A Fortune-teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East: Amazon.de: Tiziano Terzani: Englische Bücher

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Gebundene Ausgabe

Gebundene Ausgabe, 18. August 1997

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EUR 11,95

Produktinformation

Gebundene Ausgabe: 384 Seiten
Verlag: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (18. August 1997)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 0002558416
ISBN-13: 978-0002558419
Gr��e und/oder Gewicht: 23,4 x 16,2 x 4 cm
Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 1.799.740 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)

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It was 1976 when Tiziano Terzani was warned by the fortuneteller in Hong Kong: "Beware! You run a grave risk of dying in 1993. You mustn't fly that year. Don't fly, not even once." Sixteen years later, Terzani had not forgotten. Despite living the life of a jet-hopping journalist, he decided that, after a lifetime of sensible decisions, he would confront the prophecy the Asian way, not by fighting it, but by submitting. He also resolved that on the way he would seek out the most eminent local oracle, fortuneteller, or sorcerer and look again into his future. So after a feast of red-ant egg omelet and a glass of fresh water, he brought the new year in on the back of an elephant. He even made it to his appointments: Cambodia, to cover the first democratic elections; Burma, for the opening of the first road to connect Thailand and China; and even Florence, to visit his mother, a trip that would take him 13,000 miles across Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and Siberia. In this way, that jet-hopping journalist rediscovered the art of travel, the intricate chains of chance which lead to discovery, and the mass of humanity he'd overlooked in his rush for newsworthy quotes. And he also saved his life.

Terzani's odyssey across Asia is full of revelations and reflections on the dramatic changes underway in Asia. Having spent two decades on the continent, he brings a deep love for the place to his journeys, but also the eyes of someone troubled by the changes he sees. Burma and Laos, finally open to outside contact, are now funnels for AIDS and drugs; Thailand has been traumatized by its rapid development; China is an anarchy fueled by money rather than ideology, where Mao has been transformed into the god of traffic. Surrounded by the loss of diversity wrought by modernism, Terzani asks if the "missionaries of materialism and economic progress" aren't destroying the continent in order to save it. Fortunately, there is a flip side to his occasionally dispiriting commentary, one that Terzani discovers in his hunt for fortunetellers. Through his side trips to seers who read the soles of his feet, the ashes of incense, and even the burned scapula of sheep, it becomes clear that the Orient of legends, myths, and magic still determines people's lives as much as the quest for money. By staying earthbound, Terzani lived to tell of an extraordinary journey through the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of Asia. --Lesley Reed -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

From Booklist

Der Spiegel correspondent Terzani, long resident in Asia, decided in 1993 to deny himself air travel for one year. This was less his decision than accession to a Hong Kong fortune-teller's prediction of peril should he board a plane that year. What stock to put into the Far Eastern superstition intrigued him, so, traveling by foot, rickshaw, train, and ship, he sought out whomever local denizens recommended as eminent diviners of personal fate. Structured as a traditional travelogue, the account of his quest realizes the genre's promise so well that a reader absorbs Terzani's every insight and observation, whether about himself as an Italian expatriate, about history, or about the advance of consumerism exemplified in the authoritarian city-state of Singapore. Terzani's irritation with consumerism balances his efficient, yet nuanced, portraits of lives guided more by spiritual concerns--those of Christian missionaries, Buddhist monks, and astrology-casting, dice-throwing, and scapula-burning seers of varying credibility. Even skeptics of soothsaying may be seduced by this wonderfully exotic Southeast Asian excursion. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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16 von 17 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

Great ! 6. November 2002

Von Ein Kunde - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

Format:Taschenbuch

Being of German and Chinese parentage and having lived and travelled throughout Asia all my life, I have finally found my thoughts about this vast continent and its spirituality on paper.

As Terzani himself states in this book "It sometimes takes a Westerner to make sense of Asia" and I too have found this to be true. Unlike some misguided reviews that I have read about this book, Terzani is absolutely spot on in his anlysis and interpretations of Asia and its status quo.

"A fortune teller told me" is great travel literature, great socio-political commentary and food for the soul all at once. Here is a man in search of truth, travelling through the continent with the richest and oldest history, needlesly reinventing and destroying itself, its identity and its spirituality in order to catch up with the youngest and most money-orientated civilizations.
The West looks to the East for Answers and the East looks to the West for answers in this amazing book.
Two thumbs up!

12 von 13 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

The real Asia... myths, superstitions, magic! 20. Oktober 2001

Von R. Peterson - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

As this is my first post living in Asia, I found this book to be a delightful introduction to some of what this region is "really" like. Tiziano Terzani is an Italian-born journalist for the German Der Spiegel and in 1976 while in Hong Kong, is taken to a fortune-teller (almost as a joke) who told him that if he flew in 1993 it could prove fatal. Not being one for superstitions, he nonetheless decided to spend the whole of 1993 traveling Asia in every way save air (train, bus, car, on foot, and elephant!). He not only does this, but he dedicates his writing and research during that year (1993) to finding the "truest" fortuneteller in any country who will accurately tell his fortune (and divine his past correctly). His work puts him conveniently in a number of countries where he is able to visit seers, clairvoyants, astrologists, soothsayers, and psychics. He covers the elections in Burma, a road opening in Thailand and China, and even manages to take a trans-Siberian trip from Cambodia and Vietnam through China and Mongolia and off through Russia.

Most people, in most countries, are somewhat fascinated by the accuracy of a fortune-teller - and this is the hook that Terzani uses to draw us in. Will the prophesy prove true (a plane of journalists does go down in Asia at one point early in the given year (a plane he would have been on) but no one dies.)? How accurate are fortune-tellers? The details of his many visits to these many people, and his descriptions of the peoples and places he is seeing as a result of not flying are all fascinating. One of the themes he continually returns to is the modernization of Asia and to some extent how that pains him (AIDS in Burma, cold-hearted money mongers in China, completely non-spiritual Mongolians). He is not only humored by the superstitions of the region, but in some places he is somewhat grateful that these beliefs are still taken seriously. He is unhappiest in places where the modern world has pushed the relevance of some of these old shamans out of existence. It was absolutely wonderful writing and was so very Asian that I found I had a renewed interest in traveling to many of these places.

18 von 21 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich

Interesting, but ..... 2. November 2001

Von Ein Kunde - Ver�ffentlicht auf Amazon.com

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

I have lived in several of the countries covered by Mr. Terzani and I enjoyed reading about his travels. However, while I did find this an interesting look at these countries and I think his research on history and customs was excellent (his conversations with local individuals especially fascinating), I found myself increasingly irritated with some of his views.

I agree with the reader from Singapore that he has seemingly ignored the benefits of modernization (even obvious ones such as improved healthcare, more education, etc.). Also, the comments throughout the book about the mercenary nature of the Chinese. While this is a book about his travels and not a text book, I felt the constant repetition of this viewpoint was not necessary.

The extreme poverty of a large number of people in Asia mean that they are primarily concerned with survival, but they are aware of their cultural heritage. While fortunate enough to be in the position to make his own choices (he later chose to stay in cheaper hotels, but he started off with the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok) many people in these countries do not have that luxury.

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