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Product Description
'Asia and Away' Magazine
'Smith's smart, honest prose is crafted superbly and peppered with wonderful moments of drama, dialogue and real humanity'.
'Limited Edition' Magazine
'Fascinating reading.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Out of the dearth of travel literature around at the moment, there are only a handful of books that grab my attention enough to make it difficult for me to put down once I've started. Christopher J.A. Smith's, 'Why Don't You Fly?' (Back Door to Beijing - by Bicycle) is one of the few that keeps me turning the pages.
This cycling odyssey from his home in Worcestershire to Beijing is a good read. His style of writing flows throughout. There are wonderful descriptions of landscapes and people he meets and he writes with just enough self decpreciation and touches of cynicism that keep his feet (and the readers') on the ground through his use of dry humour and insightful thoughts. His intellingent and perceptive writing explpores not only the logistics and stamina of a long, arduous journey and the inevitable discomforts that go with it, but also the way it changes his outlook on life, not just on the journey itself but how it effects the everyday, humdrum routine back at home.
There are the usual stories that come with a book of this genre; bits breaking and falling off the bike, punctures and hair-tearing-out problems with bureaucracy, familiar in most travel writers' tales. But with Why Don't You Fly', the humour is subtle and gentle, such as the time when he tries to overcome language barriers by explaining, to the amusement of a local, that he is riding around the world on a tomato!
The combinaton of insightful, intelligent comment, descriptions of places and people and gentle humour is very good. The book is for anyone contimplating such a journey themselves, a sort of 'go for it anyway - take that window of opportunity when it presents itself' kind of mentality which is inspiring. He tops and tails the book with a prologue and epilogue, written in the third person, a style that wonderfully contrasts with the rest of the book; a reality check, illustrating the monotony and trivia of everyday routines. Such is the stuff of all our lives! After reading this, if you are not able, or lucky enough, to plan a journey of your own, then this armchair version is just as good.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Like other readers I have read a few cycle touring books. Chris Smith has completed a superhuman journey by bicycle and he takes the reader over extreme highs and down into extreme lows along his journey. His book is well written. His writing is at his best when he is describing enounters with local people or officials. His description of some of the fellow cyclists he meets and travels with along the way almost verge on charicature, although they do not become wholly implausible. For me he he is at his most insightful when he writes of the communities he is travelling through. He gives brief historical and political summaries of each country and region he passes through which is very informative whilst not being too turgid for the reader who is not too keen on pages and pages of history. Clearly he is often constantly the centre of attention in many impoverished communities particularly in India and Pakistan, which was undoubtedly very wearing on him in terms of privacy, but he could have still taken a little more effort to tell us about the lives of the local people and the communities that he encountered and those that helped him. Occasionally I had the impression that the arrival at his destination at the end of the day or completing 80-100 miles each day took precedence over his journey. The journey is more important than the arrival. I also found his apparent ignorance of or little patience with his bicycle infuriating. Every long distance cyclist should have an intimate knowledge of how their steed works and how to maintain and repair it on the road particularly in case where a problem occurs in the middle of nowhere. That's just common sense. Never the less this is an enjoyable, well written and insightful account of a challenge to cycle 18,500 miles to Beijing. It is a travelogue up their with the those of Nick Danziger and Alistair Humphreys.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an ok account of the authors trip from his home in England to Beijing. For me though, there is too much complaining about, well just about everything, body pains, locals, scenery, food, etc. It certainly didn't inspire me to hit the road as a few other cycling books have. If you want good cycling books you should read Josie Dew, Dervla Murphy, Anne Mustoe, (why are they all women?) and Tom Kevill-Davies also known as the hungry cyclist. I've found them far more entertaining.
As for this book, as I say, it's ok. There are interesting snippets of local colour but the author points out only the negatives mainly (except for China, which he loved) and for me I ended up skipping pages just to finish.
As for this book, as I say, it's ok. There are interesting snippets of local colour but the author points out only the negatives mainly (except for China, which he loved) and for me I ended up skipping pages just to finish.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Back door to Beijling
This book was purchased for my son who intends to ride a solo bike to China in two years. By all accounts he likes the book very much.
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Ca Sturdy
A Cracking Read
This is a real page-turner of a book that gripped my attention from the off. The author has a wonderfully readable style and soon has you riding every mile of his 16,500 mile trip... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Milemuncher
Humerous and well written
This is an excellent read on a cold winters night, waiting for the Spring to come and I can get on my bike.
The book is well written and flows along very nicely. Read more
The book is well written and flows along very nicely. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Stephen Lindley
Inspirational...........
Having now read many of the "RTW" cycle touring books, I'd rate this one up there with the best of them. Read more
Published on 13 May 2010 by Ian Murray
Hard to put down
Really enjoyed this book.Appears to be written by a nice guy and this comes across throughout. Some good characters and observations. Well worth a read!
Published on 12 April 2010 by Kranky
Best cycling book I've ever read
have read lots of cycling books (at least 20) and this is far and away the best. I'd love to meet Chris, he seems like a really interesting and life embracing person. Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2010 by Tea Lady
Reliving our Cycle Ride to Australia
We cycled almost the same route from Eastern Turkey to Amritsar and the reverse from Delhi via Agra to Kolkata. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2009 by Mr. G. E. Hodgson
Up there with Bill Bryson
I am not a regular reader of travel books and am not into cycling but 'Why Don't You Fly?' surpasses all constraints of genre and is a bloody good read. Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2008 by Robert Ronsson
Amazing adventure!
I have read a number of cycle adventure books but this comes out one of the best. A very honest description of an amazing adventure with a number of highs and lows. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2008 by Mr. W. GIBBY
An Incredible Journey
I have been on an incredible journey! It only took two days. I was on a bike to China. Sometimes I laughed out loud, at others I lapped up the history and atmosphere of... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2005 by Mrs D Acton
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