Asia Books

I am currently deployed to Kabul and after reading and reviewing many guides and books this is the best guide and historic account I have found. Another great book is Taliban by Rashid.

When I picked up this book, I was prepared for a dense, AAA/Lonely Planet-style guidebook (filled with useful information, but not meant to be read from cover to cover). Instead I was surprised to find a very readable and richly informative book on the history and sites in Afghanistan.

Rather than writing a summarized narrative of the history of a particular city, castle, or mosque, the authors use numerous first person accounts from travelers from throughout Afghanistan's history from Alexander's historians to British explorers in the 20th century. These first hand accounts are fascinating. He also includes poems and folk tales translated from historical documents and local interviews. The combined effect of all of these first-hand accounts is a feeling of intimate familiarity with each region described.

The book opens with the history of Afghanistan and is very detailed for being so concise. The rest of the book is broken down into regions. Some regions, notable Kandahar, are left out due to the fact that security was still to dangerous at the time of writing (2006) for the authors to visit. The northeast area of Badakshan opens the account and it is hard not to want to visit this mountainous area after having read the tales. It works its way around the country counterclockwise hitting the areas around Mazar-e-Sharif, Heart, Bamiyan, Ganzi and Kabul to name a few.

Even if you never go to Afghanistan this book could define the concept of the armchair traveler.

This hefty tome oozes quality. From its 768! pages printed on very fine paper to the wonderful photographs to the heavy duty binding. The authors convey a deep love for this intriguing country so often only heard of in terms of war and violence. This is also a most comprehensive history of Afghanistan. Its blue lapis lazuli was used as ornament on The Mask of Tutankhamun. Coins of the Graeco-Bactrion kingdoms of Afghanistan reveal life in the lost "Atlantis of the East". As a travelling guide you get "down to earth" advice: "Driving in Kabul is a contact sport. (An airline)... fly, when they feel like it. "The Worst Hotel in the World." etc. Some places are presently out of reach for the ordinary traveller due to war - again. For the Afghans, I sincerely hope peace will prevail. They are proud and tough people despite, or maybe because of, their many hardships. This book tenfold improved my understanding of their beautiful and complex country. Possibly you would bring the several pounds of guide book along in your rucksack? Probably not. On the final page, as in many places in this "tour de force", there is a fine underlying humour: "Published to appeal to the armchair traveller". I'll be travelling often with this good companion.

This is something betweeen a Planet Earth travel book and an historical compendium of facts and figures. It is quite useful and interesting but some of the material will be outdated rather quickly so a Planet Earth guide, it is not. I like it and am glad I purchased it.

A comprehensive guide to everything about Afghanistan from carpets to stupas. Its excellent photographs and abundant maps leave the reader with a desire to visit this fascinating country. The book is heavy to hold but difficult to put down. A must for all travelers (armchair or footworn) of distant horizons.

DK eyewitness books are some of the greatest non-fiction books around. The distinctive white background and high-quality photography gives this book an edge over any other nonfiction picture book. And -- these pictures are real! They're beautiful museum-quality photos of all things related to Ancient China, accompanied by informative captions and text.

Learn about Ancient China, its rulers, and its people. SEE the objects common to everyday life in Ancient China. If you know someone (young or old) who is fascinated by Ancient China, then you must introduce them to this book!

I purchase this book for my grandson. It's the good book. Thank to AMAZON!

this an interesting book i read DK books are the best non-fiction books.the book talked about all the emperors,first
emperor of china,great wall,the food,and the silk road.You
should buy this book it's really a good DK book.the price is
just 19.95 OR 15.95

This book report is about the world's oldest continuous civilization called China. From 221 B.C to A.D 1912 in China was combined under a great and powerful empire called the Qin Empire. Ancient China was remained untouched because it was apart by the huge a scorching deserts, mountain ranges, and the ocean. It was cut off from other cultures such as India, West Asia, and Europe. China's social structure was a main role in maintaining its national stability. What also helped China together was a great philosopher named Confucius who encouraged people to lead an ordered family way of life. Once in a while the Chinese empire experienced short periods of unrest and disunity and attacks from foreigners. During those times they changed the governments and they built many innovations and technological advances such as gunpowder, paper, printing, and industrial machinery. The Chinese people still used the same customs and traditions and stayed remarkably to today.

The first dynasty to leave historical record was the Shang Dynasty. Their kings ruled the greater part of northern China from 1650 to 1027 B.C., where the soil was fertile and had enough water from the Yellow River. The ruler of the dynasty was a priest or known as the Son of Heaven. He had to believe that his empire has to maintain good relations between our world and heaven. The Shang Dynasty had many slaves, but they rely upon the labor of their rural population. The peasant farmers cultivated the soil and took parts hunting for food and served as soldiers in the army.

Confucius believed that the early years of the Zhou dynasty were golden years of social harmony. During his lifetime, he saw growing disorder and saw reducing power in the dynasty. This fight became more and more turmoil, which led Confucius to develop a moral outlook. It was based on happiness, respect for elders, and strength in the family. He had a saying that a good ruler should set an example by dealing with people. In return, the people had to respect and obey their emperor. Confucius also believed that different families should be governed by common family relationships with a stable society. After Confucius encouraged ancestor worship because it strengthened families. Then the Chinese came to see themselves as a part of a greater family.

For three centuries of war marked a decline of the Zhou dynasty. This dynasty became unstable, so in 481 B.C. China was separated into seven warring states. The battles became large in scale with crossbowmen, cavalry, armored infantry, and chariots. During the war many men were killed and wounded. In 260 B.C. Sun Zi, a writer, wrote the Art of War, the world's oldest military handbook, which gave nobles practice of warfare. Eventually the northwestern state of Qin was victorious and united the feuding lords under one empire. The military began to decline and the civil service grew in importance and Confucianism came in.

During the 250 years of the Chinese empire was occupied a non-Chinese people from the north of the Great Wall. China prospered for 150 years of Manchu, Qin, and different rulers who ruled China. For the first time Chinese technology fell behind and France, Russia, and Japan began to bully the Qin empire. In 1912, ancient China was brining to an end of 2000 years of imperial history.

I recommend this Eyewitness Book: Ancient China because if learning about China in history class it can help you a lot. It has many captions you can read from and learn more just by reading it and the pictures shows you many things what were like and different paintings and sculptures. So whoever likes this may be smarter because they might learn something.

Ancient China was the best book dealing with China that I have so far read. It was intriguing how I learned, saw, and discovered many things in only about 65 pages. The beautiful photography gave the words life. This book proves excellence truly exists and gives the word perfection an even greater new meaning.

This is an outstanding book...as one who just returned from a trip to Angkor Wat, Angkor Cities and Temples provides beautiful photography of these amazing structures and an excellent description of the sites. I highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Siem Reap to help prepare for your visit. It is also a most memorable book that you can share with your friends as you attempt to describe this historic area.

I have reviewed a few Angkor books. I think this is the best book among them. The pictures are very good.

Angkor Cities And Temples is perhaps one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. Everything about it beckons the reader to remain absorbed in its pages. The text by Claude Jacques is erudite, well-written, and very well translated. The photography by Michael Freeman is astonishingly good. Not only by virtue of his technical skills, which are considerable, but because he handles the art and architecture of the monuments with a tremendous sensitivity to detail and a glorious feel for the way in which light interacts dramatically with stone. Together, the flowing text and luminous colour images provide a wondrous exposure to an ancient world of great sophistication and profound aesthetic development.

Angkor: Cities and Temples by Claude Jacques, et al undoubtedly presents one of the most enchanting illustrative descriptions of Khmer architectural design and history I've ever seen. The photos are crisp and clean and the printing quality is first class. However, the text, translated from French, is overly technical and lacks a sense of cohesiveness, which would have otherwise made it easier to percieve the "big picture" concerning the period of Angkor.

I had always wanted to visit the Angkor temples.And I was looking for some good books on Angkor. When I saw this book, I immediately bought it inspite of its price. The text is crisp and illuminating. And the photographs are the best I have seen of Angkor. They are so real and dramatic that you feel that you are right there. The only drawback with this book is its size. It is mammoth, making it a reference guide rather than a guide you can bring with you on your travel to Angkor. Nevertheless, only in this book has justice been done to the magnificent temples of Angkor. If there is only one book you buy this year, make it this one.

Beautifully illustrated, delightful and extremely informative. This book is a marvelous supplement to the typical art history text books.

This is a challenging work.

He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.

Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place

Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.

Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.

As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.

Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.

While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

I like the author's approach to writing an introduction to the arts of China. Instead of trying to touch at least all of the major artists/works from all of the major periods (which in the case of China would mean touching very many things in a very cursory way), the author focuses on the context for which works were produced. Some of them were meant to be "art" from the start, some were not. This offers ample opportunities to examine how some works influenced other later in history. Overall, I think the ideas presented are some of the most gripping I have found in Chinese art history books. The book includes recent discoveries and scholarship and uses Pinyin romanization (two great features - not all recently-published books do).

In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!

Thanks goes to Steve Martin for bringing to light a significant, and nearly forgotten, history. Through artifacts (Steve's impressive and beautiful collection of opium paraphernalia, and period photographs) and down to earth story telling, I found myself transported to opium dens in the East and West, and imagined the lives and circumstances of those who were entranced and enveloped by the narcotic.

The pictures are gorgeous, the writing evocative, and the topic and the objects themselves provide a fascinating portal for history.

When the paraphernalia associated with opiates comes to mind what do you picture? Syringes? Drippy candles? Bent spoons? These are the gear of the heroin user but what about heroin's long dead uncle, opium? The paraphernalia of the two drugs couldn't be more different. This book will take you back in time when drug use was at least practised with style and flair. The opium pipes, lamps and other accouterments illustrated in this book are gem-like works or art made from rare and precious materials such as silver, ivory and jade. It's a world long lost but the author manages to bring it back to life for a brief moment and dazzle us with the promises of chemical bliss that tempted our ancestors. Getting addicted back then was no doubt as painful and ruinous as it is today, but they sure knew how to do it in style!

The Art of Opium Antiques is one of the most artfully illustrated and artistically written books on the subject. Throughout its pages Steven Martin traces the cultural use in China alongside the artistry and astounding craftmanship of the time, from the low and common to the truly decedent. Photos of amazingly ornate apparatus are peppered throughout alongside diagrams depicting the main components of a typical pipe or lamp. Historical photos help put one in the mind frame of the times, allowing one to contemplate how this blissful habit, aided by dedicated artisans progressed up until its zenith during the nineteenth century. Martin's vast collection and grasp of the subject are equally great, allowing one to walk away with a greater appreciation for opium related antiquities. There is no doubt this book will help spawn new collectors as well as reconfirm the addiction of the collector aficionado, for this book is a grand spring board for newbies and opium-porn for the serious collector.

Such a great book! Instead of just relating the well-known disastrous effects of opium, the author of this book brings new insight into the history of the drug by exploring Opium paraphernalia as an art form. It works!

We are brought into the mythical Opium dens of a not so distant past, with the rich illustrations of this text. A rare photo of an 1880 Butte, Montana bunkhouse "opium den" is particularly amusing. However, it is the lush photographs of the drug paraphernalia that make this work so worthwhile. The extensive captions that accompany each photograph have enabled the author to not only inform the reader about the use and artistic achievement of these artifacts, but entertain as well.

The result is a more humanizing view of the addiction itself. Knowing that these beautiful instruments were the tools in which to feed a deadly addiction gives us another vantage point to view this era of history.

Anyone with the an interest in the history of China, the Chinese Diaspora living in the USA in the late 18th/19th century or the history of Southeast Asia will find this book particularly fascinating. The Art of Opium Antiques will be an essential addition to your bookshelf.

This book is really helpful to identify antique opium art. I work for Asia Galleries in San Francisco where we sell a lot of antique opium artifacts. I had hard time to find a book that helps me to study about details of opium art, but in this book I see many dampers, pipes, lamps, and opium scrapers are similar to the ones Asia Galleries have; therefore, I was able to gain some knowledge through this book. Now, I am confident to explain details of our antique opium art to customers. I would like to say thank you to Steven Martin.

Jerry Beisler is in the midst of chronicling his eventful life, decade by decade, in a series of books called "As the Prayer Wheel Turns." The 1970s is covered in "The Bandit of Kabul" ($29.95 in paperback from Regent Press), studded with black and white photographs of the times and the people -- from Rebecca, whom he marries in 1971 in Goa, India, to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, to "Dutch Bob," who "tried to recruit anyone of worth he met in the Kathmandu Valley to assist him in his Hash-to-Amsterdam deals." The author signed up.

An author's note sets the tone: "This book is set in some of the world's most remote and exotic locations, but you will not be reading poetic or minute descriptions of the sights, sounds or smells of those places. & There is no time for dwelling on these things during this era of endless war that produces murderous national leaders, idiotic economic policies and draconian, tyrannical laws. But the historical facts, the action and adventure, the spirit and spirituality of human beings are here; this story beings and ends in love."

It's also the story of Beisler's entrepreneurial spirit. Gravitating away from the "false-bottom suitcase parade" smuggling contraband into Amsterdam, he and Rebecca would return periodically to their ranch in Northern California where Jerry would sell museum-quality Tibetan carpets and tend his marijuana garden (now long gone, of course, replaced by "ecologically perfect nut trees").

He also helped produce music shows "for the local college crowd & about 8,000 party-hungry students." It sounds like the unnamed "state university" was Chico State University, described as somewhere between the Bay Area and Oregon, 157 miles from San Francisco, just outside the radius promoter Bill Graham insisted on when he booked his acts so as not to dilute the potential audience. For Beisler that meant "Fleetwood Mac, Santana and Taj Mahal, came through town on their coastal swings to or from San Francisco."

During a time of estrangement from Rebecca, Jerry had met a woman in San Francisco. Later, once again united with Rebecca, he received a letter from "that 'hot-house flower.'" Almost matter-of-factly she wrote: "I am going to have your baby in a few months & and someday, if the child asks about the father, I'll just say he was the Bandit of Kabul."

Copyright 2007 Chico Enterprise-Record. Used by permission.

If "The Bandit of Kabul" writer/adventurer Jerry Beisler were to revisit Afghanistan and environs today, he would surely perform the appropriate bodily function.
A New York Times travel section piece (1/21/07) by Joshua Hammer provided a timely comparison between the Afghanistan of the early 70s, as described in Beisler's book, and the Afghanistan of 2007.
What was once called the "The Hippie Trail," before that, "The Silk Road," and before that "The House of Genghis Khan," is now undergoing, according to the Times article, "an accelerating nationalistic effort to bring tourists back by `promising them that they won't get killed.'"
Mr. Beisler, using his own inadversedly, unfettered-by-graying-conventions writing style, vividly recounts the kind of wild-eyed, courageous inquisitiveness so prevalent in that early time by travelers, not tourists.
The smells, sights and intrigues of that wilder, yet no less dangerous, era are all in "The Bandit of Kabul."
Using Asia as a home base, the author and an assortment of his here-now-and-possibly-never-again fellow male and female adventurers and entrepreneurs blaze trails similar to Ken Kesey, Jack London and Kerouac. In fact, Kesey's cohorts appear among the many colorful characters in this counter-culture history. All journey by rickety buses, ox carts or horseback to explore the pre-Taliban world of the opiated East. We will begin by running hard and fast from the breakout of war!
To quote:
"Our first train trip was not nearly so posh. We were two of twelve, emitting excessive body odor from nervous fear . . . at Allahabad, we were forced off the train when it was commandeered by soldiers for the war effort."
That took place in India when the 1971 Indo/Pakistan war broke out.
Or, in Kabul:
"The gun slipped out of Billy Batman's hands, dropped to the floor, discharged and shot him in the testicles. He chose to die. Billy's wife said it was a conscious decision."
And have you ever been to a Christmas Day beach party in Goa?
"After piling a half dozen sated and stoned party-goers into boats and clearing the shore break . . . the fishermen set up for themselves several bottles of an illegal, powerful whiskey and launched into a celebration of their own . . . they swilled liquor until they were blind drunk . . . these outriggers were very narrow and no one had any experience in manning such a craft . . . we managed, by hand signals and body language, to get them to row us ashore for a swim at Chapora Beach. After a relaxing, enjoyable dip and a few hits off the chillum, it was then up to us to pile the besotted fishermen, now asleep, back into the boats and launch ourselves and the other fools towards our home beach - in the darkness, through shark-filled waters."
A four-part autobiography, "The Bandit of Kabul" is book two of the series "As the Prayer Wheel Turns." Book one "Hoosiers and Hippies in the Sixties" is due out in January.

Reviewed by Ed Leslie, now retired after 35 years writing for television and print.
Stinson Beach, CA.

The Bandit of Kabul fell into my hands unexpectedly. In other words, I probably would not have picked it up at a bookstore. Like many gifts, this book was a genuine pleasure to have received. These adventures of a wide cast of "characters" are crazy and riveting. Additionally, the descriptions of Afghanistan, at that time in history, are vividly done. Hands down, this author has lived a story wilder than the earlier American beatnicks and counter culture tripsters. He took the road trip to new heights, so to speak. Not wanting to downplay the originality of hitting the American highways as described by Kerouac and Kesey, nevertheless, that is a far cry from riding horses through treacherous mountain passes in Afghanistan. Author Beisler and friends were smart, young and had nerves of steel!

Even if I were not on the scene prior to the time that this book takes place, I would enjoy reading about Jerry's high adventures along the now infamous hashish trail. I'm captivated by his love of adventure, political awareness and romantic vision. The characters and settings come to life in vivid detail punctuated by the wonderful snapshots that add spice to an already tasty book. Historians, politicians, archivists take note - this is the real deal.

I saw this book in my local shop and liked the cover and the title. As one who had done a little traveling in Asia I was intrigued about the adventures Jerry and his intrepid friends had back when some of these countries were still somewhat innocent and open to westerners rather than the dark footnotes to current events they've become today. These guys' (I use the term loosely...) appetite for adventure and exotic travel knew no bounds in the anything goes era of the late sixties and early seventies.
As an old pot-smoking hippie myself I enjoyed their continuing quest for the next hashish haven. The descriptions of the places and the never-ending mad-cap adventures kept me turning the pages till there were none left. It, apparently, wasn't all fun and games as there were several near-death situations and judging by the last chapter, entitled: Where Are They Now? This parapatetic, picaresque life was not for the faint of heart as it seems that about every third person depicted in the book is either in jail or deceased. This 'Kat from Kabul' must be on one of his last lives. I highly reccommend this to anyone who ever wondered what it was like to be a wild and crazy hippie back in the day on the 'hashish trail'.

I stumbled on The Banquet Bug by Geling Yan in my "local independent book store." I just spent two weeks in Hong Kong and two days in Macau, so I am fascinated with anything Chinese right now. I want to better understand this vast culture and how it currently manifests.

I just finished reading the book and I am stung by the hugeness of what Geling Yan reports, of the layers and complexity she exposes, in a book presented as a "comedy" and "entertaining." This book is a brutal commentary on life not only in China but in the United States. What is presented here could be written anywhere that the disparity between rich and poor continues to stretch, anywhere where the politicians and builders are corrupt, anywhere where some people have to sell their own blood to live.

This book ends with strong, gentle acclaim for Motherhood, for Little Plum, in her outspoken wisdom, nonjudgment, and innocence. The last word, "Good" is a knife to the soul. Has he compromised his principles, or does he continue to know that what matters can never be bartered, purchased, or sold?

"The Banquet Bug" by Geling Yan centered around Dan Dong, who was laid off as a factory worker and who accidentally stumbled a lucractive part-time job, as a "banquet bug." Dan was mistaken as a journalist at a conference and he was treated to a banquet and it was the best meal he had eaten. On top of that, at the end of the conference, he along with other journalists were given some money which were "a little something for their trouble." He printed fake business cards and thus, began his journey as a professional banquet bug. Soon, he discovered the world of journalism, corruption, and basically deception. His fake job as a journalist became "real" when he was commissioned by the unfortunate, such as peasants, massage girls, and laborers to expose injustice.

This was a interesting satirical novel. Even though the premise of the novel seemed to center on Dan's job as a banquet bug, but it was actually just a stage for the author to write about more serious issues, such as corruption and poverty. The characters in the novel were memorable; such as Dan's fellow assertive journalist, Happy and his quiet but fiery wife, Little Plum. This was somewhat different from the typical Chinese novels that I have read in the past. Highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed Banquet Bug. In this novel, we meet Dan Dong, a laid-off factory worker who is mistakenly ushered in to the world of corrupt journalism, decadent foods, and "money for your troubles". Highly observant of protocol and customs, Dan becomes adept at passing. Dan gradually begins to transform into that which he was pretending to be.

Geiling Yan has given us a treat. All of the characters are vividly created - from Dan's wife Little Plum, to the assertive journalist Happy, and the great artist Ocean Chen. Moreover, the descriptions of the food and locations are wonderful. The novel raises many questions - about identity, oppression, happiness, and authenticity - without sacrificing an enjoyable story. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from Geiling Yan.

Russians have long been notorious for their satirical view of life under the Communist Party government and their willingness to invent jokes about it. For example: "After waiting five hours in line to buy meat, in the dead of winter, Igor begins to snap. He starts jumping up and down, yelling, "I can't stand it anymore! This developed socialism sucks! The system is totally corrupt!" After a couple of minutes, a grim-looking type in a black trenchcoat approaches Igor, shakes his head slowly, points his finger to Igor's temple mimicking a pistol, then walks off without saying a word. Igor comes home especially dejected. His wife asks, "What's the matter? Are they out of meat again?" "Worse," Igor says. "They're out of ammo."

The Chinese are not as well known for cynically humorous self-criticism, but Yan Geling's THE BANQUET BUG adds admirably to an emergent wave of such books from Ma Jian (THE NOODLE MAKER), Ha Jin (THE CRAZED, WAITING), Dai Sijie (MR. MUO'S TRAVELING COUCH), and Annie Wong (THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE). Ms. Yan tells the story of Dan Dong, an emigrant from rural China into Beijing, where he has become a married but unemployed factory worker. Dan and his wife, Little Plum, live in an unused part of the factory, subsisting on canned goods that have passed their expiration date, electricity tapped from the nearly defunct factory, and industrial waste water of indeterminate but suspect quality. One day, Dan inadvertently gets invited to a media event that includes a sumptuous banquet of exotic dishes along with an envelope containing "money for your troubles," the Chinese way of buying good press coverage. Thus begins Dan's new career as a "banquet bug," a person who falsely represents himself as a journalist in order to enjoy the banquets and receive the money for his troubles.

The bulk of Ms. Yan's novel follows Dan's misadventures as he gradually evolves into a poor man's journalist, inadequately educated for the role but instinctively honest in his desire to report truth and express outrage at corruption and injustice. No matter what Dan does or how uninformed he is, he miraculously manages to make the right decisions and say the right things, each time gaining more credibility and greater access to important people; in this, his character is reminiscent of Kosinski's Chauncey Gardiner in BEING THERE. Along the way, Dan Dong meets the renowned artist and fellow landsman Ocean Chen, the ruthlessly ambitious reporter Happy Gao, a foot massaging prostitute named Old Ten, and a small collection of oppressed individuals and rapacious businessmen who each want Dan to write news stories that will help them. Even as Dan practices his own form of banquet crashing deceit, he sees that those he meets simply want to use him for their own ends. In Ms. Yan's China, nearly everyone is both a user and a prostitute, living without principles and selling themselves for whatever gain it affords them. Truth is utterly relative, a product of each individual's particular motivations and objectives, further perverted by State censorship and editors' fears of government sanction.

As Dan becomes increasingly worldly from his journalistic experiences, his moral decline is contrasted with that of his oddly childlike wife, Little Plum. Throughout the book, Little Plum offers an almost saintly presence - uneducated, unassuming, undemanding, forbearing, and unwaveringly persevering. When confronted, she demonstrates flashes of anger and instinctive peasant savvy, but otherwise, she seems so devoid of affect and oblivious to her husband's unfaithfulness as to be almost robotic. In the end, however, it is Little Plum to whom Dan Dong will ultimately return after his two years' exposure to the workings of modern Chinese society - the unjust factory manager who has just upgraded to a Lexus even as he claims he is unable to pay his workers, the sleazy property developer Mr. Wu, the suffering peasants looking for justice in the capital city, even the self-serving guards at a car dealership who threaten to rape Little Plum.

Yan Geling's story is filled with trenchant observations about modern Chinese life, presented in a low key, satirical voice. Whether she is riffing on China's penchant for abstruse statistics and its materialistic perceptions about art (Happy Gao chooses as a gift from Ocean Chen one of his largest paintings based on her computations of the market value per square inch of the master's work), spoofing a saleslady's real estate pitch for an as yet unbuilt complex ("She is like an instructor of Marxism, teaching beautiful ideas of communism, helping you see things far beyond the way they appear now, so you can enjoy them in advance while they are still beautiful ideas."), or simply remarking the moral emptiness of modern Chinese life (Just tell him there's no right or wrong in China; it all depends on who you know."), Ms. Yan is an entertaining and spot-on observer. She wraps her commentary in a creative and engaging story line filled with memorable characters. The end result is a delightful read as well as education in the manners and mores of the "new China" - I heartily recommend THE BANQUET BUG to those interested in China and anyone who enjoys a well-told tale from a different culture. I recommend as well Ms. Yan's earlier novel, THE LOST DAUGHTER OF HAPPINESS, a stunning book that made me an instant fan.

Dan Dong was laid off by the cannery where he worked, so he and his wife Little Plum are forced to live on only noodles and out of date canned sardines. It's not the best fare in China, but it's better than the tree barky gruel with roasted grasshoppers they'd lived on in the past. Still, it's pretty awful, so when Dan is mistaken for a reporter while he's at a posh Bejing hotel looking for a job and is ushered into a press banquet, he goes with the flow and enjoys a fancy meal.

He quickly learns that with a business card saying he is a reporter, he can crash any number of press banquets, and there are a lot of those, banquets supporting causes and products and the press not only gets to eat haute cuisine for free, but they get paid (a small bribe actually) to write favorable stories. Dan goes on an internet site and gets himself a business card and thus he becomes a banquet bug, someone who pretends to be a reporter for the free meals and the cash.

However, much to Dan's chagrin, this banquet bug business isn't exactly on the up and up and the government has spies posing as, well as banquet bugs, trying to root out the phonies. Also, Dan would like his wife Little Plum to sample some of these very high class meals, and that could lead to his downfall. Plus, he begins to grow a conscious. He starts writing, but alas it's not the kind of stories the press wants.

Dan's deception is going to lead him on a roller coaster ride of corruption, greed, great food, an affair with a reporter and will even get him arrested, but through it all Dan's inner goodness shines through. He is a great character in a great book. It's been a couple years since I read THE LOST DAUGHTERS OF HAPPINESS which I adored and I liked BANQUET BUG even better. Perhaps, because BANQUET was written in English, so there wasn't a translator between me and the author, although Cathy Silbers translation of HAPPINESS flows very well. Actually these are both five star books, just wonderful, both of them.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

This is a nice book (and a good value) but the only real connection between Bombay and Miami Beach is that the author lived in both places. Sure, both cities have Art Deco but as I looked through this I was startled that the authors tried to make a Miami Beach connection, when the buildings in Bombay appear to be "separated at birth" from places you see in London or Sydney. Have a look at the Victoria Coach Station in London and you'll see what I mean.

Of course this makes sense since India, Australia and New Zealand were all outposts of the British empire.

Bombay Art Deco is a beautiful book in many ways. The colorful photos of the Art Deco buildings complement the well-written prose. Navin Ramani is the perfect person to write such a book. He grew up in a Bombay Art Deco building as a child and now lives in South Florida and has immersed himself Miami Beach Art Deco. He truly loves and respects the architecture and is an advocate for its preservation. He takes beautiful photos, too.

As a Miami Beach Art Deco guide myself, I loved the chapter on BoMi(BOmbay-MIami Beach), A Tale of Two subtropical Deco Cities. The chapter compares the similar climate, seaside geography, optimism and Hollywood ties of Bombay and Miami Beach. On one page is a Miami Beach landmark and on the facing page is a comparable Bombay landmark. The similarities are truly amazing and one could easily be interchanged with the other. For example, the Indian Merchants Chamber (1935-40) is juxtaposed to what is now Jerry's Famous Deli (1940). The caption is "Curves folding in on curves."

I recommend this book to anyone who likes Art Deco. AFter reading this book, you will want to travel to Bombay to see these buildings for yourself.

Myself and my wife have just bought an art deco apartment in Sydney's inner western suburbs where there was a proliferation of small (generally 4-8 residence) deco style blocks built through the 20's, 30's and early 40's. When we were searching out books to learn more about the style elsewhere in the world this book on Bombay Art Deco really stood out, partly because my wife is an early career South Asian historian (with a specialization on modern Delhi) and neither or us had any idea that there was this collection of buildings in Mumbai. Dehli has its own Art Deco architecture exemplified by buildings like the Imperial Hotel which is a mix of Art Deco luxory and imperial Raj projection of power. However the style in Bombay exemplified in this book looks like it's something different again; sub-tropical and closer to holly-bolly-wood glam in parts than imperial grandeur. We'll be traveling to Mumbai next October for the first time to see these buildings first hand and to take some photos - we reckon this book has given us some great ideas on where to go and what to look for.

A superb tribute to the whole art deco movement, this book is also a loving tribute to one evocative facet of Bombay,her art deco glory.

Excellent job Navin, brings back memories of those beautiful cinema halls where we would take in morning shows bunking off from college, walks along the Oval maidan (hearing Wilson Pickett at your place) and up Phirozeshah Mehta road and across Fountain to Rhythm House...past Dhanraj Mahal and into the Sea Lounge for endless refills of coffee patiently poured by Mr D'Souza until closing time.

One of those rare books that makes one say WHAT a city!!

Who would have thought that Bombay would have the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings outside of Miami Beach. There is a photo on pages 272-273 of Marine Drive, Bombay and you could be forgiven for thinking, at a quick glance, that this might be Ocean Drive, Miami. Navin Ramani reveals the background to this remarkable architectural heritage in the front of his book: the opening of the Suez Canal, a merchant class settling in Bombay, the city becomes the center of the Indian architectural profession and extensive land reclamation from 1929 all helped to create a unique Far Eastern Deco habitat.

The book's many photos show plenty of apartments and commercial buildings with their concrete curved lines, geometric floor patterns and streamlined appearance. It's unfortunate though that the photos also show plenty pipe-work and aircon units spoiling the external look of so many of them. It is the movie palaces that really show off the Deco style. The interiors of the five featured bubble over with streamline curves, recessed lighting and flamboyant marble floor patterns.

Ramani's book will surely be the definitive one about Bombay deco but I was rather disappointed with many of the author's photos. They lack a sharpness and the color is rather muted and dull. I became aware of this when I compared them with Arnold Schwartzman's clean, focused photos of Deco LAndmarks: Art Deco Gems of Los Angeles and in fact there is a good example of the photographic difference in Ramani's book on pages 256-257, on the left is a dull, flat photo of 63 Marine Drive, Bombay and the right a similar looking Hotel Victor in Miami but the photo is sharp, clean and colorful. Still, despite this Bombay Art Deco is certainly worth having if you love this exuberant architecture.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

As a modern day "River Rat," I started reading this book, while waiting to kick off that little invasion down in Panama, affectionately known as "Operation Just Cause" in Dec 1989, and managed to finish reading it in between "Brown Water & coastal Patrols." It's hard to put down once you start reading, and CDR Cutler does this small, sub-community of Navy Special Warfare Sailors justice (pretty unique thing to do for an officer). It's the roots & history of the U.S.N.'s "Brown Water Navy", the combat tactics and actions that are still in use to this date. I highly recommend this literature work to any person(s) that's interested in the Navy, and the and the personnel that forged the Brown Water Navy's history in the volatile rivers, canals and coast line of Viet Nam. A true reflection of courage, human spirit and dedication in the most adverse conditions. PBR= Proud, Brave & Reliable! Keep the Faith

This is a great introduction to the US Navy's river war in Vietnam. Well written, informative, excellently researched, and very fair, it really is a must have for Vietnam history buffs. Plenty of black & white photos. I wish the Cutler had included more maps to go along with the firefights he describes so well, but this is about my only complaint.

In an interesting plot twist, the 2004 Presidential Election has brought a little known arena of the Vietnam War to light. Because Senator John F. Kerry, the Democratic nominee, made his valorous service in Vietnam a central component of his primary run and the centerpiece of his nomination speech at the Democratic Convention, a group of fellow veterans has challenged his version of events that occurred in Vietnam and ran a series of commercials attacking his credibility and calling him to account for the accusations that the young lieutenant had directed at his fellow veterans after coming home. The angry rhetoric that these two groups of veterans have exchanged has been the impetus for the press to write and speak about warfare on the coffee-brown waters of Mekong Delta back in 1968. Unfortunately, it seems like many members of the press haven't done their homework and thus the stories lack the valuable background and contextual information that would have made them more accurate.
"Brown Water, Black Berets" (which is still available) is one of the few books that have been written about the fresh water and coastal navy in Vietnam and I wish it were in wider circulation. It mainly covers the southernmost part of Vietnam, which the military cut into four tactical zones, so the bottom of the country was IV Corps. If we look at a map of Vietnam, we can see that there is a wide river, the Mekong, which empties into a vast delta, just south of Saigon. Because the Mekong ran right into the heartland of South Vietnam, it became a conduit for the North Vietnamese to smuggle arms and supplies into the south in order to equip their allies, the Vietcong guerillas. To interdict these vital supplies, the United States Navy and the Vietnamese Navy had to equip a force of boats that was small enough to navigate the rivers and yet strong enough to fight off attacks from well armed guerillas. Additionally, the Vietcong brought supplies down the coast using sampans and other small boats, requiring offshore Navy and Coast Guard patrols to chase and intercept them.
To fight this new type of war, the United States Navy created a new force of light including the little "Skimmer" a tiny "Boston whaler" used for offshore use, equipped with an outboard engine, the PBR (Patrol Boat River) which was a purpose built 31 ft. long, fiberglass hulled, diesel engined boat with a jet drive (it was made by Jacuzzi - a name familiar to many suburban homeowners) which enabled it able to turn on a dime. Then, there was the Louisiana built "Swift Boat" or in the Navy parlance, the Patrol Craft, Fast (PCF). The now famous Swift was built on the hull of a transport boat that ran crews on and off the oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. These Swifts were a bit larger craft, fifty feet long, with an aluminum hull, powered by twin diesels, with screws, not the jet drive of the PBR. The boats were fast - about 28 knots - and powerfully armed with a pair of twin .50 caliber machine guns mounted over the pilothouse, with another mount on the fantail, this one an over/under arrangement of a single .50 over a 81mm mortar. Despite their weight and the firepower that allowed them to put a great deal of lead on target, the Swift Boats had a shallow 3 ½ foot draft, making it possible to get up small rivers and canals.
In addition to these craft, the Navy had larger boats designed to transport ships upriver and even constructed "Monitors" which were powerfully armed with a 40mm cannon in a rotating turret, hence the name. All these craft were necessary because in the vast delta, there were few roads and the waterways were the easiest way to get around for friend and foe alike. The men of the United States and Vietnamese navies used all of these craft to interdict the enemy's supplies and to transport ground troops and Navy Seals up river. Confronting the small boats of the Vietnamese was a perilous activity because in South Vietnam, every sampan could carry innocent peasants or a Vietcong guerilla with the machine gun or grenade. Additionally, the enemy would lie in wait along the canals, ready to seize the opportunity to ambush the patrol boats with heavy machine guns, mortars and small arms fire.
As the war went on, the Navy came up with some innovative programs in order to take the fight to the enemy, so about the time John Kerry volunteered for them, the Swift Boats and PBR began to operate more aggressively, operating in small flotillas to provide cover to each other. So, up until the later years of the Nixon administration when the United States Navy began winding down its operations, the men of the "Brown Water Navy" performed a difficult task and by all accounts, did it well. As a result, a large percentage of Navy losses in Vietnam - extremely light for offshore sailors - were on the small boats of the inland navy.
"Brown Water, Black Berets" is an award-winning book that interweaves personal stories of heroic fresh water sailors with the "big picture" of the strategic decisions. It also includes information about the design and deployment of the boats. The author, Thomas Cutler, was a veteran of the "Brown Water Navy" and his service in the last year of the war gives him the authority and experience to tell his fellow veteran's story well. Solidly written and well researched, this book will please anyone interested in military history, the Vietnam War or someone who is just curious about the type of boats Senator John F. Kerry commanded as a young lieutenant some thirty-five years ago.

An excellent and highly informative narrative of the nearly unknown world of the United States Navy's small craft fleet in Vietnam. A fine reminder to the sailors of today that individual heroism in a war fought with the machine gun and not missles is part of the recent naval tradition. If anyone can say they followed the path of John Paul Jones and went into harm's way, these sailors can, and LCDR Cutler has told their story well.

I was in the Naval Advisory Group at the same time as LCDR Cutler and I know where he's coming from. He did a great job of research. I'm really surprised at the volume of good factual info he managed to scrape up! BRAVO ZULU from an ex advisor at Rach Soi, Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Bay.

Now in a new edition edited for young readers in elementary grades and older, Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl is the true-life autobiography of a Japanese girl's life during the Depression, World War II, and the Occupation. Young Yaeko Sugama Weldon's memories of a poor but content childhood were torn apart by the crushing impact of war. "At noon time on August 15, Emperor Hirohito spoke to the people. For the first time in history a Japanese emperor spoke to his people!... He announced on the radio that the war was over - not whether we won or lost, just that the war was over and an agreement was made. I was so happy! Most people in our town were excited and relieved. They cheered and hugged each other. Many people were just glad the war was over. We were all tired of the war." Cherry Blossoms in Twilight tells of the jobs she took to earn a living after the war, her marriage to an American serviceman and move to America, motherhood, and the difficulties involved in adjusting to American culture. A handful of black-and-white photographs, a glossary of Japanese terms, and a couple of Japanese children's songs round out this memoir, highly recommended for children's library collections and personal reading shelves.

Cherry Blossoms in Twilight was a delightful read and I recommend everyone to purchase a copy. I am 60 and read it in the first sitting, but it is very appropriate for a school age child. This book tells a true story, includes an index of Japanese words, several songs and the illustrations - drawn by Yaeko - add visual images for the story.

Who wanted war anyway ? is a message we can share with children (and adults) throughout the world. Purchase several copies to give as Holiday gifts, full of memories from Japan, for everyone, no matter what age on your list. You will not be disappointed...

This book is a touching, engaging read. I read it from start to finish in one sitting, not wanting to put it down. It teaches us how important it is to have loved ones document their lives and share their experiences with others, not just family. You feel transported to another time, and laugh and cry with the authors. It gave me a greater understanding of another time and place, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This would be great recommended reading for any age.

"Cherry Blossons in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl," by Yaeko Sugama Weldon, with her daughter, Linda E. Austin, is the charming life story of a Japanese-born senior citizen. It is a book for readers of all ages, from young people learning about history and other cultures to older people who lived through World War II.

Yaeko Sugama was born in 1925 in the small town of Tokorozawa, Japan, where she could see Mt. Fuji and the Chichibu mountain range in the distance. The family was poor, and lived in a typical one-story wooden house with a tin roof. Her father's shoemaking shop was in the front. Yaeko adored her father, but somewhat resented her mother's preference for her brother. "Girls are not so good to have because they marry and leave home, but when a son gets married, he stays to take care of his parents." That was the Japanese custom.

The author describes other customs of the time: the nature celebrations, the making of origami birds and kirigami from colorul paper, Yaeko's pet owl, stories from Japanese folklore. The author's charmingly drawn illustrations from a child's life in Japan are an added bonus.

After "Childhood" comes a section on "School," and then "World War II," "After the War," and "A New Life." The book ends with an appendix of Japanese children's songs, photographs of Japan in the 1950's, and a useful glossary and index of Japanese terms.

World War II disrupted peaceful life in Tokorozawa and brought air raids, bomb shelters, and rationing, leading the children to ask, "Who wants war anyway?" While the war took away the young Japanese men she might have married, it gave Yaeko a view of the outside world. She worked for American military families, eventually married an American soldier, and moved to the Chicago area.

Yaeko Sugama Weldon now lives in St.Louis, Missouri, near her daughter Linda, who helped her put her stories together. This book is a good example of the family memories and experiences we all need to share. While Yaeko expresses her regret that she didn't learn English better, her simple, direct prose is charming. That, as well as the story itself, should make this book especially interesting to young readers. However, I couldn't put it down myself.

Reprinted from "Write Your Life!" at http://www.seniormemoirs.blogspot.com

Since many of my Japanese friends married American servicemen, I looked forward to reading Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl by Yaeko Sugama Weldon and her daughter, Linda E. Austin. To my delight, it reminded me of the "Little House" books except that rather than being written about nineteenth century rural America, this book was written about twentieth century Japan, set in a small town near Tokyo with Mt. Fuji in the distance.

This gentle book shows how children entertained themselves before the advent of mass media--playing outside, catching snails and tadpoles, using flowers and seeds for pretend play, daring each other to take scary adventures such as fetching something from the graveyard or icehouse where others hid in order to scare them. Illustrations and photographs by the authors add to the interest, as Weldon and Austin describe holidays and festivals such as Boys' Day, Girls' Day and Tsukimi (Full Moon Viewing in September).

Not all of Yaeko's life was happy. She describes sibling rivalry, hunger during the Depression, and hiding in air-raid shelters during the war, although these events inspire the reader by showing how these struggles helped Yaeko become stronger. After reading this book, I now understand why many Japanese women married American men during the U.S. occupation, since many of the Japanese men had died in the war.

Children studying other cultures could identify with Yaeko as they read about her life and adventures, while the glossary of Japanese terms might motivate them to learn some Japanese conversational language. Also in the appendices are some delightful children's songs in both Japanese and English and photographs of Japan during the 1950s. This is a well-designed and edited little book that will educate and entertain both elementary and middle school students.

by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women