The River at the Center of the World

A few weeks ago, while on a cruise down the Yangtze River, I finished Simon Winchester's "The River at the Center of the World", his account of his mid-1990s trip from the mouth of China's most important river to its source in Qinghai - a journey of almost 4,000 miles. For most of the trip Winchester, a Britisher who lives in the USA, travels by boat upriver but when the Yangtze (Changjiang in Chinese) becomes unnavigable in Tibet he goes by car and bus.

I had enjoyed Winchester's books about Korea, Krakatoa, the Oxford Dictionary etc and so it was a pleasure for me to hear him talk in Shanghai recently and have him sign my Yangtze book. During his talk I sat next to his American wife and learned that she is also a writer and journalist, having until recently been a correspondent for NPR. Winchester had been inspired and encouraged to become a writer by Jan Morris, the famous Welsh travel writer that shared the Shanghai platform with Winchester. At one point in his life he worked as a geologist at an oil company's now closed research facility near my home, at the time, in Peavine. In fact, it was at Peavine University that I first heard Winchester speak. I've enjoyed his writing style of mixing science, travel experience and history into an entertaining and educational package. It comes as a bonus to find that Winchester is also a pleasant person.

I highly recommend The River at the Center of the World, not only because I find common ground on his observations about China and Tibet but because it's an interesting journey told well.