Indonesia Books

This is an amazing book and a brilliant testimony to the faithfulness of God during unimaginable times. My own faith is stronger for reading Darlene Rose's book and I'm thankful for it.

Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose is a beautiful story of a missionary wife who gave her life to God and through her trust witnessed His work in her life and the lives of those around her. She sacrificed her comfort to reach out to others and glorify God, and was blessed for it innumerably. Darlene's courage is challenging, encouraging, and inspiring.

Evidence Not Seen is one of those books that make you just go wow! This is a must read for any Christian especially with so much made for TV christianity going around. This book is about the real thing. Darlene shares with us her experiences as she and other missionaries try to survive in a Japanese prison camp. She shares her close personal relationship with God and how He is there in her times of trouble and need. When you finish this book you will know that she serves and Awesome God and so can you!

What amazing faith in God this young
woman had. I could only hope to be that brave and strong.

An inspiring story of a young missionary woman and her complete surrender to the Lord under unbelievable adversity. God's tenderness and mercies are real in her life and it encourages every believer to move into such intimacy with the Lord. One biography you will not want to put down!

An amazing and thorough story of a sometimes forgotten part of WWII. Carefully researched with written and spoken words from victims and survivors. I hope he is preparing another book to accompany this and Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.

As a lover of military history, and WWII in particular, I was eager to read another great sea story, so highly rated. The title, Ship of Ghosts, was most intriguing, suggesting the story of a warship that kept up a fight while out of all communications. Unfortunately, the title turned out to be misleading. The USS Houston was sunk rather quickly, in its second battle of the war, so the bulk of the book describes how the American POWs survived a brutal Japanese imprisonment. An interesting read in itself, but not what it represents to be. I note that out of 420 pages, only 80 are about the sea battles. Hornfischer is a fabulous writer (maybe too good - once in a while the prose seems to get in the way of the storyline)and the story moves along, so "Ship of Ghosts" is worth reading, but readers should expect a story of survival, less so of battle and tactics.

If you like books on ww2 or simply a novel that will keep you up all night.Read Ship of ghost's and The last stand of the tin can sailor's.I am a voracious reader especially of military book's and James d.Hornfischer I wish would write a novel every month I would buy it!Seriously I cannot recommend this author more highly!

I dont like to write long reviews. This book is a great story about men surviving thru a time of horror and a the fellowship they had with each other. A good read with a good story. Pick it up if you like war stories.

very realistic book about what really happened. my uncle was on this ship and was captured by the japanese and spent the rest of the war in prison camps. he had told me quite a lot about what happened and the book backed up what he said.

I love the way Miller presents his stories, pictures and foods on this book.
I do notice that Miller uses substitution. For example,he indicated green onion as garnish to 'Soto Ayam'. In most parts of Indonesia, the garnish is actually Chinese eelery, not green onion. Chinese celery is usually readily available in many Asian grocery stores in the West Coast.

Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world and home to the largest Islamic population on earth. Indonesian Street Food Secrets: A Culinary Travel Odyssey is an impressive compilation of ethic family recipes that are prepared right on the sidewalk by Indonesian food vendors. Enhanced with 230 color photographs of the food and culture, Indonesian Street Food Secrets also includes an accompanying CD-ROM providing hours of movies, sounds and recipes that are customizable for their degree of "hotness" and party size. With its collection of authentic recipes, Indonesian Street Food Secrets will prove to be a unique addition to kitchen cookbook collections and is especially recommended to dining clubs wanting to celebrate the culinary traditions of the Indonesian archipelago!

This is a wonderful book for fans of Indonesian culture and cuisine. It comes with an interactive CD-ROM that augments the content with music, videos, scalable recipes and ingredient pronunciations! Any Indonesian traveler will immediately recognize favorites such as gado-gado, tempe kering and opor ayam. The recipes are easy to follow and result in authentic-tasting food.

On the downside, the CD-ROM has a few minor problems. Navigation is slow and cumbersome, the graphics are grainy and there are spurious characters in some of the descriptions. (Perhaps due to my running it on a PC.) The content focuses mainly on Central Java, the cultural heartland of Indonesia, interesting for beginners but leaving many other areas, such as Bali, barely touched. Hardcore Indonesiaphiles will be disappointed. This also goes for the recipes - few from Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Kalimantan or the Moluccas. Some of the photos in the book are grainy, poorly reproduced or just not very good.

Despite the downsides, the book is well worth the price. Enjoy!

Although I have never been to Indonesia, nor am I an experienced cook, I found this book fascinating. It really is about the Indonesian culture as it is represented by its food. The photos are outstanding and give the reader a non-tourist view of of this intriguing land. The recipes are easy to follow and the author gives substitute ingredients if the more exotic foods can not be found. I very much enjoyed reading the information sections and can't wait to try some of the recipes.

Having spent eight months living in Bali, I have a homesick spot for the food I ate there. This is the first Indonesian cookbook I've seen that contains recipes for just about all the dishes I actually ate while I was there. Not foofie, fancy food, this what I, and the Balinese, ate day in and day out, whether bought from the warungs and bakso carts or served by Ibu at family dinners with friends. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet (I just got the book and CD) but from those I already make, I can say the recipes are authentic, and I want to try just about every one of them! Well done!

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. It's a real page-turner that keeps you wanting more.

This is the best read in a long time. I could not put this book down...even into the wee hours of the morning. The only downside to the novel is that once you finish it, it is hard to find another book that can live up to to this one's standards!

I've looked at this book several times at the Christian bookstore. It sounded interesting to me, but for some reason, I always ending up picking up something else. I did finally buy this book, and I'm so glad I did.

This book is incredibly well-written. The chracters are likable and believable. They aren't afraid to ask tough questions of each and of God. You come to care about what happens to the characters very early in the book.

The author portrays the scene in such a way that you almost feel like you are tagging along with this small band of missionaries. You can almost smell smoke and hear the noises of the jungles. This is one of those rare books that will keep you up until 2 am reading. Once you start reading, you just want to keep going.

I also like the fact that the author doesn't sugar coat things. She allows the characters to struggle physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The violence is definitely a part of the story, but it isn't glamorized in anyway. It is obvious that what happens to these characters is both unjust and unfair. When you reading, it is incredibly easy to forget that this is fiction, and not a missionary biography.

I also liked the fact that there were some things left unresolved at the end. There is no'"happily ever after". That is one of my biggest complaints about Christian fiction. So often, things are wrapped up a little too neatly at the end of the book. I realize it's fiction. But I also believe that just because a book is fiction that means it has to be unrealistic. I think that fiction can be true to life and even gritty. The key is in the writing. It can be difficult to not cross that fine line of not sugar-coating things, but not being overly graphic either. Real life can be messy and things happen that can't be explained away and provoke hard questions.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Especially someone who is interested in missions. This book will really open your eyes.

This book has cost me many hours of sleep this week. I would start reading and just be unable to put it down! The characters were so interesting, and so loveable, and the plot was so good! I really felt like I was right there, going through it all with them.

This is probably the best fiction book I've read all year.

My Hands Came Away Red is an exceptional story, written by Lisa McKay, a wonderfully fresh voice in Christian fiction. I loved the realism with which the story was portrayed, as well as the emotion that drew me into this incredible drama. I also loved the growth that took place in each of the characters. This was not a predictable story, with a predictable ending, and I so appreciate that. Lisa McKay obviously drew from her professional/ministerial experiences to weave this heartwrenching tale. I look forward to more from this gifted writer.

I read this book when first published - and it has remained one of the most interesting, thought provoking and passionate books I have ever read.

With the recent interest in quantum physics (What the Bleep do I Know) and the resurgance of interest in application (the Secret) - it fascinates me that in this book - written a full 30 years before either of these two recent phenomena achieved cult following - Watson wrote about his observations as a scientist, of things he could not quite explain, and which make perfect sense after exposure to quantum physics and the power of intentional thought.

Best of all, Watson writes in a clear, easy prose - with beautiful descriptions, gentle humor and an ability to express himself without attemping to convert the reader towards thinking 'his way'.

You draw your own conclusions - and yet - this book also dares you to dream.

Absoltuely loved this book. Mr. Watson inspires me to search further for my lost connection to the world around me.

I read this for a psychology Senior Seminar class at Univ. Maine @ Farmington... The intersection of scientific knowledge and inexplicable phenomena was awe inspiring... It is amazing how the natural world has yet to be sufficiently explained by science. This book was extremely easy to read, as I read most of it backwards (the chapters are broken down into sections). This is one of those books you can easily read twice!

Biologist Lyall Watson travels to Indonesia in search of magic... and finds a 'dancing island' and a girl who comes of age to become a shaman and healer. For those who simply enjoy a good story, this is an excellent book. For those who realize that the magic described in this book is real, it's even better. Watson is a first-rate story-teller, and I would give this book ten stars if such a thing were possible!

This is an incredable little book on the "magic" of other lands. I like the writings of Lyall, but this was a late comer to my list. It has absolutely captivated my imagination and heart. I am one of those that believe that what is narrated is "real" - is just that is in that other realm of "other ways of knowing". I constanly quote it and suggest it as reading for others. It is an eye and mind opener. It is a book that challenges our "Western" ways of knowing. It is a book that easily can be denied as true, but if one has read other books impossible to believe or has had similar "weird" experiences in life, then it has that intuition that it might be true and it can then be accept it as patentable possible.
I highly recommend it to anyone, you will be surprised!

I'm heading to Bali this month and this book provided a great intro to the customs and nature of this island. I'm even more excited to get there after reading it.

I am Balinese and live in Ubud, about 10 minutes walk from where Colin McPhee stayed, when he came to Bali in 1931. My aunt worked for him.

He heard a record of gamelan music in New York and couldn't wait to get to Bali to listen to the real thing.

He stayed in Bali for almost 8 years and set about documenting gamelan music. Much of his research was carried out in a village near Ubud where my Villas are. There are still old people in the village who remember him.

His book is beautifully written and tells stories of his adventures and life in the village and his encounters with the local Balinese. It's not necessary to understand technical music matters to enjoy this book - it is totally accessible.

Highly recommended.

Even as the art & tradition of classical gamelan music fades in Java, gamelans are built & organized in America & Europe, the music is studied & taught in universities. This has occurred since the 70's, when recordings of gamelan music became widely available, particularly in a major series on Nonesuch Explorer. For many people, hearing gamelan for the first time is not only a delightfully exotic experience, the music unlike anything one has heard, but there is often also a strange shock of recognition, as if one somehow already knew the music, although where & how remains a mystery. Perhaps this is what happened to Colin McPhee. For McPhee in 1930, as for so many western musicians since, hearing gamelan inspired something like a religious conversion.

I was given an old copy of this book shortly after I heard gamelan for the first time, & so I was able to follow McPhee on his great adventure to find where the music came from. When he arrived in Bali, he discovered that although the culture was vibrantly alive, much of music was in danger of being lost. He met, befriended, & studied with some greatly talented Balinese musicians, old masters & several younger composers & leaders, including Wayan Lotring & Made Lebah. They set about restoring a Semar Pegulingan gamelan. The task of bringing this music back to life is the "plot" of the "A House In Bali." McPhee quickly realized that his western musical training was of limited value, because the "values" of music - technically & culturally - in Bali were so different. Music had popular, ritual, & concert functions, as in the West. But the music was inseparable from the instruments, & each collection of instruments - each gamelan, was unique. Compositions were learned by rote, in phrases, with the gamelan functioning as a kind of all-ages social club for men. McPhee had to become, as best he could, a person of Bali, a villager, someone with a place & a role in the life of the community. He recounts his immersion in Balinese life, As strange as Bali was for McPhee, he was the "stranger," the outsider, & he remained one, oddly indifferent to what the Balinese thought of his lifestyle. Most inexplicably, he seems not to have become a gamelan musician. One wonders not only how he resisted this experience, but also why?

McPhee later attempted to translate Balinese music into a western idiom using pianos & a symphony orchestra, with beautiful results, but losing what he had learned in the process, Sadly, when he returned home, he had left the most important stuff behind.

I first heard Gamelan was coming out of the oldest temple on the Island of Bali, near Ubud, and was reading this book at the time. I purchased the book at the Jakarta airport and was hooked by the first paragraph. I think that this is a wonderful, insight into the island, the music, it's people and culture. If you have a love for exotic music and or artform, this historical work is a captivating read. My only regret is that Colin McPhee never went back to his beloved Bali.

It's a very interesting book in regards to what I have actually read. It seems to have accounts on Balinese culture. I found it enjoyable and interesting to read because it not only talks about Balinese culture but about the conflict and clashes within the village like the little dancer named Sampih and his dance teacher Nyoman Kaler.

Colin McPhee conveys many interesting things like when bad luck happened in his home in Sayan and how they had to do a purification ceremony in regards to dispel the demons, witches and evil spirits. His wanderings in Bali to record music and study their music like the rare gamelan angklung and gamelan selonding from Tenganan who were the Bali Aga. Colin McPhee was drawn to the scintallinating sounds and metallic shimmer from the gamelan. At times there are humours accounts of what goes on between him and his friends that happen in the village or when they are touring around Bali. I found it enjoyable because, he seemed to have fitted in well with the Balinese people without too much problems compared with other writers before them spoke of barbarity and the animal like behaviour of the Balinese at certain functions. He writes with passion about what goes on and how things have changed with the colonial rule of the Dutch. The loss of autonomy by the Rajas who were reduced to poverty at times and how their obessions with cockfighting led to their ruin. Yet in times of despair and hardship they are always humble to him.

Overall the book contains a few photographs of his friends and colleagues. I found it wonderful and intriguing and as well as captiviting at times which he covers so many topics like the temple functions like Galungan, Wayang Kulit (Shadow Plays), the music club etc... This book you will grow to love like the book written by Miguel Corrovabias "Island of Bali".

Most of us understand far too little about Indonesia and yet surely this is a nation that very much matters and does warrant understanding. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and in fact is the 3rd most populous country in the world. It is rich in natural resources and in history and mostly well justifies it's National motto "Unity in diversity."

Three years ago a then pertinent - and perhaps today even more important and timely book was published - A very readible biography, but more than that, a book that tells the story of this nation, built about the eventful life and perceptiveness of its last founding father, H Roeslan Abdulgani.

"A Fading Dream" is full of anecdotes and first person observations that likely could only have been written by its author, Retnowati Abdulgani - Knapp, one of the daughters of this outstanding 20th century figure. The author is an investment banker, law graduate and business women who well understood her father and the context of events in the time in which he lived and acted. You know quickly that this is no desultory narritive. Rather, "A Fading Dream" is a comprehensive socio political survey that considers the period from Dutch colonial rule virtually to the present.

Dr. Abdulgani, who passed away age 91 in July, 2005, was very much an insider and a key player in Indonesi's so called "old order" and even before. He remained a principal advisor throughout Sukarno's tummultuous years and by the late 1960s he was his country's window to / from the UN at the start of the so-called "new order" under Suharto. Since then for a further generation and then for yet another generation, he was very much listened to as a wise man and a political authority during a period that was characterised by some as a time of "no order".

Dr. Abdulgani (Roeslan) was there at the creation of modern Indonesia and remained a respected part of his country's leadership for three generations and more. At his deathbed in Jakarta, tributes came from all the leaders of his nation including Suharto and the current leadership.

Roeslan was one of the very few to successfully bridge the Sukarno and Suharto regimes by positioning himself as a somehow non political politician, as a wise man in both administrations, no mean feat for Sukarno's Minister of Information charged with responsibility for the development of a revolutionary spirit among the people of Indonesia. Later he was to be Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Bandung Conference of non Aligned Countries, Indonesia's UN Ambassador and counselor to all of his countries governments.

In his daughter's most readible book, Roeslan comes through as a man of reason and vision even more than as the revolutionary fighter that he had been as well. He is portrayed as someone who grew with grace and who always celebrated life. Everyone trusted him, perhaps since,as was recently said of him, "he never spoke ill of anyone."

From post war 1945 to post Bali 2002, we can now look back through his memories as related to his daughter and at her well presented contextual commentary. The sadly aptly named biography and history, "A Fading Dream", presents a well organized, personal look at the amazing shifts in the attitudes and choices taken by this country's leaders, of which Roeslan Abdulgani most certainly was one.

Like Javanese shadow puppet plays, Wati Abuldugani's biography of her father, Roeslan Abdulgani, should be viewed at many levels.

It is the life of an exceptional man, and his wife, who despite the travails and personal risks rose to the circumstances of their time to make a positive, and important impact on their country. It is the story of the birth of a modern nation, its struggle to free itself from colonialism, both European and Asian, and to become part of the community of nations. Dispersed throughout the book are insights in the social mores of Indonesia, and in particular of the Javanese, helping to provide a frame of reference for both the new and old student of Indonesia.

It is a timely book for reflection at this time of political, social and economic uncertainty in Indonesia. The concerns the writer and Roeslan Abdulgani express for Indonesia, is evident in the scope of the first chapter, which deals with the present rather than the past: Urging the current leaders to put aside personal gain for the benefit of the country, and the need for a strong leader to lead the country in the new millennium.

As a 20th century story of Indonesia, this book should not only be a required reading in Indonesian schools and universities, but also for students of Asia politics and culture.

Dr H.Roeslan Abdulgani, as he was known when I first met him, as Minister for Information, was a man whose clear-thinking views and wonderful personal demeanor were as consistent in 1965 as they were for any of the years straddling 1945 to 2003.

When Indonesia was in turmoil, Ruslan was taciturn and cool, delivering clear messages of support and elucidation. When Indonesia faced financial turmoil, Ruslan shared the trials of the poor. And when cycles of great economic prosperity arrived, Ruslan Abdulgani was one of the few who maintained his economic, simple lifestyle.

Western observors and diplomats never ceased to be amazed by his work ethnic, his tirelss writing and speaking agendas and his unfailing good manners and sense of humour.

A Fading Dream includes some wonderful surprises for even experienced Ruslan watchers. The stories of his early years in Surabaya, his anguish that Arab and Chinese traders, supported by the Colonial Dutch, were given unfair advantages, and the pen sketches of his role in early nationalist movements, are delightfully told. The book is highly recommended for those interested in Indonesia and Asian History.

review by Pat Price
> University of Indonesia Fellowship student in 1965
> Observer and student of Indonesian politics in the modern era.

A Fading Dream is not only about a great man, Roeslan Abdulgani, who is the only surviving founding father of Indonesia, but is also about Indonesia's political and cultural history, including that of recent years.
Dr. Abdulgani's daughter, Retnowati, has written a fascinating, incisive, and intimate picture of Indonesia through a combination of biography, history, political science, anecdotes, observation, and opinion.
If you were to read only one book on Indonesia, this is the one I wholeheartedly recommend.

This is a very important book by one of Indonesia's most influential, level-headed, ardent Republicans. As the years roll out, Roeslan Abdulgani's works over the past sixty years will be seen in historic context as indispensable and fundamental to the nation's survival.

It is more than the story of Roeslan Abdulgani, written by his daughter Retnowati. The early chapters discuss modern problems in Roeslan's friendly but forthright manner.

Roeslan is not the only voice now raising concerns about the Republic's wishy-washy leadership, but he is a man whom history may record as the nation's greatest Republican, even greater than founding President Soekarno, with whom Roeslan worked side-by-side to keep the young Republic afloat, to keep the diverse ethnic and geographic forces abound into a single nation with a single language and an agreed philosophy.

In October, 1965, when the Republic faced its greatest challenge from a rising, Chinese-backed Communist party, it was Roeslan's voice which clearly defined the actions of 30 September (in a
radio broadcast from Bandung, where this writer was present) as a coup d'etat, an illegal act that must be overturned. For days the nation had waited for a clear signal from other leaders, including Soekarno himself, but none came.

And now it is Roeslan who is reminding the nation that clear thinking leads to strong leadership, yet he occasionally despairs that clear thinking seems absent.

In my student days (1962-63), Ruslan's 1958 book "Pantjasila" (today written Pancasila) was the indespensable text for all young people wishing to know how and why their nation came into
being, and why Indonesia's founding fathers wisely decided Indonesia was never to become an Islamic state. (You can do an amazon search for Roeslan Abdulgani to find this and other of his books)

The wisest minds studied the constitutions of those states who chose Islam as their operating philosophy: Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen and Lebanon, and later
Pakistan. None of the above examples were considered successful (and the case persists today) as social or economic successes.

"The ideology of Islam (strongly rooted in our society) has not succeeded in solving the problems of a modern society...

"In the economic field, too, we (Indonesian leaders) have not come across an example where a country which has adopted Islam as its basis has succeeded in spreading justice and prosperity

evenly among the people."

Thus Rouslan and the founding fathers saw the dangers of alienating the entire Hindu-Balinese populations of Bali and Lombok, the Protestant Christians of the Moluccan Islands, the Catholic Christians of Flores, as well as random pockets of both Christian, Buddhist, Pagan and local religious followers.

Roeslan is arguing that to abandon the founding principles of Pancasila, the world would be a less colourful, less richly cultured and less peaceful world if Arabist sects were to be allowed - through shilly-shally leadership - to take a greater foothold within Indonesian society.

What a stark, moonscape would Indonesia be without the Borobodor and Prambanan Balinese temples,the diverse colourful arts, literature, architecture, sculpture, the fascinating regional
traditional dress. Impossible? One may have thought so until madmen got control of Cambodia and Afghanistan, sending their nations and their societies back into the Iron Age.

Roeslan Abdulgani is trying, with all his living breath, to infuse strength and clarity into an Indonesia whose leadership he feels has lost its way, whose youth has drifted from their
historic and social moorings, and whose citified bureaucrats and business people have too often crossed the line between honour and corruption, self and state interest.

And on current issues: "Just as the West maintains a distorted view of Muslim society, so too are Western values misread by our society...the mixed bag of impressions about the West, especially those obtained through American soap operas and films, bear little relation to what life is really like in the West."

Sadly, one of the greatest of Indonesia's founding fathers, is depressed as he assesses modern Indonesia. There are 50 laws and ordinances deemed discriminatoryon the grounds of ethnicity on
the books, with no move to lift them. The new leadership's inaction on acting to aid the poor during and after the disastrous 2002 floods became a symbol of the government's incompetence and corruption and the meagre share of export revenues given the provinces surely will spell trouble in Aceh, Irian Jaya and the Moluccan Islands for decades to come.

Roeslan remains deeply concerned that the officer class still has in its ranks officers who have political ambitions, refusing to take their proper place as a servant of the people.

Thus A Fading Dream is an apt title as a reflection of this important leader's state of mind as he watches his beloved Republic attempt to cope with problems of over-population, diverse and self-interests, poor infrastructure and corruption.

But perhaps more importantly, a leadership he feels has forgotten the advice of the founding fathers, leaders who do not use the compasses bequeathed them to find their way to stability and harmony, and social justice.

A very important book, A Fading Dream was not intended as literature, and is so diverse in its coverage that readers will want to know more of Ruslan's life and his thinking. History will treat kindly both the man and his work.

ends Review

Review by Frank Palmos, senior Jakarta based news correspondent 1964-1972.
> President and founder of the Jakarta Foreign Press Club.
> Opened the West's first permanent newspaper bureau (1964) for the Melbourne Herald-Sun Sydney Morning Herald group. >Contributing to The New York Times, Asahi Shimbun, the Times, the Economist, Groene Amsterdammer, the Washington Post, Vrij Nederland.

This is a superb look at the nitty-gritty world of selling. Although the author does fill it with case studies, they are all useful and thought-provoking. My favorite bit of advice concerns what happens to all top salespeople: they get their territory cut. Why? To keep them from getting complacent, of course.

Joe has gone out of his way to cut to the chase. There is no self esteem building and you can do it rah rah rather Joe's frank honest and what it takes to stay on top, remain on top and what to do when you are caught in a no win situation. As an MBA this type of book should be a mandatory read but the reality of tenured professors that are effectively running a union job do not understand how duplicitous and unethically the real business world can be. I finish this book in a few hours and the insight will last me a career. It is also refreshing from the standpoint that Joe has a soul and is interested in seeing the world and some great sales jobs he has had launched that opportunity. If you surf this book is especially cool(which I do and I can relate to the author on many levels.) Another reviewer was turned off by some profanity of which I do not remember so don't focus on issues of crass.

Anybody. I repeat anybody who sells, or wants to become a sales person, has to read this book. This book will keep you in the "game" longer, by playing corporate business model to your advantage. All successful companies value their sales force. But most Sales Managers make you feel like a zero. By reading this book you can change that number and pave a brighter future. Read and Prosper.

This book is a "must have" for the new graduate or anyone who is considering a career or taking on an adventure in sales.

Finally, a fun-to-read book on sales with valuable and positive insights on getting-in, finding the right company, and getting-out when your company becomes the "wrong company."

Joe T has real-life examples and experiences that show you how to work for yourself and enjoy the adventure. He teaches you what to expect in sales and get the most out of your job and keep your sanity. Rather than providing, rehashed "supposedly new", methods of achieving one time sales success, this book provides a "big picture guide" that helps a salesperson's lifelong career. HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND RECOMMENDED!!!

I went to B-School, got my MBA, and gained valuable education on the theory and practice of managing a successful business. What I was disappointed by, were the unexamined assumptions around the "corporate dream", which I found pervasive at all levels of the curriculum. Too complex to go into here, but essentially...

Most business schools are in the business of selling the corporate dream and training future managers in the arts of profit maximization, organizational efficiency, competitive advantage, and market penetration. Rarely do they ever address the human reality of corporate downsizing, except as economic data points relevent to the afore mentioned topics.

The Sales Adventure Guide is a practical manual on how to cut through the corporate BS, understand the true meaning behind management-speak, and know how to cover your butt when your job is on the line, through no fault of your own. It uncovers the tactics, often unethical and sometimes illegal, that HR and upper management will use to make you go away, meekly, without costing the company a penny.

The Sales Adventure Guide will help you probe underneath the company's glossy exterior and public face, by showing you how you can ask the right questions and find out important information about the organization you will be contracting your time to.

This book will teach you how to protect yourself, play the corporate game with finesse, and enjoy your life, rather than feel browbeaten at the company's ingratitude towards the days, months, years of your life you gave them - which you will never, ever get back.

Corporate loyalty is a myth, most companies will lay you off without a second thought. Read this book, understand that we are all contractors now.

Mr. Womack is to be commended for his attention to a particular element of World War II. Rather than trying to encompass the entire war into a single book he spends time examining a pivitol yet widely unknown saga of WWII. Historians and war buffs will want to read this book.

A great book about a relatively unknown aspect of WWII. Where's the one on the Dutch Army Air Force againt Japan?

Over the past few years I've been expanding my knowledge of WWII by focusing on the early portion of the war, more specifically, the war in the South Pacific. For awhile, Amazon has been recommended this book to me because of my rating of other related books. Anyway, I decided to give this book a try.

I'll open by saying this book only deals with the Dutch Naval Air Force (referred to as the MLD [Marine Luchtvaart Dienst]), the aircraft they flew, and the missions they performed in defense of the Netherlands East Indies. Passing references are made to US, British, Australian, and the Dutch Army Air Force (ML-KNIL). These passing references are usually related to the different patrol aircraft used by these forces, occasionally to the fighters or bombers.

Mr. Womack opens by describing the aircraft used by the MLD and the MLD's state of condition, prior to the start of WWII for the Dutch and once the Netherlands had been overrun by the Germans. While Mr. Womack describes all of the aircraft used by the Dutch, particular attention should be paid to his descriptions of the Dornier Do24's (called X boats by the MLD) and the PBY Catalina (Y boats). At times the other aircraft of the MLD are mentioned, but usually it's the X and Y boats going to war with the Japanese.

Having established pre-war conditions and how the Dutch attempted to improve their position, Mr. Womack brings us to December 1941 and the initial actions between the Japanese and Dutch. This is followed (rather rapidly) by the steady advancements the Japanese made in the South West Pacific and ending with the fall of Java. The book concludes by describing how the MLD evacuated from the East Indies and their general participation in the rest of WWII.

This book is a very solid 4.5 star book. The writing is clean, Mr. Womack describes things as a historian, not one translating oral history. There are some great photo's in the book showing the Dutch aircraft and other equipment. The maps are nice, but a little on the weak side, they show where the Japanese are able to threaten at any one time but I found it a little difficult finding where the different bases were that the aircraft were operating from. The appendices are nicely put together, providing very good information on the aircraft (there's a breakdown of what happened to every X and Y boat), squadrons, and losses. The charts should have been done considering a black and white printing (because of the grey scaling used, you can tell that the originals were in color). Also I wish Mr. Womack would have given us a little more of his analysis than he did. However, since Amazon doesn't grade on half stars, I need to decide on 4 or 5. Since this is obscure material and Mr. Womack has put together a very informative book on something most people aren't aware of, and he used excellent references (without regurgating what the original author said), I'll give him the nod to 5 stars. A very good job sir!

This is an area of warfare I am very interested in. Unfortunately, books like this only come along once every 10 to 20 years. This fills a gap in our knowledge of events leading up to and through the Pacific War against Japan.
The MLD, or Dutch Naval Air Force of the Netherlands East Indies, probably had the best organized reconnaissance force in the southwest Pacific area at the time. Maintaining neutrality in wars spreading around the globe was difficult, but the Netherlands East Indies were doing all they could not to become involved, and to be a haven for those trying to escape the European, African and Chinese theatre wars. The Japanese had different plans.
Once the fighting started though, the MLD was right in the thick of it, fighting hard right alongside their British, Australian and American allies against a Japanese war machine far superior to anything the allies could cobble together. Flying older German designed Do-24s, American PBYs, and Fokker seaplanes, the MLD kept up what pressure they could as the Japanese invasion forces swept through the East Indies, southeast Asia and into the Indian Ocean in the late fall of 1941, and the winter and spring of 1942. Most of the MLD crews paid with their lives to keep the allies abreast of where the Japanese forces were located and what they were doing. Some of the "invincibility" that became associated with the superb Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, and in general the Japanese naval forces, was established and enhanced during this campaign.
When the smoke cleared, the Japanese were in control of the Netherlands East Indies, and the remaining MLD crews and ground personnel, if not captured, were evacuated to Australia or Ceylon. It was a story of too little, too late. The Dutch had tried to get more aircraft, AA guns and ordinance prior to the Japanese invasion, but a lack of interest on the part of her future allies, and a greater concern for the European conflict, even by the Dutch government-in-exile, left the MLD with only a handful of aircraft and hardware with which to face battle-hardened Japanese forces.
The book has many excellent and previously unpublished photographs of personnel, aircraft, and bases of the MLD. If your interests are for stories of some of the little known campaigns and more exotic places that became embroiled in the global conflagration known as World War Two, you will enjoy this book. Tom Womack is to be commended for researching, compiling and fleshing out this story,

Tom Womack has written an very thorough book on Dutch naval aviation in the East. As a Dutchman it's interesting to read about the history of the MLD from an outside perspective. Well, researched, nice new pictures. Well worth reading!

I have borrowed this book twice and came here now to buy my own copy that I can write in. My Indonesian vocabulary is mostly nouns and those are mostly names of fruits and food dishes. "Eat Smart" taught me how to ask for lawar without blood in it--that alone is worth the price of the book! In Indonesia, I'll be toting this next to my dictionary at all times. At home, I'll keep it in the kitchen to have the recipes handy.

The authors have written a series of Eat Smart books that no traveler to foreign countries should be without. Each book covers a separate country--Eat Smart in Turkey, Eat Smart in Brazil, Eat Smart in Indonesia and Eat Smart in Mexico--and is chock full of information that you won't find elsewhere within the covers of one easy-to-carry paperback. Individual chapters cover such topics as the history of the country's cuisine, regional foods, how to shop in the local markets, mail-order sources for suppliers of ingredients, and a collection of recipes for typical dishes found in that country. Especially useful is each book's extensive menu guide, listing menu terms alphabetically in the language of the foreign country, with a description of the dish in English. That section is followed by a chapter titled "Foods & Flavors"--listing the foreign terms for foods, spices, kitchen utensils and cooking techniques, with an English translation/description. These books are well researched, accurate and very informative. Highly recommended. --Sharon Hudgins, editor, Chile Pepper magazine

Soundly researched, clearly written, artistically illustrated, "Eat Smart in Indonesia" is the most comprehensive and readable survey of the whole scope of Indonesian gastronomy I have ever come across. It is equally valuable as a solid reference work for the scholar and as exotic inspiration for the chef or home entertainer. Bill Dalton, founder, Moon Travel Guides; author, "Indonesian Handbook"

For a country of 17,000 islands and 670 dialects, and complex traditions, religion and culture, no one-including Indonesians-can claim to know more about Indonesia's traditional food tastes than the authors of Eat Smart in Indonesia. Their guide is the first ever published with in-depth information about the unique and diverse food of Indonesia. -William W. Wongso, culinary educator, president of William F & B Management, Jakarta, Java

This little book is essential for travelers to a country where food is riotously varied, delicious and, to most of us, utterly unfamiliar. It begins with a brief historical survey of the cuisine, citing the contributions of successive immigrant or colonial groups, then slices the other way, with sections on Indonesia's major culinary regions and their specialties and characteristics. Recipes, a listing of US sources for ingredients, then phrases in Indonesian all follow. Two alphabetical listings are the heart of the book: One is of menu items, with brief descriptions and notations; the other is of "foods and flavors" (and utensils, cooking methods and so on), in Indonesian, with English translations or explanations. The whole is thorough, information-packed and mouthwatering.