Hawaii Books

There are several positives to "The Rise of Asia" by Frank B. Tipton. First, the book is deep and it deals with a breadth of subjects. Second, one of the subjects that it deals with, in some detail, is the economic development of Asia -- which we all need to understand. Third, over and above the economic development, Tipton also deals with the role of politics and international relations as factors in this book. Fourth, Tipton also records the rise of Asia as partially a factor of Nationalism. Fifth, Tipton records the role of technology as a dynamic in Asian development. Sixth, he deals with the women's issue. A heretofore-neglected issue, he has to be commended for bringing the women's issue to our attention. However, I will later indicate that he needs to bring up the women's issue in light of a larger field of social implications. Lastly, one of the greatest assets of this book is the extended bibliography. Despite the "all English" listing, it is still a valuable list of references. Let us begin by examining the breadth and depth. Tipton goes from the pre-colonial, through the colonial and then finally closes with the contemporary. Moreover, Tipton deals with both East and Southeast Asian countries. Along all these different time frames and countries, Tipton deals with the territorial governments and precepts of governance relating to these times and places. What do I mean? In other words, Tipton traces the contemporary back to pre-colonial and colonial roots of Japan, China, Japan, Korea as well as Southeast Asia. According to Samuel Huntington, in his book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" (also available on Amazon.com), East Asian economic development is altering the balance of power between Asia and the West. Along these same lines, Tipton's "The Rise of Asia" is a space, of the same kind, to explain the long-term economic growth in East Asia and beyond.

Tipton is clear that the rise of East Asia as an economic player in the world scene was not a sudden thing -- it was eons in the making. Tipton also explores the impact this growth will have on the world scene. The text spotlights economic development and Tipton puts economic history first. Tipton examines political and international relations as well. In this book, Tipton explores issues of politics and international relations. Tipton, in his depth and breadth is surely not quick to oversimplify anything -- he takes great pains to explain it all the best he can. Tipton knows that the neo-classical model does not fully explain the whole of East Asia. For Tipton, East Asia is limited to the Confucian based countries of Japan and the Four Tigers. In these countries, Confucianism is the basis for "Value" foundation. Tipton is aware that the difference is the extent and the form. This reviewer is under the impression the mixed system explanation is best for the 5 countries involved. Japan is the "poster child" for government intervention, where the Keiretsu is heavily involved with the government. Moreover, the Korean elite was heavily involved with the government. Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Hong King and were less and less involved with government. Tipton is aware that it is not simply neo-classical economics but to a large extent "statist" government intervention as well. It is simply a matter of figuring how and how much. This book also deals with nationalism and its links to economic growth. Tipton is good because he looks at Asia in context. Moreover, Tipton takes seriously the impact that social structures -- such things as civic society -- have had on the "Asian Miracle." Tipton posits that the economic success of East Asia is not limited or attributed to Asian Values alone. Tipton also deals at length with importation of technology as a consequential issue, especially in East Asia. Tipton uses on whole chapter to examine the issue of women in Asia. To his credit he does rigorously reflect on the women's issue. However, Tipton needs to include the women's issue within the larger framework of all the social ramifications of such rapid growth in such a short time. Then there is the issue of Tipton's extensive 27-page bibliography. This book certainly draws from several sources. I was particularly impressed by his reference to Leah Greenfeld's "Nationalism - Five Roads to Modernity" (also available on Amazon.com) and her use of Nietzsche's Ressentiment. Despite the range and depth of the choices for reference, scholars have observed, as did this reviewer, about the lack of non-English books. Personally, as a non-expert, I would benefit from seeing more source material reference that is based on languages from the countries being studied. With a topic such as East and Southeast Asia, one would think that Tipton would include more local authors.

Miguel B. Llora

an excellent resource full of detailed maps, full color photographs, and detailed explanations of the geological features of each area of the Park. It will greatly enhance your exploration of the park.

A great way to experience Hawaii!

Exhibition catalogs are of course primarily meant as mementos of a pleasant museum visit, often perhaps of some certain interesting exhibit that especially captured one's imagination that day. And if you were lucky enough to see the "Sacred Treasures of Mount Koya" exhibit at the Honolulu Academy of Arts back in 2002, then this fine, beautifully printed book would serve that function wonderfully. Like many such exhibition catalogs, though, it transcends its original purpose and makes for a visually stunning and intellectually fascinating art book in its own right, one featuring many religious art works of Shingon Buddhism both famous and obscure, common and unusual. Ninety-one items were loaned to Hawaii straight from Mount Koya (one of the chief headquarters of Shingon Buddhism), a generous and historic first; twenty more items came from the Honolulu Academy of Art's own holdings in conjunction with this event, and are themselves more or less rarely seen.

In terms of illustrations, this book gets it right. All are in gloriously vibrant full color, and all are printed reasonably large (full page, usually). The explanatory text is a bit weaker. Introductory essays by Jane Tanabe and Shinryu Izutsu do a fine job overall of kicking things off, especially for those who are new and unfamiliar to this form of sacred art and iconography. Little blurbs explaining each item are more uneven in quality sometimes and are all the way in the back of the book, making a constant flip back-and-forth necessary for anyone who wants to know what they're looking at (I ended up using two bookmarks as I navigated along). On the good side, all text is thoroughly bilingual, in English and Japanese--nobody gets skimped, as sometimes occurs. Anyway, a picture's worth a thousand words, and it's the pictures that count here.

So, illustrations of what? iconographic renderings of Buddhist deities both in sculpture and painting, both singly and arranged in complex mandalas--some serene, some full of righteous fury, some of a cosmic scale, some local guardians of Koyasan's grounds. And much more: portraits of Shingon saints, historically valuable maps of Koyasan's temple complex through the ages, actual ritual implements, portable personal shrines, calligraphic scrolls of scriptures, and in general a fabulous variety befitting such a wondrously intricate religious system. And all dating from its origins in the Heian period up until the twentieth century.

In fact, I was surprised. I've been deeply interested in Shingon Buddhism for almost two decades now; I've been to its temples in Japan and collected any number of works on Shingon art and iconography. I thought I'd more or less seen it all. I was wrong. This book does include some old familiar standards that are nonetheless nice to see again, but it also features a very large number of pieces I've never set eyes on before in all my years of enthusiasm. Partly that seems to be due to the practical limitations of the exhibit itself, so that fewer registered national treasures from the Heian and Kamakura periods show up, yielding the floor to more commonly ignored but actually very fine works of lesser (art historical) distinction from the Muromachi, Edo, and even Meiji periods (even one from 1935 by Buzan Kimura, a student of Okakura Tenshin). The religious significance of these works, though, more than makes up for any art historical and aesthetic deficiencies--and for that matter, most of them seemed deficient only in lacking the patina of age, the accumulation of centuries for pigments to fade or flake off and so accord the work a misleadingly austere appearance. Anyway, even if you have dozens of books on this subject, I bet you'll find something new and intriguing herein. Check it out!

P.S. for more on the sacred mountain temple complex from which these works come, check out the very readable and informative Sacred Koyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kobo Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha.

I should start by admitting that I am biased towards the author -- he was my professor at UCLA and he taught a great class. We actually got to read parts of this book before it was published. Now that I read the whole thing, I can see how much I learned from Professor DuBois. The book is full of detail from the time he lived in China, and is something that ordinary people can understand and enjoy. Just like he was in class, DuBois is a natural storyteller, and this book not only educates, it also entertains. After reading this, I really felt like I could understand the beliefs and lives of the people in the book. This is a slightly expensive book (I read it in a library!), but worth it!

Just like the book says it is full of photographic pictures. Outstanding scenery and beautiful people. Author & photographer did an excellent job in portraying the Samoan lifestyle, custom, family, etc.

A superbe and well researched book that not only covers the history of the lines and the ships, but the people and even economics as well. To go along with a flowing and interesting text, there are numerous photographs, maps, ship plans as well as photos of actual schedules, rate cards, and even charts of accounts.

Definitely not dry, the book is thoroughly readable and a lot of fun for anyone interested in either shipping or commercial evolution of Hawaii.

I had no idea that so much fascinating information about death and the afterlife could be gleaned from ancient Chinese manuscripts. The author does an amazing job of reconstructing actual religious practice. Also makes great connections to Buddhist philosophy and rituals that are important everywhere in the Buddhist world.

This is a book that anyone interested in writing from Asia and the Pacific ought to read. Insightful, engaging, and a complete pleasure. Includes a great collection of Korean women writers.

I have taken three different Indoensian language classes, and this book is unequivocally the best.