Wild East: Travels in the New Mongolia (Summersdale travel) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Jill Lawless, a young Canadian journalist, spent two years in Mongolia in the 1990s. The 19 chapters of this book tell of her experiences and her interviews with everyone from herders to Members of Parliament during the time she worked for the UB Post in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. The book is written with energetic wit. It shows the author's sympathy with the problems of this vast country - its ghost towns, its corruption and its painful struggle to survive the collapse of Russian communism. Mongolia is a nation undergoing changes and teeming with youth - half the country's population is under 21. In Ulaaanbaatar the young are everywhere, 'a new breed of hybrid Mongol, the products of nomadic tradition, Soviet communism and an exhilarating cocktail of new influences'. Gradually the author comes to admire and respect the stoicism of the Mongolians. Eventually even she appreciates the crisp, crystal-clear minus 30 degrees Celsius days of the long Mongolian winter. Paradoxically the approach of spring unleashes a new danger as the postponement of the lunar New Year threatens to thaw the thousands of dumplings prepared for the celebrations - a scare of such importance it filled many columns of newsprint in the run-up to the holiday. Choice of food is limited - in the chapter A Hearty Meal, Lawless warns that in a country of 2.5 million people and 15 million sheep (and very little opportunity for agriculture) it is difficult to survive for one day without eating some part of the animal. A map of the country and illustrations of some of the people and places mentioned would have been a valuable addition. Otherwise, this is a fascinating book full of details of a country that is still little known or understood, written by someone who travelled widely to find out for herself how the New Mongolia is overcoming the problems of its past Russian and Chinese influences. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Summersdale Publishers (March 8, 2002)
• 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: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,180,097 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #69 in

  Books > Travel > Asia > Mongolia

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 An entertaining, but narrow view of Outer Mongolia, July 10, 2006

By	Amazon Shopper (London, UK) - See all my reviews

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

This book loosely opens a debate about globalisation and uses some of the information gathered from Jills time in Mongolia to back this up, with historical references and general information about the country.

The implied suggestion is that nothing much happens in Mongolia outside UB with the book focussing mainly on things going on in and around UB, which I think distorts the picture of Mongolia as UB is actually pretty much like any other city. I believe that this book could have been written about a lot of places in the world from the viewpoint of a city dweller.

The thing that I believe makes Mongolia so interesting (and probably unique) is why the population movement is actually away from the city and back to the land. It's this fact that gets most people travelling there - to see and experience how Mongolians live and how they follow their traditions out in the steppes - can the nomadic lifestyle really be better than the western way of life?

It is understandable that the bias is towards UB as Jill spent most of her time there, but yes for the people who want to know about what happens outside UB it's a shame that more time was not spent gaining or relating some real insights into Mongolian lives outside the city.

On the plus side, I'd say the book is a good read and quite entertaining and to be fair to the author that's probably all she had in mind when writing it - however the book does offer a narrow picture of one aspect of Mongolian life (living in UB) that is experienced by a minority of the country's population, as the majority (over 70% of the population) live outside UB (factual sources: CIA factbook & world gazetteer [both 2006]).

Consequently that means this book is hardly a definitive or accurate guide to Mongolia, so I'd suggest you read around the subject if you ever plan to go there.

Thats just my opinion though - I'd happily recommend that you get a copy of the book and make your own mind up.

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.