Jack Weatherford's book was an international best seller published in more than twenty languages.  In 2007 President Enkhbayar of Mongolia awarded him the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia's highest national award, in recognition of his contribution to Mongolian culture.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
by Jack Weatherford
Interview by Daniel White

Asia East:  You write from a variety of anthropological viewpoints.  What inspired you to write about Mongolia and Genghis Khan?

As I child I became engrossed in reading about Maro Polo, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan and developed a fascination with Mongolia.  In college I tried to go to Mongolia to continue that interest, but the Cold War prevented it.  I put aside that interest and continued with others that I had, but when Mongolia opened in the 1990's I went to visit more out of curiousity than for any planned work.  Once there, the passion of my childhood flamed higher than ever. Although I did not speak the language I felt spiritually, intellectually and emotionally at home.

To understand Mongolia and its rich history and culture, I needed to understand Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khaan), and the result of that quest was my book on him and his empire.

Asia East:  How often does your research take you to Asia?

I would like to go twice a year for a month or two at a time, but I usually do not make it that often.  Whether the temperature is thirty-five degrees plus or minus, I am always happy in the Mongolian countryside where I smell the freshest wind on earth during the day, and at night the stars are so close I can touch them.

Asia East:  What's your favorite Mongolian dish?

Like most Mongolians my tastes are simple, but they change with the season.  In the summer I love the tsagaan idee (white foods), particularly very hard and sour aaruul (dried curd) as well as airag (fermented mare's milk).  In the winter I like meat, particularly buuz (steamed dumplings with mutton) and milk tea with salt.

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In 1992, Brandon Wilson and his wife set off to become the first Westerners to walk an ancient pilgrimage trail from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu.  What began as an adventure soon turned into a fight for survival while providing an intimate look at a swiftly vanishing culture.

Yak Butter Blues: A Tibetan Trek of Faith
by Brandon Wilson
Interview by Daniel White

Asia East:  What first motivated you to go to Tibet?

Our decision to attempt to trek from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal sprung from the notion that this was the ultimate adventure.  Everyone grew up with the legend of a Shangri-La, that fanciful place from James Hilton's Lost Horizon.  The more that I read about Tibet, the more I was fascinated by its remoteness, inaccessibility, and its exotic reputation.

Asia East:  "Travel is about people."  Do you agree or disagree?  What kind of people did you meet along the way?

Absolutely, I agree.  We met many common people, poor farmers, children, former monks who had studied English in Nepal, a few Chinese soldiers–an experience much less comfortable, especially when we were shot at–and eventually the representative to the King of Nepal.

Asia East:  Did your reason for starting your journey and the reason for completing your journey remain the same?

Frankly, no.  We began the trip as an adventure–a chance to go where no other Western couple had gone before.  But early on, before even leaving Lhasa, we were shocked at the conditions we found in the holy city and the number of Communist soldiers everywhere.  After learning that the Tibetan people themselves couldn't make a journey such as ours to their holy sites in Nepal, we vowed to make it in their stead.

Asia East:   How do the children in Tibet feel about learning Mandarin Chinese in school?

There is a sense throughout Tibet that their culture is quickly disappearing, and that causes great resentment, as you might imagine.  Not only is Chinese taught in the schools, but the stores and markets are flooded with Chinese goods.  The Chinese control the remaining monasteries.  The Tibetans are now greatly outnumbered in their own capitol.

While Yak Butter Blues is a tale of our survival in a sometimes-hostile land, it's also a story of survival for the average Tibetan struggling to maintain their culture, dignity and even their very existence. That is the true meaning of those "yak butter blues."

I hope that this book becomes a message in a bottle for those who showed us so much unexpected kindness, generosity and bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

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Pilgrim's Tales:  Yak Butter Blues