Yak Butter & Black Tea: A Journey into Tibet

Those of us who travel, or read travel books, to meet people, to learn about other cultures (and respect them), or to understand how others live and cope, will feel frustrated by all the opportunities Brackenbury missed to learn or make a difference. He seems to have been mostly oblivious to the culture around him, or the personal growth he could have been experiencing.

For the most part, he seems to have removed himself from the people or viewed them as an obstacle to avoid or overcome, instead of embracing the opportunities to get beyond his narrow view of the world.

There are hints that lessons were learned along the way but they are thrown in such an indifferent and insubstantial manner, that finishing what seemed to be a promising book was a task.

Brackenbury is not a traveler, or a writer with great talent, but he is obvioulsy an outdoorsman, a hiker, and a person with a great determination and ability to finish his goals.

There are too many other books out there for me to recommend this one with any enthusiasm.


An excellent modern adventure   November 12, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

So many travel writers today are over concerned with politically correctness and, touchy feely encounters with the inhabitants of the places they go. Indeed, nowadays it is increasingly more difficult to find real adventure off the beaten track. Wades memoirs bring to live travel writing of the old school, where real physical obstacles half to be over come, along with a true quest into the unknown. Some of the readers have condemned Wade for his political incorrectness, but I believe this reflects a lack of understanding for all that happened and the circumstances of the adventure. I think the author handled himself well under the circumstances he found himself in, those circumstances not being what he had anticipated. and he does portray the tale with brilliant and brutal honesty. What an unforgettable story! Yak butter and Black tea is one of the best modern day adventure travel books I have read this year. I give it two thumbs up.


Yak Butter & Black Tea   June 25, 2000
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

First of all this was a simply written adventure tale that kept my interest. His single handed quest into an unknown region sparked a desire in me to strap on one of my numerous packs and head out. He inspired me, one who spent 4 years back packing mostly in Asia 30 yrs ago. Secondly, the book made be aware of how common backpack travel is China today. His trip would have been impossible 20 yrs ago. Thirdly, it was an honest account, that has given international exposure to a people that are about to be Chinese-ized. And those who critized the author as the Ugly American, forget to mention that he gave medical treatment to many of the poor people he met. Bottom line - if you're a person who hasn't had your brain politically corrected and you love a good adventure tale, I hope you read this.