Asia Books

This is an excellent translation. The book contains a number of appendices which are superb analyses of different issues dealing with Alexander's history.
As a professional historian I can recommend the book without hesitation.

MJ Olbrycht

This book is one of two volumes written by Arrian on Alexander the Great. So many books have been written about this fascinating and charigmatic young man.Although most of the documents from Alexander's lifetime have vanished,this one is the closest that we can get to him.

In my own opinion I think that the documents that vanished may have been in the Alexandria library,or possibly were the body or remains of Alexander are.

What I liked the most in this book is the fact that the name of the cities and places that Alexander conquered are also named with today's actual names,making it easy for us lovers of history to relate to today's geography.

The Theban battle is very well written with so many details, not only the amount of horses,companions,hypastis and so on but the way that Alexander he himself planned.How Alexander took care of the innocent people,and how he cared for them,example the battle of Agis. What he did to the citizens of Soli, giving their land and money back.Details of Darius' mother,wife and children.
For instance I did not know that Dairus married his own sister.
there is so much in this book that it is really worth having if you are a true historian buff of Alexander's time.

The details of the army that conquered which tribe and city.How many horses, carriages, elephants, companions were used for each battle.

The treason fo Philotas and the killing of Parmenio,are also detailed here.The revolt of Agis,India and the Persian Empire, plus detailes of Alexander's army.

I enjoyed reading it very very much.I hope that you will do the same.

Arrian's Books, in two volumes, are perhaps the most informative and accurate existing account of the expeditions of Alexander the Great. The accounts are historical and also give insight into the personality of Alexander. Contrary to most histories, the texts are an easy read, with descriptions of places, people, and events giving the reader a good sense of the adventures encountered by Alexander and his men. The tale is told directly. Alexander's sexuality, the love of his troops for their leader, and all the other human qualities intermingled in a real life situation are presented without bias.
The text is in greek and english, in flanking pages. The footnotes are helpful, providing clarity to definitions of words in their historical context. The second volume contains various Appendixes providing added information on Military Questions, India, Mearchus' Voyage (Alexander's Sea Captain), etc.
For one wising to learn of Alexander, this is the best source available.

Henry Glassie has written one of the great books of the 21st Century. His descriptions of the history of Bangladesh provide exactly the context needed to understand the folklife and art that he chooses to present from this nation. Glassie balances his own thought-provoking and insightful interpretations with articulate and intriguing texts, edited together from hundreds of hours of interview material. In this manner, Glassie guides the reader to a great understanding of the incredible artistry of the people of Bangladesh. Reading this book forces one to reflect on a range of important issues -- the central one being a compassionate concern with what it means to be wealthy or poor in Bangladesh, and in America.

"Art" must be taken very broadly, not to misjudge this book by its title. Glassie is such an honest, humble writer, one would forgive him for staying with the high arts, but he brings us into the back yards of potters and other craftspeople who labor in mud and obscurity. What I appreciate the most is his exquisite sense of the moment. Glassie never generalizes or universalizes; he shows us how lives and art change (not constantly, but imperceptibly, and also in sudden surges), and at the end we know more about all people by knowing more about these few.

The author has captured the essence of East Bengal in this marvelous book about art in Bangladesh. While the primary medium is pottery, the book also touches on rickshaw art, engraving, boat building, straw mat production and others. More than a description of art and the artists, it delves into the philosophy of Bengal and reaches depths of religious understanding (especially among the Hindu community); that many of us who lived in Bangladesh did not encounter. If you love Bangladesh, this book is must reading.

The chapter summaries are easy to read and succint. Well written book.
Beware subtitle, however. Modern methods of conflict resolution are win/win and more spiritual than this! This classic is studied at West Point!

With a shelf full of versions of "The Art of War" why purchase another one? This is a question one could ask of me. I have a dozen versions of "The Art of War," yet I purchased and read "The Art of War - Spirituality for Conflict" and am extremely glad that I did.

This version of "The Art of War" annotated and explained was annotated by Thomas Huynh and it is his translations with the editors at his website Sonshi. There is a foreword by Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce and a preface by Thomas Cleary. It was Cleary's preface that helped me decide to purchase this version, since several of my versions were translated by Cleary, and I've enjoyed the numerous translations of his I've read over the years.

Huynh states that he wishes he would have had this translation when he first started studying Sun Tzu's words twenty years ago. After reading it, I agree that any student of Sun Tzu will benefit from "The Art of War - Spirituality for Conflict."

Besides the interesting foreword and preface, there is a good introduction that lays some basic history and information for those new to Sun Tzu and those that have studied various translations already. One impressive fact about this book is that it is the work of twenty years of study with over forty reputable scholars working on it.

I enjoyed how this edition addresses a spiritual approach to conflict through Sun Tzu's teachings. The book still contains the thirteen chapters that were written by Sun Tzu. They are laid out in a format that has the translated text on the right side page, with the commentary to the translated text on the left side page. If a person wanted to, they could read every right hand page and they would be reading the entire translated text of "The Art of War."

However, if you truly study "The Art of War" like I enjoy doing, you will not only read the translated text, you will savor the commentary and annotations as well as ponder the lessons beyond Huynh's guidance.

In the annotations, Huynh provides examples relating to the text from many sources. It is refreshing to see things from the Bible, Buddha, and Lao Tzu not contrasting each other, but illustrating points and guiding toward conflict resolution. The text also includes examples based on General Robert E. Lee, Fourth Geneva Convention, a sermon delivered by Martin Luther king Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1957, George Washington, Robert Gates to the U.S. Congress in 2007, Henry David Thoreau, mathematics professor and investment trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure, and many more. These examples and illustrations of lessons and principles help with the study and application of "The Art of War" to other areas than only military strategy.

This is important, because while many readers of this text will benefit in areas other than in the military. While I first studied "The Art of War" while in the U.S. Army, I study it now for different reasons. It is a text that not only can help the military person, but any person who deals with conflict. And we all face conflict!

Sun Tzu's teachings are effective in all conflict, not only war. This new translation, with the annotations and explanations will allow any reader, from those with no previous knowledge of "The Art of War" to those who have studied multiple volumes, to learn and apply Sun Tzu's sage advice. It is very insightful and will not only help with your understanding and application of the ancient text, but will provide you with guidance to prevent and resolve conflicts in your own life.

If you want to study conflict resolution through a book about war. This is the text for you. If you have never read "The Art of War," this is a good book to start your studies. It is clear, easy to read, and contains excellent annotations to apply the lessons to your life. If you are a student of "The Art of War," this is a must add to your collection. You will find it an informative and refreshing look at this classic manual. I am very happy that I decided to purchase yet another volume. Its practical and pragmatic guidance has broadened my understanding of "The Art of War," and more importantly has helped me bring these ancient lessons into my conflict resolution practice. Highly recommended!

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author, speaker
Hard-Won Wisdom From The School of Hard Knocks, Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, and The Lock On Joint Locking series, and articles including a regular column on negotiation for The Montana Lawyer

A wisdom text that has been in print for over two millennium hardly needs another review to establish its merit. What's new here is the annotated translation by Thomas Huynh and his colleagues [...]. By carefully studying each and every pictograph from the Chinese original, they've come as close to reconnecting the English reader with Sun Tzu's thoughts as can be achieved in a translation. For example, when choosing a single word in English to correspond with a key concept from the original, the translator gives the alternatives and explains the final choice.

But the work goes beyond simply providing the most accurate translation that language differences allow. The extensive explanations are presented on facing pages in step with the translation, as opposed to being buried in footnotes or endnotes, and provide the cultural and historical context required to understand the text. Without these explanations of the who, what and where that Sun Tzu is referring to, a reader without a deep background in the Chinese literature and history of the period would come away with a partial understanding at best.

While I didn't put together an army to invade a neighboring state after reading this book, I already used one of the key concepts in a critical business negotiation that resolved in my favor. I'd recommend this book both to first time readers of the Art of War and to serious students of looking for additional insight into their favorite wisdom text.

Previous reviews have rightfully emphasized the important insights Ellen Frost offers about an extremely important part of the world. Her exploration of "Maritime Asia" is enlightening and brings developments in this wide array of countries into useful perspective. It is a significant benefit to the reader that she does this with a delightful and entertaining writing style. For all its erudition, this is not a ponderous academic text - far from it. Rather, Ms. Frost uses easily accessible language and clever and amusing turns of phrase that keep the reader alert. In short, not only is this an excellent book from the substantive angle, it is also a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand better how this vast area will impact us all in the years to come.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the rise of Asia, especially why Americans hould be worried about the threat from China's manufacturing prowess and military build up. Ellen Frost takes a different tack. She looks first at the history of trade and cultural contact between what she calls "Maritime Asia" and the rest of the world as well as within Maritime Asia itself. Then she analyzes what has been happening recently and what is likely to happen in the future. Clearly there has been a realignment in Asia, spurred largely by China's economic growth, the rise of China-centered production networks, and the boom in manufactured exports to the U.S. and Europe.

Private actors are taking pragmatic steps that add up to what Frost calls "regionalization." Governments, by contrast, are pursuing "regionalism," but their initiatives are not likely to lead, at least in the near term, to genuine integration based on formal political structures. Asia will not mimic the European Union, or even the several common markets in the western hemisphere. Instead, Asians are inventing a new and more flexible rgional order--one that embraces China instead of seeking to contain it.

Frost writes clearly and in just 250 pages covers the history of Maritime Asia, the expanding geographic concept of the region (what she calls "Asia Major"), and the prospects for greater Asian economic and political integration. Anyone interested in what is happening today in Asia, not just scholars, can learn a lot from reading this book.

Asia's New Regionalism, by Ellen Frost, is an ambitious and successful attempt to break old mental maps and present new ways of looking at Asia. The central theme is the match (or lack thereof) between the fast paced regeneration of maritime Asia, linking the booming economies found along Asia's coasts from India to Japan, and the comparatively ponderous government-driven push to promote regional organizations. But the glory of this book is Frost's sense of adventure, as she looks at breakneck change through different academic prisms. Government policy makers and businessmen interested in Asia wil find their minds fully engaged, students will find the text stimulating, and professors will spend the next decade attempting to answer the many questions she has raised.

I got this book a few years ago after trying some beef and pork on skewers from a local Korean place. At the time I knew very little about Asian food preparation, and the book helped quite a bit:

The book begins with a glossary of basic terms and ingredients used in Asian kitchens, and also a rundown of grilling techniques, then proceeds to a series of ready meals (main grilled dish offered with one or two side dishes that are a traditional complement to the meal).

The sauces and marinades are easy to prepare and the flavors are bold and very fresh. The book utilized fresh vegetables and fruit in side dishes and salads that are amazing with the marinated and grilled meats and make a gorgeous presentation.

Furthermore, as I have discovered in the years of using the book, the recipes are also flexible and open to improvisation-resulting in possibly less authentic, but still wonderful and fun party food that can be prepared on a small tabletop hibachi grill right in front of your guests (you'll have to do prep work and make side dishes in advance, but grilling the meat and fish in front of guests has been a great way to bring a party together in my experience).

Overall, I found no fault with this book at all even from a beginner's (at the time) point of view-but the recipes are interesting enough for the more experienced chefs as well.

I also recommend "A Flash in the Pan: 100 Fast and Furious Recipes for Wok and Stir-Fry" by Liz Trigg and Shirley Gill for wonderful wok and stir-fry recipes for those beginner cooks who want to learn more about Asian food than just grilling.

If you are bored with steak, hamburger and chicken on the charcoal grill, here are recipes for Bulgogi (Korean Fire Beef), Salmon in Miso Glaze, and many skewered chicken and shrimp dishes that are easy to make, but certainly a different take on grilling. There are a lot of marinades that could be adapted to other items--you can miso-glaze chicken breast, or make flank steak in a number of flavorings. Good little book if you are bored with grilling or want fancy skewered recipes for a party.

This little book transports Asian flavors and textures simply to the Western reader without compromising flavor and integrity. I've tried three recipes from this book and they are very, very good. I plan to try several others but first have to replace the book. I took it to work and ended up giving it away. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who loves grilling and Asian flavors.

Accurate description of the item and swift notice and delivery

Professor Haley has edited an excellent compilation of chapters on Asian business -- I thought the chapters on China, its business environments, problems and opportunities, and industrial restructuring were particularly useful. A valuable addition to the genre.

Very good review of the major Asian economies and business concerns in these regions. Especially useful as businesses enter China after its WTO entry and ponder new relationships with post-crisis SE Asia.

I have used over 20 recipes from Greeley's book and have not been disappointed in any one of them. I have given two dinner parties (each with about 12 people) and used only recipes from this book.Results were outstanding. Every guest asked for recipes, or decided to buy their own copy of the book. My husband's particular favourite is the Yellow chicken curry.

What I really liked about this book is all the information. The author covers a lot of Asian countries, and she writes about the differences in styles and common ingredients between them. She also discusses the ingredients - what they are, what the flavors are, and including a discussion of the many types of rice. The recipes are nicely organized, and easy to follow. I've used a few of the recipes, and one is now a favorite.

We love soups. They reheat well after a long day at the office and they are soothing to the throat, very filling but lighter fare. It suits us for an evening meal when we really don't want something heavy but do want something hot. Since we've traveled extensively in Asia and love the cuisine, this book was one we just had to try. I am glad to report that "Asian Soups, Stews and Curries" is a wonderful book for the Asian cuisine lover.

The first recipe we tried was Kalbi Tang, Korean Short Rib Soup. This is a famous Korean dish, almost as famous as Bulgogi and Kimchee. The instructions were interesting; in order to achieve the beautiful clear broth in which the meat and onions float, you must soak the ribs overnight, or boil them and discard that water to remove the scum (which is the albumin and meat bits that coagulate when you boil meat.) I followed this direction, and the other stipulation to remove ALL visible fat from the ribs. After then making the stock and refrigerating the soup overnight to remove the rest of the fat, I made the ginger, sesame and soy sauce-based seasoning that flavors the soup. Wow! What a taste--rich, yet with a clear, flavorful broth. This was an enormous hit at our house.

After watching my husband practically stick his whole head into the Korean soup pot, I decided there must be more good stuff in here. The next one we want to try is Cambodian Fish Soup with Pineapple and Tomatoes--pineapple is surprisingly good in curry type clear soups.

Just about everything is in here from Japanese Chanko-nabe (Sumo Wrestler's fatten-up stew) to Mulligatawny. There are quite a few lentil based curries (nice, we love lentils), noodle soups, meat soups, fish, vegetable and rice soups and stews. This is a fascinating book and one with some very nice and unusual recipes, good for light evening one-pot meals or fancy entertaining or pot-luck. This is fast becoming one of my favorite cookbooks.

For those of us in the peace movement, this highly educational and important account of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Vietnam should be required reading as it vividly exposes the brutal methods the U.S. ruling-class will employ to crush progressive movements for national liberation and economic democracy in the global south. As always, Noam Chomsky provides illuminating political analysis of U.S. foreign policy and global capitalism. Also, because this book incorporates reflections from his own extensive travels throughout the region, it has the added bonus of being extremely readable and fast-paced. Read this book not only to understand our shameful past, but to better understand our present situation in Iraq and elsewhere.

I received this book by being a friend of AK Press (something everyone who is interested in these types of books should look into). Even though Chomsky, who is incredibly accessible this time around, is writing about what occured in Vietnam, the parallels to today's Iraq situation are amazing.

As always, Chomsky's work makes you think and reasses what you think you know. War time strategies are dissected, and national policy is put under a microscope. Indochina, which Chomsky points out is merely an extension of what America has been doing since its formation, was a hotbed of experimental warfare, both in technique and technology. Compare that to Iraq today, and you get the same picture.

If you care about the world situation, you need to read this book. And if you enjoy it, think about becoming a friend of AK Press.

If you are familiar with the ideas of Noam Chomsky, this book will come as no surprise to you. He puts forth essentially the same arguments that he did in his earlier offering, _American Power and the New Mandarins_. Chomsky writes about the war in Asia by talking about U.S. action in various southeast Asian countries and the resistence that springs up against it. The most interesting essays are the ones about Laos and North Vietnam because these writings have emerged from Chomsky's own trip to the region. He is essentially reporting on what he saw during his time on the ground. These chapters are the most convincing in the book because of this aspect, and they are the element that makes this book worth buying. I'm not sure under what circumstances Chomsky was able to travel to these war zones, but his record of the trip is filled with empathy and heartbreak. He is a polemicist at the top of his game, giving what appears to be a fairly honest account of what he saw. I found the book to be enlightening and powerful. Another good offering from one of the harshest critics of U.S. foreign policy.

This is the best anthology of Filipino writing I've seen so far. The editors Tabios and Carbo deserve medals for bringing us such rich, diverse, exciting women poets & writers. I love Jessica Zafra's story, I was gripped by Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo's stunning story, I was overwhelmed by all the fantastic poetry, especially "Marcelina" by Jean V. Gier. All women will understand the stories these Filipinas have to tell. Highly recommended!

Finally, after a hundred years of neglect, Filipina women have this book where their own voices can be heard. The stories are poignant and laden with sensuous sentences. The poems brim with profound beauty. There are recognizable Filipina authors like Jessica Hagedorn, Evelina Galang, and Linda Ty-Casper but there is also a fair representation of younger talent like Lara Stapleton and Gina Apostol. Such a treasure trove of familiar elegant voices and new vigorous word-smiths from the Philippines as well as Filipina-Americans.

I am so happy to see this collection of Filipina (!) writers. Way to go! Now it's time to see these individual writers produce their own books so that we will have more to show the world. It is very encouraging to know that there are many writers of Filipino background out there. Get busy! I highly recommend this collection to those of you who simply love to read.

I first visited The City of Light in the fall of '89. When I returned for six month stays in both 1999 and 2006 I had Diana Eck's book with me; it made a rich experience even richer. As Eck writes, Kashi is not of this world, and her book - now well-dogearred - made my explorations more focused and deeply understood.

Diane Eck has written the most readable and spiritual book on the city where Hindus make pilgrimage to bathe in the Ganges and to take their last breath in this lifetime. The book includes good maps of the bathing ghats and detailed information of this ancient city of temples devoted to Shiva and other Gods and Goddesses. I have been to Banaras and walked those crooked streets and Eck's book places me right back in that sacred place.

This book takes one on a breathtaking Odyssey through the sacred landscape of the world's oldest and most sacred city: Lord Siva's eternal abode. Eck's approach is sensitive and captivating, her scholarship is impressive, and the result of her labour has been a preciously insightful and informative book. Anyone seeking God owes it to himself to learn about the Holy City of Kashi, where death is transformed into divine liberation, and reading this book is an excellent way to get started. As both a Saiva and a scholar, I highly recommend it!