Traces how the author quit his civil engineering job at the age of thirty-five to pursue a dream of golfing across Mongolia, a venture marked by an extended visit to Genghis Khan's home course, where he would clock a par in the thousands.

Former U.S. ambassador Jonathan Addleton provides a pioneering firsthand look at the remarkable growth of civil society and diplomatic ties between two countries separated by vast distances yet sharing a growing list of strategic interests and values. While maintaining positive ties with Russia and China, its powerful neighbors and still-dominant trading partners, Mongolia has sought "third neighbors" to help provide balance, including Canada, Japan, Korea, European nations, and the United States. For its part, the United States has supported Mongolia as an emerging democracy while fostering development and commercial relations. People-to-people ties have significantly expanded in recent years, as has a security partnership that supports Mongolias emergence as a provider of military peacekeepers under the U.N. flag in Sierra Leone, Chad, Kosovo, Darfur, South Sudan, and elsewhere.While focusing on diplomatic relations over the last quarter century, Addleton also briefly describes American encounters with Mongolia over the past 150 years. More recently, Mongolia has emerged as a magnet for foreign investment, making it one of the worlds fastest growing economies.

For many golfers, the innocent thrill of striking a drive clearly, avoiding a deep bunker, or holing out an unlikely putt is all they need to make a round (or a whole year) of golf memorable. But there’s an obsessed subculture of modern players in search of something more. They’ve rediscovered the magic of the game in Adventures in Extreme Golf, and their adventures are about to inspire golfers everywhere. Follow golfers like Andre Tolme and Torsten Schilling who go to Mongolia to play in a par 11,880 course, to 12,000 feet at Snowmass in Aspen, to the “naked open” in New Zealand, and to the freezing temperatures of Antarctica. Duncan Lennard describes a world at the very edge of sport, where the courses may be only ten holes long, but the average length of each hole is 638 yards. Learn that your resilience, and not just a pretty swing, determines your success. Adventures in Extreme Golf will take you all over the world and show you that a par four is nothing compared to these holes. See courses you’ve only seen in your dreams (or rather, your nightmares) and follow Duncan Lennard as he takes you on a trip to see why these courses and holes are considered “extreme.”

At the age of 35 Andre Tolme quit his job as a civil engineer and decided that it was time to see something of the world. It was during a brief stop-over in Mongolia that he became struck by two things - he loved the country, but most of all he missed playing golf. A plan began to hatch in his mind."

Everyone’s heard of Usain Bolt, but how many people know about Dineka Maguire? Like Bolt, the Irish woman is a world record holder but in the rather lesser known sport of bog snorkelling. She is just one of the hundreds of unsung heroes featured in this book chronicling the people who go to bizarre lengths to break world records in the weirdest categories; people who devote hours of intense training to spitting dung, eating cockroaches, sniffing feet or tossing tuna in the hope of one day being recognised as the best in the world. This astonishing compendium of the weirdest, wackiest and most disgusting world records will amuse and astound in equal measure. Entries include: Longest ear hair Fastest marathon while wearing a deep-sea diving suit Fastest bog snorkeller Farthest distance skateboarding by a goat Most bees on body Most milk crates balanced on head Fastest 5-km run while dressed as a penguin and juggling Heaviest airplane pulled with teeth Fastest shopping trolley Longest backwards motorcycle ride Most stairs climbed by bicycle Fastest 30 metres on a scooter by a dog First water-skiing squirrel

Michael Kohn, editor of the Mongol Messenger, is one steppe ahead of the journalistic posse in this epic Western set in the Far East. Kohn's book is an irresistible account of a nation where falcon poachers, cattle rustlers, exiled Buddhist leaders, death-defying child jockeys and political assassins vie for page one. The turf war between lamas, shamans, Mormon elders and ministers provides the spiritual backdrop in this nation recently liberated from Soviet orthodoxy. From the reincarnated Bogd Khaan and his press spokesman to vodka-fueled racing entrepreneurs and political leaders unclear on the concept of freedom of the press, Kohn explores one of Asia's most fascinating, mysterious and misunderstood lands.

A how-to primer on off-course golfing shares illustrated strategies for playing in streets, parks, pastures, and other high-challenge areas, in a reference that covers such topics as setting up a course, scoring, safety measures, and equipment. Original. 35,000 first printing.

"Looking for an entertaining book filled with the miscellany of the publishing world? Look no further! You'll find everything from the meager to the important in this book, part readers' advisory and part commentary on the world of books and literature, good and not so good." "Filled with humor and occasional defiance of the conventional, The Back Page delights readers with anecdotes, stories, quizzes (which are almost impossible to answer without cheating), and a host of insights into what makes books what they are - those wonderful and magical sources of great thoughts. A compendium of Bill Ott's Booklist column, published in the magazine since 1991, the volume includes essays about books and authors, genre fiction, life at Booklist, and much more." --Book Jacket.

Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass is the first book in the English language that takes the visitors to an in-depth exploration of the capital of Mongolia. In the first section of the book, M. A. Aldrich paints a detailed portrait of the history, religion, and architecture of Ulaanbaatar with reference to how the city evolved from a monastic settlement to a communist-inspired capital and finally to a major city of free-wheeling capitalism and Tammany Hall politics. The second section of the book offers the reader a tour of different sites within the city and beyond, bringing back to life the human dramas that have played themselves out on the stage of Ulaanbaatar. Where most guide books often lightly discuss the capital, Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass: A Guide to the Capital of Mongolia reveals much that remains hidden from the temporary visitor and even from the long-term resident. Writing in a quirky, idiosyncratic style, the author shares his appreciation and delight in this unique urban setting—indeed, in all things Mongolian. The book finally does justice to one of the most neglected cultural capitals in Asia. ‘Combining history, ethnography, architecture, city planning, and folklore with a delightful dash of irony and personal opinion, Michael Aldrich’s Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass is an authoritative introduction to Mongolia’s capital city. For first-time visitors or long-term academics, this is quite simply the best book available on Ulaanbaatar.’ —Jack Weatherford, author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World ‘The charm of this superb guide to Mongolia’s mysterious capital is the exuberance and love the author bestows on his subject. Michael Aldrich’s erudition is profound and all embracive, and he is as comfortable discussing abstruse aspects of Buddhism, as he is the city’s history from its pastoral and feudal origins through Manchu suzerainty to Soviet communism to the wild capitalism of the present day. He never misses the opportunity for a colourful and amusing anecdote or tidbit of scandal, to relish an obscure custom, to delight in the spice in a local dish or to pause and admire the beauty of a particular artwork, building or monument. The prose rings with his idiosyncratic personality: knowledgeable, urbane and sceptical (sometimes downright cynical), but always passionate and committed. Carrying this book through Ulaanbaatar’s streets, or curling into its pages on a sofa at home, he is the perfect companion—squeezing stories out of ancient stones, conjuring ghosts and elegantly baring the city’s soul. Ulaanbaatar beyond Water and Grass will become as great a classic of travel literature for Central Asia as J. G. Links’s Venice for Pleasure was for Europe.’ —Adam Williams, author of The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure ‘Destined to become the quintessential introduction to Ulaanbaatar, not only in terms of the wealth of information but also in terms of the sympathetic understanding and humour the author shares with the reader. Genghis Khan would have loved it.’ —Bill Porter, author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits and Finding Them Gone: Visiting China’s Poets of the Past ‘Michael Aldrich’s guide to Ulaanbaatar reveals a city of religion, of revolution and, latterly, of bold new experiment. It is both a journey through the city of today as well as an imagining of the historical city now lost to development.’ —Paul French, author of The Old Shanghai A–Z ‘This is an interesting and illuminating book, providing fascinating details on the history and evolution of Mongolia’s capital and largest city. It should definitely be included on the essential reading list for anyone living or working in Mongolia.’ —Jonathan Addleton, Executive Director of American Center for Mongolian Studies; former US Ambassador to Mongolia; author of Mongolia and the United States: A Diplomatic History