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The Sands of Karakorum: A Fable
The Sands of Karakorum is a step by James Ullman into a new dimension of writing, and one of the most unusual novels of this, or any other, season. In its outer framework, it is a tale of movement, of suspense, of search. John and Eleanor Bickel, American missionaries, have vanished into the maw of Red China, and Frank Knight, in the dual role of old friend and newspaper correspondent, sets out to find them. The trail leads darkly, tortuously, from Shanghai, through the obscure byways of interior China and into the remote heartland of Central Asia. It ends-or almost ends-in the 'desert of the black sands' where lie the ruins of Karakorum, the ancient capital of Genghis Khan. It is however, far more than the account of a mere physical journey. And its 'search' is for more than two individuals who are lost. Exactly what it is that Frank Knight and the Bickles seek--and find-is a matter each reader will have to decide for himself. It is a story of mood and emotion, of tension and mounting teror and eep imaginatieve power. But, above all, it is a story of man's faith and hope in the wasteland of a darkened world. His fable of the black sands, says Mr. Ullman, has haunted him for many years. Now that he has at last set it down, it should haunt many another as well--long after the last page has been turned.
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 21, 1953
About the author
James Ramsey Ullman
51 books34 followersJames Ramsey Ullman (1907–1971) was an American writer and mountaineer. He was born in New York. He was not a high end climber, but his writing made him an honorary member of that circle. Some of his writing is noted for being "nationalistic," e.g., The White Tower.
The books he wrote were mostly about mountaineering.
His works include Banner in the Sky (which was filmed in Switzerland as Third Man on the Mountain), and The White Tower.
He was the ghost writer for Tenzing Norgay's autobiography Man of Everest (originally published as Tiger of the Snows). High Conquest was the first of nine books for J.B. Lippincott coming out in 1941 followed by The White Tower, River of The Sun, Windom's Way, and Banner in the Sky which was a 1955 Newbery Honor book. All of these titles became major motion pictures.
Ullman also authored John Harlin's biography Straight Up.
He also wrote the short story "Top Man", a story about mountaineers climbing K3, a mountain in India.
Beyond his mountaineering books, he wrote "Where the Bong Tree Grows," an account of a year he spent traveling through some of the most remote islands of the South Pacific.
He joined the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 as official historian. Because of health problems he had to stay in Kathmandu. The book Americans on Everest: The Official Account of the Ascent was published in 1964.
The books he wrote were mostly about mountaineering.
His works include Banner in the Sky (which was filmed in Switzerland as Third Man on the Mountain), and The White Tower.
He was the ghost writer for Tenzing Norgay's autobiography Man of Everest (originally published as Tiger of the Snows). High Conquest was the first of nine books for J.B. Lippincott coming out in 1941 followed by The White Tower, River of The Sun, Windom's Way, and Banner in the Sky which was a 1955 Newbery Honor book. All of these titles became major motion pictures.
Ullman also authored John Harlin's biography Straight Up.
He also wrote the short story "Top Man", a story about mountaineers climbing K3, a mountain in India.
Beyond his mountaineering books, he wrote "Where the Bong Tree Grows," an account of a year he spent traveling through some of the most remote islands of the South Pacific.
He joined the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 as official historian. Because of health problems he had to stay in Kathmandu. The book Americans on Everest: The Official Account of the Ascent was published in 1964.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 21, 2014
This obscure novel, written by James Ramsey Ullman who was a well known novelist and outdoorsman in the 1940s-50s, was one of those books that you open up not expecting too much. Who has ever heard of this novel? Yet I found it was one of the best novels I have read in a long time. This is the story of Frank Knight, a journalist working in China in the 1930s through the early 50s. The story begins in 1950 when Mao's Communist forces were consolidating power in China, and Christian missionaries were being expelled from the country. Knight waited at the Shanghai train station for his friends James and Eleanor Bickel, but they never came. So Knight took off on a quest across China to find his friends.
The story is expertly written in a style that flowed together so nicely that, in just a few words, Ullman could draw a vivid picture of the terrain, the characters and the activity taking place at the time. He jumps back and forth in time effortlessly, so that the story never bogs down in reminiscences. The story keeps the reader's attention throughout; there was never a time in this 250 page novel where I was bored. And the action is gripping. Ullman is almost like the Russians in his amazing ability to capture every aspect of the human experience; the good and the evil, the virtuous and the vicious, and really make the reader think about the greater issues in life. This novel draws more profound religious ideas than any contemporary relgious novel that I have read. And this is not a relgious novel, nor is it a work of banal historical storytelling. This is a story about the human spirit and the things that make us reach for the stars.
When I was done with this novel I was sad to put it down. This is one of those novels where I felt like I really knew the characters. All of them were so real, and many were noble while others were silly, but all of them had depth and reality. Even the towns and country that Knight traveled through were real. You could almost feel like you were in China in 1950.
I understand that this novel was considered for a Pulitzer Prize sometime in the early 1950s, and it's a shame that it didn't win. Today hardly anyone knows about this novel. How many reviewers on GoodReads.com have dealt with it? And there are novels that have received thousands of reviews on GoodReads.com but that are trash in comparison with this one. Do yourself a favor and locate a copy of this novel somewhere and read it. It took me less than 2 days to finish it. It was well worth the time.
The story is expertly written in a style that flowed together so nicely that, in just a few words, Ullman could draw a vivid picture of the terrain, the characters and the activity taking place at the time. He jumps back and forth in time effortlessly, so that the story never bogs down in reminiscences. The story keeps the reader's attention throughout; there was never a time in this 250 page novel where I was bored. And the action is gripping. Ullman is almost like the Russians in his amazing ability to capture every aspect of the human experience; the good and the evil, the virtuous and the vicious, and really make the reader think about the greater issues in life. This novel draws more profound religious ideas than any contemporary relgious novel that I have read. And this is not a relgious novel, nor is it a work of banal historical storytelling. This is a story about the human spirit and the things that make us reach for the stars.
When I was done with this novel I was sad to put it down. This is one of those novels where I felt like I really knew the characters. All of them were so real, and many were noble while others were silly, but all of them had depth and reality. Even the towns and country that Knight traveled through were real. You could almost feel like you were in China in 1950.
I understand that this novel was considered for a Pulitzer Prize sometime in the early 1950s, and it's a shame that it didn't win. Today hardly anyone knows about this novel. How many reviewers on GoodReads.com have dealt with it? And there are novels that have received thousands of reviews on GoodReads.com but that are trash in comparison with this one. Do yourself a favor and locate a copy of this novel somewhere and read it. It took me less than 2 days to finish it. It was well worth the time.
May 21, 2022
Another exceptional book by James Ramsey Ullman. I don't believe I liked it as much as The River of the Sun- it was a little too mystical for my taste. With that being said, Mr Ullman wrote another fine and exciting adventure tale that is so much more than an adventure story. I agree with another reviewer- its a shame that he is not a better known author. This is the sixth book I have read from Mr Ullman- most of them I read 30 years ago and with River of the Sun and now the Sands of Karkorum i am rediscovering him. I have never been disappointed in any of his stories. A great and mature writer- the characters feel real and unforced. The descriptions of people and nature are exceptional. I read this book in a little more than a day... usually a sign of a good book!
September 15, 2008
Haunting... my favorite book (awww, if I have to choose, which I don't).
March 27, 2023
One of James Ramsey Ullman's lesser known novels. Which is to say that it is an obscure work of a now almost forgotten author. At one time, however, Ullman was much more widely read. Probably, his mountaineering books are still prized classics. But the novels that gained him widespread recognition in the late 1940s and 1950s, such as The White Tower, River of the Sun, and Windom's Way, are no longer in paper or digital print and must be acquired through rare book dealers. Karakorum came right after those earlier three works. And all four novels appeared at the confluence of the end of World War II, the successful test of the Soviet atom bomb, Mao and the Chinese Communist triumph in mainland China, and the Korean War. Against that background, Ullman devised stories of adventure that bordered on the miraculous, where quite often a man who has lost his wife finds himself interposed between another man and his wife on the edge of civilization. And all fail to connect satisfactorily. Such was the case in Karakorum, albeit with one small but vital change. Ullman crosses from the miraculous into the mystical with this book. It's as spiritual a reckoning as I've seen in his work. It would not appear again. By the time of Fia Fia, for example, Ullman has collapsed into a melancholy soulfulness determined to last through life at least on the level of personal connections. In Karakorum, on the other hand, hope extends its hand to all willing to make a leap of renewed faith.
Karakorum has no time for the fatalism of Fia Fia. It's about nothing less than the redemption of the world and mankind. Heady stuff for an adventure writer. But it rings true enough. There is nothing cliched or saccharine about it. Newspaperman Frank Knight follows the trail of his missionary friends, John and Eleanor Bickel, into the wastelands of Western China and on into Mongolia towards the thousand year old ruins of the one time capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum. So that is what we have: a tale of contemporary politics, current history, and spiritual challenge. Frankly, I've never read anything quite like it. Ullman, whose writing is usually much more dense than this, constructs a journey that flies over a mere 256 pages. This isn't about tasting exotic cultures or piercing the veil behind which opens heretofore unknown natural worlds. All things he normally explores at depth. No, it is essentially about the ability to separate and break from the past, even if just for a moment, and look upon something that generates a spirit of awe. That is what Ullman tried to do. Mostly, he is successful at it.
Karakorum has no time for the fatalism of Fia Fia. It's about nothing less than the redemption of the world and mankind. Heady stuff for an adventure writer. But it rings true enough. There is nothing cliched or saccharine about it. Newspaperman Frank Knight follows the trail of his missionary friends, John and Eleanor Bickel, into the wastelands of Western China and on into Mongolia towards the thousand year old ruins of the one time capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum. So that is what we have: a tale of contemporary politics, current history, and spiritual challenge. Frankly, I've never read anything quite like it. Ullman, whose writing is usually much more dense than this, constructs a journey that flies over a mere 256 pages. This isn't about tasting exotic cultures or piercing the veil behind which opens heretofore unknown natural worlds. All things he normally explores at depth. No, it is essentially about the ability to separate and break from the past, even if just for a moment, and look upon something that generates a spirit of awe. That is what Ullman tried to do. Mostly, he is successful at it.
April 11, 2023
Not as riveting, by far, as River of the Sun, which I gave five stars. There is this one's penchant for the occult - to my mind mysticism diminishes mystery. But more importantly: what made River of the Sun such a marvellous adventure story is that I had no trouble putting myself into the shoes of any of its many characters - I was there, in the dark and somber heart of the Brazilian jungle, perceiving it and my fellow man through the eyes of one of the "players", whereas this novel did not tickle any of my personalities to travel to that "myterious Far East" in the guise of one of its protagonists. And the plot is not so hot. But I did keep picturing the ravishing shots made by a gifted cameraman of the bleak post-revolutionary Chinese outback and the unrelenting Mongolian sands that would lend brilliance to a successful old-school black-and-white movie version - plus one star.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews