Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite Michener books
Review: Haunting! I dreamed about this book for months after I read it. Perhaps not as tightly woven (nor as long) as some of Michener's later books, but it has an excellent story and wonderful information on exotic part of the world most of us will never visit.
Rating: 
Summary: Caravans
Review: I did not like this book. I did not find it very entertaining. While it was educational and had good historical information it lacked excitment. The book could not keep me interested. I would have given it a higher rating if it would have had a stronger and more interesting plot.
Rating:
Summary: Caravans
Review: I did not like this book. I did not find it very entertaining. While it was educational and had good historical information it lacked excitment. The book could not keep me interested. I would have given it a higher rating if it would have had a stronger and more interesting plot.
Rating:
Summary: Caravans, a great inside into Afghanistan,culture & Islam
Review: I don't like Michener as a rule, however, Caravans is for the inquisitive and the seeker of fantastic places, a wonderful map of the country, its culture,the beauty of Islam and the sage tirany and power of the Muslem Prists (Mullahs). Even though published in 1962-63 and with the story taking place in 1946, the basics are as true today as 56 years ago! Michener made 9 trips to the country before writing this book and was fascinated by its fabulous beauty, the cruelty of its life-style and terrain, the fantastic legends of past cultures of the Silk Route, the intrinsic problems of its own-going self destruction and the ever changing magic of the Serais,the travellers and Caravans! The Story is easy and a fair yarn. It bespeaks of another time thru the interplay of its main characters and Helen who is one of the first of her generation to realize what now is common knowledge. Michener was a visionary of sorts here and don't be surprise if you pull out your dusty Atlas and search for the "Seventy Mile City," Kandakhar, Kabul, the Palmirs and the high valleys of the Hindu Kush and Khayber Pass. Any one can read this but you need imagination and a bit of the wonderlust for lost places and past civilizations. It makes a good book on tape also. Dead-heads stay away!
Rating: 
Summary: Caravans
Review: I enjoyed this book, and I think that Michener did a great job educating the reader as he tells of Ellen and Miller's experiences. The storyline and the characters were both interesting. It was amazing to think that a girl would behave the way Ellen did. It kept me wondering what she would do or say next,especially at the end of the book. The plot held my interest, and I enjoyed learning about some of the customs and history of Afghanistan.
Rating:
Summary: Caravans, a "must read" for invaders of Afghanistan.
Review: I first read this great book approx 20 years ago and reflected
on it later when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and retracted their troops about 10 years ago after suffering great material and ( most of all ) human losses.I concluded at that time that the Russian government should have
read this book and they may have changed their tactics prior to
sending in ground troops. I reflected on it again recently when George W Bush and allies
decided to send in the ground troops, and therfore consider this book a "must read" for the decision makers of the war / peace
industry who should think twice before committing ground forces
into that desolated rugged mountain country with its proud people
otherwise they will meet the same fate as the Russians 10 years
ago and many other invaders over the past centuries. I fear however that history will repeat itself.........
Rating:
Summary: The Original "Dune"
Review: I haven't even finished this book, but if you are looking for books about Afghanistan and don't know where to start, buy this.
Caravans was recommended to me by a friend who toured around Afghanistan back in the '80s with her husband and had a very interesting trip. If you are planning a trip in the near future to Afghanistan, I suspect this is a must-read. (You will enjoy it more if you are not obliged to go there.) It is a real eye-opener. Forget the year the events take place (1946) since it sounds like things have changed little. Many wonderful and horrifying events and landscapes are described. Geography, geology, and the weather govern the country. Could this be what is in store for the temperate zones with just a little more global warming? As for the 'novel,' I found the book hardly required a fictional framework. The book presents the viewpoint (through the eyes of the Pennsylvania refugee, Ellen) that neither Western (Democratic/Scientific/Christian) culture nor Middle Eastern (Autocratic/Orthodox/Muslim) culture will in the end be as attractive to the human heart as the free life of the nomadic peoples who still travel through Afghanistan. If anyone is out there spending a lot of time speculating on which of the three Abrahamic religions will inherit the earth, James Michener has a 'none of the above' answer lined up for you. There is also a subplot involving one despicable character that indicates that the Afghans are able to put to use any human detritus that washes up in their country. As long as the individual has talent, he or she will end up working for them. I haven't finished any other Michener books, but I bet I'll finish this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to his usual standard
Review: I just read Caravans and I must admit that I am a Michener fan. However this book is not up to his usual high standards and I found the story predictable. It does give a nice insight into Afghan life before the Soviet invasion and in light of the Taliban now, it does make an interesting read...........but not spectacular
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I read Caravan when it first was published. I read it again during the Afghanistan war. It is informative,romantic, and keeps your attention. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I read Caravan when it first was published. I read it again during the Afghanistan war. It is informative,romantic, and keeps your attention. I recommend it.
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