Washington Books

It's an opportunity to read this book, it gave me the chance to review and understand the background of these students' encounters in lives, although their stories were not such a fantastic & successful one, but they became a group of rather outstanding and brilliant figures in China. Their stories should inspire the younger generations.

In this modern world, lots and lots of Chinese students who came over to foreign lands, not only U.S.A. but some other countries such as New Zealand, tended to complain about the treatment received from their host countries, but should they read through this book and they would accept that these were the facts of lives.

Being a foreinger in this foreign land myself, I would recommend the Chinese students to understand the hard fact of lives. How this group of Overseas Students from China encountered. And hopefully that would be an inspiration to their own encounter.

As it is popular to study science and technology in the west, it is not uncommon to hear that So and So is the first in China these days. While many are highly exaggerated claims. This is an authorative book on the detailed study of first 123 Chinese boys sent by the Chinese imperial court under Yung Wing to go to Hartford, Conn. learning about the language, cultural and
science. Most became well established as adults in foreign service, engineering, as well as outstanding military officers.

This is a facinating biography on these young teen boys. When they returned to China they actually faced prejedice and skeptism. As we look back they actually contributied much to the transformation of modern China. I was fortunate to have been brought up in a family with much foreign educated engineers and have a deep appreciation of
how modern education can change our society.

I bought this for my wife. She did not read it but I have. The portraits are of people with different experiences. It's a good read.

These are the first-person stories of some fifteen ordinary families - some composed by the subjects and some generated as oral histories - together with oodles of family photos - some in Old World regalia, some in tee-shirts and cut-offs; a cowboy, a NASCAR driver, a decorated Veteran, a Louisiana sheriff, a ballerina, an artist in his studio, a multi-millionaire real estate magnate with her bare feet up on her desk. They, like you and I, are all immigrants or the descendents of immigrants. In this album, the immigrants are Chinese.

In the current malodorous sump of American politics, where Screaming Heads on TV have more influence than face-to-face time with neighbors or books, certain demagogues have done their utmost to foment fear of immigration and loathing of immigrant groups who bring different religious cultures. The Chinese were subject to just such virulent racism during the last decades of the 19th Century. A national law was passed, by the Congress of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to exclude the Chinese from immigration. They were branded as unassimilable, in large part because of their religion, or lack of a proper religion from a WASP perspective. They were called morally degenerate, phsyically unappealing, unsanitary, and over-sexed. It was a felony in many states for a "white" person to marry one. Certain writers, including Madison Grant, warned that they would outbreed the "great race" of Northern Europeans, that they had aspirations in fact to do so and to dominate the world.

One chapter in this book, concerning several generations of the Wong Family in Albert Lea, Minnesota, has powerful personal meaning to me. I was born on a farm near Albert Lea. My father was an immigrant and my mother's family were "old world" in all but clothing. There was one Chinese restaurant in the whole county, owned by the one Chinese family in Albert Lea, the Wongs. My mother went to high school with a Wong girl. I'd like to brag that they were friends, but the Wongs of her generation don't remember having friends until they moved away to Chicago and New York. One of the Wong girls married a Haitian in New York, becoming Eleanor Wong Telemaque, a writer. Shawn Wong also became a writer and a race-car driver. Eleanor's daughter Adrienne became a ballerina and married Philip Nash, of Irish and Japanese descent. I'm afraid my mother and her siblings lost a huge opportunity; the Wongs were probably the most interesting neighbors they had in Albert Lea, Minnesota in the 1930s.

Vice Premier Qian's Son Writes Book on the Experience of Chinese Students in the United States
A February 1997 report from U.S. Embassy Beijing

Summary. Chinese Foreign Minister Qian's son, Qian Ning, has written a best-selling book about his impressions of life as a student in the United States. Qian wrote his book upon his
return to China after studying journalism and Chinese literature for five years at the University of Michigan. Studying in America, now a runaway best-seller in both legal and pirated editions, reflects the Qian Ning's very deep and fair-minded assessment of China, America and their relations. Far deeper and much more sophisticated than the recent wave
of shallow, America bashing best-sellers, Qian's book is imbued with Chinese patriotism with a clear-eyed and fair-minded view of the good and the bad of Chinese and American society and traditions. Although only a small percentage of the Chinese students who went to the United States over the last fifteen years have returned to China, more and more are choosing to come back as economic conditions improve and political controls loosen.

The importance of this book is that it affords a vision of the U.S. as it is reflected in the Chinese mind and a vision of China through Chinese minds which have been profoundly transformed by their American experience. In this cable we present Embassy Beijing Environment Science and Technology Section officer's extensive summary of Qian's work
with page numbers from the first edition which also hold for the numerous pirate editions sold. End summary.

The full review is available on the U.S. Embassy Beijing web page at ...

Chinese Students Encounter America is really a treasure. The anecdotes of foreign students as they experience, confront, and cope with education and life in America are priceless. The translation is very well-done. For those who are interested in Chinese-American relations, modern Chinese history, or the foreign student experience in America, this is a very interesting and unique vantage point.

Very little in our high school or college histories prepares us for the Washington we encounter in these pages. The roles of revolutionary warrior and first president have been reprised often in other countries so we are now over-familiar with someone being called 'the George Washington of someplace or other'.
Wills points out that Washington, by force of his personality and integrity came to stand for the American people and republic before the existence of either was widely acknowledged. Washington was a hero, but he was a hero in times that had a very different idea of what heroism was. Wills' job in this book is to recreate the perspective of the enlightenment and then let us see Washington through that perspective in three great moments of his career. Interestingly, two of these moments-his resignation as Commander of the Army and surrender of the presidency in his farewell address involve the relinquishment of power. The third, his lending his name and prestige to the Constitutional Convention involved the risk of ruining his reputation.
How the Age of the Enlightenment set the stage and how Washington and his contemporaries used that stage is a story that's both fascinating and humbling.

On a less elevated note, both my copy and one at the Philadelphia Free Library are missing pages 183-198. I hope that when this book is reprinted, they will be restored.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG: A Novel and New Short Course in Wine,The

In this magnificent book, Garry Wills presents a shrewd, learned analysis of the reasons for George Washington's central role in the American Revolution and the creation of the American Republic. Far better than Joseph Ellis's HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, this fine book examines the three critical episodes in Washington's public life -- his resignation in 1783, at the Revolution's close, as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army; his role in the framing and adoption and effectuation of the Constitution; and his decision to retire from the Presidency after two terms of office. Washington was, as Wills calls him, a virtuoso of resignation, and Wills's fine book explains why. It should be restored to print.

A wonderfully distressful novel! Mary takes you to many complex levels that are part of the experience of being human. This book will not only force you to look at the complex prejudice and discrimination issues in our culture, but will expose parts of your own heart you may not want to see. The characters become vivid and alive and you will miss them for days after the last page has been turned. Kudos! to Mary Anderson Parks. Please don't make us wait to long for your next book. Yes, please do write a sequel and let us know about Sky and Katherine.

Mary Parks has created a character who is believable and real. She makes choices by intuition to preserve her family and herself by returning to her home on the reservation. After making the choice to be there, she makes the best of her difficult relationship with her mother and the man she gets too involved with. This character stayed with me for days as I read her search for herself and her ability to make wrong choice yet not be devastated by these mistakes. I liked her courage and her inner solidity as she makes her way into a new life. The themes of interracial marriage and raising children in a sometimes hostile world are intriguing and touch us as the sturggles of many women in the 90s.

This is a very readable and extensively researched look at the trees of Washington D.C. It's an excellent field guide for identifying trees, but the thing I like most about it is that it tells the fascinating stories behind so many of the trees planted in D.C. If you live near D.C. and have even a mild interest in its history, I strongly recommend this book!

I originally bought Melanie Choukas-Bradley's CITY OF TREES in its hardcover coffee-table edition and have followed its evolution since. As a Washingtonian of some thirty years' standing, I was originally unaware that this beautiful city was ever known as the City of Trees, but now that I've read Melanie's book, I've looked at the city through different eyes. Though the cherry blossoms are the best-known trees of the city, there's so much more, from the sights in every neighborhood through the rich diversity of our parks. DC is a beautiful city, and there's not nearly enough in print to show and share that beauty. Get this book.

These were perfect in every way for touring Wash DC. Gave all info for everything & how to get there anyway

These cards provide an excellent way to get out and explore the nation's capital city. Having studied DC's architecture and as a resident of DC (going on my fifth year in the city), I must say these cards are a great way to learn more about the city and its neighborhoods. I have used these cards to take students on a architectural tour of the capital and found them to be well-done, convenient and pretty comprehensive. Definitely a way to make a tourist's self-guided tour more interesting (and prevent them from getting lost, too).

This is a great read for any DC resident; the pictures will certainly delight and amuse and educate!

Having just moved to the area, it's nice to have a little history lesson. The photos are incredible. Things have changed in our neighborhood. Anyone native of DC will love this book and any from the IMAGES of AMERICA series.

A tale of woe, with twins seperated at birth, children lost to their parents and a man whose life is sacrifice unless he can pay an enormous debt. And that is just the first scenes.

Then, you dive head first into broad slapstick and grand comedy. One twin is a married bawd, the other is a mostly honorable bachelor. The wrong master addresses the wrong servant, the wife gets mad at the wrong twin, and everyone thinks everyone else has lost their minds. Grand fun all around, and an inspiration for every comic troupe to follow (including the Marx brothers, Peter Sellers, and Disney in several manifestations).

Shakespearean comedy at its best!

E.M. Van Court

Along with "Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Comedy of Errors" remains my favorite comedy to this day. While this is a hilarious play, the story actually starts quite sad. A merchant from Syracuse named Egeon is illegally in Ephesus, and will be executed unless he can come up with 1,000 marks. He appeals to the duke and explains that he has been separated from his wife, his 2 (identical twins-Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse) sons, and their 2 (identical twins Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse) servants. Yes, it does pass plausibility that the twins would have identical names, but the confusion to come can only occur if their names are identical. So, we have to be willing to forgive this for the sake of the play's comedy to come. The duke is moved into sympathy and gives him the day to come up with 1,000 marks. Some people feel this sad scene does not belong, but I can not agree. One, it sets the mood, and two, a little bit of sadness prevents a comedy from becoming an utter farce. Also, despite the comedy of the future acts, we don't really forget this serious situation at hand, and as we enjoy the comedy, we still are in suspense as to what will happen to Egeon. Well, in comes Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio of Syracuse. And we learn that Egeon was speaking of them. (Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse grew up with Egeon, and thus know him, but Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus never knew their father or brothers for that matter.) What makes this comedy so wonderful is that not only does Shakespeare maintain the comical aspects of it, but he gradually increases the tension. At first, the 'errors' only lead to private and comical misunderstandings. But later, more outside parties get involved as both Antipholuses and Dromios are mistaken for their twins. Later, Antipholus of Ephesus suspects that his wife is having an affair. (And in my opinion, he had stronger grounds for suspecting this than the so called noble Othello. After all, poor Antipholus of Ephesus was locked out of his own house! And through a closed door, his wife told him to go away!) Soon, the errors lead to Antipholus of Ephesus and his friend Angelo getting arrested. And by the end of the 4th act, the confusion and errors have gotten so intense and out of hand that several characters in the play are angry at each other, and not one or two, but SEVERAL of the characters are in danger of being physically hurt. But leave it to Shakespeare to resolve everything just in time and give us a happy ending with all the characters enjoying a merry feast! Perhaps the greatest thing about this story is that there are no villains and there is no intentional deception. (Just a lot of misunderstandings.) And perhaps Shakespeare is telling us that many of our conflicts in life are due to misunderstandings.

This isn't normally the kind of book I read because I never went to Georgetown Law School, I'm not involved in the construction field, and have an aversion to legal matters but the author has been a friend for over 35 years. So I was very surprised to find myself eagerly reading the book because of all the historical tidbits he interspersed with notes on the progress of the building. As a resident of Washington DC since 1968, I was thrilled to learn some little known facts about the city (at least to me) which Wally wrote about so wonderfully. It is remarkable the way he juxtaposed those facts with basic information on the status of the new building. It's a pleasure to know that in addition to all his other fine qualities, he is a good writer. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn more about Washington DC or Georgetown Law School.

I have been following Mlyniec's work for over thirty five years. Most of his writng has distilled around the constellation of issues having to do with juvenile justice. So, it is with some pleasure that we find Mlyniec delving into the history of building materials and passing along stories of an old neighborhood as it returns to its place in historic Washington.

For many in the criminal justice field the email has become a weapon to be used in the tug of war between prosecution and defense. Here we find a whole series of emails now tranformed into a charming adventure in building as Dean Mlyniec attempts to keep student and professor and the campus in general apace with the development of the new Law Center. And he succeeds wildly.

This three part history of the building of the Georgetown Law Center and its surrounding neighborhood and the building materials that constitute its makeup are a wonderful read told by a natural storyteller. We can only hope that his next project will focus on his beloved Chicago Cubs.