Das Ende ist mein Anfang

A wonderful and unique book. It tells the life story of Italian journalist Tiziano Terzani in the form of a dialogue between him and his son, on the eve of his life while he's awaiting death. The dialogue is part biographical retelling, a portrait of the generation that grew up after WWII, part Asian history, part philosophical musing on the nature of humanity and part spiritual preparation for death.

Terzani spent most of his career reporting from Asian countries and experienced first hand many of the violent conflicts and revolutions that occurred there in the second half of the 20th century (Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan, ...). Hearing him talk about these decades makes it so apparent how no country ever escapes its history.

He loves those regions of Asia that are/were still unspoiled by capitalism, globalism, tourism. And he questions if it is worth it to pay the prize of a forceful-cutoff from the world and its many beneficial medical discoveries in order to stay pure. And interesting dilemma to ponder.

His advice for us is to go off the beaten track. Do not take the path of least resistance. To not repeat ourselves. To not fear death. To seek solitude. To enjoy nature.
Even though the spiritual parts at the end turned a bit preachy, and there's a certain old-school mindset regarding feminism, Terzani, his adventures and his philosophy of life are very inspiring.