Sven Hedin (1) (1865–1952)

Having read this book for the third time, in preparation for a return to Central Asia this autumn, I am struck this time by the wanton loss of life incurred in traversing all those snowy passes and sterile deserts and have to wonder if it was worth it. Hedin's reply would have been "Absolutely!" Here was a man motivated by filling in those "white spaces" on maps and in being "the first white man to... [cross those mountains, record that lake's depths, uncover those 2,000-year-old tombs]". show more When younger, I was caught up by the excitement of the travel and the new discoveries, in learning new words for sand (kum) and river (daria) in a part of the world that is very special to me, and I do recommend this volume for those who want a taste of what it was like to be an explorer in Central Asia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But Sven Hedin as a hero figure has lost some of his shine to me. I don't think I would have wanted to have met him or know him as a person. This reading, it wasn't the descriptions of the dunes that stays with me, but the casual mention "of the 20 horses we started with, only one returned" or watching his half-wild dogs attack wolves or be torn to shreds by a bear, and all those times his neglect of checking his supplies himself caused starvation and almost unendurable suffering to his men while he was "tucked into my warm bed of sand [by one of his men]" or rode on a horse behind his stumbling men when all the other beasts of burden had died. Or how he bullies those Tibetans sent to stop him from entering their country, and brags of his success in fooling them about his intentions. Whose country was it anyway?

If there's a time and place to read a book, I guess I have passed that time for this book. Perhaps this review is more about me than the book, but don't we read to discover more about ourselves? show less

Hedin was a fanatical, egotistical maniac more interested in being the ‘first’ to Go to an undiscovered (by European) ______. It made no difference what it was or where it was, he had to be first. He would cheat and lie in order to do that very thing and then laugh it off. A pretty despicable character who was a very mediocre writer on top of it all. Why he seems to be revered by readers of his books is beyond me as there are plenty of books on exploration better than this. Shackleton, show more he was not. Finished 13.08.2020. show less

Hedin wasn't what we would today call a "good person": he was an all too ardent Germanophile, both during WWI and WWII. And if you were a non-European member of his expeditions, your odds of surviving weren't nearly as good as his were. But he documented a lost world, was part of some amazing archeological discoveries, and was a good artist and writer. This is the only book I know of that displays the breadth of his artistic skills, though it loses two stars because it omits many of his best show more sketches. show less

Sven Hedin, one of the world's greatest explorers of Central Asia, recounts in this later volume (which chronicles his travels in 1934) how he solves the mystery of the "wandering lake" of the Taklamakan Desert, so-called because of its wandering location on those maps that recorded its presence over 2000 years. If you want to know the answer, read the book, but first read his earlier more seminal works of his travels and adventures in the region so you understand that this trip was also one show more of nostalgia for this great Swede, for it was also his last to the region. He recounters old friends and former 'staff' (such as the [in]famous Ordek) and travels along many of the same roads and waterways he had travelled in the past. He draws comparisons between his 1901 travels and those of other explorers, sketches, uncovers new graves and mummies and burial grounds, but none of the importance of his discovery of the dead desert city of Loulan, for which he is best known. A charming and easy read and greatly enhanced by Hedin's wonderful personal sketches.

The volume would have benefited from a decent map showing in clearer type the routes and sites visited and travelled but the inclusion of several black & white photographs from this expedition was an unexpected bonus in a paperback.

Sven Hedin's reputation waned in later life due to his political sympathies during WWII, hints of which are revealed in the work when some of his local workers disappoint him by slacking off and lying, but one can't help but think about what sort of man faces the Taklamakan without a grain of fear but rather reveled in the challenges and discoveries that lay around the corner. show less