China borders on 14 countries, which makes it more like a continent than a country, and as a Chinese adage says, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away--meaning that Beijing's control over many of its most remote areas is relatively weak. In order to see for himself just how accurate these concepts are, Eimer, who has lived in China for five years and writes for England's "Daily Telegraph", embarked on a journey to China's four border regions. The book is divided into four parts: "Xinjiang--The New Frontier"; "Tibet--The Wild West"; "Yunnan--Trouble in Paradise," and "Dongbei--Pushing the Boundaries." Eimer traveled, ate, lodged, and spent considerable time with the people he met en route. Here he shares his observations and experiences in an engaging and entertaining manner. For example, in southern Xinjiang, "medicine men stand on the back of their carts, armed with a microphone, extolling the virtues of herbal cures and aging pharmaceutical products." On the Korean border where Eimer met Christina, his translator, she said, "'From your voice and emails I thought you were younger.' No one in China is ever shy about comments on the age or looks of a foreigner. Library Journal (05/01/2014)
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