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The Alluring Target: In Search of the Secrets of Central Asia
Rescued from obscurity and profiled in compelling detail are eleven explorers, scientists, mystics, and adventurers -- including two indomitable women -- who journeyed through Central Asia between 1890 and 1935 and brought back its secrets, treasures, and knowledge, along with fascinating accounts of their travels. Biplanes buffeted by gales in the Himalayas; shootouts between bandits and paleontologists on the Mongolian Steppes; priceless art treasures and manuscripts found along the ancient Silk Road -- these are among the real-life adventures recorded in The Alluring Target.
"Wimmel, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, discusses Swedish explorer Sven Hedin, English braggart celebrity adventurer Arnold Henry Savage Landor, French mystic Alexandra David Neel, and dashing American scientist-explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (who is said to be the model for Indiana Jones)". -- Library Journal
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 1996
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December 1, 2025
Strongly recommended for anyone just beginning to explore the rich history of Central Asia, this as a truly enjoyable read for me, revisiting old friends I haven't met in awhile. The names, both people and places — Francis Younghusband, Aurel Stein, Alexandra David Neel, Roy Chapman Andrews, Sven Hedin, Peter (brother of Ian) Fleming; Khotan, Samarkand, Hunza, Bohkara, Tunhuang; the Karakoram, Kunlun and Pamir mountains; the Taklamakan, Gobi and Lop deserts — were all famous in their time, but have sadly been largely forgotten today.
That said, this book is very much an introduction only; a literal appetizer in that it should only whet one’s appetite to read further and in greater detail. The best starting point is always with Fleming and his hilarious classic News from Tartary; from there any interested readers should move to any one of Peter Hopkirk’s outstanding Central Asian series, such as Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, Trespassers on the Roof of the World, Setting the East Ablaze or The Great Game. All the characters mentioned in this book also wrote their own stories, with Younghusband’s India and Tibet and Heart of a Continent being among the very best, (although in reading the latter, I can't remember if I was more impressed or depressed by the fact that he was only 23 when he undertook his seven-month trip from Manchuria to India).
PERSONAL NOTE: I attended a speech by Ken Wimmel in Washington DC in 1997 when he launched his book, and got autographed copies for both of my sons, who appropriately enough are named Myles Younghusband L., and William Andrews L.! So this is not only a great book, but also a personal favorite. Rare to have actually met someone who so closely shares my own oddly specific and (for my sons at least) embarrassingly weird interests...
That said, this book is very much an introduction only; a literal appetizer in that it should only whet one’s appetite to read further and in greater detail. The best starting point is always with Fleming and his hilarious classic News from Tartary; from there any interested readers should move to any one of Peter Hopkirk’s outstanding Central Asian series, such as Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, Trespassers on the Roof of the World, Setting the East Ablaze or The Great Game. All the characters mentioned in this book also wrote their own stories, with Younghusband’s India and Tibet and Heart of a Continent being among the very best, (although in reading the latter, I can't remember if I was more impressed or depressed by the fact that he was only 23 when he undertook his seven-month trip from Manchuria to India).
PERSONAL NOTE: I attended a speech by Ken Wimmel in Washington DC in 1997 when he launched his book, and got autographed copies for both of my sons, who appropriately enough are named Myles Younghusband L., and William Andrews L.! So this is not only a great book, but also a personal favorite. Rare to have actually met someone who so closely shares my own oddly specific and (for my sons at least) embarrassingly weird interests...
Displaying 1 of 1 review