Asia Books

You will enjoy & learn a lot from this book. One of the most pleasurable experiences I've ever had in Thailand is eating the food. There is such a wide variety food you can eat in Thailand. As you begin to fall in love with this cuisine, you will want to eat new and more varied dishes. Ordering can be challenging as you evolve into more advanced Thai foods. Yes, you can point and gesture, but if you want to more fully enjoy the culinary delights of real Thai food, you need to know what it's called, and say how you want it cooked or mixed to your spice preferences. There is a lot of important etiquette tips, that will help you if you're invited to eat in a home of a family in a village, or with associates in the city. The regional, colloquial, and relevant slang is included. This means, the author has been there and done it, having lived in Thailand for for the most of 25 years, along with superb homework & research. The photographer, Jerry Alexander helps the reader identify visually with some of the foods that are described. The dictionary at the end included many useful phrases in addition to the food vocabulary. One error though, is that the letter "G" in Thai is listed as a "K" which is only the case when it is a stop final, at the end of a word, or syllable cluster. Read, learn, eat, and enjoy.

I went out on a limb and picked this little treasure up with out even looking at any of the recipies. Glad I did. I spent years as a cook and found that most ethnic dishes are a product of the environment and what the people have at their disposal. And that most methods of cooking are the same with just different spices. These cook books have picked up on that and give you the basics. Every Thai Grandma has her own special recipie for curry but the core recipies are all here. Along with, and this is why I'm so impressed with these books, a history of the culture and it's evolution, common customes at the dinner table, how to shop in the markets, what to order when and where, a great map of the country specifying each regions specialties and (these guy's are great) a little dictionary of the Thai language and their pronunciations. These books would not only make a great gift but a perfect addition to a collection of cook books. I only wanted to buy one Thai cook book and I'm glad I found this one first. It's got evey thing you need to learn and creat great Thai food.

I thought I was an expert on Thai food as I have been living in Thailand for 6 years. However, Joe's easy to read book taught me many a new thing. This is not your average cook book. It is really a cross between a travel guide and a recipe book with a sprinkling of cultural information. I would say that it is the definitive book on eating Thai food - whether that be in Thailand or abroad. Highly recommended for anyone who has visited Thailand and has fallen in love with the food or the armchair traveler who is eating Thai food at home.

I bought this book thinking it was just a cookbook, and was surprised to find much more. Eating is an essential part of life in Thailand, and Joe Cummings gives deep insight into Thai culture -- specifically how "being Thai" comes out in the preparation and enjoyment of food.

If you're buying the LP guide to Thailand and are going there for the first time, also buy this book. You'll get a much more in depth description of the Thai way of life, as well manners & etiquette for a foreigner. And you'll want the recipes when you return!!

The Lonely Planet Guides are justly regarded as bibles by backpackers the world over. They are exhaustively researched and very reliable. I backpacked through Thailand last year and relied heavily on Joe Cummings brilliant LP guide for advice, inspiration and tips on what to eat. When I heard that Joe Cummings had written the LP World Food Guide to Thailand I knew it would be as meticulously researched and filled with the same infectious enthusiasm as his guide to the country itself. I was not disappointed. Though this is not the only Thai cookbook you will ever need - there are only twenty or so recipes - the book rightly sets Thai cuisine in its rich context, building the case that Thai food - real Thai food - is one of the world's most exciting cuisines. The story of Thai food - it's distinctive ingredients, the way it is eaten by Thais, the many regional variations, how to shop for Thai ingredients, street food, etc - is studded with relevant recipes made all the more appealing by what you have just learned. Buy it - you won't be disappointed.

When I was preparing to visit China, I sought for more knowledge about China and their culture. Additionally, I wanted to know what things I should look when shopping. Americans buy so many things that say "Made in China", I did not want to bring home one of these items. This book "Look What Came from China!" by Miles Harvey was very helpful. There was just enough information to lead me to further investigate items for which I was interested. I have read this book several times to my grandchildren. They like to play a game with each other trying to see who can name the most things that came from China.

Mr.Harvey's series on the different aspects of life in other parts of the world is an excellent way to introduce grades 2 through 5 many other cultures! This is very well organized information! I highly recommend this book and others in the series.

This nonfiction book gives many interesting facts about things that come from or were invented in China. The book is well organized because there is a table of contents and the book is divided into sections. Along with a glossary, a resource page is also included, which lists other books and websites about China. The book is very educational, and the information presented is clear and direct. The photographs help capture the essence of China's great inventions. The most exciting thing included in the book is the Mandarin language, the official language of China, for some English words. The calligraphy is given first, and then a pronounciation key is provided. The one and only flaw in the book is the illustrations of ancient Chinese people making paper from pulp. The illustrations are vague, which makes it hard to understand the process it took to make paper. This is a great resource to have in any classroom library. Teachers can use this book to introduce a lesson about China. If students are doing research about China, they can use the book to learn valuable information.

If your preschooler likes pictures, and you as the parent like educating, then this is a fun, educational book! I love to use it to teach my chinese daughter about her birth country!
Kay

As a teacher of history, one of the most important lessons I hope to convey to students is why the study of history is of such importance. One reason is, the study of history helps us to comprehend why we are the way we are. In other words, we must look to the past to understand why we eat what we eat, wear what we wear, and view the world as we do. This book admirably supports, with clear, concise prose and colorful illustrations, why the China's history is everyones' history. It is also great fun to read!

I love this book; the unusual way the author created fan shaped pages is delightful.

I used this book in a demonstration in my children's literature class. It was great, the illustrations & pop out pages are great & definately keep the readers/class entertained.

I'm a firm believer in the power of The Magic Fan. I'm sure you will also be after only one reading. This book holds a powerful lesson behind it's beautiful art -- that of self-discovery, independence, and character. I highly recommend this book to parents, adults, and kids of any age!

When my youngest child, now 15, was in kindergarten, I read him this wonderful book. Each year after that he took this book out of the school library the as soon as he could. He enjoyed the story, pictures and learning about another culture. Now I am buying this book for my grandson so he can enjoy this book also. My son can't wait to read it to his nephew.

Currently I am a student teacher, and I used the Magic Fan as one of my selections to discuss multi-culturalism in my class. The Magic Fan is a wonderful example of how different people within a village can help each other while still continue to follow their dreams. Yoshi's discovery that the magic for his great works came from within and children should look and trust what they see within themselves. My class was rivited to the reading and had some very interesting discussions about other projects Yoshi might have attempted. This is a wonderful book for any child's home library!

In another book called The Commanding Self Idries Shah says that the desired effect of these Teaching stories depends upon someone not knowing the intended effect. And this in a Teaching narrative that next tells us that the person he said this to, an editor for one of his books, then asked for an introduction explaining the intended effect of the stories. If you don't think thats funny, you probably won't like this book. There are no explanations here, no descriptions of spirituality, or theories about personal development. What is here, is very finely crafted Teaching stories and narratives that Shah collected from both oral and written sources, adding some of his own when "Sufic comprehensiveness demanded it". The stories are beautiful, challenging, disturbing, and often banal. And then one reads them again and finds that they are none of these things; that those were simply some of your own personal reactions to them. This book is a remarkable acheivement; a mirror for what can't be written down.

This book not only entertains, it educates as well. The tales and vignettes in it are called Teaching Stories because teaching is precisely what they do. They teach the reader how to escape from the confines and limitations of usual, normal thinking processes. They do so by showing the reader to himself or herself, reflected in the actions and motivations of the characters in the tales. The reader can learn how to operate more free of bias. The effect is similar to suddenly coming across riches, the riches buried within ourselves. Repeated readings reveal more layers and depths, each guiding the reader to greater understanding and freedom. 'The Magic Monastery' is, for these reasons, quite a catch.

About Sufism, it has been said that "in the West it's become very complicated because spiritual authority is understood on the wrong levels."

Shah's delivery is often times directed toward certain constructs of the ego within this reader's psyche. Painfulness is almost always imminent because he is capable in pointing out the fractures of this reader's brittle comprehension of Life. He points out how I can be my own worst enemy that keeps me from taking necessary steps needed to live a healthy and fulfilling life. In this sense, his tone can, in some instances, become characteristic of a stern father, a strict sensei, or a tough coach helping me steer clear of self-imagined obstructions. These moments aren't really ever pleasant, as they tend to turn my insides, and I feel singed. But, with some help, I am able to understand that this is an essential prerequisite for transformation in the Sufi way; therefore, I choose to understand these types of stern approaches in terms of "tough loving" that help bring equilibrium to my egoic ratios (inflation:deflation), and step in the direction of freeing myself of myself.

The Sufi stories within the Magic Monastery are, for me, the best times of diligent reading and mindful inner listening. I definitely become more aware of any inner voices compelling reactions and responses. Self-punishing? or self-rewarding? You make what you want of it.

Do you want to get to know yourself? That's what I did. Each of these stories is an opportunity to discover another aspect of your personality. Like me, you will find stories which you will like or find amusing, perhaps others that will annoy or startle you. Each is a mine of possibility that enriches with subsequent readings. Spend time with Idries Shah... and get to know You.

Here are 157 pieces of literature, most on a single page. Each one is like a room in a monastery; not the one in the title story, which is the product of the illusions of the greedy, but a genuine, inner one. Some rooms have windows through which to see the world around us more clearly. Some rooms have mirrors in which to see ourselves more clearly. Both windows and mirrors are specialized to help us see subtle things that we would otherwise miss. Then we realize that the windows have become mirrors, and the mirrors, windows. A handbook for inner work.

This cookbook is great! I've only been on the diet for a few weeks, so hopefully it works! Gives all of the information for a great diet, and tons of recipes that are easy to follow. Mostly involves eating a lot of low fat whole grains, and pastas--and staying away from red meats. If you want to check out information on the diet before purchasing the book, just check out their website at mediterrasian.com.

It just makes sense. The most delicious food is the most healthful. A few years ago it dawned on me that all my favorite cuisines were either from the Mediterranean or Asian regions. I daydreamed about a "MediterrAsian" restaurant, thinking what a catchy name I had cleverly invented. Surely no one else would ever join such different styles of food together. Or would they? I plunked "mediterrasian" into a search engine and was transported to a place even better than my imaginary restaurant.

Ric and Trudy's website was like an oasis to me. All my life I had never had to worry about my weight, but that changed when I became pregnant at age 29. By the time I found their website, number two was on the way and my metabolism wasn't keeping up. Dieting was completely foreign to me, and being a foodie who loved cooking, I dreaded the idea of having to give up fats like cheese, olives and avocados, or carbs like pasta, potatoes, and fresh fruits. All the popular diet programs either consisted of calorie counting (i.e. small portions of reduced fat or non-fat foods) or of eliminating carbs and eating lots of protein. My dream diet was more along the lines of French Women Don't Get Fat meets Yan Can Cook, but I didn't know how to translate that to every day life, or if it would even be healthy. Joining a gym sounded about as appealing as going to the dentist. Formal exercise and sports were not this bookworm's cup of tea.

So when the Mediterrasian Way presented that third, balanced option, it simply felt right...and had the scientific basis to back it up--not just from recent times, but going back centuries. As I explored the extensive website, it was like coming home--from a nutritional and culinary perspective, it all resonated with my knowledge and experience, gleaned from both my own education and being raised by a health-conscious ethnically diverse cooking-oriented family. Not only did the theory make sense, but the authors had translated it into practical menus and recipes for every day living.

The emphasis on natural movement was something I had always intuited, so it was refreshing to see that validated by the longevity reported in studies of Mediterranean and Asian cultures based on an active (and simultaneously restful) lifestyle combined with healthful cooking. Granted, I couldn't achieve that level of movement with my nose in a book or up against a computer screen all day, but as a mother of little ones and a homemaker in a house with stairs, my once somewhat sedentary existence has been exchanged for a life made up of fairly rigorous hands-on tasks.

I was tempted to print out the whole website, but instead I emailed the authors, thanking them for creating such an amazing resource and suggesting they turn it into a book. Well, I wasn't the only one, so it came as no surprise when about a year later, Ric informed me they were doing just that. I was quite willing to pay to hold a printed and bound version of their website in my hands, but the book is actually much more than that. It's a chronological journey and explanation of The MediterrAsian Way, as well as a treasury of creative meal planning ideas and recipes with pages of mouthwatering full color photographs.

Like the way of life it outlines, the book is light enough to read in a day, but so rich in content that I keep returning to it to absorb the principles and implement the techniques. Because no foods are excluded, this style of cooking and eating lends itself to very versatile and flexible menus.

In a literary sense, it reads more like a guidebook than a textbook, perfect for the armchair traveler, but also meaningful to those of us who've been overseas and are delighted to revisit the flavors and lifestyle we tasted while abroad. Thanks to Ric and Trudy's excellent direction, I have found my MediterrAsian restaurant--right in my own kitchen.

The book is beautiful from the very cover and is not just a collection of recipes. The first part explains the Mediterrasian philosophy, backed up with medical facts and history, and an actual plan to follow a Mediterrasian way of life for 14 days. (As someone currently living in Italy, I can say living like this for far more than 14 days is anything but a pain!) The second part is a catalog of delicious recipes showcased with beautiful pictures that, by a historical coincidence, happen to be great for your health.

Not only a cookbook with great, fairly simple recipes but it also offers a unique 14 day menu/lifestyle plan a la mediterraean. I especially love the suggestions for menu/activity/lifestyle based on certain occasions such as a romantic evening, hectic weekend, airplane travel and several others. Great suggestions for living a more balanced, relaxed life and eating healthier as well. Highly recommended for those looking for something beyond the standard cookbook. Beautiful color pics as well of many of the recipes featured.

This is not a diet plan. This is some rather helpful information that may lead to healthy lifestyle adjustments. The recipes are delicious. I found one error in the book as far as a page number but that is all. I am a cheese lover, but so far I have adapted more of an Asian approach to eating and I must say that I really don't miss dairy as much as I thought I would.

I hope that Ric And Trudi take it to the next level and provide some nutritional information on the various accompaniments that can be consumed with foods. I'm sure that there is some benefits to the various pickles, relishes, and non-alcoholic beverages I have enjoyed since my youth other than the taste they provide. There has not been much written on the subject but I'm sure a better understanding will add more dimension and enjoyment to eating food.

This book helped a real novice better grasp the many vested interests in this region. While I didn't get much hope for long and stable peace, I believe everyone must keep talking. And, all governments must do their best to resolve the territory issues between Isreal and Palestine.

This book gives one the opportunity to really see what is or has occurred in the Middle East. The truth is sometimes a very uncomfortable fact to live with. Having spent some time in the Middle east and being interested in the area, I find the facts overwhelmingly true. Kudos, Mr. James for being brave enough to state the facts, as they are. The reason I gave the review four stars and not five is that Mr. James did not write enough.

If this book was mandatory reading for all public policy officials in the US government, I believe the Middle East would be a different place today. Not since reading Thomas Friedman have i read a more accurate and balance view of the "realities" of the middle east. When i was younger, I assumed that our elected officials and state dept personnel understood these basic realities but as i have moved through time it has become painfully evident that they do not.

This book should be mandatory reading for all who seek to make peace in the middle east or who seek to do business there. It seperates the realities from the hype and gives the reader perspective on the issues of today and how they evolved from history.

A great quick read and to the point!

I like the way the author exposes the motivation and incentives which lead up to the events in the Middle East, rather than just a description of them. Also, finally someone has come along with actual solutions to the complex issues in the Middle East instead of just a history lesson.

With the recent tragic events in Lebanon, and the continued conflict throughout the Middle East, Mr. James' book provides background and insight to give the reader a better understanding of the current situation.

I found this book in the library when I was 14 and LOVED it. I didn't get my own copy until I was 19 (yes, long wait) but I was so happy when I did. The selection is great and the format easily readable. Having never read any tanka before I found this book, I can assure you that the poetry retains the beautiful lyricism of Haiku while expanding on concepts and often adding a more "human" element to the ideas portrayed. Great book for any Tanka lover or to those new to tanka.

Seeing the way this 1000 year old form is being used by modern Japanese writers is inspiring. If you are trying to get the hang of writing any kind of poetry, reading these selections will give your imagination a boost.

a sheer delight in every possible sense. luminous translations, excellent choices, and fascinating biographies. a must for lovers of japanese poetry. or anybody looking for an other-worldly experience.

A wonderful (and beautifully laid-out and translated) anthology crammed with dozens of astonishing poems, plus an excellent introduction. A must for all lovers of poetry, especially tanka

Not only is the book beautiful to have in your hands, its contents are excellent. Ueda's introduction is a comprehensive look at the development of the tanka form, and an orientation of its poets within the broader literary movements of Japanese tanka, and other contemporary poetry. Each poet is introduced with a reletively lengthy biography which provides personal information helpful to the contemplation of their poetry, especially considering that tanka are mostly occasional poems written as an expression of daily living. If you've never read tanka, try it. You'll find yourself seeing your life in immortal poetic fragments. And if you already do document your life in poems, here is an elegant and simple way to express yourself in metric form.

This is a fun read book! Even an armchair mountain climber like myself, can experience the ups and downs of an incredible journey!

Kevin is just a regular guy who's passion propels him to the top of the world. The best part is that the reader gets to go there too! Good stuff! It was hard to put this book down!

Definitely a masterpeice to add along side my Jon Krakauer's, Into Thin Air; David Breashear's, High Exposure; Kenneth Kamler's, Doctor on Everest; and Ed Viestur's, Himalayan Quest.

Being an Everest-phile who can't read enough about this mountain, I highly recommend this book. It's not just about climbing Everest, it's the battles of overcoming one's weaknesses to do so on....the mountain and in everyday life.

Warning: Whatever you do, do NOT read the Table of Contents or you will find yourself completely seduced by the fascinating chapter titles and you'll be skipping ahead. Titles such as:

Big Head Todd, the Monster
Heading to Base Camp, and the Dead Yak in Room 5
May 16, 2002-The Day I Stayed in the Tent
I'm Through With Big Mountains Forever-I'm Finally Cured
Cheesedick at LAX
The Advantages of Failure
My Dad's Dying
Reindeer Copulation Hat
Potty Talk (literally)

Kevin wrote such a funny book that you'll laugh out loud. He also writes about failing and how it haunts you until you right the wrong of failing.

I, too, had a hike in which it was a day I did not get out of the tent. It was on the mountaineer's route of Mt. Whitney (pretty much exactly 1/2 the height of Everest) and I was so zonked out by the steep hike, I laid in my tent the next day while my hiking party summitted and HATED myself. I could feel exactly what Kevin felt the first time he attempted Everest and did not have the energy to get out and go while everyone else did...even a group of women! On the way home from the trip he tried to avoid talking to anyone about where he'd been because they couldn't understand that while he'd gotten so far up, why didn't he just go for the summit? Very, very funny reading! (See Cheesedick at LAX chapter.)

This failure haunts him for years until he goes out and sets it straight. Being an amateur climber he really paints a stunningly clear picture of what it's like and what it feels like, physically and mentally, to challenge the Big One. What he writes can impact your regular life.

I don't want to give away the ending, but Kevin gives a great first hand description of what it's like to be so tired that finally standing on Everest he feels nothing, he just wants to get DOWN! Which is easier than said. First he had to negotiate down the steep, rocky Hillary Step, then, so exhausted, UP the 60 foot face of the South Summit, Everest not being a just downhill mountain. He just wanted to stop and sleep for a while and we all know what happens when you just "sleep" on Everest. He also credits Sherpa Mingma for saving his life, patiently rousing him awake constantly to get him off the mountain as night falls (chapter "Kevin, please...")

I hope Kevin finds another adventure and writes a book about it. This book is one you can't put down and is extremely well-written. There are superb color photos and some pretty pathetic ones of him after he finally conquers Everest.

Kevin, I'm planning on going to Everest Base Camp next year, being a trekker you climbers hate as "disease carriers", but I can't wait to experience Nepal as you described it!

Congratulations Kevin, great book!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was so approachable and down to earth, but also gave an exciting and realistic account of his climbs. I'm not a climber, but was looking for an inspirational read. The author really expresses himself as a climber and as a person with some significant depth of character. You don't need to be a mountain climber to read and thoroughly enjoy this book.

Kevin Flynn takes the reader on a personally guided tour of Mt. Everest. The account is extremely interesting, without being bogged down with the technical intricacies of the climb. The story is told in very personal, self-effacing terms. It's well worth the read, whether a climber, a fan, or neither. I found extremely inspirational.

I have always been fascinated with those who climb Mt. Everest. This is such a great down to earth book. You feel as though you are along for the climb and how very difficult it is. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When you think of an "explorer" you think of a guy like Hedin. From an early age he ventured again and again into large swatches of Asian geography where few or no Europeans had ever trod. Hedin graphically and realistically portrays his travels with such detail that you can feel the cold, the heat, the parched throats, the curious indigenous eyes and the scenery staggering in its beauty. When you come to the end of this book, you will be all "adventured" out, for on almost every page there is a suspenseful, fascinating episode. Hedin was truly an explorer's explorer. His greatness is dimmed, however, by his fervent support of Naziism during WWII. As someone has writen elsewhere, Hedin knew about the death camps and never disavowed them. He was a solid Nazi partisan. In an epilogue to this book, author and admirer Peter Hopkirk urges us to look at Hedin's many and major contributions and to forgive his pro-German activities in both world wars. I'm not quite willing to forgive, but I will segment my views of Hedin into Hedin the explorer and Hedin the Nazi sympathizer. Anyhow,if you're looking for a fascinating book about exploration in the most forbidding sectors of our planet at the turn of the 20th century, this is a book for you.

(This refers to the National Geographic Reprint edition)

This is truly a great book, full of the amazing adventures of an incredible explorer. You have to admire Hedin's determination and stubborness, although sometimes I wonder about his planning. It seems like every trip all his animals die, and the men are on the verge of starvation. And as for his trips in the desert, I would have thought the concept of "take some extra water" would have occured at some point!
Hedin is a fine writer, and his descriptions are not only accessible to the average reader, but often quite poetic as well.
Nevertheless, I only reluctantly give this a full 5 stars, because I feel that National Geographic missed a great opportunity to make this an almost perfect book, and it wouldn't have been that difficult to do. As a previous reviewer mentioned, some good maps could have helped. There's almost no excuse for NG not to have included some decent maps of Central Asia in their edition. Furthermore, one tends to forget (although Hedin mentions in the text), that he also took photographs on many of his travels. These might have been included as well. (To see some, refer to the Photos section of the website of the Sven Hedin Foundation, "http://www.etnografiska.se/hedinweb/htmsidor/organi.htm"). Aside from the simplistic drawings that are included, Hedin also did many detailed sketches and potraits on his travels. Now one can assume that none of these were included in the original, and this is only a reprint, but nevertheless, it is a missed opportunity. The introductory chapter by A.Brandt also adds little insight, and might as well have been left out as well.
However, despite the lost opportunities, this book is highly recommended.

The Swede Sven Hedin was the last great explorer we will see on this well-traveled planet. Hedin was born in 1865 and this autobiography describes his life up until 1908. Hedin's career was hardly finished, however, as he continued to traipse down the old Silk Road in Central Asia until the 1930s when he was 70 years old.

In a happy trait that should be copied by more auto-biographers, Hedin doesn't spend much time on his childhood. By the third page of his narrative he is 20 years old and off to the Caucasus Mountains which only whets his appetite for the little-known peaks and deserts of Tibet and Central Asia. He spent the years between 1893 and 1908 exploring these regions and filling in blank places on the map.

National Geographic's "Traveler" magazine put this book on its list of 100 best adventure books and, truly, the tales of Hedin's adventures make for good, exciting reading. Hedin displays both charm and generosity in his account. He traveled without the company of other Europeans and he enjoyed the companionship of his local helpers and the dogs he adopted along his way. He draws many clever portraits of the people he met in his travels. Hedin, however, was no mere adventurer. He was a serious, sober scholar who produced dozens of scientific studies of his findings.

One of the most hair raising tales in the book concerns Hedin's first expedition into the sands of the Takla Makhan (desert) of China in which he and his companions nearly died of thirst. A second high point of the book is the account of his attempt to visit Lhasa, the forbidden capital of Tibet. He failed after getting nearly to the gates of the city and was denied the honor of becoming the first foreigner to visit Lhasa in half a century. Amidst the plethora of adventures, the stoic Swede brushes over incidents others would consider high -- or low -- points of their lives. "Fever kept me in Kashgar a long while" is his complete description of one serious illness.

The book is illustrated with many of Hedin's drawings, including his hand drawn maps. I suggest that you read the book with a good modern map at hand so as to trace his routes with more precision as his constant tooing-and-froing can be confusing.

Smallchief

This is a tale wonderfully told of an explorer's quest to fill in the blank spots on the map of Asia. Not only does Hedin present a clear and highly entertaining view of his travels, but he also gives us a portrait of his character. He shows us that he is a man with high goals and is undeterred in achieving those goals, even when all odds are against him. He shows us that he is also a very caring man, very much concerned about the welfare of his men and his animals. He also is a man that is awestruck by nature and is very concerned about not unduly intruding upon it or unnecessarily destroying it.

But most of all, this is an adventure story that is just plain fun to read.

A suggestion to readers who are not very familiar with the geography of central Asia would be to have on hand some good maps as the ones Hedin draws are quite limited and often fail to give the perspective that may be desireable.

I concur with NDylanRay@aol.com. This book is exceptional. I could hardly put it down. You feel the excitement and intensity of his adventures, you begin to understand the force that drives him (and you respect him for it), and you meet the people and the places that make Turkestan and Tibet 100 years ago like no place that you could ever imagine.

With the New Territories of Hong Kong fast becoming home to massive housing developments, franchised restaurants, and even a Disneyland, it's great to have this book as a reminder of times past. While the story of British colonialism is not a happy one in many parts of the world, one finds in this book an account of a British reversal of fortune: Coates frequently finds himself lost and confused, and he freely admits that he was probably a failure as a magistrate.

What the post-1997 reader can glean from this book, apart from a description of rural Cantonese life, is a telling account of relations between the British Civil Service and those they ruled and administered. But beyond this, careful insights are made into the nature of the Cantonese/Chinese mind that cannot help but be beneficial, even today. Coates was a man that asked questions of everybody all the time, and he was very observant of his surroundings. More than simply one of the numerous (bad) attempts gwailous make to "explain" the Chinese to the uninitiated, he rather sets an example for other Westerners to follow: not to assume others think the same way, and to ask plenty of questions when one doesn't understand certain cultural points.

Most importantly, it's a very easy read. Pick it up before you fly to HK...you'll finish it before you land.

I agree with the other reviewers. This is an excellent book that will help gweilos understand the Cantonese (and, to a lesser extent, Chinese and Asians in general) a bit better. If you're a Westerner planning to move to Asia, this may help to prepare you for the experience of never quite knowing what the real problem is and never getting a straight answer (at least not the first 20 times you ask the question). I lived in Hong Kong for 6 years and can't say that I totally understand the mindset of the "locals", but this book helped. And it was fun to read! I had bought at least 5 copies by the time I left Hong Kong (most of which went to friends and family), and I wish that I had purchased more. It's a classic.

One reason this book is now unobtainable in Hong Kong is the number of copies I have bought and given (or had 'borrowed' by) friends over the years. Dated but entertaining, excellent account of living in HK, away from Mid-Levels and the expatriate lifestyle. Bob Howlett

This is a completely charming account of Austin Coates' period as a Special Magistrate in Hong Kong's New Territories. I've never read a foreigner who combines so well a frank portrayal of the difficulties in understanding the rural Cantonese mentality, with such sympathy. Coates comes at his subject with a singular highly intuitive vision, and it's impossible not to come away enriched.

This exceptionally well written book of anecdotes and personal experiences should be required reading for any Westerner visiting or conducting business in China or other countries where the Chinese culture subsists. At times humourous, at times tragic it leads the reader through a series of situations experienced by the author, an Englishman, as he plys his trade as a special magistrate in post-war Hong Kong. It has helped me to understand some of the more baffling moments of my life here in Hong Kong in the 1990s. Thoroughly recommended.