Book review: Travels in a Blue Chair

I asked for and received Walt Balenovich Travels in a Blue Chair : Alaska to Zambia Ushuia to Uluru, a series of short stories from North America's Disabled Adventurer for Christmas.

I was looking forward to reading it - since he is a fellow polio survivor, however, I am left feeling let down. Here is a chap who is clearly adventourous and undaunted by stairs etc ( I am amazed at the number of places he stayed at which were up steps and stairs where he had to be carried up by strangers) BUT he does not leave clear impressions of the people he encountered or the places. I also wish that there is some system to the way he numbered his chapters, from the first chapter in Tokyo, he went to Uluru in Australia and by the third chapter, he was in Paris. Neither the geography nor the chronology was evident to me. I might be anal as a wannabe librarian but some inklng of how he got from one continent to the next would be useful.

Here is a sample of his writing: http://www.bluechairbook.com/index_files/Page1084.htm

Without sounding too negative, I am bemused at gems like, "My notions of the staid Japanese were immediately challenged and I realized that Asia was going to be a totally unique experience for me." I started wondering if he ever ventured to any Asian neighbourhoods in North America before he took the plane to Tokyo. Is he naive or are Canadians that confident of their reception and survival abroad?

The questions I am left with asking is how does he see that his travelling in a wheelchair has coloured his viewpoint - apart from the environmental barriers and the help he recieved from strangers, how does he compare attitudes towards his fellow disabled in these countries he visited? Did he encounter any?

And if it is a purely tourist book, he left no hints about the countries he visited. Am I being too harsh ? For example I read his chapter on his visit to Singapore - he wrote: "The real reason I wanted to visit was that it had formerly been a British colony and so they spoke English. After my earlier visit to Japan, I was looking forward to being able to taLK to some of the locals." But the thing is that he did not really have any conversations with any of the locals. There is so much about Singapore beyond the facile remarks about its rules about no chewing gum etc.

My opinion about the book? Its sad - but apart from applauding his undoubted adventourous spirit, I don't feel I have learnt anything from reading his book.

Here is his blog - http://travelsinabluechair.blogspot.com

Best read him in his words and decide for yourselves.
p/s I hope this is not too harsh a review for a fellow wheelchair traveller but I still think he ought to reoganise his chapters and some of his stories/accounts could do with some fleshing out. I get the impression that he just threw out those chapters like he emptied his knapsack - for the stories to have more merit he could put in some more editing.