Troost is posing as a travel writer writes a diary of his observations and his encounters which were funny and entertaining. However, I am not sure where his research information came from. He was lacking the discipline of meticulous research including fact checking and verification. Had he avoided his sidetracking into describing “facts and statistic” he would have been better off. (Or if he actually did his homework and got this information right it would have added to the book.) During the time he spent in China, he probably talked to less than a dozen Chinese people although he made plenty of statements about the county and people. He did not speak the language so was only able to commute with a few select people who approached him. But with that in mind, he did what most people do when they go to China and his reactions are very easy to relate to. Overall it was a simplistic, surface view and judgment of the people and the country.
I did enjoy (and laugh) at his honest descriptions of his experiences. His descriptions of beggars, prostitutes, and haggling for everything were wonderful, as well as his descriptions and reactions to the beautiful parts of China. It was sad that China in its quest to become more capitalist has experienced the negative aspects (like massive air and water pollution) and has not yet come to realize the harmful effects of this massive pollution and the loss of the beauty of their country. I also found it sad that during the communist revolution so many priceless, beautiful things were destroyed in the attempt to get rid of the old. However, being good little capitalist the Chinese recognize that the tourists want to see antiquity so they just recreate it and tell tourist that is old, authentic even if the painters are painting the caves on the spot or the bridges are made of cardboard. I did admire Troost’s ability to go off the comfortable, beaten track traveled by most tourists and into the heart of the country. (I also admired his adventuresome spirit when he ate what the natives ate .)
I do recommend this books for light reading, but having said that, I grew tired of his bashing of the Bush-era politics throughout the book, especially considering that China, is one of the most extreme polluting countries, has the most controlling governments (Communist), there is much propaganda and no free speech or free press and China is guilty of some of the worst human rights violations in the world. (He is not an American citizen – but married an American. ) However in conclusion I did find the book entertaining but I will skip China and seriously consider travelling to Tibet.