Camel Bells in the Windy Desert is Andrew Tu's story of growing up in Inner Mongolia during the 1920s and 30s and of his long journey to Chongqing during the War. In Chinese literature, the sound of camel bells has always symbolised the traveller's heartbreak on leaving home to travel to a distant place. The camel bells came to symbolise much of Andrew's lonely life as a child, motherless, and handed from family to family, home to home, unwanted. Camel Bells in the Windy Desert is a story of the survival against all odds of a young boy determined to reach his goal of freedom, friendship and knowledge. Like so many others, Andrew Tu came to Hong Kong, where he became an educator and activist for public justice. Andrew's story is also part of how Hong Kong became what it is today.

This new edition, prepared especially for young adults (aged 14 up), contains a new afterword by his wife Elsie Tu who, together with Andrew, continued their story in Shouting at the Mountain (Chameleon Press, 2004).

Christoph Baumer

    

Central Asia today rarely seems central to much of anything aside from geography. Its vast steppes, deserts and mountains are places usually passed over, often from 10,000 meters up.

But it was not always... [ Read full review ]