Wild East: the New Mongolia (Summersdale Travel) [Paperback]

Jill Lawless (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2002 | Series: Summersdale Travel

A portrait of Mongolia, this book describes a country at once rediscovering its own long-suppressed heritage as a nomadic and Buddhist society, and also discovering both the benefits and dangers of Westernization.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A country awakens to find its place in the new millennium... For most of us, the name Mongolia conjures up exotic images of wild horsemen, endless grasslands, and nomads - a timeless and mysterious land that is also, in many ways, one that time forgot. Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols' empire stretched across Asia and into the heart of Europe. But over the centuries Mongolia disappeared from the world's consciousness, overshadowed and dominated by its huge neighbours - first China, which ruled Mongolia for centuries, then Russia, which transformed the feudal nation into the world's second communist state.Jill Lawless arrived in Mongolia in the late 1990s to find a country waking from centuries of isolation, at once rediscovering its heritage as a nomadic and Buddhist society and simultaneously discovering the western world. The result is a land of fascinating, bewildering contrasts: a vast country where nomadic herders graze their sheep and yaks on the steppe, it also has one of the world's highest literacy levels and a burgeoning high-tech scene. While trendy teenagers rollerblade amid the Soviet apartment blocks of Ulaanbaatar and dance to the latest pop music in nightclubs, and the rich drive Mercedes and surf the Internet, more than half the population still lives in felt tents, scratching out a living in one of the world's harshest landscapes.Mongolia, it can be argued, is the archetypal 21st-century nation, a country waking from a tumultuous 20th century in which it was wrenched from feudalism to communism to capitalism, searching for its place in the new millennium. This is a funny and revealing portrait of a beautiful, troubled country whose fate holds lessons for all of us. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Author

Canadian journalist JILL LAWLESS gave up a job as a big-city theatre critic to edit the ub Post, a fledgling independent newspaper in newly democratic Mongolia. She has written on Mongolia for Agence France-Presse, the Guardian, The Far Eastern Economic Review, Deutsche Welle radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and has ridden a horse, a camel, but not, alas, a yak. She lives in London. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Summersdale (March 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840242108
• ISBN-13: 978-1840242102
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,047,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Travel > Asia > Mongolia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Ride Through the WILD EAST, October 18, 2000

By 

Liz Dorris (Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia (Paperback)

Jill Lawless's new book about her two years in Mongolia is first of all, a terrific read. I devoured it in one gulp because I couldn't put it down. It will now reside on my bedside table where I can dip into it whenever I want a treat.

This book delivers an amazing amount of information, about Mongolia's grand history, its present day chaotic political situation as well as descriptions of everyday life in the cities and on the steppe, all told in an easy and charming style. It is never text-bookish. In fact, there are so many quirky tales of Mongolian life, told with so much humour, that I spent half my reading time laughing. Jill Lawless's sense of humour is sharp and wry. My personal favourite story is the one about the marmot roast - and I thought Julia Child was creative with a blow torch! The book includes several movie references that I quite enjoyed and it is a good source of trivia. Do you know what a Mongolian Zamboni is?

Anyone who is interested in exotic places, history, politics or just wants a funny, off-beat book to curl up with will love this one. I hope Jill Lawless writes many more - and soon!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Snapshot of Ulan Bataar, July 23, 2011

By 

C. Cooper "amazon junkie" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia (Kindle Edition)

In all fairness, there are parts of this book where the author recounts her experiences traveling outside of Ulan Bataar, where she lived for two years. However, I found the majority of the book to consist of anecdotes about life in Ulan Bataar and the current state of Mongolian politics and history. If that is what you want, then I would recommend this book. It is written in an engaging style and very readable. However, I was looking for more of the "travels" promised in the title and came up short. I haven't found the perfect Mongolia travel narrative yet, but I can recommend as an alternate (or additional read), the book entitled "Hold the Dog: 16 Days in Mongolia"Hold the Dog!: 16 Days in Mongolia

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mongolia warts and all, November 13, 2004

By 

Frank Wasserman (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia (Paperback)

I found Wild East to be an eye-opener. I had a naive impression that everyone in Mongolia lived in tents on the steppe. I was surprised to find out that it is a country with a vibrant city life. I also didn't realise there is a lively free press, pop bands, and even night clubs. I get the sense that many westerners view a place like Mongolia through rose coloured glasses (the noble herdsman under the blue sky). That life seems very hard and it is no surprise that many people aspire to move to the city and get their hands on modern consumer goods.

I really enjoyed this book and it has given me the desire to go visit Mongolia and see for myself this fascinating country. I highly recommend Wild East.