Asia Books

I have purchased three of these books at 3 separate times. Two I gave to friends, and the last was for myself. One of these friends was with me in Suzhou, China, as we wandered through small, chilly shops where women clustered together to sew these beautiful paintings on large wood frames. Those we talked to had done this since childhood. My friend wanted to buy some silk thread to experiment with on her own, but we found the range of colors to be overwhelming. Of course, I gave her this book. She is still in China, and can bring this book into the shop, point to the project color charts, and get the thread she needs without speaking a word of Mandarin. (I purchased several "paintings," but I use this book to relive my favorite day in China, and learn more about this beautiful art form.)

I love this book, I have found it to be very informative and having shown another friend who loves needlework, she can't wait to get her own book.
The pictures and details are lovely, it is well written and easy to understand,

I have the 1979 version of this book. This book inspired me to pick up a needle and for the last 25 years, strive to create my own needlework masterpieces.

excellent book. There are 16 stitches to learn and they are well ilistrated. Also with each stitch explainaton, there are photos of embroideries using the stitch. There are 19 projects with detailed directions. The most amazing feature is that the colours for the projects is keyed to the DMC floss colours.

This is a good read notwithstanding the sometimes academic treatment of the topic which at best is boring and long winded. Having said as much, the author does a pretty through job of addressing the various aspects of Pathan history which departs quite significantly from the common understanding of the average Pathan of himself and his heritage.

I for one was quite amazed to see the argument posed by the author and the facts laid therein to substantiate his proposition. However, by and large it is a book worth reading given the subject of Pathan history is something that can not be fully understood from a single read.

If you are not a Sindi, Punjabi, Hazara, Tajik or other enemies of the Afghans/Pakhtoon, this is a must reading for you.

This book is an extremely useful work for historical reference, perhaps the only one in its category extant. It can be called a magnum opus. The narrative of its writer is, of course, tinted heavily with his own emotion--and he has pointed this out to the reader himself when describing the nature of his book--therefore this aspect of the book may also be taken as a "historical reference", to its VIP author's attitudes, but otherwise has no value and is sincere, but very harmfully misleading to the unacquainted reader, about the true nature of the evil Pathan society and its ways, in the present time especially. The Pathans/Pakhtuns/Afghans were always a backward, turbulent society with a criminal culture, but they have changed drastically for the worse in the 44 years since this book was first written, mostly in the last 20 years or so.

This is one of the most comprehensive books on the subject of the Pathans (Pukhtoon or Pushtoon. Written by the last British Governor of the North West Frontier Province, this book traces the geneaology of this unusual race. Recently the Readers Digest (July 2000) wrote a story on the connection with Alexander the Great. This is a scholary work so if you are looking for light reading this is not for you. At one time Afghan and Pathan or Pukhtoon/Pushtoon were synonymous. It was the fear of the Pathans of Pakistan joining with the Pathans of Afghanistan that led Pakistan to deny naming the province "Pashtunistan" (Land of the Pashtuns)for fear of lending legitimacy to their desire for independence. Winston Churchill fought here. So did Sherlock Holmes' friend Dr. Watson. The general fascination with this area can be gauged by the number of National Geographic articles about it. This book brings these people to life and gives them the honorable treatment they have earned. I should know, I am a Pukhtoon of the Yousafzai (Joseph's Children) tribe.

Brilliant in every way, David Kidd's carefully weaved tale of the end of Old China, as seen through the eyes of an upper class family, is profoundly personal and endearing. As it wavers between fact and fiction its underlining message becomes abundantly clear: the Old China is gone and never to be forgotten, even as those who lived it fall into the abyss of time. A moving,humorous, delightful, and sorrowful read. Simply brilliant.

This book haunts..it stays with you as a most intimate portrait of those special and tender people caught in the transition between the old China and the Revolution in 1948. No account has ever brought more tears and love for those real people who saw and felt their world change almost beyond their understanding.

Beautifully, lyrically rendered in the author's inimitable voice, full of haunting descriptions of a world that is gone forever yet never to be forgotten. David Kidd was truly one of a kind, unique in every way.

Memoirs of the surviving privileged classes who lost everything in twentieth-century revolutions can often seem terribly materialistic and self-pitying: when displaced aristocrats wail and wail for their lost tiaras or smashed porcelain, without a jot of sympathy for why they were asked to leave in the first place, you can begin perversely to develop sympathy for the cadres who called these people class parasites and threw them out. David Kidd's memoir of marrying into an ancient and wealthy Chinese family in 1948 shows every sign of such a work, but it's far better than it starts out to be (given his adoration for lives of privilege and his almost willfuil refusal to see the point of view of why anyone would support the Communists in 1949 in the first place). The superb descriptions of the Yu family's rotting but beautiful manor are done with great humor and artistry as well as with melancholy, and the very memorable portrait of the phlegmatic and wry Yus themselves seems to bring additional perspective and depth to the material. What emerges in the end is (despite the book's brevity) a very artful and moving snapshot of a world in transition

Brilliant in every way, David Kidd's carefully weaved tale of the end of Old China, as seen through the eyes of an upper class family, is profoundly personal and endearing. As it wavers between fact and fiction its underlining message becomes abundantly clear: the Old China is gone and never to be forgotten, even as those who lived it fall into the abyss of time. A moving,humorous, delightful, and sorrowful read. Simply brilliant.

This book haunts..it stays with you as a most intimate portrait of those special and tender people caught in the transition between the old China and the Revolution in 1948. No account has ever brought more tears and love for those real people who saw and felt their world change almost beyond their understanding.

Beautifully, lyrically rendered in the author's inimitable voice, full of haunting descriptions of a world that is gone forever yet never to be forgotten. David Kidd was truly one of a kind, unique in every way.

Memoirs of the surviving privileged classes who lost everything in twentieth-century revolutions can often seem terribly materialistic and self-pitying: when displaced aristocrats wail and wail for their lost tiaras or smashed porcelain, without a jot of sympathy for why they were asked to leave in the first place, you can begin perversely to develop sympathy for the cadres who called these people class parasites and threw them out. David Kidd's memoir of marrying into an ancient and wealthy Chinese family in 1948 shows every sign of such a work, but it's far better than it starts out to be (given his adoration for lives of privilege and his almost willfuil refusal to see the point of view of why anyone would support the Communists in 1949 in the first place). The superb descriptions of the Yu family's rotting but beautiful manor are done with great humor and artistry as well as with melancholy, and the very memorable portrait of the phlegmatic and wry Yus themselves seems to bring additional perspective and depth to the material. What emerges in the end is (despite the book's brevity) a very artful and moving snapshot of a world in transition

I really like this book for a first course in topology. It has the right level and balance of subjects. The book has been very hard to find for a number of years but has now been republished by Thomson Learning in Singapore. The new ISBN is 981-243-288-4.

I was very disappointed to see that this text is out of print. I would like to use this text for our topology topics course at USAFA. It pitches the subject at just the right level for the beginner in topolgy! Fabulous First Text! Does anyone know how I could get my hands on about 30 copies. OR know of one similar to this text which is still in print?

I taught a one semester course on basic point set topology out of this book. The emphasis in the first half is on metric spaces, which provide the most natural class of examples for the basic principles of point set topology that any student taking a course in topology must know about. There is little extraneous material, and I found that the students thought the book was very good. This was a group of students at a regional campus of a large state university, and I would recommend the book for a beginning course at a comparable campus. Those teaching at research institutions will want more.

As many math educators agree, there are many textbooks not written for beginners. This textbook is outstanding for any level of beginner. I wish it can be picked up by Dover. I highly recommend it to any reader who wants to know the subject: Topology.

William Berry has written a well-detailed, although brief, look at his attempted escape and captivity after the fall of Correigdor. While not a scholarly look at these events, the author gives a good account of his capture, escape and trek through the jungle, recapture and liberation by American servicemen from Bilibid prison in Manila. He painfully recounts the agony these men went through as they were crammed, up to 13 men at one time, into a 10 by 10 cell and forced to sit, without flinching, and stare at the wall all day.

As a recaptured prisoner, Berry and his two comrades somehow survive the war, as the usual penalty for escape is execution. They were sent to the maximum security prison in Manila for "special prisoners", and many prisoners stopped here only long enough to be sentenced and shot. Berry, who was a fledgling lawyer before enlisting in the Navy, saw these skills save his life and the lives of his friends when being sentenced, not so much his arguments, of course, but rather how he shaped it to fit his audience (A Japanese tribunal)

This book does not take long to read, but it is an interesting tale, and well worth the time invested. But, if you want greater scope and detail of Americans in Japanese captivity, read "Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavan Daws, an extremely informative and well-written look at the horrors these men had to endure daily.

The author of this book is my grandfather. I found this book to be inspiring as I am also a soldier. I am in the Army and found this book to give me a greater appreciation of my profession as well as bring a greater understanding of my grandfather's life and why he is so proud. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand what POWs in the Philippines went through. I have lent my copy of his book to several of my friends and they all gave it great reviews as well.

This is an excellent first hand account. It is rather well done, more so than several others I have read. I do wish we had more like this one. Very inspiring. I felt it gave even a greater insight to the war in the Pacific. Recommend you add this one to your collection.

One of the few true to life books written by a WWII POW. As a history buff I find the first hand accounts in this book of the authors experiances and the others he came in contact a first rate story of America's darkest time. A must for all those who want to know more about POW's of the Japanese.

Having been stationed in the Philippines and traveled to Battan and Corrigidor it brought the meaning of those visits a little sharper in focus.

This touchingly illustrated book normalizes the adoption path toward building a Jewish family. The author describes the process of adding a Vietnamese-born child to a Jewish family. The text resonnates with its simplicity. Even though it is filled with warm emotions, it is never corny and respects the diversity that it added to a family in a multi-cultural adoption as an addition of greater wealth of identities. This book would appeal to children as young as 3 and up to about 8.

Hear an interview with Rebecca's Journey Home author Brynn Olenberg Sugarman on The Book of Life podcast's September 2007 episode "Seeing Through New Eyes," at www.bookoflifepodcast.com! Brynn talks about the book's creation, and the inspiration for adopting her own daughter, Rachel.

Mrs. Stein is eager to adopt a new baby girl to add to her family, consisting of herself and Mr. Stein, along with Jacob (age 8), and Gabe (age 4). As she tells her family," There were so many babies and children in the world whose parents had loved them, but could not take care of them". The story follows familiar territory- over a period of a year, Mrs. Stein gets ready for the big day; she needs to fill out documents, answer questions, and attend meetings until she is finally told there is a baby waiting for her in Vietnam. While in Vietnam, she patiently waits for permission to take the baby home and spends her time shopping and emailing her family who can't wait to meet baby Rebecca. Back in the United States, the focus is on Rebecca's Judaism; on Shabbat, a special blessing is made for her. When she is almost one; Rebecca is taken to the mikvah and given the Hebrew name, Rivka Shoshanah. As her mother proudly states, " She is now Vietnamese, American, and Jewish!".
This endearing picture book perfectly captures the growing trend of international adoption among the American Jewish community. Warm, stylized pastel double-spread illustrations complement the text and make this a great book for sharing aloud. The author, a mom with an adopted Vietnamese baby, draws on her own experiences, to realistically portray the excitement and joy of having a new family member. For all families, this title would be especially useful in a Jewish preschool or temple library.
Ages 4-8.
Reviewed by Debby Gold

A picture book portraying a Jewish-American family adopting a child from overseas is long overdue and Rebecca's Journey Home handles the subject with sensitivity and warmth. The beautifully written text explains how the Stein family, with two biological children, wish to build their family and share their home with one of the many children in the world "whose parents had loved them but could not take care of them." Each Shabbat since the beginning of their adoption process the family blesses their two boys and includes a blessing for their new daughter in Vietnam. They explain to their sons that while their new sister Rebecca will always be Vietnamese, she will also be American and Jewish. The story ends with Rebecca's trip to the mikveh where she receives her Hebrew name. This book will especially appeal to families with adopted children and libraries who wish to celebrate the diversity of the Jewish community.

Revolt in Paradise is a classic and it is good to see it in print again after a long absence. It is rather hard to classify this book: maybe autobiography, perhaps historical novel, possibly adventure story. On the face of it, it purports to be autobiographical: the story of a British-born American woman's fifteen years in Indonesia in the 1930s and 1940s. Doubt has been cast on its accuracy and indeed the author beings the book by saying, `It is always difficult to be completely honest about oneself'. This does not matter. It's a great story.

The story is divided into three parts. The first part tells of her time in Bali. In 1932 in Hollywood she saw the film Bali,The Last Paradise and shortly after set sail from New York on a cargo ship. She was an artist and made for Bali immediately after arriving in Java. Like all visitors at that time she stayed in the Dutch owned Bali Hotel in Denpasar. She felt, however, that this was not Bali but Holland, part of the colonial masters' country, and determined to leave as quickly as possible and live in a Balinese village. Such a thing was unheard of in those days but she hated the Dutch attitudes. She took off in her car, driving herself, and decided to stop when she ran out of petrol. The car happened to halt outside a Rajah's palace and although she does not mention it I have it on good authority that it was the palace of Bangli.

She was accepted as one of the family and given a Balinese name - K'tut Tantri. K'tut is the fourth-born child - the Rajah already had three. In this section she describes what it was like to live with a royal family. She describes the various ceremonies she attended and trips she took. She also tells of run-ins and arguments with the Dutch authorities. They did not approve and schemed to deport her, but never succeeded. Her analysis is not terribly profound - the Balinese are all wonderful and the Dutch are all terrible. She herself is heroic and brilliant at all things. She formed a very close relationship with the Rajah's son Agung Nura. My informant tells me that she formed an even closer relationship with the Rajah himself. Agung Nura was active in the independence movement, which K'tut Tanri later joined.

She found palace life a bit restrictive and unrepresentative of real Bali life and moved out and as she put it, `bought practically the whole of Kuta beach'. Here she put up a hotel in partnership with some Americans. This is a delightful section of the book despite the fact that she fell out with the Americans. The accounts of her relationships with her staff are endearing and clearly affectionate. The first hotel in Kuta seems to have been very popular. It was not a financial success, however, and she ran into difficulties with the Dutch authorities. Europe was at war. Germany invaded Holland and Japan invaded Indonesia - they landed in Bali first. The Dutch did not fire a shot in defence and fled to Java. It was no longer safe. K'tut Tantri left for Surabaya in East Java. The hotel was demolished by looters permitted by the Japanese.

The second section of the book recounts her time in Japanese occupied Java. The Dutch quickly surrendered. She was able to negotiate travel passes with the Japanese and helped the underground resistance movement against the Japanese. She narrates stories of arms smuggling and tales of derring-do. K'tut Tanti always plays a starring role. Finally she was caught and imprisoned for more than two years until almost the end of the war. She was tortured and the descriptions are quite harrowing.

The third and final section of the book describes the long independence struggle and her part in it. After the war the Dutch wanted to come back to Indonesia as overlords. The English helped them and bombed Surabaya, which was unarmed and did not have air-raid shelters, for three consecutive days. The blood of hundreds was shed. Women and children died. It was a turning point for K'tut Tantri and she determined to help the Indonesians again. She broadcast twice nightly in English from secret radio stations run by the guerillas. By this means she brought the struggle to the attention of the World and became known herself as Surabaya Sue. She also helped spread the word in an English language magazine called The Voice of Free Indonesia. She met and wrote a speech for President Sukarno. There were more cloak and dagger escapades until she went to Australia and toured the main cities publicizing Indonesia's case for freedom. Finally six years after the War ended World opinion forced the Dutch to grant Indonesia her independence.

The book ends there; K'tut Tanti drifts back to New York. After all the excitement it is rather an anti-climax and the reader is left dangling wanting to know more. Whether or not it is all true, it's a jolly good read.

Murni
Ubud, Bali

I was surprised to learn about the Dutch atrocities in Indonesia. The Japanese were bad enough and there are plenty accounts of their inhumane treatment of natives in conquered countries. However, what the Dutch did before and after the war was not good. In light of the current times torturing of others is unacceptable. Perps, no matter where they reside, White House included, should never be given a free pass on this behavior. They should all be hunted down and punished for their crimes against humanity. This is a fantastic account of human tragedy that should be brought to light and pursued for accountability.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was greatly pleased to come across this book of historical...history? *grin* This autobiography is well written and compelling. Having lived in Indonesia for a number of years (and having visited Bali), I found it really fascinating. I think anyone would enjoy it, though. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with world history.

Very good book. Tells a fascinating story about the author's life in Indonesia. Brave lady who was willing to risk everything for all she believed in.Vivid picture of Bali and the situation there, and the people and culture.

Wow. That sums this up in one word. The recipies are setup for a serving of 1 person. No division required for odd number of people, just multiply the recipie and wham! We've made dozens of the recipies and although I'm white, I've got a phillipeano friend that's telling everyone that I'm asian. The meals come out soo good I've got people asking us to cook for them. It's got helpful information for properly preparing rice, and other aspects of cooking that might be foreign to a lot of people out there. I definately recommend this for everyone.

I am not a Japanese but my wife and I love eating Japanese food. We bought this book and used it multiple times for cooking dinner. The instruction was clear and the result was tasty. Highly recommended.

PS: We usually just look at the photos in the book to pick the rice bowl that we want to prepare.

I picked up this book on a trip to Japan and didn't really expect much out of it. To my surprise, it's become one of my all-time favourite cookbooks. It's a great way to start learning about Japanese home cooking. There are also some great recipes for Korean and Chinese dishes. Every recipe I've tried is quite tasty and easy to prepare. It's also great when cooking for 1-2 people or when you're on the go. For years I've thought rice was a side bowl of dry and bland grains. Well, no more! Get yourself a decent rice cooker and get ready for a new way of preparing wholesome, quick, and delicious meals.

If you like rice dishes, buy this book. I'm no cook, but I've tried 3 different dishes in as many nights, and they all turned out great.

There're MANY simple, delicious dishes that you can cook up within an hour or less. All I've bought so far is sake (I have most other oriental spices, oil, and what nots).

I just had to get used to cooking w/o salt, cos you use soy sauce alot of times.

Buy it and enjoy it!

This is a great story for any age group. My eight year old son read this book and learned more about current events than the news could have ever taught him. I used this book in my tenth grade class room when we did a unit on picture books and changing the world and my students were prompted to plan a school wide "tolerance / compassion" day so that others could learn more about people around the world.

I think this is a great book for encouraging discussion of diversity in the classroom.

In the school where I teach a lot of the children come from refugee backgrounds and this story was something they could really relate to. But the other kids could relate to it too.

The imagery is powerful and the kids loved it.

Dealing with refugee children i must say this is a great book, it realy captures the heartache of the afgahni experience.

"It's always the same. The jets scream overhead." is the powerful first line of this story that resonates even more forcefully in the wake of the September 11th attacks. The Roses in My Carpets is a masterful tale of a young Afghan refugee by Toronto writer Rukhsana Khan. It is based on a true story, that of the author's foster child in Peshawar, Pakistan. With the unfolding of historical events, it is probably destined to be a classic.

Spare, grim and unsentimental, the story is a beautifully woven narrative of a young fatherless refugee boy caring for his mother and sister in a war-torn world. Symbolic of the loss of identity suffered by refugees, the boy remains nameless throughout the story. Movingly, he struggles to survive with his family within the sombre parameters that govern his universe. Escape finally arrives when he goes to his job as an apprentice carpet weaver. There he makes sure "there are plenty of roses in my carpets". As the story ends, hope surfaces in the young boy's dream of finding "a space, the size of a carpet, where the bombs cannot touch us."

Ronald Himler's watercolour and pencil drawings look overwhelmingly familiar with the images that now flood our homes through television. I have read Roses to my four year old many times and she appreciated the opportunity to comprehend the devastating effect of war on families. I would highly recommend it to other parents and teachers.