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Through Dust and Darkness: A Motorcycle Journey of Fear and Faith in the Middle East
Jeremy Kroeker is a Mennonite with a motorcycle. When his seemingly unflinching faith in a Christian worldview begins to shift, Kroeker hops on his bike to seek answers from another perspective. After shipping his ride to Europe, Kroeker discovers that the machine wobbles back and forth worse than his own opinions about spirituality. Still, he caries on, oscillating through Europe—Germany, Austria, Croatia, Albania—and into the Middle East - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and, ultimately, Iran. It is there, in the theocratic nation of Iran, that Kroeker finds himself on a forbidden visit to a holy Muslim Shrine. Once inside, invisible hands reach into his chest and rip from his heart a sincere prayer, his first in many years. And God hears that prayer. For before Kroeker can escape Iran, God steals into his hotel room one night to threaten him with death. At least, that's one way to look at it. In the end, Kroeker comes to accept uncertainty. What does he really know anyway? He may always fear a God that he can't explain. Perhaps if he keeps riding, one of these days God will speak clearly. And that frightens him, too.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 2013
11 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Kroeker
9 books25 followersJeremy Kroeker is a freelance writer, a speaker, and the award-winning author of two books, “Motorcycle Therapy – A Canadian Adventure in Central America," and "Through Dust and Darkness - A Motorcycle Journey of Fear and Faith in the Middle East."
With his motorcycle, he has traveled to nearly 30 countries while managing to do at least one outrageously stupid thing in every one. He has evaded police in Egypt, tasted teargas in Israel, scrambled through minefields in Bosnia and Lebanon, and wrangled a venomous snake in Austria. One time he got a sliver in El Salvador.
Kroeker was born in Steinbach, Manitoba in 1973, but he grew up in Saskatchewan. He spent most of his boyhood summers on a little dirt bike chasing gophers. As a young adult, he took a job as a long-haul truck driver to fund a year of travel in Europe. There he attended a mountaineering school in Austria and volunteered at a Croatian refugee centre near the end of the Balkan War.
Returning to Canada, Kroeker worked at a wilderness camp in Alberta where he fell in love with ice climbing (an enterprise that has been described as “hours of suffering interspersed with moments of terror”). To earn entire work-free winters to climb, Kroeker laboured during the summers as a member of an initial attack wildfire rappel crew in northern Alberta.
Some time later, as a knee-jerk response to a failed relationship, he bought a used motorcycle and rode from the Canadian Rockies to the jungles of Panama. That trip provides the foundation for his book, “Motorcycle Therapy.” More recently, Kroeker completed another motorcycle trip, this one to the Middle East and North Africa. "Through Dust and Darkness" chronicles that journey. (Rocky Mountain Books, 2013.)
Since 1999, Kroeker has made his home in Canmore, Alberta, although he still travels extensively. He presents slideshows of his adventures in classrooms throughout southern Alberta and at motorcycle rallies across Western Canada. His writing has appeared in newspapers such as the Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press, Calgary Herald, and in American magazines such as Alpinist, and Outrider Journal.
With his motorcycle, he has traveled to nearly 30 countries while managing to do at least one outrageously stupid thing in every one. He has evaded police in Egypt, tasted teargas in Israel, scrambled through minefields in Bosnia and Lebanon, and wrangled a venomous snake in Austria. One time he got a sliver in El Salvador.
Kroeker was born in Steinbach, Manitoba in 1973, but he grew up in Saskatchewan. He spent most of his boyhood summers on a little dirt bike chasing gophers. As a young adult, he took a job as a long-haul truck driver to fund a year of travel in Europe. There he attended a mountaineering school in Austria and volunteered at a Croatian refugee centre near the end of the Balkan War.
Returning to Canada, Kroeker worked at a wilderness camp in Alberta where he fell in love with ice climbing (an enterprise that has been described as “hours of suffering interspersed with moments of terror”). To earn entire work-free winters to climb, Kroeker laboured during the summers as a member of an initial attack wildfire rappel crew in northern Alberta.
Some time later, as a knee-jerk response to a failed relationship, he bought a used motorcycle and rode from the Canadian Rockies to the jungles of Panama. That trip provides the foundation for his book, “Motorcycle Therapy.” More recently, Kroeker completed another motorcycle trip, this one to the Middle East and North Africa. "Through Dust and Darkness" chronicles that journey. (Rocky Mountain Books, 2013.)
Since 1999, Kroeker has made his home in Canmore, Alberta, although he still travels extensively. He presents slideshows of his adventures in classrooms throughout southern Alberta and at motorcycle rallies across Western Canada. His writing has appeared in newspapers such as the Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press, Calgary Herald, and in American magazines such as Alpinist, and Outrider Journal.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 9, 2025
كتاب من أدب الرحلات، يحكي فيه قائد الدراجة النارية الكندي جيرمي كرويكر عن رحلته من كندا، إلى وجهة غير متوقعة بالنسبة لي وهي زيارة ضريح الإمام الرضا عليه السلام في مشهد. نقطة الانطلاق من كندا إلى تركيا بالطائرة، ثم الانتقال برا بالدراجة النارية عبر مدن تركيا من الجزء الأوروبي إلى الآسيوي، ثم الانتقال إلى سوريا ولبنان بانتظار الحصول على التأشيرة بإجراءاتها المعقدة إلى إيران. ولم يتمكن جيرمي من المرور عبر العراق بريا نظرا لظروف الحرب آنذاك، فسافر جوا إلى طهران وأصفهان وحل ضيفا على الإمام الرضا. والجميل أن المؤلف كان قبل ذلك في حالة تردد ديني، رغم التزامه بالمسيحية منذ الصغر، إلا أنه بمرور الوقت فقد الروحانية والتدين. وفي زيارته للضريح - رغم كونه غير مسلما - انتابه شعور بالصحوة تجاه الدين وتجاه الله بدون أن يكون ذلك تحت راية دين أو مذهب معين. اتقن المؤلف وصف البيئة الثقافية والاجتماعية للدول التي زارها من منظور زائر كندي لا يعلم الكثير عن الإسلام ولا المسلمين، كما لا يخلو الكتاب مواقف طريفة ومقالب ظريفة تشجع القاريء على إكمال الكتاب في زمن قصير.
January 27, 2014
When I saw the description for Jeremy Kroeker’s second book Through Dust and Darkness, I was immediately intrigued. It describes a Mennonite on a motorcycle, questioning his faith and seeking enlightenment riding through the Middle East.
It’s a great plot to begin with, but given that a motorcycle came into my life as the Mennonite was exiting, I sensed we might have a lot in common. I was curious to see where his questioning had taken him and how it had shaped him.
Through Dust and Darkness combines a fascinating account of his travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and his ultimate goal – Iran, woven into his search for meaning.
“It had always bothered me that God expects so much of us while refusing to show himself plainly. Some say that God can’t reveal himself because that would nullify our faith.”
Parachuting from his fundamentalist Christian upbringing on the vast Canadian prairies into the choking cities of the Middle East, with their minarets, irrefutable expectation to answer the call to prayer five times daily, and brilliant Muslim mosques with gilded, mirrored shrines, is one way of learning to see things from a different perspective. At first it seemed the only things that connected them were the roads between New Testament cities, which came alive under his KLR650.
There are many times when he was describing travel and his interactions with other people that I wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps he was processing his thoughts and waiting for the right time to let them out because he was certainly more open with his musings towards the end.
“I wondered, not for the first time, whether the faint hope to which I clung only remained because I had been dropped into a certain faith at birth, placated with simple answers before I could form complex questions.”
Aside from the search for meaning, Through Dust and Darkness is an engaging account of travel in countries most of us will never visit; countries, people and issues we “learn” about through network news. It held my attention right to the end.
I admired Kroeker for his courage and vulnerability, to travel solo via motorcycle in such a diametrically different world, and then to be so transparent with his seeking. Whether he’s describing the scenery, the people or his internal quest, he does so with innocence, curiosity and humor. He is searching for truth and does an excellent job of staying objective, open to alternative belief systems and accepting. The world would be a very different place if more of us adopted that perspective.
I highly recommend this book. Kroeker will take you to souks and deserts of the Middle East, have you thirsting for water, trying to find accommodations in completely foreign and relaxing over tea with new friends. The welcoming style will draw you in and accompany you right to the end!
Through Dust And Darkness is published by Rocky Mountain Books, RMBooks.com, 320 pages, $20. It’s available through the author’s website www.motorcycletherapy.com. It’s also available at major retailers in print and digital format.
It’s a great plot to begin with, but given that a motorcycle came into my life as the Mennonite was exiting, I sensed we might have a lot in common. I was curious to see where his questioning had taken him and how it had shaped him.
Through Dust and Darkness combines a fascinating account of his travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and his ultimate goal – Iran, woven into his search for meaning.
“It had always bothered me that God expects so much of us while refusing to show himself plainly. Some say that God can’t reveal himself because that would nullify our faith.”
Parachuting from his fundamentalist Christian upbringing on the vast Canadian prairies into the choking cities of the Middle East, with their minarets, irrefutable expectation to answer the call to prayer five times daily, and brilliant Muslim mosques with gilded, mirrored shrines, is one way of learning to see things from a different perspective. At first it seemed the only things that connected them were the roads between New Testament cities, which came alive under his KLR650.
There are many times when he was describing travel and his interactions with other people that I wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps he was processing his thoughts and waiting for the right time to let them out because he was certainly more open with his musings towards the end.
“I wondered, not for the first time, whether the faint hope to which I clung only remained because I had been dropped into a certain faith at birth, placated with simple answers before I could form complex questions.”
Aside from the search for meaning, Through Dust and Darkness is an engaging account of travel in countries most of us will never visit; countries, people and issues we “learn” about through network news. It held my attention right to the end.
I admired Kroeker for his courage and vulnerability, to travel solo via motorcycle in such a diametrically different world, and then to be so transparent with his seeking. Whether he’s describing the scenery, the people or his internal quest, he does so with innocence, curiosity and humor. He is searching for truth and does an excellent job of staying objective, open to alternative belief systems and accepting. The world would be a very different place if more of us adopted that perspective.
I highly recommend this book. Kroeker will take you to souks and deserts of the Middle East, have you thirsting for water, trying to find accommodations in completely foreign and relaxing over tea with new friends. The welcoming style will draw you in and accompany you right to the end!
Through Dust And Darkness is published by Rocky Mountain Books, RMBooks.com, 320 pages, $20. It’s available through the author’s website www.motorcycletherapy.com. It’s also available at major retailers in print and digital format.
September 30, 2015
I loved his first book so much. This book was nothing like it. I enjoyed this book a lot though, I was expecting more entertainment but walked away a little more knowledgeable. The first book was like dessert and this one is the dinner. It got deep at parts and dug a little more into faith then what I like to read, but that's my fault because he mentions that in the second sentence on the back of the book. Looking forward to the next one. Go somewhere with better weather.
January 31, 2014
This is the third motorcycle travel book I’ve read. Though I’ve only had one short ride on a motorized bike in my life, there’s something about bike books that I find liberating.
Jeremy Kroeker’s first book, Motorcycle Therapy, was my first bike book. I read it because he was my husband’s friend in high school. I thought I’d just read a few chapters, but then I found myself laughing aloud at an airport while I read it. I finished the book.
Through Dust and Darkness is more of a spiritual journey than Kroeker’s first book. I was quite intrigued by Kroeker’s reference to his upbringing in reference to his trip through Europe and the Middle East. Born and raised as a Mennonite in Canada, Kroeker seeks to see God through a different lens. While I don’t always agree with his conclusions, and really, whom do we ever completely agree with in these matters, I was impressed with his willingness to share his doubts and discoveries with his reader.
As a fiction writer, I am always taken aback by how much nonfiction writers are willing to open themselves up to the world. I imagine they make some adjustments the truth, but the courage to record my failings for anyone to see is beyond me.
I was especially touched by Kroeker’s description of his self-loathing in high school, which he describes in Chapter 39. I would have to agree that the Evangelical church has taught its children many outrageous things in regards to sexuality during my lifetime. It reaffirmed my commitment to discuss such precious and sacred things with my children: to encourage them rather than frighten them to death, to be approachable when they have questions, and to discuss what they learn in church and at school.
I was also a bit misty over his conclusion where he describes meeting Amanda Lindhout. Having only met her in crowds where she was speaking and reading her book, I am glad she has friends like Kroeker to help her as she deals with the torture she suffered.
Having said this, Kroeker offered many funny moments. Amongst my favourites was his attempt to fix a broken tire pump, his experience in an Iranian toilet and his run-in with an overly generous taxi driver. Kroeker is a skilled writer and storyteller. I hope his aging back doesn’t keep him from taking and writing many more adventures.
Jeremy Kroeker’s first book, Motorcycle Therapy, was my first bike book. I read it because he was my husband’s friend in high school. I thought I’d just read a few chapters, but then I found myself laughing aloud at an airport while I read it. I finished the book.
Through Dust and Darkness is more of a spiritual journey than Kroeker’s first book. I was quite intrigued by Kroeker’s reference to his upbringing in reference to his trip through Europe and the Middle East. Born and raised as a Mennonite in Canada, Kroeker seeks to see God through a different lens. While I don’t always agree with his conclusions, and really, whom do we ever completely agree with in these matters, I was impressed with his willingness to share his doubts and discoveries with his reader.
As a fiction writer, I am always taken aback by how much nonfiction writers are willing to open themselves up to the world. I imagine they make some adjustments the truth, but the courage to record my failings for anyone to see is beyond me.
I was especially touched by Kroeker’s description of his self-loathing in high school, which he describes in Chapter 39. I would have to agree that the Evangelical church has taught its children many outrageous things in regards to sexuality during my lifetime. It reaffirmed my commitment to discuss such precious and sacred things with my children: to encourage them rather than frighten them to death, to be approachable when they have questions, and to discuss what they learn in church and at school.
I was also a bit misty over his conclusion where he describes meeting Amanda Lindhout. Having only met her in crowds where she was speaking and reading her book, I am glad she has friends like Kroeker to help her as she deals with the torture she suffered.
Having said this, Kroeker offered many funny moments. Amongst my favourites was his attempt to fix a broken tire pump, his experience in an Iranian toilet and his run-in with an overly generous taxi driver. Kroeker is a skilled writer and storyteller. I hope his aging back doesn’t keep him from taking and writing many more adventures.
October 4, 2013
It's about the journey, not the destination. Sometimes, you've got to take a chance and live it. Jeremy's travel through the middle east sees him attempting to reconcile this idea, while still heavily focused on going to Iran. From Sept 2007 to Jan 2008, we get to accompany him as he rides through Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. While the actual journey was far more encompassing, this is the lens through which he chooses to focus.
While I was surprised to find out that this book would be focused on both a motorcycle AND spiritual journey, neither has any trouble living along side the other. Jeremy's religious debates wobble along his spiritual highway right along side the Oscillator. As he states in the book, it's difficult to visit this portion of the world and not have religion find you.
I followed Jeremy's journey from the very beginning. While glued to his website every day waiting for updates, I lived vicariously as he took a bigger bite of the world than he had in Motorcycle Therapy. Reading the blog as a companion to this book should be a requirement. A live, in the moment travel journal to accompany this retrospective, provides a much more inclusive view of the journey, beginning, during and after.
While disappointed that some of my favourite and most fascinating moments from the blog never made the book, I suppose one must understand the differences between publishing for the web and publishing for print.
We all have to find our own path, and it was enjoyable to accompany Jeremy as he attempted to find what he was looking for. While the back cover of the book spoils what he finds, it was never about where he was going. It really was about how he got there.
While I was surprised to find out that this book would be focused on both a motorcycle AND spiritual journey, neither has any trouble living along side the other. Jeremy's religious debates wobble along his spiritual highway right along side the Oscillator. As he states in the book, it's difficult to visit this portion of the world and not have religion find you.
I followed Jeremy's journey from the very beginning. While glued to his website every day waiting for updates, I lived vicariously as he took a bigger bite of the world than he had in Motorcycle Therapy. Reading the blog as a companion to this book should be a requirement. A live, in the moment travel journal to accompany this retrospective, provides a much more inclusive view of the journey, beginning, during and after.
While disappointed that some of my favourite and most fascinating moments from the blog never made the book, I suppose one must understand the differences between publishing for the web and publishing for print.
We all have to find our own path, and it was enjoyable to accompany Jeremy as he attempted to find what he was looking for. While the back cover of the book spoils what he finds, it was never about where he was going. It really was about how he got there.
December 27, 2013
This is a wonderful travel memoir of a man from Alberta Canada who ship himself and his motorcycle to Europe with his main goal of riding through Iran. Jeremy Kroeker has already traveled across Central America as chronicled in his first book Motorcycle Therapy. This time, he's headed to the Middle East with hopes of visiting Iran "just because".
Kroeker might be a poor, young unmarried man with a mixed up idea of what faith is, but to the people he encounters he is priviledged, Western,and free. He might joke about it, but he cares how these people re/act with him. The undercurrent is a struggle with his own belief system. Is it more than culture that defines what one is expected to believe? In a world where politics defines how you behave, dress, eat, look,even walk, is religuous freedom possible? And why must we struggle to understand our place in the "grand scheme" and whether or not it is even worth the struggle.
As an minister, I resonated with the story. It reminded me of Blue Highways and PrairyErth by William Least Heat Moon, as well as the theological geopolitical histories of Katen Armstrong. But it is also a grand adventure of a man and his motorcycle visiting a part of the world tdhat in its best days,would test a Westerner's faith.
Kroeker might be a poor, young unmarried man with a mixed up idea of what faith is, but to the people he encounters he is priviledged, Western,and free. He might joke about it, but he cares how these people re/act with him. The undercurrent is a struggle with his own belief system. Is it more than culture that defines what one is expected to believe? In a world where politics defines how you behave, dress, eat, look,even walk, is religuous freedom possible? And why must we struggle to understand our place in the "grand scheme" and whether or not it is even worth the struggle.
As an minister, I resonated with the story. It reminded me of Blue Highways and PrairyErth by William Least Heat Moon, as well as the theological geopolitical histories of Katen Armstrong. But it is also a grand adventure of a man and his motorcycle visiting a part of the world tdhat in its best days,would test a Westerner's faith.
January 2, 2014
While exploring Damascus, the author notes a prominent downtown office tower that's been conspicuously abandoned mid-construction due to serious structural issues. He wryly comments, "What a waste ... people should examine their foundations more carefully before building..."
This book is more than a motorcycle travelogue. It is also a story about coming face-to-face with the spiritual and religious structures we build on foundations that, for some of us, as mid-life and increasing experience with the world bring greater and greater reason for uncertainty, now seem unstable and maybe even poorly chosen.
This is a great read for anyone, but especially for those who a) are interested in crappy-motorcyle-repair-troubleshooting, b) have considered the horizon-expanding experience of traveling the Middle East, or c) sometimes ask themselves questions like, "how did I get here?" or "where to next?"
This book is more than a motorcycle travelogue. It is also a story about coming face-to-face with the spiritual and religious structures we build on foundations that, for some of us, as mid-life and increasing experience with the world bring greater and greater reason for uncertainty, now seem unstable and maybe even poorly chosen.
This is a great read for anyone, but especially for those who a) are interested in crappy-motorcyle-repair-troubleshooting, b) have considered the horizon-expanding experience of traveling the Middle East, or c) sometimes ask themselves questions like, "how did I get here?" or "where to next?"
March 6, 2014
Once I started Through Dust and Darkness there was no hope for me putting it down. Jeremy's first book (Motorcycle Therapy) was a great read - personal and funny in a way that kept my mind off of a madly rolling sea that was determined to make me sick. But *this* book is different. It's not a distraction nor is it a light read. Jeremy manages to refine his wonderfully personal style of writing but also allows us to see something so intimate it's almost uncomfortable; his struggle to reconcile faith in a world gone slightly mad.
His Journey into the Middle East, Syria and Iran by motorcycle is, on it's own, a fantastic tale but to see into the authors mind, heart and life as he moves over the land is a gift.
His Journey into the Middle East, Syria and Iran by motorcycle is, on it's own, a fantastic tale but to see into the authors mind, heart and life as he moves over the land is a gift.
February 24, 2014
I really enjoyed reading this book. Reading about Mr. Kroeker's adventures in the middle east and the trials and tribulations of keeping his motorcycle roadworthy was really great. Not only is the style of writing witty and funny, it is engaging as well. The little details that are provided about the hows and whys of his decisions are what really drew me into the book. Great read, I look forward to reading more of his work.
December 20, 2013
Jeremy Kroeker gives us a lot to think about, to laugh about (and at) and to feel as he guides us through an extraordinary journey of the head, heart and soul.
November 17, 2013
Thanks Jeremy! I bought this book looking for a travel adventure and found a life adventure. Your honesty and insight is inspiring.
December 4, 2023
There is a new addition to the Tiger Coward Adventure Motorcycle Library: Through Dusk and Darkness by Jeremy Kroecker.
Jeremy's first book, Motorcycle Therapy, was well written and very funny. This book had those characteristics plus a much deeper meaning.
Both are absolutely fabulous reads!
Through Dust and Darkness is subtitled, A Motorcycle Journey of Fear and Faith in the Middle East. It is appropriate that this book has two titles because, in my mind, there are two distinct stories.
The first story is a motorcycle adventure traveling across Europe and through the Middle East. The author describes his adventures with motorcycles and people, expertly and humorously. These adventures include include mechanical challenges, food and accommodation challenges, and even intruders into his hotel rooms in the middle of the night. This is an exciting story!
With the current situation in the Middle East it is the story is compelling and meaningful.
The second half of the book is a tour through Iran with the author as he discovers the country, its history, and religion. This is told in the context of, and comparison to, his own beliefs. This is a great story and a fantastic self-analysis that will lead you to question your beliefs of Iran, and perhaps your own spiritual beliefs. At least I did.
I loved this book, and I highly recommend it, and his first book too!
Jeremy's first book, Motorcycle Therapy, was well written and very funny. This book had those characteristics plus a much deeper meaning.
Both are absolutely fabulous reads!
Through Dust and Darkness is subtitled, A Motorcycle Journey of Fear and Faith in the Middle East. It is appropriate that this book has two titles because, in my mind, there are two distinct stories.
The first story is a motorcycle adventure traveling across Europe and through the Middle East. The author describes his adventures with motorcycles and people, expertly and humorously. These adventures include include mechanical challenges, food and accommodation challenges, and even intruders into his hotel rooms in the middle of the night. This is an exciting story!
With the current situation in the Middle East it is the story is compelling and meaningful.
The second half of the book is a tour through Iran with the author as he discovers the country, its history, and religion. This is told in the context of, and comparison to, his own beliefs. This is a great story and a fantastic self-analysis that will lead you to question your beliefs of Iran, and perhaps your own spiritual beliefs. At least I did.
I loved this book, and I highly recommend it, and his first book too!
June 30, 2020
Jeremy Kroeker is a good travel writer, but he travels differently than I do. He comes from a place of skepticism and I don't. In some ways I felt that his skepticism overcame his travel experiences. I think once he has made his mind clear on that, that he will be an amazing travel writer and I would like to read more of his work.
June 21, 2022
Told with wit and authentic honesty, this account of a journey in the Middle East was sprinkled with questions about the reasoning for keeping a belief systems. It shows the scenery changes from country to country while also showing the difficulties when making long travels - papers, uncertainty, and mechanical issues that arise unannounced.
January 20, 2025
I found this book because I was thinking about a cross country motorcycle trip I was thinking would be fun to do. I was inspired to make the trip happen even more by this book. It was interesting to hear of the doubts and struggles the author struggled with as a young Mennonite man and being able to relate to them with a similar upbringing. Good book
January 13, 2018
A motorcycle travelogue with a touch of religion and some really bad metaphors. The surface of the lake looked like a buttered cookie sheet.
January 3, 2019
Canadian author, not really a "writer", interesting true story.
May 14, 2019
Very interesting physical, emotional and spiritual trip.
February 8, 2022
Fair warning , the last half is much more searching of faith than travel/motorcycle. Just as introspective as his first book for sure.
January 26, 2024
Couldn’t even finish. Sexist and pretentious.
October 26, 2023
I am surprised to be giving this book 4 stars! I found it to be really great travel writing and it was personally interesting for me on several fronts. I can’t imagine being the type of person who could handle a very loosely planned solo motorcycle trip in conflict areas where I didn’t speak the language.
February 28, 2015
Not enough motorcycling to interest me as a biker. And the theology was thin, very all or nothing. Of course the faith we have as children and teens will not work for us as adults -- it's got to mature as we mature. Or, we join the Dawkins/Hitchens crowd -- which is fine when they're not self-righteously angry, an arrogance that got many of us away from organized religion in the first place. Bottom line, Kroeker is a competent writer, with enough flaws to make him somewhat interesting (but kind-of a dick -- he Yelp-destroys his Iranian visa guy -- how's that for Christian charity?), but he doesn't ride enough, and dude is a ham-fisted mechanic (he destroys a compressor pump when it fails -- uhm, just get a slim bicycle pump). He sticks around in cities for days lounging in a hotel with other westerners or repeatedly visits the same mosque. Makes me want to read the story of Lois Pryce, "Ride of My Life" -- someone who actually rode a motorcycle through Iran.
However, it gets 3 stars for being an easy and entertaining read. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. It is, in fact, a decent story.
However, it gets 3 stars for being an easy and entertaining read. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. It is, in fact, a decent story.
January 4, 2016
I was recommended to read this book by Paddy Tyson at Overland Magazine. So it's all his fault!
The Mennonite bit did intrigue me as without the aid of Google I had heard of the sect but had no idea where on the line if Christianity they lay!
As a travel book this is a really good piece of writing. Especially reaching the "goal" of Iran even without the motorcycle.
As a motorcyclist myself I use books like this to exorcise my own shortcomings as a world traveller.
I have some 450000 miles under my belt but all of it in Europe and Florida.
The religious angst around and up to 14% almost had me filing the book on my Kindle "read" folder. But in the end it made the book more real. Maybe God touching the author touches all of us who read the book!
Inshallah?
The Mennonite bit did intrigue me as without the aid of Google I had heard of the sect but had no idea where on the line if Christianity they lay!
As a travel book this is a really good piece of writing. Especially reaching the "goal" of Iran even without the motorcycle.
As a motorcyclist myself I use books like this to exorcise my own shortcomings as a world traveller.
I have some 450000 miles under my belt but all of it in Europe and Florida.
The religious angst around and up to 14% almost had me filing the book on my Kindle "read" folder. But in the end it made the book more real. Maybe God touching the author touches all of us who read the book!
Inshallah?
November 15, 2015
This is an interesting read and a well written book. I was fascinated to read about someone's recent travels around the Middle East and Jeremy didn't disappoint. Many travel books just talk about the journey but Jeremy's is more than that. It's a personal journey as well, which all good trips - and books - are. Jeremy takes us on a physical and spiritual trip and I couldn't put the book down. I want to know what happens next!
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
August 19, 2014
Although the author's trip was an interesting one I found his writing style tedious. He describes some great personal interactions, descriptions of questionable lodging and experiences most westerners will never have. He also attempts to weave in a personal quest for faith that feels layered on as an afterthough.
August 21, 2015
Interesting travelogue with musings on the nature of faith.
Read
January 19, 2019I liked travelling vicariously through this book, and it was also fun sharing the Mennonite connection 👌🏼
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews