Book: Mr. China, by Tim Clissold

At the recommendation of Dave Moore, my coach, I ordered this book a while back. It's been in my stack of unreads for a few weeks and I picked it up while looking for something I could escape into for a few hours.

This was an almost bizarre adventure the author put himself through. An obviously well educated and intelligent man, Clissold had a passion that I'm sure he and those that knew him had to question from time-to-time.

While not exactly the type of book I 'escape into' it read incredibly well for a memoir. For a memoir, Clissold left some personal aspects out that would have made the book more meaningful....for me. Yet, the book was about China, and his infatuation for the country and the people, and his work there, not about his wife and family and how they played into the picture.

If it was there, I totally missed why the he went to China the first time, nor any reason other than desire the second, but then.....that's what "callings" are sometimes about and there's little argument that Clissold felt called to China.

There's one incident Clissold tells about that describes much of the book; Clissold was living in a boarding house and he let his visiting brother sleep on the floor. The next morning he was confronted by a very angry house manager who explained that letting the brother sleep on the floor was against the rules (unwritten). For years to come, Clissold continued to find many unwritten rules in China.

This was a decent read, though a bit more about his family and how they handled it would have made it more enjoyable. My take away thoughts, a week after reading Mr. China, are 1. Clissold following his passion, his call to China and 2. it would all work better if we knew the rule; what we were accountable to and for.

Dave has another client and a friend of mine Todd Barrett that does a great deal of business in China....I can't imagine. After reading Mr. China, I'll just say that I'm glad I'm in the mortgage business in the good old US or A; even with conditions and problems being what they are.