Worth a look, but not a full read.
590155
It was interesting but a bit repetitive.  I'd suggest a quick skim of the book if you are interested in the topic.
495512
While this isn't a very long book, its not a bad book either. It's good if you need a short couple hour reading, I won't put to much information here so as to not spoil anything, but it's worth reading.
3104218
Worth reading.
The story is perhaps a little weak, but the discussions about different authors and their writing are of gerat interest, I think.
469258
I bought this book on a whim, and while I'm not sorry I did, I wish it could have been more. Perhaps it hit the happy medium the author was searching for, but I generally found it left me wanting to know more both about Poe's personal life and the stories behind his literary output. It was neither fully a personal biography nor a literary one. On the upside, I did enjoy learning more of the details behind some of my favorite Poe pieces, and it inspired me to get out my collected works and reread some of them. Still, from the vantage point of the 21st century, it also made me think that a good 12-step program and some anti-depressants might have deprived the world of this literary genius.
1444986
Not a book for everyone , more for serious readers to see if they've miss anything worth their time
350822
The content of this book is valuable and a worthwhile addition to the world's research on Morocco. It is also a rather dry read. If you are interested in the facts and details you will appreciate the book. If you want to experience the life behind the events, you might be a bit disappointed.
3965187
This book is VERY interesting. Davis writes it as something between a novel and a serious historical text.  As such you do have a narrative arch and a good consideration on the quality of the text; but at the same time she spends her time in placing caveats to the story she is writing.  So we have at times "alternate" possibilities to what happened, and she certainly accepts a lack of climax in explaining some important later characters which historians have been better able to study.
Davis also seems to assume you have seen the movie of the same title (to which she consulted), and wrote the book as an appendix to the movie.  Very fun.
3237628
An interesting history, and potentially an inspiring series of ancient texts, sadly limited to a few small selections. It would have been much better to offer the entire text of the scrolls, so readers could determine for themselves their overall importance and meaning, rather than to cherry-pick from them.
The history section, too, is rather spartan and gives a taste of the rich story, but not enough to warrant the price of the book itself. It could easily have been made into a rich, exciting story - instead it is simple, direct, but too brief and ultimately unsatisfying. There are more questions asked after the reading than are answered by it. What did these early monks believe and what were their sources? How did their Christian faith collaborate with Buddhist and Taoist beliefs? What happened to the early Christians in Xian and other parts of China? Where are the scrolls now? Are there alternate translations? What does the stele say? And where can it be seen?
Because of the brevity, this book ends up on the "pop religion" category instead of where it should be: a serious work on an unknown but fascinating piece of religious history. The sutra selections come across as bumper-sticker slogans instead of inspirational texts. Overall an unsatisfying work.
1713375
Awesome book.  If you can look past the some aspects of it.  Worth reading.
1332130
Whilst perusing the bookstore a week ago I came across a copy of this for a few bucks and couldn't help but pick it up.  In the end, not sure it was worth it.

The summary is pretty much what you'd expect.  Casting his mind forward 100 years Verne tells us what life will be like in 1960.  In many ways he's not too far off the mark.  His world isn't a total apocalyptic mess but it's not a particularly fun or artistic place either.

On the positive side, as always with Verne you have to admire his attention to details and his powers of prognostication.  He does not insist on casting a rosy light on the future and describes it in wonderful and vibrant prose.

The negative side, however, is that all this vibrant detail can sometimes take a degree in French literature to untangle.  He does, at times, go into a wealth of detail that only a native Parisian could properly appreciate.  I bought this book with the intention of passing it along to the kids in the house but there's just too much of a Gordian knot in this text to hold their attention.  This Verne is not focused so much on the technology of the future as he is the society of the future.  It's an interesting and insightful view but it's a bit much to swallow.

In summary, not what I would have hoped for.  This book has a lot to say for certain but it's just too tangled up with intimate details that just confuse the already rather brief plotline.  One can understand why it may have remained unpublished for so long as a work of popular literature.
3994775
It was disappointing that half way through you could see where the story was going, but it still held my interest.  Some of the subject matter will really make you stop and think.
3469748
I read some of this book in high school, but read it in its entirety recently to see how I felt about it as a 32-year-old adult. I enjoyed it somewhat.
It is a good plot concept in general, with lots of opportunity for analysis and psychological scrutiny. However, oftentimes I had a difficult time believing that the characters were children, because they seemed to behave a little too adult for their age. The writing was a bit verbose for my tastes, although not excessively so. Because of this, it didn't suck me into it's world entirely, and it wasn't something that I was very enthusiastic about finishing, except to find out how it ends.
Overall, this is worth reading if you have any curiosity about it, but it may take some determination to get through it.
1506242
This book was interesting and full on neat historical anecdotes... on that merit it was well worth reading. Though it never quite lives up to the promises on the cover. We are promised 10 maps that explain everything and an intriguing title on geography determining destiny ...but after reading it you'll be a little puzzled about the title.  The book is full of history and current affairs tidbits, with less engagement on geography. The 10 maps are generic and could have been gleaned from any 1 up-to-date globe.

It was an pleasant read, but the book could have gone two different interesting ways that would have made it a great book:

1) It could have been a book on the perspectives different states have on their region and the geopolitical theories and strategies they believe in and act upon. It comes closest to this, but loses its way by not admitting this, not crediting the ideas properly (passing them off as fact), and poorly attempting to engage with the second idea:
2) It could have presented different theories on how geography influences defense and the borders of countries and how these countries act based upon it. It hints at some ideas, but does not follow through and hints at a few, but does not go into detail or explore multiple examples and counter-examples.

Instead it had perspectives espoused by different governments and by the author and some hints of theory here and there, but not quite enough to make a point or even often a satisfying explanation. I walk away from it quite unconvinced that the maps or book explain everything about the world and a little bit confused about what thesis or theme the book was trying to present. That aside, nevertheless it had a lot of interesting information -- not a bad book, full of fun facts, quick history, and hints of bigger ideas for one to muse over and inspire.
4831398
The story was interesting, which kept me reading.  But it could have been easily told in half as many words.  Overall, worth reading.
1015129
Informative, but not quite what I was looking for.
3024311
Well writen but doesn't cover much that hasn't been said before
1835430
Definitely worth a read.  Not sure that I'll read it more than once or twice though.