I was hoping to be able to hear your lecture at the FinnGrand Fest in Sault Ste. Marie last year, but unfortunately, arrived too late. Now I came across your book again as I activated “a rebirth lottery game” in Helsingin Sanomat, the Finnish weekly, and was “reborn” in one of the northern Chinese regions, Gansu.

As this area has Yugur population, and all the links are connected to Wikipedia, I soon found information pertaining to Marshal Mannerheim’s journey in the early 20th century, and naturally, your book as a reference source. My first question is this: why is C.G.E. Mannerheim referred to as Gustaf Mannerheim on your site? According to Veijo Meri, author of “Suomen marsalkka C.G. Mannerheim” (1990) “Mannerheim disliked his last Christian name – Emil – and wrote his signature as C. G. Mannerheim, or simply Mannerheim. Among his relatives and close friends he was called Gustaf. In Finland, his full name is officially considered C.G.E. Mannerheim as well, as broadcast in 2004 by the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Mannerheim was chosen the Greatest Finn of all times by popular vote.

My second question is this: what sparked your interest in replicating Mannerheim’s trip? Just curious!

I look forward to reading your book some time in the near future, it sounds fascinating. What we learned about Mannerheim at school was very limited and the post-war Finland was not exactly praising its war heroes. An old friend of mine, a book publisher in Finland, used to entertain his listeners with recollections about the highly cultured and multi-faceted marshal as well as his feisty Finnish cook ; )

Best regards,

P. Evars