China Books

We usually cautiously enter a memoir/autobiography work such as this. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find a decent writing style, excitingly detailed stories, and a sharing of intimate knowledge.

The many epics in Jim Whittaker's life were outlined with sufficient detail to describe the epic, but not so much that it forced us to skip the remainder. I suspect that few secrets were not revealed about the Whittaker family.

There were numerous color and black and white photos in the hardcover edition to help support the memoir, with a focus on the epic adventures and less on early family life.

We give this work a rare five stars.

An incredible book. Not because of his achievments (which are very impressive), but because he shares his wisdom regarding life. This comes from a man who's seen it all, and has seen life's ups and downs. Highly recommended.

Jim Whittaker began his life with only one real difference from most of us and that is that he had an identical twin. However from almost the day of his birth onward, his life accelerated beyond what is normal for most of us.
Mr. Whittaker enjoyed some luck in his life, particularly his ability to meet and mingle with some very powerful, influential and skilled individuals. He also enjoyed the benefit of his own hard work - from his days at REI to his climb on Everest and his efforts to put Americans on top of K2. He also had his share of bad luck, a divorce and a bankruptcy. This makes this story so much more entertaining because it is real, it is personal, it is something that could have happened to almost anyone with the drive and love of the mountains that Mr. Whittaker possessed.
The accounts of his alpine adventures, whether on Mt. Rainier or Mt. Everest or K2, are gripping, well written and harsh reminders of why mountaineering is not a sport for the faint of heart. Jim lost many of his close friends through out his life and the mountains claimed many of them. Despite any set back however, he pushed onward. This drive doesn't appear to be the result of a lust for glory or wealth but simply an extension of the man himself. In my opinion, his greatest successes are not the mountains he climbed but the peace and love of nature, family, and the mountains that he has helped others find.
This book is well written and easy to read and the pictures included are breathtaking (I wish there were more!). Reading this text will almost assuredly add a name to your list of personal heroes.

One of the truly great climbing books! The work describes this American Hero's life philosophy of learning and truly living. It describes how to take on an acceptable amount of risk and gain from the experience. I found valuable Jim's philosophy (who I met and idolized as a kid) translated into a world well beyond the mountain - into his political friendship with the Kennedy's, his professional life at REI and Magellan GPS; as well as his efforts to foster nothing short of world peace. I kept finding myself wondering if there was anything Jim had not taken on!

The writing is considerably less melodramatic than a great number of climbing/travel logs, which is refreshing. Straightforward and clear, even when discussing the inevitable loss of life involved in mountaineering.

A memorable quote follows: "It's about making the most of every moment, about stretching your own boundaries, about being willing to learn constantly, and putting your self in situations where learning is possible - sometimes even critical to your survival. Being out on the edge, with every-thing at risk, is where you learn-and grow-the most.

I'm a 20 year old guy about to graduate from college, and have thus been thinking a lot about the future and how I want to live my life.. I just finished reading the book and wrote in my journal about it, which will sum up how I feel about it pretty well:

Wow... I just finished reading a really good book, a book that has brought together and solidified a lot of the things I've been thinking about the past few weeks. The name of the book was "Life on the Edge" by Jim Whittaker, the first american to reach the summit of Everest. When Chris and I went to the bookstore for our weekly visit, I was looking for an true-life adventure book, but I also wanted something that had a sense of "living" to it as well. I read "Into Thin Air" and it was like a drama novel, seeming almost like fiction. "Life on the Edge" hits much closer to home, describing the realities of a life well lived.

The book holds your attention for its smooth and polished read. Ghost writer Foster Winans is credited in the Preface. The language is very measured, void of the kind of emotions expected from someone who gave up a good life in the west to face tremendous deprivation, stress and betrayal in post-revolutionary China.

The author, who had a US childhood and Harvard education, experienced firsthand, the Japanese bombardment, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, re-education in the countryside, Nixon's visit to China and a host of other events of the century. One wonders how anyone survived any one of these, since each pushes the limits of human health and stress tolerance.

To cover the full life, each event had to be shorn of details. Because of this, this book can't really be taken alone.

Other books flesh out the times. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is the most complete that I have read. It gives an inside look at how the Great Leap Forward was initiated and later how the Gang of Four controlled most internal and external operations creating a life threatening environment based on pettiness. This background helps to consider how the gift of the glass snail from Corning Glass and small acts such as talking to high school aquantances subjected Ji to more worry than he lets on.

Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary gives the details of Ji's mentor. This book provides a lot about the "office" politics that Ji only mentions. It gives a more detailed treatment of Zhou's medical (non) treatment and how the "young ladies" monopolized the chairman.

Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World gives perspective on the Nixon visit. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia gives an American perspective on some of these big events.

Couldn't put this book down, it was such a riveting, dramatic personal story. By the end I felt I understood China for the first time, and especially important periods like the Cultural Revolution. What makes this story so unique is that the author grew up in New York before returning to China as a college student, and his improbably amazing story intersects with everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt, who served him cookies and milk in her Washington Square townhouse, Mao and Zhou Enlai, plus six US presidents. The story is told not in a stuffy official way, but in a very human and observant voice, and a sly sense of humor. If all the Olympic attention has you wanting to "get" China and the Chinese, this is a great place to start. But it's also just a great tale.

Ji Chaozhu was involved in some of the great moments, people, and institutions of the twentieth century, growing up partly in the U.S., attending Harvard, and then returning to participate in Mao's government. Through the magic of memoir writing, I learn about the entire span through his eyes.

This is the third book I've read about the Cultural Revolution. First, Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai. Second, Apologies Forthcoming a book of short stories by Xujun Eberlein, and now this book. Obviously his view of the Tiananmen Square massacre is apologetic. And he doesn't even bother trying to explain the Tibet invasion, one of the great human and cultural tragedies of our time. I had to take a deep breath when he said the actions of the U.S. in Korea and Taiwan were perfidious. Do I really have to look at yet another U.S. policy from the other side's point of view? Oh, what the heck. How do I expect to ever understand the world unless I see it from other points of view?

The book is remarkably simple and straightforward. Good writing stays out of the way and lets the reader enter. When I finished, I realized with some astonishment how much history I had just walked through, in an engaging, and page-turning story. The book flew by and enriched my life.

Ambassador Ji Chaozhu's personal journey in the Chinese Foreign Ministry provides vivid and rich details for our understanding of the inner working of Chinese foreign policy-making establishment. From this book, we learn not only real stories of top leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping, but also personal relations between Ambassador Ji and other senior PRC diplomats such as Huang Zhen, Han Xu, Zhang Wenjin, Nancy Tang and Wang Hairong, and etc. This book is a major addition to the growing literature on PRC diplomacy, and will become an essential reading for any one interested in 20th century China, especially its diplomacy.

I knew Ji back in the 70's. At that time none of us, I suspect, had any idea the hardships he had endured in China, particularly during the Cultural Revolution. Toward the end of the book, however, when he gets to Tiananmen, I felt he was trying to set up his readers to conclude (incorrectly) that the Tiananmen demonstrations were essentially a reenactment of the Red Guards/Cultural Revolution excesses and as such deserved to be suppressed by whatever means necessary. This of course is the party line in China and it was disappointed to see someone like Ji parroting it. Toward the end I even began to wonder if the whole purpose of the book was to justify the Tiananmen massacre.
I was also disappointed that Ji denigrated Han Xu, his colleague and sometime superior in the Foreign Office. He depicts Han as hard line, but it was Han (now dead) who was disillusioned by the Tiananmen suppression and, according to people I trust, contemplated seeking refuge in the United States or some other democratic society.

Gripping story of the harsh reality of life in Vietnam after 1975. So often we have heard of Vietnamese who got to the point that they were willing to throw caution to the winds and risk everything to escape on some kind of a boat. This account as seen through the eyes of a young boy helps explain why in graphic detail. It is also a tribute to the courage and devotion of his parents who were later lost in their attempt to join their children.

Trinh Do is my hero. The story of his life in Communist Vietnam and of his escape is a testament to the his determination, perseverance and inner strength.

He and his parents displayed amazing resilience in the face of despicable conditions imposed by the corrupt regime. I greatly admire Trihn's:

* Dedication to his intellectual and scholastic development
* Determination in single-handedly toiling on the family farm to stave off starvation
* Moral fortitude in the face of daily bombardment from communist propaganda
* Courage during the terrifying escape

At the risk of seeming trite, I must say that Trinh's tenacity in the face of horrendous situations is my inspiration. When I am feeling sorry for myself, or when a task seems overwhelming, remembering Trinh's story refreshes my perspective.

Life is good. I will persevere.

Trinh Do and his wife are the parents of one of my daughter's classmates. It was amazing to know these people and then to read the story of what Trinh Do survived. I remember the boat-people stories as meaningless news clips when I was a child, but this book has made the faces of all those people real to me. This story inspired me. It was absorbing, suspenseful, and well-written.

Trinh Do's account of daily life after the war is a shocking eye opener for those who are blessed enough not to have live under communist rule. A story of pain, hardship and the will to survive at all cost. The eternal love and sacrifices parents give to their children. A must read for all the ages.

I just finished reading Trinh Do's incredible tale of his life in the years after the fall of South Vietnam. It is a captivating, poignant read interspersed with moments of laugh-out-loud humor. Besides giving a candid account of life under communist rule and the insidious infiltration of propaganda into every aspect of society, Trinh Do's book is also an account of a Vietnamese adolescence replete with dreams, friends,and first love; albeit in a background of utter tragedy.
It is truly amazing that Do can write his memoir with such smooth and flowing prose, as the story is one that can bring out strong emotion in the reader. I have read many memoirs of survival in desperate circumstances-Nyiszli's Auschwitz and Ung's First They Killed My Father come quickly to mind. Do's book ranks at the top of my list.
I will keep a copy to give to my daughter for the time when she is old enough to read it and understand.

Find out what U.S. based traitors er traders are supporting in this book. Especially the entertainment & media industries. Disney, MGM, besides Amazon.com. While building lucrative careers for entrepreneurs who relocate to the U.S.A. Like John Woo, Chow Yun Fat, and Jackie Chan.

Wow! - non fiction paced like a mystery novel. I could not put the book down. Yes, it helps to have an interest in Tibet/China however this is a masterfully written book and if nothing else, a great read. If only it weren't true. Enjoy!

A number of people have written excellent reviews of this book so I'm just here to say that they're all right! This book is a must read if you're the least bit interested in Chinese-Tibeten relationship of the past, present and future...

Just a small bit of contrary opinion, to balance out all the enthusiastic reviews. In particular, I wanted to disagree with the reviewer below who wrote "This book is a must read if you're the least bit interested in Chinese-Tibeten (sic) relationship."

Fair warning: this book will tell you all you every wanted to know about the relationship between China and Tibet, and much, much more. If you aren't likely to be overwhelmed by details and a lot of rather complicated and dry history of Tibet, then this is the book for you. If you want more of an introduction, then perhaps better is HH the Dalai Lama's "My Country, My People."

This is a wonderful book to introduce some of the basic issues and history that lead to the current state of Tibet, its government, its people and its religion. Hilton walks you through some historical passages so that by the time she is delving into the search for the 11th Panchen, you have a good sense of the urgency of the situation and why both the Tibet government in exile and China were desparately trying to control the outcome. The fact that Hilton was privy to some top secret information and met with a variety of other key figures allows her to provide more emotion and intimacy to the story than perhaps otherwise. While we all now know the terrible outcome of the search, reading the details and chronology are still suspenseful and gripping. I felt so hollow at the end, knowing that little has changed in Tibet and wondering if it ever will. Where is the true Panchen (I can't believe China has not been forced to free him) and what is the fate of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism after the passing of the 14th Dalai Lama??? Reading about China's cruelty made me wonder if Tibet can survive even the next thirty years but yet, there is hope when thinking of the courage Tibetans have demonstrated thus far.

While I was attracted to this book by the gorgeous graphic design and illustration, I was more than a bit intimidated. As interested as I am in this topic, I assumed this book would be way over my head. At best, I hoped this 2-volume set of 500-page books might replace Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" as my bathroom doorstop.

No so. This is a terrific book, even for non-specialists. Ray articulates his goals for this "circumscribed, nontechnical introduction to Tibetan Buddhism" as follows: to "(1) provide an outline to the subject in relatively short compass; (2) not be overly technical or burdened with the myriad details of Tibetan Buddhist history; (3) address the spirituality or "practice" of the tradition, rather than focus primarily on philosophy, dogma, institutional life, or political history; (4) give due attention to the "Practice Lineage" traditions such as the Nyingma and the Kagyu, which are often underplayed in this story; and (5) try to strike a balance between my own Western perspective and that of Tibetans speaking about their own traditions in their own voices." He achieves each of these admirably.

Of course, it's not an easy read; this book and its companion are densely packed with information. But most the terminology is layed out in logical sequence, without discontinuity or digressions. This ethereal topic has a strange way of escaping the student's intellectual grasp. Authors in this area use terms (e.g. "emptiness") that -while apparently crystal clear to accomplished meditators- are largely inaccessible to "book students." I understand the teachers' hesitance to reduce Buddhist concepts to abstract defintions, but non-answers like "Zen is three pounds of flax" can be pretty infuriating for the newbee. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ray just goes ahead and defines terms without a bunch of qualifications.

Finally, the author comes up with some really poetic langauage like: "Old Tibet [...] lay close upon the incandescent sea [of the] turbulent burning wisdom of reality."

This is a book to study - to be read and re-read.

~
Despite its unfortunate title, this is one of the most readable and informative books I've read about Tibetan Tantra. It's not a "first book" -- not one of those books that makes converts, like Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught," or the Dalai Lama's "Art of Living," or Suzuki Roshi's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind." Those books distill the Buddhism into a single powerful, moving message, leaving behind everything distracting or extraneous -- they're basically the Four Noble Truths, told again, told new. If you want a simple introduction to Buddhism, read one of those, not this.

This is a completely different kind of book. It's full of details and byways. What's the difference between Nyingma, Gelugpa, Kagyu, and Sakya? What are the four different Ngondro practices? What's a Yidam? What's Tummo? What are all those Kayas, and how do they signify? How is Mahamudra different from Dzogchen?

If you're not already a Tibetan Buddhist, you probably don't want to know these things. If you just became one, don't mess with all that stuff yet: find a good teacher, listen to what he or she says, ask a lot of questions, and meditate a lot.

This is, however, a great book for a year or two down the road, when you've settled down to some practice and are starting to get irritated by all the terminology you still don't know, and all the references to persons, places, practices, and things that everyone seems to think you'd just magically already know about. This book is sort of like that trusted friend you sidle up to after puja to ask, "so just what *is* a Bhumi, anyway?"

Not that The Secret of the Vajra World doesn't have its inspiring moments. The story of the 16th Karmapa's death in a Western hospital is very moving, as are the stories of various Westerners on retreat. Ray's own commitment and inspiration come through very clearly. But the book's main virtues are accuracy and detail. There's simply a lot of information here, easy to find, easy to digest, about what people who practice Tibetan Buddhism actually do, how they do it, and why they do it.

Reginald Ray's "Secret of the Vajra World" is the second volume of a two volume set put out by Shambhala Publications on Tibetan Buddhism. The other companion book is called "Indestructible Truth." Together, these books present a comprehensive and scholarly overview of Tibetan Buddhism.

While these books are very interesting, they present a lot of detail and are difficult to enjoy if you don't already have a good foundation knowledge of the topic. For those who are just starting out, I recommend "Introduction to Tantra" by Lama Yeshe or one of the many other excellent books referred to in some of the reviews below.

If you are a serious student of Tibetan Buddhism, these two volumes are an excellent reference. Although I have read them through once, I primarily use them to look up questions that I have or to establish context when I am reading other books on the topic.

If you are very new to Tibetan Buddhism and you want something that is much less esoteric or intimidating, then I would consider "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama. While this is not a book on Tibetan Buddhism as such, it presents a lot of the important principles in a way that is understandable to almost anyone. It is co-authored by Dr. Howard Cutler who is a psychiatrist. I found his commentary helps bridge the gap between East and West for people who are completely new to this worldview.

This two-volume introduction to Tibetan Buddhism was written primarily for the author's students at the University of Colorado and at Naropa University (North America's only accredited Buddhist university). Across both books professor Reginald A Ray provides what is perhaps the most thorough modern grounding in the history, philosophy and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

The first volume, Indestructible Truth, begins with a rather dry recitation of the principle names, dates, and trends in the history of Buddhism as it came from India to Tibet and as it developed in the latter over the past two millennia. A more lively middle section covers assumptions common to all schools of Buddhism, warmly and wittily illustrated with anecdotes from the lives of Buddhist saints as well as the author's personal and professional life. The book closes with a rushed overview of Buddhist philosophy that is often more confusing than enlightening.

This is partly made up for in the second volume, Secrets of the Vajra World, with more detailed explanations and examples, but besides the sorely needed review of philosophy there is also a 100-page summary of concepts that don't require recapitulation unless perhaps you've missed Indestructible Truth. The second volume is much heavier reading than the first, if only because Ray has a wider canvas in Indestructible Truth. In Secrets he has to plod through the minutiae of Mahamudra and Dzokchen, the two primary schools of Tibetan meditation, elaborate and multifaceted practices. The volume concludes with chapters on the lives of tulkus, the reincarnated Buddhist masters, and a riveting recounting of the miraculous passing of one such master in an American hospital.

Despite the title of the second volume, very few "secrets" are revealed. Besides being a well-read scholar, Ray is also a committed Buddhist and mediation instructor and is unwilling to disclose secret meditation methods. Unfortunately, he also seems unwilling to challenge any of the assumptions he so carefully explains for his students and readers. To his credit, Ray acknowledges the difficulties western practitioners and students have with ideas such as reincarnation, the worship of deities, the guru-student relationship, and karma and free will. He often provides alternative ways of viewing some of these concepts, such as the Six Realms of Existence (in the Wheel of Life) as psychological states, but never once challenges them. And in that sense, while Ray is to be admired as a great preserver and presenter of tradition, he never impresses as an original thinker.

Read these books to know what has come before. To see where Buddhism is headed, including Tibetan Buddhism in North America, you might like to sample the three volumes of Shambala Sun's series, Best Buddhist Writing, or have a look at Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism without Beliefs.

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Secret Of The Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism Of Tibet by Reginald A. Ray (Professor of Buddhist Studies, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado) is the second and final volume of "The World of Tantric Buddhism" series from Shambhala Publications. A straightforward presentation written in plain accessible terms for readers at all Buddhist studies and experience levels, Secret Of The Vajra World deftly explores the foundations of Vajrayana, the essence of Tantric Buddhist philosophies, and applications of Buddhist principles and insights to one's own personal life, bodhisattvas in the world, and a great deal more. Secret Of The Vajra Worlds is a very welcome, superbly presented, truly comprehensive introduction focusing upon a unique and profoundly important aspect of Buddhist spiritual practice.

Fun book that plays off the concept of the 7 Chinese Brothers. My daughter likes it, as she has a close Chinese friend.

I just bought this for my Amerasian granddaughter, while she was visiting. She hardly let the book out of her hands once it was read to her on a lovely parkbench in Northampton, MA

It is a dear story about the love of sisters, and the talents of each one; it also gives a novel twist to the dragon character.
The illustrations are lovely.

Have begun looking at other books by the author, Kathy Tucker,hoping they will be as excellent as this one.

Gigi

my 21 month & 3.5-yr-old daughters love reading this book together & separately, each on her own level - highly recommended; each of the 7 sisters has a special skill, each is valued, each contributes to the good of their family (no parents in this story); my husband was concerned for the dragon, a plot line dropped somewhat abruptly, but the girls just love it!

I read this to my 4 1/2 year old. We started with The Story About Ping, and then looked for other books about China. Before reading The Seven Chinese Sisters, we read Mei Mei Loves the Morning, Dim Sum for Everyone and Good Morning, China.

Although The Seven Chinese Sisters doesn't give a lot of cultural information on China within the text, the pictures do. It's set in a picturesque valley with mountains in the background. A small village with traditional Chinese houses is near the river running through the valley. Across the bridge is a forest, and through the forest and up the mountain is where the dragon lives. Although the dragon takes the youngest sister, he isn't terribly fierce, so he shouldn't scare a young child who is having the story read to her (at the end of the story I mentioned to my daughter that the dragon is pretend, and that dragons are only in books and sometimes on TV, but they are just pretend...since we've talked about the concept of pretend/real in the past, she understood right away).

I like that when the sisters see that the dragon is starving, they say they will bring him noodle soup tomorrow (today they have to get Seventh Sister home because "she's all worn out, and she needs her diaper changed"). Unfortunately, the story never says that they did take the dragon any soup, so I turned the pages back to where they made the promise and explained to my daughter that the sisters brought him some soup the next day. I wish the author had included that in the story.

My 3-year-old and I enjoyed reading this book together. She had a great timelearning about each sister and how everyone has her individual talents. I enjoy the book about individuality and self-reliance.

It is rare to have someone write their personal adventure book well enough to really be interesting but Helen Thayer reaches that goal admirably. Walking the Gobi if a fascinating read as she details her and her husband's experiences arranging and then completing this trip. One of the things that makes the book so interesting is her ability to write in a style that draws the reader into the experience as a friend. Likewise, her stories of interaction with nomads and border agents are at times very personal and at other times scary. Through her writing you feel her compassion as well as her fears. Walking the Gobi is a fascinating trip and one not to be missed by those with an inquisitive personality.

Excellent! Just an Excellent read. I had read Helen's first book of her solo trek to the Polar North Pole and at that time was in awe of her determination and ability to overcome difficult and dangerous odds. I found this adventure tale even more impressive. Helen starts this trek out with an injured hip and knee from an accident she has just before the trip, but was determined to go ahead with the journey anyway. How this woman walked across the entire length of the Gobi with this injury still amazes me. The pain and suffering she must have endured is beyond unthinkable. I found this story very interesting in so many ways. I learned so much about the ecosystem, the climate, the animals and of the wonderful Mongolian people they encountered along the way. The Mongolian culture was fascinating, the people delightfully friendly and hospitable to both Helen and her husband. The desert trek was grueling but in many ways gorgeous, peaceful, serene and yes ..scary too. If you are a fan of adventure travel narratives, and have read Helen's other books, you will love this and will find you cant put it down as you follow her up, down, and over each sand dune, mile after mile after mile. You will fall in love with the crazy and often persnickety camels that lead their way, you will find yourself extremely thirsty when the two travelers encounter unbearable days of intense heat, you will feel cold when they experience frost in the evenings, and you will at times wonder as you turn each page if they will survive, feeling their fear of death as they walk forward day after day, week after week, feeling every grain of sand invading their pores to the point of suffocation. If you have read Michael Asher's book on his trek across the Sahara, or Charles Blackmore's riveting account of his crossing of the Taklamakan desert of China, then this story is right up your alley.

Walking the Gobi by Helen Thayer

This book is an enthralling account of the fulfilling of a lifelong dream to cross the Gobi desert.

This book relates the various stories of the adventure, however it was the introduction that compelled me to read the entire book. I had selected this book by accident not sure I wanted to read about the activities of a 63 year old woman and her 74 year old husband. After reading the introduction, I was hooked and needed to read on. I thought how incredible the rest of the book must be if their 1500 mile trek through Death Valley and 4000 mile trek across the Sahara were mentioned in a single paragraph under the title of "Preparations", and then knowing that their accident 9 months before their planned departure, which needed two paragraphs to barely mention their various torn ligaments and muscles, ruptures and bruises, didn't keep keep them from their attempt.

Helen Thayer helps us feel the pain, the thirst, and the emotional highs and lows of their journey not only to complete the trek, but even to just survive it. However I think she is at her best when she is describing the many encounters they have with the Mongolian people, from officials to nomads. My favorite passage is when she describes an interrogation when they are imprisoned as suspected smugglers. She becomes irritated after being threatened with being shot and this leads to her chastising the officials with being disrespectful to their elders and shaming them for their rudeness. This description filled me with wonder and admiration for the sheer spunk and determination of this amazing woman.

Read this book if you want to read about an incredible adventure. Be prepared if this book leads you to dream bigger dreams, and leads you also to question any misconceptions you have about the life you can choose to live in your senior years.

I want to invite Helen Thayer over to dinner. Mainly I want to hear her stories again, and more of them. As soon as I closed Walking the Gobi and set it down on my kitchen table, I felt at the same time winded and awed, but hungry for more.

If you're reading this review, I'm sure you've read the synopsis: two people over age 60 decide to walk across 1500 miles of one of the least-studied deserts in the world. And they do it in the summer.

When Helen Thayer sat down to write this real-life adventure story, she must have known that she had something good. After all, the idea itself is impressive; it tugs at the ear and challenges the imagination. But Thayer does much more in Walking the Gobi than recount a long trek in a string of stories or patronize the reader by giving only summary and analysis of the journey's meaning.

Thayer's descriptions are careful and organized, educated and intuitive. She gives us the gift of recreating each day so we can experience them with her. Each day is numbered and recorded with useful detail- pointing out the unique moments that set it apart from the rest and reinforcing the monotonous heat, wind, and regional dangers that made the journey long and at times overwhelming.

Helen Thayer accomplished a truly great feat when she crossed the Gobi, but what's even better is that she wrote a book about it.

Happy adventuring!

Modern day adventurers do exist. This is the first thing the reader will realize wehn reading "Walking the Gobi" by Helen Thayer. Ms. Thayer brings the reader with us as she traverses one of the most dangerous places on earth, the Gobi desert. It details a journey she and her husband made across the Gobi desert. From page one, I could not really put the book down. With her we meet Mongolian tribesman, smugglers along the Chinease border, rare Gobi bears, desert scorpions and the occasional Mongolian bureaucrat. Throughout, Ms. Thayer never lets the reader forget how truly amazing and beautiful this part of the world is. Any expedition like this would be a challenge for any healthy individual, but Ms. Thayer manages her journey with an injured leg throghout most of the book. Through sheer mental fortitude Ms. Thayer wills herself to complete her journey across one of the most hostile environments on earth, on step at a time. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys the spirit of adventure.

This is a very powerful and moving account of one woman's life of incredible hardship and suffering, a personal view of the systematic destrucion of Tibet. Ama-la lost her family, her friends, her country. But, despite experiencing the horrors of the Tibetan holocaust, she held on to her identity, her dignity, and her compassion.

Ama-la's sincere good-heartedness, rooted in the heart of Tibetan culture, triumphs in the end over the inhumanity unleashed by Mao's China. Prison, privation, and state-sponsored brutality fail to undermine this amazing woman's sense of what it means to be a decent human being. Here is a role model for everyone, everywhere.

The basic goodness of this remarkable woman is conveyed perfectly in this simple, honest narrative. This is a story that one finds difficult to turn away from. Ama Adhe is a person the reader will care about deeply after reading this book.

Ama-la survived to remind us that more than a million Tibetans did not. I hope that readers will be inspired to look learn more about this monumental tragedy, one which continues to this day.

Ama Adhe's story is one of the most amazing and powerful I have ever read. You may have heard of the Tibetan struggle for independence, but Ama's story will blow your mind! This book is incredibly moving, honest and one of the most important historical accounts that has ever been written. Only if you read this book will you truly understand the fight for a Free Tibet. Ama Adhe is a true hero for what she survived, for standing up for her beliefs and for not viewing herself as a hero. If you have any interest in human rights and believe in standing up for a cause, read this book.

I have read a number of books on Tibet, but this was the first from a womans point of view. To learn not only about women in Tibet but women in general was very educational. Being one of very very few to survive her prison ordeal Ama has taken the task of sharing the story of many of her dead friends. The attrocities have been played down to some extent, compared to other books I have read. Good for the sensative but curriouse reader. Worth while.

This is one of my favorite books of all time--among thousands of books I've read. Writing with great honesty and humility, Ama Adhe's courage and compassion shine like a lamp for anyone faced with oppression, torture and brutality for their beliefs and devotion to their homeland and people. My heart goes out to her with great gratitude for sharing her story with the world. I hope others will read it and treasure the example of her spirit. I think her book made me a better person.

This is a very powerful and moving account of one woman's life of incredible hardship and suffering. Ama-la lost her family, her friends, and her country... but she kept her identity, her dignity, or her compassion. What makes this story so inspiring is that Ama-la's sincere good-heartedness triumphs, against appalling odds, over the systemic evil that the People's Republic of China unleashed on her and on her Tibetan homeland. Prison, privation, brutality, and hate fail utterly to undermine this amazing woman's sense of what it means to be a decent human being. Here is a role model for everyone, everywhere.

The basic goodness of this remarkable woman is conveyed perfectly in this simple, honest narrative. This is a story that one finds difficult to turn away from. Ama Adhe is a person the reader will care about deeply after reading this book.

For perspective - I am part of a team investigating China and made my first trip to China 6 months ago. This book is well written and gives a good quick overview - it is weak on details, however my limited experience in China shows a very dynamic situation with each company different. Flexibility is key - this book will give an excellent foundation to be better prepared as business situations are approached. Each team member has purchased a copy of this book and it is frequently referenced as we work to clarify and grow our understanding in China

I bought a copy of The China Executive over Christmas holidays in 2006 to develop my understanding of China business. Since then, I have recommended other professors on China business this wonderful book, which contains almost everything we need to teach our students.

But the republication of Prof Michael Porter's "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" in the January 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review has compelled me to write this review.

Porter's five-force model has dominated courses on strategy in business schools since the article and his book Competitive Strategy were published in 1979 and 1980 respectively.

But a re-reading of Porter's article and a more careful reading of the last chapter of The China Executive has made me think that it is time to replace Porter's five-force model with Wang's five-force model.

Porter's five-force model is about competition to the extreme. According to Porter, strategy is about coping with competition; managers only regard their direct competitors as competition; as such, they should consider customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products as four other competitive forces.

But such hyper-competitive thinking surely leads to corporate greed. As a company takes everybody as a competitor (or even enemy) and tries to do everything possible to maximize its own profits by minimizing others' (or even beating them down), its profitability may improve in the short term, but surely at some point in time it will crash because there will be nobody left who is happy to do business with it. Isn't Enron an example?

Furthermore, thinking around the five-force model does not lead to effective actions because all five forces are beyond a company's control. Competitors will always do what they like to do. Customers and suppliers are much better to be treated as partners, but still the world is so big that they can always choose somebody else. Whatever barriers to entry (from hundreds of millions of dollars for a car plant to thousands of dollars for a book publisher), new competitors will always come up. And who can stop substitute products from occurring?

By absorbing the strategic wisdom of Sun Tzu, whose 2,500-year-old book has proven to be the most insightful ever in the field of strategy, Wang has come up with his five-force model, which is presented in the last chapter of The China Executive.

The five strategic forces are: business purpose (the moral force of a business), business climate (the temporal force of a business), business location (the spatial force of a business), business organization (the organizational force of a business), and business leader (the command force of a business).

Consider business purpose. Isn't this or answer to the question of "to what extent, are we still creating real value for society?" what the new CEOs of Merrill Lynch and Citigroup should be contemplating? (By the way, Goldman Sachs has not exposed to the sub-prime crisis because it did not abandon itself to the lure of easy money - proof of the power of the moral force of a business.) Indeed, if they can somehow organize their thinking around what is important to creating that value despite all the incoming distractions, crisis and complexity crashing down all around them, then they will have a sustainable model for their business.

Overall, as the subtitle of Porter's article suggests, his model is about helping a company "stake out a position" within a precisely-defined local industry. It might well have been helpful to the largely predictable American industries in the early 1980s. But entering the 21 century and in a world that is now "flat", what American businesses face are the strategic challenges of how to cross national borders, how to understand local aspirations, how to have good partnerships...

In a word, strategic thinking in this new world is about how to prosper together rather than how to maximize one's own profits at the expense of others, and this is why I think Wang's model is more valuable and deserves to be published by Harvard Business Review.

I highly recommend this book.

As a US business exec who has been traveling to China for over 5 years, I can honestly say this is one of the best books I've read for helpful and practical insight for executives traveling to China for business.

There are many books available that address cultural comparisons between East and West including both social, and business situations. However The China Executive focuses exclusively from a business perspective and more specifically; how to understand cultural perspectives and work with strengths in each to be the most communicative and effective in business dealings.

It is well written with an easy to read writing style. The cover text under the title "Marrying Western and Chinese Strengths to Generate Profitability from Your Investment In China" sums the book up quite well.

I met Wei Wang at the Sixth Annual China Conference, held at the Port of Los Angeles on September 12-13. The conference (thechinaconference dot com), presented by Seattle-based, eighty-five-year-old Cargo Business News, not only provided each attendee with an autographed copy of Wang's book The China Executive but also had him give the closing keynote speech to several hundreds of executives from the global logistics industry. His speech, entitled China and the Human Side of Business and supported by a series of compelling slides, was the highlight of the entire conference.

In particular, I found his presentation of ancient Chinese wisdom (e.g. "Virtue is the root; wealth is the consequence", "Without self-interest, your interest succeed" and "Without expectations, you will be strong; with tolerance, you will be big.") extremely eye-opening. And if you don't know how to deal with your Chinese partner, this one will surely inspire you: "Before marriage know your partner's weaknesses; in marriage use your partner's strengths."

Of course, you will better understand the above with the help of his book, which I managed to read after the conference. And I must say that it is a pioneering book of real value and wide appeal!

Indeed, China's rise is transforming global politics, the global economy, and societies worldwide. So, everybody will arguably need to develop responses to meet the China challenge.

But first and foremost, business people worldwide - in particular Western business people due to our long-held superiority in the areas of technology and management - have to understand China if we want to achieve sustained business success in the age of globalisation, in which China is in the driving seat.

Wang's book contains everything you will need to know about China - above all what it means for business in a practical sense. Of course, the book's most original contribution is to connect Chinese civilisation with Western civilisation, thereby demonstrating the vital importance of combining intuition with analysis, leadership with management, relationships with results, and ultimately Chinese human-centered, integrated worldview with Western things-oriented, divided worldview.

I strongly recommend The China Executive because it has the potential to change how we see the world. And once we can see the world from a truly global perspective, every difficulty we experience in our endeavour to do business with China becomes an opportunity.

Business with China takes many forms. Whether you are considering import/export, technology transfer, licensing, joint venture or wholly-foreign owned investment, this book will guide you to success.

Of course, this book is not just about these business arrangements; it is about the essence of them. As this book shows, any business arrangement not only is an abstract idea about the future but also has people at its heart.

All too often, Western business people (and professors) only see the idea side of business, with the people side largely ignored.

In our homeland, this may not cause too big a problem (although bringing the best out of every individual is becoming more and more important). But in a non-Western environment where people have different ways of thinking and want different things from life, mastering the hearts of people is really the key to business success.

This is, in my view, where most books on China business have got muddled up, and why I say The China Executive is "A wonderful book on China business!"

Yet another gripping Judge Dee mystery! Judge Dee is better than Sherlock Holmes by far - more complicated and intricate mysteries, plus a fascinating look at daily life in China centuries ago. Also, as a protagoist Judge Dee is a much more "relatable" character. I have owned this for years, and have read and reread it a number of times - and each time I find further nuances I didn't notice before - and my enjoyment of it only increases!

Not your average mystery.
Includes great introduction. From the back cover:
"Imperial China, T'ang dynasty, seventh century A.D.--home of Judge Dee, Imperial magistrate and detective. A near mythic figure in the pre-Communist Chinese consciousness, Judge Dee distinguished himself as tribunal magistrate, inquisitor, and public avenger. Long after his death, accounts of his exploits were celebrated in Chinese folklore.

The Chinese Gold Murders is one of a series of Judge Dee detective novels written in the 1950s and early 1960s by van Gulik (1910-67), a Dutch diplomat and an authority on Chinese history and culture. Van Gulik drew his plots from the whole body of Chinese literature, especially the popular detective novels that first appeared in the seventeeth century. His Judge Dee stories convey a more vivid insight into traditional China than can be gained from textbooks, momgraphs and documents. They provide an atmospheric introduction to life in imperial China at the local level before it was disrupted by external modern forces. This edition includes van Gulik's maps, his illustrations and an introduction by Donald F. Lach of the Department of History at the University of Chicago".

If you are looking for something completely different in mysteries, I recommend the Judge Dee books. Set in China in the 600's. Judge Dee is compared to Sherlock Holmes. Very well written with a lot of cultural information. Never dull.
The Chinese Gold Murders introduces Dee and his cohorts. Solving murders in oriental fashion. Not sparing detail on the punishment of the guilty.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends THE CHINESE GOLD MURDERS in which Judge Dee Dee investigates the murder of his predecessor -- a Magistrate who now stalks the neighborhood as a ghost.

Judge Dee-Jen Dijeh (630-700 A.D.) was a Magistrate known for his wisdom & wit in China, & his stories were a part of the local folklore. Robert Van Gulik, who had a historian's interest in China in the early 1950s, was fascinated by the tales of this judge, & finally collected & fictionalized them into four volumes.

The wit, ingenuity, & genius of Judge Dee is well reflected. Remember the old tales of King Solomon the Just -- well, give them an Asian flavor, a touch of Old China -- & you get Judge Dee.

All of Judge Dee's books are most pleasurable - - worthy of 10 stars!

I have read all the Judge Dee mysteries at least twice, and really love them. However, I have just read a number of books on China and discover that van Gulik has purposefully mislead readers to make ancient Chinese justice just like Western justice and rather appealing. The truth is almost the exact opposite.

If you are interested, a standard history of china by harvard professor John Fairbank and Merle Goldman, China A History, explains that the Chinese justice system was openly corrupt (corruption did not have to be secret - it was and is the accepted way), relied on torture of both plaintiff and defendent, had no consistent laws, no equal punishments for the same offence (everything was based on class and kinship status) and bascially was just like modern Communist law: it was a vehicle for the state to control behavior. The goal was not 'justice' in the Judeo-Christian sense but state control.

Also like Communist China under Mao, imperial law relied on collective punishment to terrorize the populace. The entire population was divided into groups of ten and one hundred families, and if anyone in the whole group was condemned, the entire group could be executed. For serious offenses, thousands of families would all be executed.

Van Gulik is always showing citizens bringing disputes before the court. In reality, this was never done - as both sides could be tortured and both sides had to pay the court and both sides had to bribe the court. Instead, people relied on their village elders or clan heads to rule on disputes, as the court system was too dangerous.

Most of the ideals that Van Gulik gives to Judge Dee of fairness, protecting the weak against the strong etc. are Christian values that go back to the Jewish Bible (God creating all men equal, protect the weak and the stranger, equality before the law etc). They are antithetical to Chinese values from imperial to modern times. It is very important not to pretend that foreign cultures are the same as we are...or that our values are universal. They are very special treasures that we should be incredibly grateful for.

The Judge Dee books also mention women's tiny feet at times, but he never tells the reader that until 1900, all upper class and middle class women in China had their feet broken and maimed leading to their being crippled for life, unable to walk normally (euphemism - binding their feet). From the 19th century, this custom of torturing and crippling women spread among the peasants also. 10% of girls probably died from this treatment.

Van Gulik prominently features 'courtesans' and 'prostitutes.' A more accurate term might be slaves or sex slaves.

We are often told that China was 'more advanced' than the west until modern times. In truth, they were most comparable to ancient Rome, a cruel and despotic slave-owning culture with admirable roads and art. But Rome at least had rule of law, something China never had.

So, enjoy Judge Dee - but take it for what it is, bascially a fun Western mystery story set in a lovingly recreated period piece, kind of like most Hollywood movies - great costumes, great settings, fun plots, endearing characters - all basically unrealistic.