Journey from Banna: My Life, Times, and Adventures

by Gordon Young

In Journey from Banna, Gordon Young applies his stellar storytelling skills to now share tales from his own life of almost forty years in Asia, often in remote places that few tourists ever reach even today. Packed with rare photos, Young’s memoirs richly describe the places, people, wildlife and world circumstances he encountered. Author of two recent titles related to Thailand—The Wind Will Yet Sing (a novel) and Run for the Mountains (a biography)—Young’s autobiography leads readers from his birthplace in the tiny village of Banna, China to the far flung wilderness and the bustling cities of old Burma, India, Thailand, Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. With the world stage set by World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, Young’s exciting, humorous, informative and often poignant tales hold ample historical importance as much as they offer a great read.

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2011

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiography of a legendary hunter who grew up with a Burmese minority ethnic group renowned for their hunting expertise. The story of this larger than life character is full of adventure and almost non-stop excitement spanning three major wars, from fleeing Burma as a school boy during WW2, serving in Korea just before full scale war erupted and working to advance American interests in Indochina throughout the Vietnam war! A constant theme running throughout is the author's love of nature, being out in the wilderness tracking and observing (and regrettably killing - though mostly for the pot) animals of all sorts over every imaginable terrain from snowy Himalayan peaks to steamy tropical jungles, sunny islands and just about everything in between. Gordon Young's skill with the pen matches his expertise on jungle-craft as the writing is fluent and frank at every point. Thoroughly enjoyed living his life vicariously through this excellent memoir of a life witnessing the tumultuous events of the 20th century, showcasing a Thailand teeming with wildlife before the onset of development ravaged it all.

[DHammacher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young led an amazing life, so the subject matter is fascinating, but alas, he is not much of a writer. The whole book feels like a hurried set up for something else. His story told by a gifted writer would be absolutely riveting. This is not. I did appreciate learning what it was like for him to grow up in Burma--that was really interesting subject matter. Just told pretty dryly.