 2009-01-03 - A superficial view of the obvious
This is written by a citizen without a country. It is a tolerable but superficial view of what any amateur traveler could find as obvious. I found it to be immature and disappointing. A reader deserves better for his money than we got.
 2008-12-26 - What was the point of the book?
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
 2008-12-10 - Excellent China Primer with Pantented Troost Wit & Humour
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.
2008-12-07 - Clueless on Planet China
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!
2008-11-22 - Cured me of my China wanderlust!
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.
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