In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan

By John DeFrancis

Book Overview

John DeFrancis (1911-2009) was a legendary sinologist, linguist, and educator. His many works - the landmark ABC Chinese-English Dictionary and his myth-busting The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824814932
• ISBN13: 9780824814939
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

very entertaining

Many professors have written memoirs of their early years -- how they got into the field, early academic experiences, etc. One of my favorites in this genre is E. Ullendorff's "The Two Zions". This book is not quite that kind of memoir. Instead, it is a travel narrative of the author's 1935 trek through the Gobi desert and on the Yellow River. The narrative account of life in rural 1935 China is fascinating, and makes this well worth reading. Anyone expecting tons of information on Chinese (based on all his other books) will find little. But the book is a great adventure tale and I recommend it.

A brilliant travellogue from an exceptional writer and sinophile.

John DeFrancis is a name that anyone with any serious interest in things Chinese will probably recognise. He's written and researched more than one Chinese-language dictionary, and is the author of many books on things Japanese and Chinese both. He had a wealth of experience to draw upon, to include travelling, as the title states, in the footsteps of Genghis Khan through Northern China--a journey that would be impossible today due to the despo--er, because of political problems. Reading this book, I was priveliged to learn many things about the folkways and history of China that I never saw in other books, and I was entertained all the way through. Not many books make it to my "Keeper" list, but this one's a cinch.