share the author's travails and cheer his determination and ultimate good fortune. Armchair tourists will enjoy the wealth of information about the Middle Kingdom and the daily lives of its citizens. However, Lindesay's use of Briticismsstet/rl and his right-wing politics (he presents AIDS to some inquisitive Chinese as a gay disease) will deter many readers from following this intrepid athlete the distance.

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

William Lindesay's yen for adventurous travel was inspired by his prep school headmaster, who thought an atlas should be at everyone's bedside. This fascination with maps led Lindesay to a degree in geography and geology from the University of Liverpool. Lindesay is now living in China, where he is working on another book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing; Revised edition (August 6, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555910793
• ISBN-13: 978-1555910792
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very inspirational, June 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Alone on the Great Wall (Paperback)

"If at first you don't succeed , try, try again" is an old adage we frequently laugh at, but in Will's case, it lead to success. Will, a long-distance runner from Britain, wanted to be the first person to run the length of the Great Wall of China. It took him several years, but he finally accomplished this, but not without encountering serious illness, traveling through areas closed to foreigners and winding up in jail (which he subsequently broke out of) and eventual deportation from China. This is a good read about a heartwarming experiernce, espescially about hardships some people must go through to reach their dreams. The hardbound copy, which I don't think is available in the United States, contains some photos (Chinese authorities confiscated most of his film); the paperback book does not. Will has a strong interest in the Great Wall, and since he moved to Beijing permanently, spends many weekends camping out on the Wall. This has lead to another book on the Great Wall, this one on camping out on it. That book should be out in the fall of 1998. I first met Will in the fall of 1994 when I moved to Beijing to work as a copy editor for China Daily; Will already was working there. But even if Will weren't a friend, I would still recommend this book for anyone with a spirit of adventure or who just wants to share in this marvelous, inspirational adventure.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book and a great man, October 24, 2001

By 

Adrienne Rudolph "Adrienne" (Repulse Bay Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone on the Great Wall (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. He has a great writing style and his accomplishment was remarkable. His courage and persistance is amazing.

As an aside, I met William in China and spent a few days walking with him on the "wild wall". It is just as amazing as he details in his book. He is a very nice chap and is now quite an authority on the Great Wall of China. I hope he continues to write!