WildWall
Experiences
Wild Wall is the complete story of William Lindesay's lifelong fascination with the Great Wall, detailing his path to China and ascent of the Wall through the ranks of adventurer, explorer, researcher, conservationist and host to luminary.
Wild Wall is divided into two books: The Foundation Years and The Jiankou Years. The books contain a total of 250,000 words, 100 chapters, 48 pages of colour photos and 7 hand-drawn and illustrated maps. WildWall is published by Earnshaw Books and can be purchased in paperback editions, worldwide, online via Amazon and at other booksellers.
Readers who would like to purchase a limited-edition author’s hardback boxed set of WildWall may contact the author directly.
Wild Wall - The Foundation Years
As China's door inched open to the world in the 1980s, William Lindesay stepped in, stealthily, to attempt a foreign first — a journey along the entire Great Wall, on foot. At its core, Wild Wall - The Foundation Years presents a thrilling and sensitive account of Lindesay's West-meets-East marathon endeavours, from challenging China’s red-tape and outwitting his pursuers to experiencing the Great Wall's landscape-dominating charisma, from meeting the kindnesses of wayside families with their open-door welcomes to enjoying a whirlwind romance with the bewitching 'Beautiful Jade, whom he married. Upbeat about their future in China, Lindesay then seized a centennial opportunity to know more about the modern Chinese state, founded by Mao Zedong - and so retraced the Long March.
Wild Wall-The Foundation Years is a sweeping narrative that transitions from the ancient Great Wall to the Communist's Long March, with vignettes of the dawning of China's pivotal reform and opening-up' period woven between, and throughout. The Wild Wall story continues in The Jiankou Years.
Dame Joanna Lumley
'British national treasure'
"William is a living legend, and his Great Wall love story is a film script in the making."
Gareth Fuller
artist and explorer
"Lindesay's remarkable adventures and character take us on a journey through history and life. But this is not just a travel book. It's the magical stuff we dream of."
Stephen McDonell
BBC China Correspondent
“Enjoy the words of a ripping storyteller, adventurer and historian wrapped into one.”
Rudy Reyes
Recon Marine,
Chief Instructor of Channel 4's 'SAS: Who Dares Wins'
"Wild Wall is an immersive and joyful account of a lifetime's journeying along the Great Wall. Lace 'em up and get out with this scholar warrior on his magnificent vision-quest adventures!"
Sir Christopher Hum
British Ambassador to China, 2002-2006
"William Lindesay has skilfully woven together travelogue, history and a deeply-personal love story to chronicle the start of his lifelong engagement with the Great Wall. A compelling read."
Wild Wall - The Jiankou Years
After William Lindesay's milestone journey along the Great Wall and marriage to 'Beautiful Jade' the couple continued on their life-changing trajectory by buying a farmhouse beside the Wall, at Jiankou, from where Lindesay remade himself as a Great Wall explorer and guardian. To defend his 'back-garden' Wild Wall from modern threats, he stood up, took action and spoke out in quixotic style, fending off litterbugs and prowling developers. His activism and advocacy hit the headlines and were remarkably successful in jolting China's national consciousness into protecting its wholly-neglected monument.
Joe de Sena
founder and CEO, Spartan
“Wild Wall personifies grit and perseverance. This is a story of overcoming obstacles."
James Kynge
China Editor, Financial Times
"A beautiful, touching memoir written with a novelist's verve and an historian's eye for detail... Wild Wall is as magical as the old, overgrown Wall that it describes."
Lijia Zhang
author of 'Socialism is Great'
“The Jiankou Years is the story of how a foreigner made a lasting difference to China's world famous but nationally-neglected cultural heritage.”
Ye Nan
editor Nat Geo magazine,
China edition, 2009-13
“In this memorable book, the Wall and the man have become one."
Johnnie Walker MBE
BBC Radio 1 & Radio 2 DJ
"William lives and breathes the majesty and wonder of the Wall. Now you can walk Wild Wall with him."
Ray Mears
survivalist,
author of 'We Are Nature'
“An extraordinary story of an extraordinary place. Beautifully written, Wild Wall is a sensitive, beguiling account, a love story in two complementary parts.”