Frontiers of Heaven Asia [Paperback]

Stanley Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1996

For the Chinese, the Great Wall defined a psychological frontier. Within it lay the Celestial Kingdom, the compass of all civilization. Beyond lay a barbarian world of chaos and exile. Chinese journeys to the west, along the ancient Silk Road, were passages into the unknown, often into legend. Today the great western province of Xinjiang is still a land of exile, the destination of soldiers, reluctant settlers, political prisoners and disgraced officials. Following in their wake, Stanley Stewart's journey takes him halfway across Asia, from Shanghai to the banks of the Indus. He passes through the heartlands of China, beyond the Great Wall and into the wilds of Tartary. He crosses the Gobi and the Taklamakan deserts to the high passes of the Pamirs and the Karakorams. Along the way, he meets the modern Chinese for whom these regions beyond the Wall still hold the same morbid fascination. The author describes the lost cities of Central Asia, a Buddhist monastery in the shadow of Tibet, a Kirghiz wedding on the roof of the world, an encounter with nomads in the Mountains of Heaven, a tussle with the secret police in Kashgar, and a love affair in Xian. In a book packed with character and incident, he investigates the paradoxes of travel itself, the lure of far horizons and the isolation of exile.

Editorial Reviews

Review

..."the book is full of the kind of lively encounters most people find only in literature...Stewart's narrative brings the Great Wall that much closer."-- "USA Today
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Firebird Distributing (September 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006550290
• ISBN-13: 978-0006550297
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,455,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight with understated elegance, February 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frontiers of Heaven: Journey Beyond the Great Wall (Hardcover)

Fascinating subject told with insight and ease. China offers great raw material and Stewart picks out the cherries with panache. I liked his tasteful release of his emotions yet non judgemental observation.