Review: Borneo Tom by Tom McLaughlin

ISBN #: 9789838082112

Page Count: 131

Copyright: 2010

About the Author:

(Taken from the author's website)

A freelance writer with a Master’s Degree in Political Science and International Affairs and a B.A. in biology, Tom describes himself as “using his big mouth and pen to raise hell and write some humor.” At the same time, Tom uses his “big mouth and pen” to raise awareness of Borneo, its diverse population, unusual plant life and one-of-a-kind animals.

As a student at Salisbury University, Tom protested against the Viet Nam war and later joined the Peace Corps, migrated to Malaysia, became a science teacher and floundered around with various other pursuits until he said “the hell with it,” and moved to Borneo. The rest of Tom’s story, you’ll read about in Borneo Tom -  In Story and Sketch:  Love, Travel and Jungle Family in Tropical Asia. But, don’t get the idea that the book is a memoir. Tom writes in a humorous, yet informational manner, sure to draw in the reader with his factual account of life in Borneo and the insight he’s developed while living and interacting with its amazing culture.

Summary:

(Taken from the author's website)

Borneo Tom: In Story and Sketch: Love, Travel and Jungle Family in Tropical Asia, written by Tom McLaughlin, is a collection of independent, stand-alone stories. The book also includes some special illustrations that will make you laugh and give you more insight into what you’re reading. It’s an engaging and interesting read about one man’s adventures in a part of the world that most of us know very little about.

My Review:

I was drawn by the uniqueness of this book once I received it.  There are cartoon sketches for each and every story in this book.  The black-and-white sketches are wonderfully, and sometimes comically, done.  They correlated well with each story they represented.

There are sixty separate stories, or essays, in this book which are arranged in chronological order.  Tom's essays are informative, cheeky, humorous and, sometimes, eye-opening.

I had not heard of Borneo until I was contacted about reviewing this wonderfully quirky book.  Learning about Borneo in this informative and unobtrusive manner exemplified the type of effective teacher Tom must have been.  One I wish I would've experienced during my scholastic career.

Since the essays were only one page long, it was easy for me to read one or two, set it down to think about what I just read and then start back up where I stopped.  I didn't have to worry about long chapters and finding a stopping point.  I loved this aspect of Borneo Tom.

Overall, if you like to learn about new places without it seeming like you're actually learning, then you would enjoy this book.  =)