- Hardcover: 436 pages
- Publisher: Nickelodeon Press (Nov 1 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0982138407
- ISBN-13: 978-0982138403
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.5 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 726 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,041,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"This powerful, wonderful and compelling book . . . is for anyone who savors and celebrates personal stories of epic journeys, vividly brought to life in a dramatic way." —Greg Mortenson, author, Three Cups of Tea
“Bill, JoAnne, their 18-month old son Zerky and their fearless dachshund Tarzan packed into their VW van to set-off to see the world. Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Sikkim, Assam, Nepal, Thailand, China. Bill takes you along on that rugged ride. Letters to Zerky captures those innocent times in this touching blast to the past and tender tribute to a son.” —Brandon Wilson, Lowell Thomas Award-Winning author of Along the Templar Trail and Yak Butter Blues
“A masterful storyteller and beautiful description. A tale that keeps readers turning the page for more. The book will appeal to a wide audience, including those interested in travel, Middle Eastern history, and simply a well-written story of adventure.” —Christine Canfield, ForeWord Magazine
“That rare travelogue with no ego and a true sense of discovery. A compelling and poignant read. The glimpses into Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and China are invaluable.” —Kyle Wagner, The Denver Post
“A testament to the power of the human spirit—to wonder, endure and remember. The adventure quotient here is high, but the main ballast of the book is emotional, a testament to the power of the human spirit–to wander, endure and remember. A chronicle of travels through a bygone world.” —Kirkus Reviews
Book Description
In 1967, Bill and JoAnne tried to drive a Volkswagen bus around the world with their baby son, Zerky, and dog, Tarzan. From San Francisco they flew to Germany, where they purchased the camper van and headed east across southern Europe, into Asia, as far as they could go. They traveled across Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sikkim, India, and Assam, where they hoped to take the Burma Road into China, but were turned back. From there they headed for Thailand and Hong Kong, one-year-old Zerky having a magical effect on everyone they met along the way. An adventure story about a once-upon-a-time journey, this is a story that will challenge pre-conceptions about people of the Middle East and beyond.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring and haunting, Mar 22 2010
By James McCormack - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Letters to Zerky: A Father's Legacy to a Lost Son . . . and a Road Trip Around the World (Hardcover)
This isn't just a collection of thoughts. In his letters to his son, Bill writes with incredible detail, trying to explain the significance of what he's seeing to a son that won't remember all of his adventures. He writes to include him - "You were a hit, Zerky!" and educate him about global politics, but not in an overbearing way. He has the writing skills to draw us into these very personal moments. I've owned a small RV in the past and did a big cross country trip, and reading his accounts has gotten my wanderlust going again!It's haunting for several reasons - the biggest one being that his son and his wife die only a few years after the trip, leaving Bill alone with these memories. Another is the sense of loss of opportunity. There was a short window of time where Americans were met with reactions of intrigue and welcome in many of the countries they visited. Today, not even the adorable Zerky could save them from open hostility.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enticing and fun read, well worth reading for lovers of true adventure, Feb 9 2010
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Letters to Zerky: A Father's Legacy to a Lost Son . . . and a Road Trip Around the World (Hardcover)
Wanderlust doesn't wait for peace. "Letters to Zerky: A Father's Legacy to a Lost Son... and A road Trip Around the World" is a unique memoir as a father addresses his son about a roadtrip the son took when he was a young child. Bill Raney took his son across the globe when he was only an infant, as they toured Europe and Asia. Aimed at his son, there's no exclusion as any reader will be mesmerized by this truly unique and legendary family vacation that makes Disney World look dull. "Letters to Zerky" is an enticing and fun read, well worth reading for lovers of true adventure.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant Sixties Global Adventure, Mar 25 2011
By Old Saratoga Books "The Book Trout" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Letters to Zerky: A Father's Legacy to a Lost Son . . . and a Road Trip Around the World (Hardcover)
Raney's forty-year old letters to and photos of his young son Eric Xerxes Raney, affectionately known as Zerky, make for a compelling armchair adventure. In 1967, Raney and wife JoAnne, Zerky and a dachsund named Tarzan, flew to Cologne, Germany, where they bought a Volkswagen bus that was their home for the next year through Spain, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Tibet. Zerky's blond head and Tarzan's doggie charms opened borders, hearts and minds for the family as they traveled during the height of America's unpopular intervention in Viet Nam.The author doesn't get into details until the final chapter about the tragedies that befall his family later, but the reader learns from the front jacket blurb that both JoAnne and Zerky die shortly after their American homecoming, so this lends an extra poignancy to the exuberant letters that Raney wrote for his son to savor about a trip that he wouldn't remember when he grew up. Raney's letters are also accompanied by some journal snippets that JoAnne wrote along the way, and they are often an interesting, practical counterpoint to her husband's more upbeat accounts (though diarrhea features way too prominently in her entries).
I found the photos sprinkled throughout the text to be very evocative and often very funny. Zerky, named for ancient Persian Emperor Xerxes the Great, is often posed in front of world landmarks as a toddler conqueror and they are sweet, funny and well-composed shots. Confusingly, though, there are a number of other photos also bound in at the front of the book, some of which are duplicated later on in the text. The accompanying maps that are sprinkled among the chapters are also loaded with too many dots identifying areas that are not even visited in the book and simpler maps would provide more effective communication of the Raney's travel routes.
The book offers an original contribution to travel literature as a poignant and perceptive travelogue by two Americans journeying into lands where not too many Westerners find an easy welcome today.
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