Descending the Dragon: My Journey Down the Coast of Vietnam [Paperback]

Jon Bowermaster (Author), Rob Howard (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2008

Sometimes the longest journey begins with great patience. When Jon Bowermaster proposed an 800-mile kayak expedition along Vietnam’s northern coastline, the country’s government initially responded, "That will be quite impossible." Negotiation saved the day, and Jon Bowermaster and his team of five—including a Vietnamese-American woman who had fled Saigon as a child on the final day of war in 1975—completed an unprecedented voyage, seeing Vietnam and its people in a brand new light.

One-third of Vietnam’s 80 million citizens live on or near the coastline, and Bowermaster met thousands of them—rich and poor, fishermen and entrepreneurs, almost all beach dwellers who live and depend on the sea. For many, he was the first American they had ever encountered. In chapters flowing from north to south, Bowermaster’s highly personal story and Rob Howard’s compelling images bring to life Vietnam’s vibrant edge.

The enigmatic nation is enjoying an upsurge today as a popular destination for both cultural and adventure travel: In the first six months of 2007, arrivals increased more than 14 percent over the same period last year, and the dynamic growth is projected to continue. This fascinating volume, offering a fresh perspective on the land and its people, will captivate real-life explorers and armchair travelers alike with its intriguing take on Vietnam from the sea.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jon Bowermaster writes about adventure, the environment, and exotic corners of the world for National Geographic, The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Outside, and other major publications. His travels have taken him to seven continents. His adventures have resulted in eight books, three with renowned polar explorer Will Steger. Many of the expeditions have been made into documentary films as well.

Rob Howard, photographer, has taken pictures around the world for Conde Nast Traveler and many other publications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; First American Edition edition (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426203047
• ISBN-13: 978-1426203046
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,408,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council and award-winning writer and filmmaker Bowermaster's recently concluded OCEANS 8 project took him and his teams around the world by sea kayak during the past ten years, on expeditions ranging from the Aleutian Islands to Vietnam, French Polynesia to Chile/Argentina/Bolivia, Gabon to Croatia and Tasmania to Antarctica. Seeing the world from the seat of a sea kayak has given Bowermaster a one-of-a-kind look at both the health of the planet's ocean and the lives of the nearly 3 billion people around the globe who depend on them.

His website and blog (Notes from Sea Level, www.jonbowermaster.com) continues his reporting on the world's coastlines, the people who live along them and issues of importance to anyone interested in and concerned about the planet's ocean. His companion book to the brand new DisneyNature film "Oceans" will be published alongside premiere of the film on Earth Day, April 2010.

Author of eleven books, his most recent are "Descending the Dragon" about his travels in Vietnam published by National Geographic Books, "Wildebeest in a Rainstorm," a collection of profiles of our most intriguing conservationists and explorers and "Crossing Antarctica," the latter two just-published by Menasha Ridge Press. When not traveling Bowermaster lives in Stone Ridge, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More details on the descending portion of the title please, September 27, 2009

By 

Guy de la Rupelle (Japan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Descending the Dragon: My Journey Down the Coast of Vietnam (Paperback)

Just finished this book and while all in all it is a good read...the reader will know more about present-day Vietnam's people...it begs more details in the kayaking process of descending the Dragon's coast. I purchased this book in part because there are few books which describe kayak adventures, especially if far-away places like Vietnam. The beginning chapter does describe the hassles of getting permission to do this trip and mentions in brief the types of kayaks used. However after that it becomes a series of people portraits. These are well-described but I wondered as I read chapter after chapter, "Well, how were the tides? strong or week? was it difficult launching and landing the kayaks? were the launchings done from local fishing ports or from the beaches? Were there any incidents along the way? (hitting submerged rocks, hard landing, kayak problems?) Did they camp or stay in lodges? If they camped, where did they do so? where were the kayaks during the nights?
One may answer, 'well, it's the journey'. Maybe so, but readers lean a lot other people's adventures and are interested in the details of what constitutes a journey. That said, to recap, it is a wonderful read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Vietnam, either as an armchair traveller or considering going there to travel.