I read the book and was pretty disappointed. I had high expectations since I love adventure driving and W201s, but this was some of the worst travel writing I've ever read. It reads as a brief list of events covering too much time in too little detail to really be an engaging story IMO. If you think you might like it, might I suggest instead Road Fever by Tim Cahill. It doesn't have a Benz, but it's a much cooler story, that is very well written.
He also comes across as somewhat ignorant when he suggests that the poverty in Africa is due to the peoples inability to plan ahead. As an example he cites a poor mechanic who takes a small monetary payment over the offer of a much more valuable hydraulic jack, when he is without one. His example ignores the fact that short term needs (feeding your family) always need to come before long term needs (higher quality tools), or else the benefits of the long term investments are never enjoyed. His view also ignores the long history of injustice and violence in the region that has helped form the current economic situation of the people living there, as well as other social political and environmental factors that are outside of their control. Basically, he accuses them of being unable to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Sincerely, Tyler William H Backman 1987 190D Turbo Biodiesel On Sep 10, 2008, at 4:21 PM, tom savage wrote: > Zoltan Finks wrote: > >> Wonder if there is any source for statistics on how many vehicles >> of a >> certain type reside in a given area. > > Don't know, but in "My Mercedes is Not For Sale," the author quotes an > aid worker as saying that you can measure the poverty of a country (in > Africa) by counting Mercedes 190s; the more 190s, the poorer they are. > I guess they're everywhere in most of the continent. > > http://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Not-Sale-Ouagadougou-Auto-Misadventure/dp/0767928695 > > Highly recommended. > > Tom > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
