In 1866-68 a small group of French explorers led by Lagrée and Garnier — men who deserve to be as famous as Livingstone and Burton — traveled all the way up the Mekong to the Chinese province of Yunnan, in one of the epic feats of nineteenth century exploration. Milton Osborne sets their journey, and Garnier's later involvement in Tonkin, in its historical context and also hints at some of the later controversy surrounding the expedition, but River Road to China is basically a grand tale of adventure. I found it really intriguing: the whole story was new to me, as I suspect it will be to most English-speaking readers.

June 1995

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Related reviews:

- Milton Osborne - The Mekong: Turbulent past, uncertain future
- books about Southeast Asia + Southeast Asian history
- books about exploration