For the most part, this was a long recitation of travels that all started sounding alike fairly early on. Occasionally, some anecdote would liven things up for a short time. Hedin was exceptional in his determination to risk danger and inspire others to risk it with him. But he also seems to have been something of a jerk. When he was told he couldn't do something, he just did it anyway, through lying or sneaking. He obviously felt that, as a European, there should be no restrictions on him in other parts of the world. He went where he want, into temples and sacred places, and laughed if anybody told him not to. He was only stopped by superior force. His reputation was destroyed after this book was published when he became one of the few men in Sweden who supported the Nazi cause during WWII right up to the end.