Don't Worry, Be Happy
Reviews
The Argus
Reviewed by Mike Bacon 30/09/2006.
If you have decided to put off university until this time nest year to see the world, it’s time to stop reading guide books, but take Jim Ford’s hefty paperback in your backpack.
He lives in West Sussex and in 1989 he set off alone on an 18-month jaunt around China, Australasia and India. This is no starry-eyed tourist guide. He describes his dissatisfaction at not being permitted a close view of the terracotta soldiers at the Tomb of Qin Shihuang near Xian and his distress at seeing a dog’s throat being slit in a Guangzhou market.
Jim’s 380 letters home and 26 dictaphone tapes have been turned into a frank and useful book.
Carol Deane
Posted on Amazon 11/09/2006.
Being an avid reader of crime novels I was a bit uncertain about this book. What a pleasant surprise I had finding myself journeying with the author who paints a vivid picture of his travels and experiences which were sometimes funny and at other times frustrating. An entertaining and informative read and not just for travellers!
Ben Bulpett
Posted on Amazon 31/08/2006.
One of the funniest and moving books I have ever read. Jim's account of his trip is beautifully written and his descriptive writing captures the imagination as if you were travelling with him. To have the foresight to capture his trip on tape and recall it in this book is brilliant. For anyone, backpacker, holidaymaker or businessman, this book is a must read if you really want to understand the culture of the countries Jim visited. Shame Jim didn't travel more as I would have loved to have read the next travelogue.
Sarah Everson
Posted on the DWBH Website 23/08/2006.
This book is such a great read and very hard to put down. Having backpacked myself around Australia in the same year, it brought back many memories, but it also makes me want to visit India and China now. It’s certainly a page-turner, as I couldn't wait to get on to the next page wondering what was in store for Jim. It made me laugh, it made me think, it made me despair but above all it made me happy as it was such an enjoyable book to read - well done Jim - a book well worth recommending.
LM Poynter
Posted on Amazon 12/08/2006.
This highly perceptive and humorous account of Jim's experiences travelling through China, Australasia and India some fifteen years ago had me gripped from the start. In fact, I read it cover to cover in just 2 days - and considering it's 496 pages long, that's saying something!
Jim's account of his travels contains some really interesting insights into the different cultures he encounters, and his adventures and the people he meets along the way are always described with wit and sensitivity making this a thoroughly entertaining read. If you've ever been backpacking or dreamt about what it would be like then you'll love this book.
Bulgingeyeballs
Posted on the DWBH Website 04/08/2006.
I want you to know that I'm a changed man now!! MacGregor.
Pat Ford
Posted on the DWBH Website 31/07/2006.
What an excellent easy to read book, a book which is difficult to put down once you start to read it - fantastic holiday reading. The places and people are interesting but the insight into the author's personality is equally fascinating, his love of life, sport, women, beer, his curiosity to research the places he visited and his own personal values are self evident as well as his insecurities! World events and the sporting calendar are recorded from November 1989 to May 1991, which provokes personal memories. The cover accurately depicts the travails of travelling in the east and the natural effects on Jim's stomach. A cracking good read.
David Adams
Posted on the DWBH Website 30/07/2006.
Traversing the line between inspiration and education, Jim Ford's book had me laughing out loud. I'm staying in Manly's Pacific by coincidence and yep, Sunday's a big night in Aussie culture. I haven't met any Basirs on my travels but perhaps this is Jim's success, casually making acquaintances and making them seem like ones we'd made ourselves. A bloody good book and written at such a pace that I'm itching to see what happens next... but glad that's it's not all going to happen to me!
Readers’ Review Summer 2006 (see http://www.troubador.co.uk/readersreview/)
(Independent Reviews of Self-Published Books)
9/10
This is a thumping good read… as well as being nearly two inches thick, it really grips you from the start, immersing you in the travels of one man across the Indian subcontinent and parts of Asia.
Backpackers are a common sight in many parts of the world, more so in the last ten years or so, but when Jim Ford decided to throw in a perfectly good job and carry his worldly possessions on his back, it wasn’t quite so popular. Consequently, Ford’s accounts of his travels contain some really interesting insights into cultures that are entirely foreign to most of us in the west.
As a young man at the time, it’s obvious that Ford’s priorities lay primarily in wine, women and song, but his adventures are described sensitively and with wit. Ford also has a clear sense of culture, and he describes sympathetically the people and places that he saw. Beautifully produced and a joy to read…though I wasn’t keen on the cover!
Bruce Marr
Posted on the DWBH Website 27/07/2006.
What a fantastic read this book was. Firstly it was very interesting reading about the places the author visited. There was a good balance of personal perspective with a little history of each location. All too often books of these kind can go in to far too much detail, however in this the level was perfect. You are given just enough information to know the true picture, but not too much so as you have no opportunity to create your own picture. Secondly, I really warmed to the emotional turmoils for the author; the dilemma of travelling alone as opposed to with others and his own emotional ups and downs throughout his travels. Thirdly, this whole experience makes me want to pack my bags and do the same. Here I am stuck in my 9 to 5 and reading this book let me drift off into a whole new world. This book would appeal to everyone. The young for the real adventure of the travel bug and those slightly above young (me in other words) having an opportunity to really get to know the author and his trials and tribulations. Buy it now!
Dan Taylor
Posted on Amazon 25/07/2006.
An honest, fascinating and insightful summary of a young person's backpacking experiences through a range of cultures and countries. Featuring colourful characters, humorous anecdotes, and lively accounts of local history/context, the book also highlights a series of significant "on the road" incidents, which serve to inspire, challenge, shock and thrill the author. The "buzz" of free-spirited discovery is vividly recreated, together with the "stings" of inevitable disappointments, frustrations and having to manage the mundane. This book skilfully captures the process of self-growth that is familiar to all who have taken time out to "wander the globe"!