Product Description

The bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals returns with a sharply observed, hilarious account of his adventures in China—a complex, fascinating country with enough dangers and delicacies to keep him, and readers, endlessly entertained.

Maarten Troost has charmed legions of readers with his laugh-out-loud tales of wandering the remote islands of the South Pacific. When the travel bug hit again, he decided to go big-time, taking on the world’s most populous and intriguing nation. In Lost on Planet China, Troost escorts readers on a rollicking journey through the new beating heart of the modern world, from the megalopolises of Beijing and Shanghai to the Gobi Desert and the hinterlands of Tibet.

Lost on Planet China finds Troost dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai; eating Yak in Tibet; deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as Cattle Penis with Garlic); visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead, very orange); and hiking (with 80,000 other people) up Tai Shan, China’s most revered mountain. But in addition to his trademark gonzo adventures, the book also delivers a telling look at a vast and complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think. As Troost shows, while we may be familiar with Yao Ming or dim sum or the cheap, plastic products that line the shelves of every store, the real China remains a world—indeed, a planet--unto itself.

Maarten Troost brings China to life as you’ve never seen it before, and his insightful, rip-roaringly funny narrative proves that once again he is one of the most entertaining and insightful armchair travel companions around.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5358 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-08
• Released on: 2008-07-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Amazon.com
Amazon Best of the Month, July 2008: Maarten Troost is a laowai (foreigner) in the Middle Kingdom, ill-equipped with a sliver of Mandarin, questing to discover the "essential Chineseness" of an ancient and often mystifying land. What he finds is a country with its feet suctioned in the clay of traditional culture and a head straining into the polluted stratosphere of unencumbered capitalism, where cyclopean portraits of Chairman Mao (largely perceived as mostly good, except for that nasty bit toward the end) spoon comfortably with Hong Kong's embrace of rat-race modernity. From Beijing and its blitzes of flying phlegm--and girls who lend new meaning to "Chinese take-out"--to the legendary valley of Shangri-La (as officially designated by the Party), Troost learns that his very survival may hinge on his underdeveloped haggling skills and a willingness to deploy Rollerball-grade elbows over a seat on a train. Featuring visits to Mao's George Hamiltonian corpse and a rural market offering Siberian Tiger paw, cobra hearts, and scorpion kebabs (in the food section), Lost on Planet China is a funny and engrossing trip across a nation that increasingly demands the world's attention. --Jon Foro

Maarten Troost's Travel Tips for China

1. Food can be classified as meat, poultry, grain, fish, fruit, vegetable and Chinese. Embrace the Chinese. If you love it, it will love you back. True, you may find yourself perplexed by what resides on your plate. You may even be appalled. The Chinese have an expression: We eat everything with four legs except the table, and anything with two legs except the person. They mean it too. And so you may find yourself in a restaurant in Guangzhou contemplating the spicy cow veins; or the yak dumplings in Lhasa, or the grilled frog in Shanghai, or the donkey hotpot in the Hexi Corridor, or the live squid on the island of Putuoshan. And you may not know, exactly, what it is you’re supposed to do. Should you pluck at this with your chopsticks? The meal may seem so very strange. True, you may be comfortable eating a cow, or a pig, or a chicken, yet when confronted with a yak or a swan or a cat, you do not reflexively think of sauces and marinades. The Chinese do however. And so you should eat whatever skips across your table. It is here where you can experience the complexity of China. And you will be rewarded. Very often, it is exceptionally good. And when it is not, it is undoubtedly interesting. And really, when traveling what more can one ask for. So go on. Eat as the locals do. However, should you find yourself confronted with a heaping platter of Cattle Penis with Garlic, you’re on your own.

2. To really see China, go to the market. Any market will do. This is where China lives and breathes. It is here where you will find the sights, sounds and smells of China. And it is in a Chinese market where you will experience epic bargaining. The Chinese excel at bargaining. They live and breathe it. It is an art; it is a sport. It is, above all, nothing personal. If you do not parry back and forth, you will be regarded as a chump, a walking ATM machine, a carcass to be picked over. And so as you peruse the cabbage or consider the silk, be prepared to bargain. The objective, of course, is to obtain the Chinese price. You will, however, never actually receive the Chinese price. It is the holy grail for laowais--or foreigners--in China. Your status as a laowai is determined by how proximate your haggling gets you to the mythical Chinese price. But you will never obtain the Chinese price. Accept this. But if you’re very, very good, and you bargain long and hard, and if you are lucky and catch your interlocutor on an off day, you may, just may, receive the special price. Consider yourself fortunate.

3. Travelers are often told to get off the beaten path, to take the road less traveled, to march to a different drum. You don't need to do this in China. The road well-traveled is a very fine road. The French Concession in Shanghai is splendid. The Forbidden City is a wonder of the world. So too the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. Indeed, the Chinese say so themselves. There is much to be seen in places that are often seen. And yet... China is not merely a country. It is not a place defined by sights. It is a world upon itself, a different planet even. And to see it--to feel it--means leaving that well-traveled road. And China is an excellent place for wandering. From the monasteries of Tibet to the rainforests of Yunnan Province and onward through the deserts of Xinjiang to the frozen tundra of Heilongjiang Province, China offers a vast kaleidoscope of people and terrain unlike anywhere else on Earth. This may seem intimidating to the China traveler. Will there be picture menus in the Taklamakan Desert? (No.) Is Visa accepted in Inner Mongolia? (Not likely.) Still, one should move beyond the Great Wall. And if you can manage to cross six lanes of traffic in Beijing, you can manage the slow train to Kunming.

4. Hell is a line in China. You are so forewarned.

5. Manners are important in China. How can this be, you wonder? You have, for instance, experienced a line in China. Your ribs have been pummeled. You have been trampled upon by grandmothers who are not more than four feet tall. You have learned, simply by queuing in the airport taxi line, what it is like to eat bitter, an evocative Chinese expression that conveys suffering. This does not seem upon first impression to be a country overly concerned with prim etiquette. But it is. True, hawking enormous, gelatinous loogies is perfectly acceptable in China. And a good belch is fine as well. And picking your teeth after dinner is a sign of urbane sophistication. But this does not mean that manners are not taken seriously in China. It’s just that they are different in China. And so feel free to spit and burp, but do not even think of holding your chopsticks with your left hand. You will be regarded as an ill-mannered rube. So watch your manners in China. But learn them first.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In his latest, veteran traveler Troost (The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned with Savages) embarks on an extended tour of "the new wild west," China. Troost travels from the megalopolis of Beijing to small, remote trails in the hinterlands, the fabled Shangri-La and all points in between, allowing for a substantive look at an incredibly complex culture. He does an admirable job of summing up the country's rich history, venturing to Nanjing to learn about China's deep-seated animosity toward Japan; he also visits the Forbidden City, and the tomb of Mao Zedong, still very much revered despite his horrific record of human rights abuses. Gross disparity in wealth, omnipresent pollution and the teeming mass of humanity that greet Troost at every opportunity wear on him and the reader alike; the sense of claustrophobia only relents when he gets into more remote areas. Throughout, Troost is refreshingly upbeat, without a hint of ugly American elitism; he often steps aside to let the facts speak for themselves, and rarely devolves into complaints over the language barrier or other day-to-day frustrations. Those looking for tips on Hong Kong night life or other touristy secrets will be disappointed-few names are named-but readers interested in a warts-and-all look at this complicated, evolving country will find this a rich education.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Praise for

LOST ON PLANET CHINA


"Troost, who entertained readers in The Sex Lives of Cannibals (2004) with tales of life on a South Pacific
island, now turns his attention to China. Settled in Sacramento, California, with his wife and two sons,
Troost gets restless and floats the idea of moving his family to China. His wife is amenable, so he sets off
to scout ahead. What he finds in Beijing is a crowded, smoggy city where something as simple as taking a
walk can be a dangerous proposition, given the hazardous traffic. Troost visits one burgeoning industrial
city after another, finding immense crowds, odd cuisine, piteous beggars, and masseuses offering sexual
favors. He also discovers a country that firmly believes that it’s on the edge of something big; in spite of a
great divide between poor and rich, China is undergoing a tremendous push toward modernity.
Troost’s crisp, engaging prose invites the reader to experience his adventures right alongside him. At turns
meditative, whimsical, humorous, and shocked, Troost is an excellent guide to the vast, multifaceted
country that is modern-day China." -- Booklist


“Troost’s adventures are peppered with tremendous humor. He’s magnificent writing about himself in the role of the bumbling Westerner. Readers will howl over his gastronomic imbroglios.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Troost is already being lauded as the new generation’s answer to Bill Bryson.” –Bookpage

“Troost’s crisp, engaging prose invites the reader to experience his adventures right alongside him. At turns meditative, whimsical, humorous, and shocked, Troost is an excellent guide to the vast, multifaceted country that is modern-day China.” –Booklist

Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation
J. Maarten Troost. Broadway, $22.95 (304p) ISBN 9780767922005
In his latest, veteran traveler Troost (The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned with Savages) embarks on an extended tour of “the new wild west,” China. Troost travels from the megalopolis of Beijing to small, remote trails in the hinterlands, the fabled Shangri-La and all points in between, allowing for a substantive look at an incredibly complex culture. He does an admirable job of summing up the country’s rich history, venturing to Nanjing to learn about China’s deep-seated animosity toward Japan; he also visits the Forbidden City, and the tomb of Mao Zedong, still very much revered despite his horrific record of human rights abuses. Gross disparity in wealth, omnipresent pollution and the teeming mass of humanity that greet Troost at every opportunity wear on him and the reader alike; the sense of claustrophobia only relents when he gets into more remote areas. Throughout, Troost is refreshingly upbeat, without a hint of ugly American elitism; he often steps aside to let the facts speak for themselves, and rarely devolves into complaints over the language barrier or other day-to-day frustrations. Those looking for tips on Hong Kong night life or other touristy secrets will be disappointed–few names are named–but readers interested in a warts-and-all look at this complicated, evolving country will find this a rich education. (July) — Publisher’s Weekly



Praise for

GETTING STONED WITH SAVAGES



“One of Troost’s greatest successes is that he’s not reporting, exactly, not writing as a journalist would, but simply living his life in a faraway place and writing about it.”
--New York Times


“Troost manages to relate his misadventures in an irreverently funny style . . . this makes for a good beach read on your own vacation.”
--Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


Praise for

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

“A comic masterwork of travel writing” —Publishers Weekly

“Troost has a command of place and narrative that puts him in the company of some of today’s best travel writers.” —Elle

Customer Reviews

A complete waste of time
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.

Should I Cancel My Trip to China?
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.

Almost too awful to contemplate.
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.