I liked this book because I am a fan of Troost. He is gifted and has a unique way of conveying his travel adventures.
I thought the point of the book was, "Should Maarten move his family to China?" During the last chapter I kept waiting for Maarten's Yes or No answer to the question.

Did he answer the question and I missed it? Did he move there? Anyway, I would rate this his 3rd best book because the previous two were outstanding!
Mik

This is a great lap around China, with hilarity and history thrown in. If you've never read Troost's stuff, it feels more like you're hanging out with him than reading his books. He's done an excellent job at putting much of China's complex past in a capsule, as well as painting just how astounding (yet often frustrating) the country is. This book feels more like "travel writing" than his last two but this is not necessarily a bad thing - his commentary works well in this environment as well. This book is recommended on a few levels. First, anyone who enjoys a good Theroux or Bryson book will love this. Second, it's a fantastic way to get a geographic lay of the land in question. And third, it's really f***king funny.

After J Maarten Troost spent all the time and money to travel through (parts of) China, he had no choice but to write a book. You however have a choice as to whether to buy the book, and I recommend you don't. There are many books that give an honest appraisal of the pluses and minuses (and yes as one who has traveled there, there are many minuses including the pollution), but this is not one of them!

I'm a sucker for off-the-beaten-path, tell-it-like-it-is, humorous travelogues, and Maarten Troost doesn't disappoint in "Lost on Planet China." His tales of being a Westerner throughout the vast land of China are alternately gasp-inducing, stomach-churning, and rip-roaring hilarious. Whether he's dealing with the yellowish haze of Beijing or trekking up the country's tallest mountains, Troost takes his readers along and pulls no punches. I would willingly read more of his books, but I really could do without the occasional Bush-bashing that adds nothing to the story and merely makes him look whiny in that "let's throw rocks at the Republicans" sort of way.

Troost is funny, observant and an extremely energetic traveler. He not only avoids the "beaten path" but seems to avoid entire regions that have them. His trips are well researched yet he retains a good bit of flexibility as he travels. This is the first of his books that I have read and, based on other readers' comments, may check out another before I pass any final judgments.

I'm a sucker for any book that has a map on the inside covers and love travelogues where the author actually travels rather than simply visits. There's no denying that Lost on Planet China covers a tremendous amount of territory. What bothers me about most of the book is that Troost often prefers to criticize rather than understand. It's obvious from the start that he has little affection for Chinese cities or their inhabitants. It's not until he reaches Tibet that we see any glimmer of pleasure in his commentary. Even though I heartily agree with his disdain for the Chinese government's conquest and destruction of Tibet, I am not very comfortable with his ongoing expressions of distaste for modern Chinese culture and customs. A lot of the book's best laughs come at the expense of the people he is observing. After a while, the jokes about flying loogies, his ongoing dismay that signs and transit information in Chinese cities are so inconsiderately written in Chinese and his frustration with the massive crowds and dense pollution gets a bit old. It's often hard to see where the humor leaves off and personal bias takes over.

You may want to write this off as a minority opinion, but I just can't escape the feeling that virtually all of Troost's humor comes at his subject's expense.

To the critics here who feel offended by the author's naïve approach to China, I have this to say: First-time visitors will find this book useful and informative because, they too, don't know what to expect. Maarten's brysonesque wit conveys with brio the raw experience of being lost in a bewildering and ruthless culture without means of communication. Very well done, Mr. Maarten!

If you like Paul Theroux you'll enjoy this book. My test for a valid travel/summary of contemporary China is the spit test. If the book doesn't cover the spit factor in China it fails. Troost gets an A+. I quote, "...I watched the residents of Beijing, young and old, male and even a few elderly women greet the new day with an immense hawk and a resonant splatter........" And that wasn't even close to his best descriptive.

This was one of the most entertaining and yet informative travel books I've ever read. What I liked most is that the author educates the reader in the most entertaining way and in a way that makes the facts easy to remember. His experiences are memorable, funny, shocking, and incredible. It's a must read for anyone that loves travel and adventure!

I enjoyed "Cannibals:. It was refreshing, witty and fun.
"Savages" was dreadful.
So, it was with mixed feelings that I purchased "China." It's not terrible. That said, it ain't great either. Troost has some very insightful and amusing anecdotes, some witty commentary and the occasional vision that's stunning.
But, the incessant America bashing and Bushwhacking gets old fast.
Like so many "Euro-types" he chooses to live in the states and reserve the right to use the country as a punching bag.
He claims to understand America and Americans, "its easy to get",but he understands Kiribati far better than his own home.
Save your money and wait for this book to be remaindered at B & N.

I thought I wanted to visit China. Now I don't, not after reading this book! It was informative, made me laugh out loud, and gave important, good-to-know details that I bet you won't find in any other travel guide. About three-quarters of the way through, it started getting repetitive, however, and I started to lose interest. I do like his writing style--it reminds me a lot of David Sedaris--and I found myself reading parts aloud to family and friends.

I have been a fan of Maarten Troost's funny, informative writing style since his first book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, which up to now had been my favorite book of his. Lost on Planet China has now taken that spot. I haven't traveled to China and so have no first-hand knowledge of the country; my learnings are limited to friends and associates who have taken packaged tours. I truly enjoyed learning more about China and its people through Maarten's perspective of touring the country with no apparent set agenda beyond observing life around him and integrating into the culture as much as a laowai is able to. I had the opportunity to meet Maarten and his wife, Sylvia, at a reading of his second book at a local book store when they lived in Sacramento. (Yes, it does get quite hot in the summer, and no, not everyone is on drugs!) His down-to-earth manner and easy friendliness is evident in his latest book, which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in getting a candid perspective of day-to-day life in China.

Having read positive reviews of Marten Troost's "Lost on Planet China," I was disappointed to learn that the book did not live up to my expectations. As Troost is an experienced travel writer, I was completely taken aback by his condescending tone throughout the book. All of his observations of China and the Chinese people were negative. He went from one place to another, without spending enough time to understand the culture, or to learn about the people and place. It was evident that there was a lack of interaction with the local people and one wonders how good of a travelogue this is if his interaction was mostly with another fellow American. There wasn't an attempt to understand the culture, but rather superficial observations of life there. Half way through the book, I realized there was a lack of purpose in his journey. It almost felt like he was writing about China just for the sake of it.

There are definitely much better books out there in this genre. Two that come to mind are Peter Hessler's "Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China" which explored modern day China and Colin Thubron's "Shadow of the Silk Road" which chronicled the author's travel through modern Asia along the ancient Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean.

I am scheduled to go on a two week trip to China on Oct. 15th. After reading Troost's book I'm contemplating canceling it. That's how depressing this book is. Pollution, pollution, pollution, spitting, peeing and defecating in the streets, mutilated and disfigured beggars everywhere, animal cruelty, repulsive food, brothels and gay bars in hotels,noise everywhere,lunatic drivers,insane taxi drivers, cheating of tourists, hard seats on overcrowded trains. This is the depiction that Troost gives. Not a pretty sight. Rarely does Troost talk about anything uplifting, beautiful or cultural in China (except for Tibet). What is one to think of this portrayal of China? Since I have never visited China I am a loss to evaluate this book. Clearly Troost is no friend of the Chinese Tourist Office.

Have you ever been in a group of people when one of them inadvertently makes a crack that has everyone splitting their sides with laughter, but whose next intentional attempts at humor fall flat? Unfortunately, Mr. Troost has too, for his own literary offerings have followed that particular trajectory much to my surprise and dismay.
This is the third of his 'travelogues.' His first one, about his time spent on the island paradise of Kiribati, was a charming little gem of a book. His second, which was more or less a continuation of his first, had its moments but seemed a bit world weary and lacked the vitality of the first. This book is, I hate to say, little more than a dog and pony show. For Mr. Troost having found his trope, or schtick more aptly, proceeds to hack away at the problem of writing a book by stringing together a series of non sequiters composed of an action (I went here), a problem (it was horrible/inconvenient/foreign because of this), and a trite and predictable one-liner or aside. This is entertaining for about the first 35 pages of the book and then begins to wear thin, very thin.
No two ways about it, the glib are gifted. All other things being equal those with the gift are more likely to succeed than the tongue-tied. The problem is that glib doesn't translate well to paper. What sounds clever often reads inane, not to say juvenile. So we find with this book whose premise is so thin: Let's run around China for a couple of weeks and gather observations for a book timed to drop just when all of the tourists to the Beijing Olympics are looking for topical, contemporary, easy to read, books on China.
Thus the inconsequential chatter and easy banter that characterize this book (well, at least as much of the book as I could stand), probably would be more palatable if told as party jokes or at some other informal gathering of friends. As a book it comes off as inane and bit forced. For instance, on the phenomenon of the dearth of surname variety: "It's become so problematic that no one knows Hu's Hu in China." What, you may be thinking to yourself, is not funny about this? It may not be funny ha ha but it is certainly funny hu hu! There, see how annoying it is, and this is a book that is chockablock full of this kind of humor. It is funny at first but really wears thin after the third, or fourth or fifth, or sixth, or seventh, or eighth, or ninth or tenth, or eleventh encounter all in the space of just a few pages.
On the other hand, what can one do when one is faced with the problem of having to write a book about a place, people, and culture one knows next to nothing about and hasn't any time to ameliorate the problem? I guess he does what Mr. Troost has done; does a bit of research in the library (and some of the historical, cultural stuff that he does include in the book is interesting--if too superficially treated to be fascinating); he speaks to people who do know about the country, people and culture; he takes a whirlwind tour of the country gathering anecdotal evidence and finally, he throws it all together in a haphazard fashion and peppers it with solipsistic witticisms (or something approximating wit from a distance. For instance, the hardback version of the book is small and red, ho ho).
I can't recommend this book. Go and read his first one if you want a really good read. This one seems to come from a different person.

Lost on Planet China had me laughing out loud, cringing, and managed to evoke a gag reflex all within 100 or so pages. I have also read the author's other 2 books and found them just as informative and hilarious. He gives a completely different perspective than most travel writers and isn't shy at poking fun at himself. What's odd is that I had a large desire to visit the South Pacific Islands, especially Fiji, as well as China. Not so much any more. And I'm pretty sure that the author decided not to give his kids lung cancer by moving the family to China once he had traveled it for himself. p.s. Thanks for saving the chicken.

I began reading this book thinking it would be an easy and fun way to learn more about China. I did learn a few things about china-only a few. The writer rarely had an interpreter and reported things from his American point of view without finding anything out about the thoughts of the "Chinese people". I guess he thinks you can learn about a huge nation just by observing-without interacting with the people involved. An anthropologist he is not. His book is generously sprinkled with juvenile male "humor?" which became more and more tiresome as the book went on. I will never torture myself with any of his other writings. What a waste of time.

This was a fun book and a quick read. I have taught in rural China last year and could relate to a lot of what the author talks about. He brought back wonderful memories of the Chinese people. He also brought back a lot of memories of the poor living conditions for so much of the Chinese population.... and the foreigners who choose to go and work there. This would be a great book to read if you are going to China on your own or to volunteer in a rural area or just like to sit back and enjoy a book adventure. If you are going on a packaged tour of China (I have done a couple of them)this book might be an interesting backdrop to your trip but you won't see most of what the author writes about since China still makes sure that you see the China they want you to see.

Very well done book...even though I like historical fiction, this gave

me a very good outlook on China. Author was very honest about his

observations. After reading this book, I have no desire to visit China.

I bought the book for my wife and these are her comments. I did not

read the book.

I loved this book! Our family has traveled to China twice in the past 5 years and this book was right on target with it's observations. China is a very interesting place, so unlike our norm. I agree with the author, things are different, and the people were very warm for the most part. We had our then 3 year old with us and she loved it too. I remember some of the different foods I enjoyed, "ice cream" bars that were flavored red bean (bland, but the most popular) and green pea (I thought it was going to be lime) actually quite good and refreshing - from someone who doesn't care for peas, as well as the best orange flavored bar I had ever had. Anyone who has experienced China loves to share their experiences - almost too much, I think! I remember sitting in a restaurant on our 2nd night in Beijing (on our 1st trip) and listening to a band performing Don McLean's "American Pie" and thinking, I never would have guessed back when this song was popular (7th grade?) that some day I would be sitting in a bar in Beijing China listening to it. Remember China was closed and our "enemy" back then. This was one of those books that I wished had gone on and on. I loved hearing about the different areas that we would never have had time or resources to travel to, as well as giving us ideas for future travel plans. Loved the humor.
Looking forward to the next book!

Funny, engrossing, well balanced. Contrary to a couple other reviews, I did not find his views condescending, just honest.

I like Maarten: he's half Czech, I'm half Czech; he's actually lived in Port Vila Vanuatu with his wife, I've actually lived in Port Vila Vanuatu with my wife. In addition, he is much funnier than I am. His books about the South Pacific ("The Sex Lives of Cannibals" [SLC] and "Getting Stoned with Savages" [GSWS]) were hoots, and very accurate from what I can attest to from having spent time in some of the same places (Vanuatu and Fiji).

In "Lost on Planet China" (LPC) Maarten is still funny, but much less so in this book than in his two previous works. I counted five personal "laugh out louds" from LPC, as opposed to the dozens and dozens of "laugh out louds" I experienced from both SLC and GSWS. I found his personal opinions usually reasonable (having spent some time in China, I disagree with some of those other reviewers apparently offended by Maarten's honesty), but some of his jokes began to become repetitious (example: by the time he is blaming George Bush for not getting served meatballs in Xian I actually closed the book for a day - this was approximately tenth time a similar "W" attempt at humor was clumsily inserted). But mostly, the editing of LPC is horrible. He mentions at the end (in his Acknowledgements) that his editor was giving birth during the time she was editing one of his chapters. Actually, it reads as if she was giving birth during the last 1/4 of the book. This end section is disjointed, confusing (example: a reference is made to something that apparently happened earlier during Maarten's trip, but which seems to have been redacted out of an earlier chapter), and frequently just plain boring.

This book is like we've started on a very interesting trip of discovery together with a person you know with a reputation for being funny. Things start well, as time goes on you have some minor issues, but you are still enjoying yourself and learning. Then things begin to get disorganized and you actually start to wonder why you are still going along. It's not just that China is complex (as the author keeps pointing out), it's because the trip itself is beginning to seem pointless. You keep thinking it's got to get better, and despite a few brief respites, it does not get better. Even though the first 250-300 pages are good, the last 100 pages are a chore and leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Or maybe it's the live squids.

One final thought: although I doubt that Maarten had anything to do with the map, it is rather interesting. Taiwan appears to be a province of the PRC - Broadway Books does not apparently consider the ROC as a separate country - yet Tibet appears (judging by the typeface) to be some sort of separate country. Complex indeed.

What ever happened to the erudite, educated explorer who is truly interested in understanding and learning about the world's diversity? Maarten Troost has been around, it seems, but everything he writes in Lost On Planet China is all about Maarten Troost. He even refers to himself in the third person on the cover "or how he became comfortable eating live squid" (he is Mr. Troost).

I have traveled for several decades in China and can make as many jokes about the Chinese as the next White Man, but Mr. Troost seems to think that the eccentricities of a people were put there for his amusement (and financial gain through writing). I tried numerous times to "get into" this work, but I could only read a paragraph or two and then would drop the book with a sigh. His rambling, unorganized, narcissistic style makes the reader concentrate on him rather than his subject.

Doesn't he want the reader to learn something about China. Evidently, he learned little. Next time toss the mirror and look around you, Troost. I really can't believe that Broadway Books published this...where was the editor?

In fairness to the writer, I have not read his other works. Maybe my cynicism is due to the fact that I know China well and am not surprised at what happens to him.

L. L. Gaddy

Back during the Bubble Era of Japan, when they looked posed to take over the economic world and everyone was scrambling to catch up, there were a gazillion travel guides and cultural books dumped out of publishing companies looking to "explain it all" (make a fast buck) or just to show us what a wild and wacky place that country was with their odd customs and eating habits. Well, the bubble burst, and Japan was forced to exit stage left, and the new contender of China has stepped up to strut. Exit gaijin, enter laowai.

But that's OK. These kinds of books may be shallow and basic travel porn, but depending on the strength of the writer (Bill Bryson for instance. Anthony Bourdain for another) can be fun to read and just maybe we will glean a little insight between clever witticisms. I mean, we certainly aren't going to go there ourselves now are we? So we live a little vicariously.

And by these standards, how does J. Maarten Troost do? Does he pull it off? To be honest, he does OK. "Lost on Planet China" is not bad at all. From the start he admits that he has no interest or knowledge of China, nor any real reason to go there. Of course, there is a small subplot about thinking of moving his family there do to the high cost of living in California, but this is discarded after a few pages and never mentioned again. It soon becomes obvious that Troost has gone to China because he is a travel writer by trade, he needs to make a paycheck just like everyone else, and what with China being "hot" right now it only makes sense to make that his next book. Off we go.

Troost manages to keep my interest and take me on a tour through actually quite a bit of a large country. Unfortunately we are not given a timeline of his tour, but he seems to have spent several months there rather than the cursory few weeks, and he becomes more comfortable with the country as the months go by. This is by far the most unique and fascinating part of "Lost on Planet China". As he becomes bolder, and his preconceived notions fall away, the book becomes much more interesting and his destinations more adventurous. After all, Asia is only weird to those who don't live there, and after a few months Troost's impressions show more depth, and there is less of the "Wow, what a wacky country!" feel to the book.

And "Lost in Planet China" is definitely no love letter. Troost has a great contempt for much of what he sees, and justifiably so. Horrible pollution and poverty, absolute government control and rampant corruption and gangs...anyone looking to be lost in the beauty and majesty of this ancient culture isn't going to find it here. That also is an interesting and enjoyable part of the book. Most travel writers feel the need to connect with the country, to find the common ground and suggest that if only we could just understand then we would see the inner beauty. Not Troost. It is a refreshing viewpoint, but one sure to upset those looking for a feel-good travel book.

There are a lot of faults here. The book is long and dull in parts, there are some spelling mistakes, and the whole thing could use some editing. There is nothing particularly spectacular about his writing, but it isn't bad either. However, "Lost on Planet China" is worth a read just for Troost's raw honesty and some of the cool places he takes you. I am sure the market will soon be flooded with "China Wow!" books of more polish and professionalism, but they probably won't be any better than this.

I have VERY mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I must admit, it's fascinating. Not only because it's on an explosive topic (China, apparently) that gets everybody worked up at the drop of a hat, but also because the guy sure can write. I mean, despite a few typos, it reads like a well-spun action-packed tale, irresistible, hilarious, unputdownable (not a real word, I know).

However, it's also seriously biased. In the early part of the book, Troost declared that he has "no warm and fuzzy feelings about the country." Of course not. After all, he wrote The Sex Lives of Cannibals, where locals of South Pacific atolls are depicted as lazy and ignorant imbeciles. In LOPC, mixing fact with exaggeration, he painted an amusing, arresting, yet still highly selective picture of China through the lenses of a self-righteous, Euro/US-centric Westerner standing on a "moral high ground." The wry sense of humor, because of which the book is permeated with a strong sense of Western superiority and arrogance, is charming AND irritating at the same time. Throughout the book, he couldn't quite contain his gnawing fear and nagging suspicion of China, and sheer distain and contempt for the population. It's not anything new. Since the mid 19th century, Chinese have been regarded as an "inferior race/people" in America, and the current media are only too happy to continue perpetuating these stereotypes.

Grantd, Troost brings up some good points, the exact same things that I observed when I was there, such as the environmental destruction, the inferior and fake products, the Chinese Model ("unfettered capitalism with authoritarian rule"... "Money seemed to be the link that bound China together. Economic growth was the beginning and end of the Chinese Model"), the inhumane treatment of animals, the cruelty towards females in rural China, the ugly habit of cutting in line (or the total disregard for public order), the pandemonium at train stations, the deplorable conditions on non-luxury trains, the sorry state of the restrooms, the cold spectatorship of onlookers (bane of this country)... I agree that they are all true. However, it's the WAY he talks about things that rubs me the wrong way:

1) Beggars: yes, there are many unsightly deformed beggars in China. Many, esp. kids, are abducted and disfigured intentionally. Yes, it's cruel. However, what about the homeless in the US? Most are able-bodied and not too old or weak to get jobs (but of course, all the jobs are taken by Chinese, eh?). The beggars in China are unfortunate, but the panhandlers in the US are just plain lazy or too addicted to drugs to even make an effort!

2) Men "hurtling phlegm" and kids "peeing on roadside": it's disgusting, indeed. But it's hardly a Chinese thing. I used to think so. Yet, after witnessing casual spitting by seemingly normal (sometimes very well-dressed) people, multiple times, right here in beautiful, liberal, progressive, highly-educated Portland, I concluded that it's universal. As for peeing in public, plenty of guys, in Western countries, do so when they are drunk, and hello, they are grownups and should know better.

3) Young 'Chinese hipsters' sitting in a Party Time Disco & Bar: "ennui at eighteen, it's not right." Really? What about the gangsters in the ghettos? The young vagrants in every city, with dogs nonetheless (this is another subtle form of animal cruelty - forcing a dog to go homeless and foodless with you!).

5) Prostitution: is the oldest profession in the world. A bad accent of the Chinese "night lady" doesn't make her any worse than a regular escort in Sweden (prob. with an accent too, but in this case, is deemed sexy and cute). Come to think of it, prostitution is legal in Scandinavia, and most (liberal) Westerners think it's "progressive." But prostitution in China? Nasty. What kind of logic is that?! But of course, Chinese is an inferior race/people so hence the whores are worse too. Sure.

6) Food: yes, they eat some weird stuff. But honestly, none of the people I knew cared for that kind of @#$%. Even if they did, so what?! To an Indian a cow is just as sacred as a dog or cat, and I don't see people chowing down bloody steaks having any qualms about it. Pigs are also highly intelligent animals that are anatomically close to humans. The sheer hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

7) The lack of a "fair, impartial application of the law": yes, the legal system in China is crap mostly due to rampant corruption. But there is no such thing as "fair impartial application of the law", anywhere in this world. O. J. Simpson, anyone?

8) Flies are described, neutrally, as "active" when they are in Tibetan territory, but when they descend in a Han Chinese-run hotel, the wording becomes "fly-ridden." How evocative!

9) Being bitch-slapped for no reason: sheer lousy luck. Most "foreigners" (even if they are colossal losers in their own countries) are treated as "GOD" or at least "celebrities/VIPs" in China. You can get mugged anywhere. It's scarier to be in a "bad neighborhood" in the US - it's a feat to get out of there unscathed.

I can go on and on. The thing that bugs me the most, not only in this book, but from the general direction the media is taking these days, is the presumption. Even for criminals, it's "innocent until proven guilty." For China, it's "guilty until proven otherwise." People brainwashed by the media already form (or are given) a very strong negative opinion before they even get a chance to see China for themselves. And even when they muster the courage to go there, they look for the flaws, every sign, every incident, to confirm their already established impressions. Of course, people always notice things that they set out to seek and focus on, so the stereotypes live on.

The problem with Troost is that, despite his reluctance to consider himself a "tourist", he is, essentially, a "tourist." He never stays in a place long enough to actually get to know the people and to open his eyes to see the bright side. He just rushes in, looks around, feels disgusted, calls it just another "urban cesspool", and moves on to hunt for more proofs that China is filthy, vile, hideous, cruel, and absolutely terrifying.

Every country has two sides, and in China, admittedly, the problems are being exposed more frequently. However, people like Troost are very selective in what they choose to depict. Westerners rave about the Pad Thai and the temples but conveniently "forget" to mention all the old loser White guys seeking female companion on the Thai beach and how sophisticated their sex industry is; Japan is all Hello Kitty, electronics, and gardens, but nobody knows that it's the number 1 porn exporting country and has some really weird twisted stuff; India, oh yeah, the origin of Yoga, enlightenment, and Ghandi, but they ignore the caste system, the slums, the defecation on the streets... Don't get me wrong. I like Japan, Thailand and India, or parts of them, because I know there is a shadow where there is light. When Westerners talk about cruelty and brutality in China, they should look inward first. What about the Opium War, the invasion of the Eight Powers and all their burning and looting, and what about the killing and oppression of the Native Americans, who extended their welcome to the pilgrims when they first arrived? Westerners don't even have the same level of hostility towards war-ravaged Africa, where children are made into ruthless soldiers/killers. Every culture has a dark side. But when it comes to China, it's all bad, all the time. Through the magnifying glass, everything is blown out of proportion.

Yes, China has problems, big problems, and yet in Troost's journey, the only good things are the non-Chinese parts, those that, in his opinion, shouldn't have been part of China in the first place.

J. Maarten Troost is not Paul Theroux and neither is Paul Theroux J. Maarten Troost. Both can be loosely identified as travel writers (neither gives the nuts and bolts of travel writing, prices, hotel recommendations, etc) but there the association ends. Troost is basiclaly a humorist, Theroux a social scientist. They should adopt some characteristics from one another
Lost on Planet China is an amusing, and exhausting, read. How Troost was able to get through this trip is amazing...and why he would subject himself to such strains and abuse is equally amazing. But I guess you cannot have a book without breaking some bones. He certainly paints a dismal picture of urban China, the air pollution drives him crazy, and is more tolerant of the Chinese countryside. He makes a trip to China seems like endless work, from the need to bargain before buying anything to using your elbows to protect yourself in a crowd...and in China crowds are as common as the air polution he carps about.
It is a good walk though on China, perhaps some help to people planning their first trip there. I enjoyed the book especially since I made my first (and only) trip to China nearly 20 years ago and the changes Troost reports makes me wonder if I visited the same country. Since the price of the book is about the same price as a movie ticket (at least where I live) I think the book is a better deal. JDP

J. Maarten Troost is a charming person with a wonderful story to tell and an unflagging sense of humor. Unfortunately, my pleasure in his writing was marred by the many signs that he is not a native English speaker and apparently neither is his editor. While his story is totally absorbing, the mistakes in his written language become a distraction and a sign of sloppy carelessness, and by the fifty page point I found myself bracing for the next clanger. He says slayed for slain, sight for site, at least twice he says nonplussed when he means unperturbed--I simply can't devise a context in which nonplussed works--and if he describes China's polluted air as 'swirling', he does it a hundred times. PLEASE Maarten, get a thesaurus and find another word for swirling! I started counting lines between repetitions of the word swirling and clenching my teeth when it occurred.
Okay, if this sort of thing doesn't bother you, I predict you will find this a really entertaining book, but be aware that after however many pages of being funny at his own expense Troost will hit you between the eyes with some devastating example of Chinese brutality and leave you gasping with relief that you're not Chinese. With this book Troost has cured me of my long held desire to visit China.

As a China born, now California resident, I felt quite curious to read what an American had to say about my home country.

In the beginning, I will admit, I was somewhat offended by the way he portrayed us but then as I began to remember my last visit to my hometown (1 hour's drive from Bejing) and read more, I realized he was right. We do have quite a lot of pollution. We are possibly the rudest people on the planet. And the traffic is hell (what is considered good driving there, which is not crashing into someone, is quite different here.)

Some parts, like the beggars and the takeover of Tibet made me cry. I used to think Tibet was better off with China but after reading this, I realize I was grieviously blinded. Now I want to kick all my fellow Chinese out of Tibet. I do wonder though, if he gave the beggars money.

A lot of parts made me laugh. Hard. But I won't give any specifics away.

I learned a lot. Seriously, my mother didn't even know that you can bargain for taxi rides. Though we refrained from speaking english there to make sure we weren't cheated. The Mao Regimen especially was an eyeopener. I knew he was bad, but not Hitler bad. It really shows how censored China is.

And yes, it's true. We Chinese are proud. And we also hate Japan (most of us anyways - you'd be hard pressed to find someone not). And we can get REALLY crazy. One actress was told to wear pants with a picture of the Japanese flag on it for a photoshoot. Bad mistake. China shamed her, threw eggs at her, and relentlessly bashed her on the internet. Poor dear. This was worse than when the Chinese actresses were shamed for being in Memoirs of a Geisha.

I was slightly dissapointed that he didn't visit a McDonald's (only here in China do you see businessmen having lunch meetings at Mickey Dees) or my hometown as we have a good selection of fresh fruit available every day. But we also have people throwing cucumbers out of their 5th story window as a way of saying "Shut up!". And beaches infested with jellyfish. That are later served for dinner.

Overall, this book was amazing, refreshingly honest, and wonderfully written. It's addictive yet light enough that you can let go of the book with only mild efforts and get some sleep.

As a China born, now California resident, I felt quite curious to read what an American had to say about my home country.

In the beginning, I will admit, I was somewhat offended by the way he portrayed us but then as I began to remember my last visit to my hometown (1 hour's drive from Bejing) and read more, I realized he was correct. We do have quite a lot of pollution. We are possibly the rudest people on the planet. There's so much animal abuse here. And the traffic is hell (what is considered good driving there, which is not crashing into someone, is quite different here.)

Some parts, like the beggars and the takeover of Tibet made me cry. I used to think Tibet was better off with China but after reading this, I realize I was grieviously blinded. Now I want to kick all my fellow Chinese out of Tibet. I do wonder though, if he gave the beggars money.

A lot of parts made me laugh. Hard. But I won't give any specifics away.

I was slightly dissapointed that he didn't visit a McDonald's (only here in China do you see businessmen having lunch meetings at Mickey Dees) or my hometown as we have a good selection of fresh fruit available every day. But we also have people throwing cucumbers out of their 5th story window as a way of saying "Shut up!".

Overall, this book was amazing, refreshingly honest, and wonderfully written. It's addictive yet light enough that you can let go of the book with only mild efforts and get some sleep.

EDIT: I found a typo in the book. He wrote *own instead of *down in the first sentence of chapter 24. But I'll forgive it as he explained in his acknowledgements that his editor was giving birth when she was correcting his draft. :O

As a China born, now California resident, I felt quite curious to read what an American had to say about my home country.

In the beginning, I will admit, I was somewhat offended by the way he portrayed us but then as I began to remember my last visit to my hometown (1 hour's drive from Bejing) and read more, I realized he was right. We do have quite a lot of pollution. We are possibly the rudest people on the planet. And the traffic is hell (what is considered good driving there, which is not crashing into someone, is quite different here.)

Some parts, like the beggars and the takeover of Tibet made me cry. I used to think Tibet was better off with China but after reading this, I realize I was grieviously blinded. Now I want to kick all my fellow Chinese out of Tibet. I do wonder though, if he gave teh beggars money.

A lot of parts made me laugh. Hard. But I won't give any specifics away.

I was slightly dissapointed that he didn't visit a McDonald's (only here in China do you see businessmen having lunch meetings at Mickey Dees) or my hometown as we have a good selection of fresh fruit available every day. But we also have people throwing cucumbers out of their 5th story window as a way of saying "Shut up!".

Overall, this book was amazing, refreshingly honest, and wonderfully written. It's addictive yet light enough that you can let go of the book with only mild efforts and get some sleep.

This book is a brilliant account of an experience of a first time traveler in China. As the two previous books Maarten Troost has published, this book is readable and funny. Maarten's experience traveling throughout China gives on a good understanding of the challenges China is facing in trying to modernize at an accelerated rate. "Modernization at any cost" approach has had dire consequences on the environment and culture. Another interesting observation has been that although the government has good control over what is going on, it does not have total control of every aspect of daily life (the way for example it was in the USSR).
I am sure those who know China well may take up an issue with the author's grim depiction of China. However, the author does not claim to be an expert on China and the book is written from the perspective of an open minded outsider traveling though China for the first time.

Overall... a fun read!

What a great book. Well written and witty. I felt like I was in China with him. Having friends who recently returned from China after adopting children, and their experiences there, I would recommend that everyone read this book before traveling to China. What an eye opener, and so funny at times that I laughed out loud. Educational, informative and entertaining all at once. The author has a wonderful personality and sense of humor- I could easily travel with him and think the same thoughts he did at events and surroundings he experienced. I was sorry the journey ended. If there were more than five stars, this book would get them.

J. Maarten Troost has taken us to a small atoll in the South Pacific and to the volcanic Vanauatu in his previous books, Sex Lives of Cannibals and Getting Stoned With Savages. Now he turns his wit and observational skills on that great unknown,China, in his latest endeavor, Lost on Planet China, and what a marvelous travelogue it is!

Told with his trademark wry humor, Lost on Planet China follows Troost as he starts off in the big cities of Beijing (which has given me a whole new perspective on the 2008 Summer Olympics), Shanghai, and Hong Kong. I was flabbergasted at the amount of pollution in China; it seems its entry into the twenty-first century is coming at a very high price. But like Troost, it was the western travels through Tibet, Leaping Tiger Gorge, and Dunhuang that I found the most informative and interesting. Troost's writing is such that I could feel the thin air and experience the death-defying trails seemingly first hand; his interactions with the peoples of China were fascinating glimpses into lives that I doubt I'll ever experience. I love that Troost chose to visit not just the obvious tourist stops such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and the Great Wall, but also smaller islands like Putuoshan. I came away with a real flavor for the history and the feel of China.

I enjoyed this book immensely, though I do wish Troost had told me two things that continually popped into my mind throughout the reading: Where did he get the money for such an extended trip (not that it's actually my business, but I'm curious), and what was his reunion with his wife and two young sons like once he finally left Planet China? Other than those two minor points, I have to say that this is another engaging entry in Troost's repetoire, and I'll be eagerly looking forward to seeing where we'll be traveling next.

As an aside, do watch the short films on the homepage of this book on Amazon. Not only are they funny, they give a bit of insight into the scenery and conditions experienced in Lost on Planet China.

I just picked this up in Hong Kong and now have it back with me in Shenzhen. I am only 50 pages into this book but so far it's fantastic. It's been my life visiting China 3 times in the past 6 months and traveling around and he has nailed the experience. I will add more of a review when I finish, but I promise that anyone going to China will find this book helpful in what to prepare themselves for. Personally I was a little nervous about bringing this book over to the mainland with it's brief and introductory but unflinchingly honest account of the brutal Mao regime.