An interesting insight into life in Mongolia, the descriptions of life, people and the land there are interesting (especially because it's one of those places that's always fascinated me, and that I've always wanted to visit). ( )

The author of this book is a journalist who took a job editing an English language newspaper in Mongolia in the mid-1990s, just a few years after Mongolia adopted a democratic government. Kohn describes his adjustment to a new culture, the people, the city, the rural landscape, and the events he covered for the newspaper. Kohn seems to have set out on this venture with an open mind. While he might sometimes compare aspects of Mongolian life and culture to what he was familiar with in the U.S., his comparisons are not denigrating to his host country. He seems to have liked it so much that, after his initial two or three year term in Mongolia, he continued to go back. Kohn's guide to Mongolia in the Lonely Planet series will be easier to find in a library, but those who make just a little more effort to get hold of this book will find that effort worthwhile.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. ( )

Michael Kohn is een stap voor op de journalistieke posse in deze epische western in het Verre Oosten. Het is een onweerstaanbaar verslag van een land waar valkenstropers, rovers, verbannen boeddhistische leiders, doodsbange kinderjockeys en politieke moordenaars om hun plek op de voorpagina van de krant strijden. Een terreurbeweging van lama's, sjamanen, mormoonse ouderlingen en predikanten vormt de spirituele achtergrond in deze natie, die nog maar net was bevrijd van de Sovjets. Van de gereïncarneerde Bogd Khan en zijn perswoordvoerder tot wodka drinkende race-ondernemers en politieke leiders die het concept van persvrijheid onduidelijk vinden, verkent Kohn een van meest fascinerende, mysterieuze en onbegrepen landen in Azië. ( )

Mid 20's traveler lands job as Editor of English language newspaper in Mongolia in late 1990s and learns to write. Great travel memoir / history retrospective / current affairs book results. I was skeptical at first, but this book really nails what it is like to live in a little-known country emerging from another political system. Enjoyed the wanderings thru the remote wind swept steppes. ( )

Dateline Mongolia is a tale of a Westerner in a strange land, confiming some preconceptions, overturning others. Since it was written several years after the author's less than four year stay in Mongolia (1997-2000) the information is not current. But the descriptions of the people and the countryside are interesting . I am reminded of a poster I once read recruiting English teachers for service in Mongolia. The poster warned that applicants who needed big city night-life or cultural opportunities, or who were vegetarians, should probably not apply. Enjoyable.