KREMMER, Christopher 1958-

PERSONAL: Born 1958, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Journalist. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, writer.

WRITINGS:

Stalking the Elephant Kings: In Search of Laos, University of Hawaii Press (Honolulu, HI), 1997.

The Carpet Wars: From Kabul to Baghdad: A Ten-Year Journey along Ancient Trade Routes, Ecco (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Christopher Kremmer is an Australian journalist. Kremmer arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam in 1993, while working as a correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He stayed there for two years. The experience awakened his interest in the neighboring country of Laos, a tiny, landlocked, and little-known nation, and he began a journey through the region, in search of its past.

In Stalking the Elephant Kings: In Search of Laos Kremmer presents a rare look at life in Laos over more than two decades since the communist takeover of that country. Kremmer began his trip in the ancient royal capital of Luang Prabang, where he sought to find out what had happened to the last ruler, who disappeared after being forced to abdicate from power when the communists took over the country. In search of answers to his questions about the royal family's fate, Kremmer visited the Plain of Jars, an area embedded with bomb craters and stone urns that some said were funeral urns. At the caves and cliffs near Houaphan he found that the last king, queen, and crown prince of Laos, exiled by the government that displaced them, reportedly died in labor camps in the late 1970s.

Although the fate of the last royal rulers of Laos is still somewhat shadowed due to the current Laotian government's closed archives, Kremmer explores how the tradition of royal rule affects the current culture and identity of people in Laos. He notes, "Laos needs all the national symbols it can get, and by pretending to have snuffed out a 600-year-old monarchy denies itself of one of them."

In the Far Eastern Economic Review, Bertil Lintner wrote, "Kremmer should be commended for providing an insightful and reflective account of life and society in Laos today." In Library Journal, Ravi Shenoy called the book "engaging."

In The Carpet Wars: From Kabul to Baghdad: A Ten-Year Journey along Ancient Trade Routes Kremmer describes a decade of travels in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, Kashmir, and Iran. While working in these countries, he became interested in the ancient trade in handmade carpets. He uses his exploration of the carpet trade as a metaphor to explore the inter-linked complexity of the culture and history of these nations. Age online reviewer Morag Fraser wrote that in this "long and subtle book," Kremmer "pays full but realistic homage to the culture and the peoples of the regions he visits, lives in, trades in and writes about." She also noted, "One of the pleasures of The Carpet Wars is to watch [Kremmer's] character unfold, as he talks, journeys, and trades. He is a self-confessed 'carpet pilgrim,' almost as clear-eyed as the people with whom he deals—be they small rascals in souks or striding murderers such as Saddam Hussein." In the Washington Post, Tracy Lee Simmons wrote that the book "puts a human and … oddly sympathetic face on a part of the world that history … has brought home to all of us."

Library Journal reviewer George M. Jenks called the book "compelling," and a Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that it is "a standout," praising Kremmer's depictions of daily life in these countries as well as his clear historical overviews.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Australian Journal of Politics and History, March, 1999, Kelvin Rowley, review of Stalking the Elephant King, p. 147.

Booklist, April 15, 2002, Eileen Hardy, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 1378.

Books, summer, 1998, review of Stalking the Elephant Kings, p. 21.

Bulletin with Newsweek, March 26, 2002, Jefferson Penberthy, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 74.

Far Eastern Economic Review, November 20, 1997, Bertil Lintner, review of Stalking the Elephant Kings, p. 54.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2002, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 384.

Library Journal, April 15, 1998, review of Stalking the Elephant Kings, p. 105; April 15, 2002, George M. Jenks, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 114.

Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 53.

Washington Post Book World, May 26, 2002, Tracy Lee Simmons, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 15.

World Press Review, July, 2002, Morag Fraser, review of The Carpet Wars, p. 33.

ONLINE

Age,http://www.theage.com.au/ (April 29, 2002), Morag Fraser, review of The Carpet Wars.

HarperCollins Web site,http://www.harpercollins.com/ (July 24, 2002).*