Re the two Martin Wolffs, I think that they are actually one and the same person. The book is simply a republication of an earlier work.

In my years in China, I knew of a goodly number of foreign teachers who made the Big Trip -- some were up on years and the Good Lord just took them. Some died in tragic ways as a result of too much alcohol or too many drugs. The FT crowd in China tended to be a rough trade lot back in those years.

Today, I wonder, with all the new visa restrictions in place and the criminal background checks and the apostolling of this-that-and-everything-else, if things have not changed.

In any case, indeed, may Martin Wolff find solace under the wings of the Almighty.