Chung Books

Good book to learn from if you have the required background. As both a mathematician and a meteorologist, I plan on using this book a lot!

I think this book is very good for grasping the concepts and intuition behind the mathematical formalisms. Perhaps it should be used with another more theoretical book (Meyer, for instance). It is useful not only for engineering students.

The author adds unnecessary confusion by ignoring variable naming conventions. In some places he uses "y" as the independent variable name, while in other places, he uses "x". I have never seen f(y) on the vertical axes but yet the author uses P(y) on the vertical axes. It seems the only equation he got correct, according to convention, was the historical y=mx+b. This book should be dreastically updated to conform to standard variable naming conventions. After eliminating the variable naming confusion, I think this book will be an excellent book to read and learn

This book, which was written in 1986, is typical in one respect of other books covering the same subject matter in that it follows what seems to be the standard layout or presentation that most of the books on kicking follow. There is the obligatory section on stretching followed by basic kicks, more advanced kicks, and then aerial and specialty kicks. However, even though they followed the same basic format, the author's stepped it up a bit with the material presented in their book. And with that in mind, I gladly give this book a solid 4 stars.

Being the author on several books on the very same subject, I often wonder if I am not being overly critical of other authors work covering the same material. Who knows, maybe I am, but I will leave that up to you to decide.

POSITIONING

This section was short and sweet and covered the basic foot positions for kicking and the importance of having a proper foot position when kicking. It also had a small section that covered the position of your hips when kicking, which is rarely, if ever, seen in books on kicking.

WARM-UP & STRETCHING

This section was actually better than I originally thought as the authors used a little bit longer and more detailed amount of writing explaining the various technical points of each particular stretch that they demonstrated. They also included three different exercises that can be used to enhance the power of your kicks.

BASIC KICKS

It is plainly obvious from the photographs in this book that both authors are extremely proficient in the art of kicking and their technique borders on perfection. Definite high marks given for their kicking prowess. The author's demonstrate seven (7) kicks in this section and they are as follows:

Front Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 6)
Side Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 10)
Roundhouse Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 9)
Hook Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 7)
Reverse Crescent Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 5)
Crescent Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 4)
Axe Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 3)

SPINNING KICKS

This section was a little brief as far as descriptive text goes, but the information that was there was solid and very good. The authors demonstrate three different spinning or turning kicks in this section and although really brief, they did well with the material presented.

JUMP KICKS

The review of this section is pretty much identical to the aforementioned section, with the exception of the author's demonstrating five jumping kicks instead of three in the previous section.

FLYING KICKS

This section not only demonstrated six different flying kicks, but it also had the added bonus of the authors demonstrating two different partner exercises that you can do in order to improve upon your skills executing jumping or flying kicks.

MACHINE GUN KICKS

This section was basically on the use of multiple kicks with one leg against an opponent. Very well done, just like the other sections in this book. Good solid information concerning the use of multiple kicks with one leg. A little brief, but still a pretty informative section.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

Advanced Kicks is a must have for any Fan or Student (past,present,or future) of Sifu Cynthia Rothrock.

It has a very good and easy to follow format. However...like ANY instructional book or video...... it is only a guide to actual training with a Qualified instructor. One could get "Hurt" trying to do some of the stretches or kicking drills without the proper warmup.

What would make this book complete is if it were to have a Video package.

I own a copy (*1st printing)of this book and use it as a reference manual at my Martial Arts Studio.

*A note to Collectors. This book has two printings. Both printings are pretty much the same. The difference is the "price" on the back cover.

Dr. Wu astounds us by producing a work of biography that does something very rare in this age of standardized academic prose, she has produced an addictively readable volume. To tell the truth, even though I have lived in San Francisco for 25 years, I had never even heard of Mom Chung, but I guess if I lived here during World War II I would have been reading about her exploits every day.

One record after another, she smashed, despite the obvious disapproval of both the Chinese and white communities here. And then there's the gender thing. She adopted, as Dr. Yu shows us, a comically asexual pose, which made it humorous for hundreds of white men and women to call her "Mom," which would have implied that she had had sex when to look at her, and to survey her lack of marriage license, she had none. There's the secret!

The "fair-haired bastards" of the title were the war heroes, at first the pilots, then those who served in the Navy, then a bunch of "Kiwis" who Chung recognized for their work in the field supporting our men overseas. She attracted celebrities to her wherever she went, sort of like our own JT LeRoy in the present day. When she started out, she walked timidly, and it took a cunning and open-hearted woman like the poet Elsa Gidlow to see underneath the brim of her cloche and discover the Lesbian within. Gidlow's memoirs, from which Dr. Wu draws the story, reveal that Gidlow became Chung's patient pretty much to get that old countertransference going. And after a difficult operation, in which Gidlow nearly died, Chung finally admitted that she loved her.

Later on came an intense attachment to the "last of the red hot Mamas," Sophie Tucker. Chung destroyed Tucker's letters, but Tucker carefully preserved all of Chung's little love notes and tokens--thank Goodness, for otherwise we might never have guessed the lengths to which homophobia and sexual fear drove the love affair of these two celebrities deep underground. In a way it was a perfect pose. Chung nearly built Tucker her own shrine within her lavish apartment, so that whenever Tucker decided to visit San Francisco she would be pampered like a goddess. In one letter she hopes that Tucker wears a special nightgown, and "think of me as that nightgown," getting upclose and personal with the famous Tucker body. Sophie Tucker was then coasting on a formidable heterosexual reputation, having been married and divorced thrice by the time she got involved with Mom Chung. I read a whole biography of this notorious entertainer, and the name of Mom Chung never even made it to the index.

Thank the Lord for brave historians like Tzu-Chun Wu who no longer shy away from the uncomfortable truths about their subjects. How I wish that the bruited movie of Chung's life (starring Barbara Stanwyck in Chinese makeup) had really been made, in the long ago days of Mom Chung's celebrity!

Having had to read this book for a history class I wasn't sure about whether or not I would enjoy it. But once I got an understanding of whom Mom Chung was and her importance I really wanted to read the book. I'm glad I did because Chung's story is inspirational, being the first Chinese American Female Doctor. Also Chung was a lesbian (though not 100% proved one can infer this from the evidence.) At the beginning I was inspired by Chung's strength and guts, her breaking through barriers and fighting to be successful and true to herself.(Also managing to continue fighting after several rejections.) Though by the end of her life it seems as though she lost her spunk and drive and settles into the status quo image.

The author does a great job of explaining Chung's life and actually makes the ready feel her triumphs and loses. So from a biographical point of view this is a 5 star book. From the historical point of view it's not as good. She wanted to"...provide insight into the historical transformation of American norms regarding race, gender and sexuality over the course of her lifetime..." This might have to do with Chung being such a larger than life character it is easy to get lost in her and miss the general trends and changes that happened in her lifetime.

With that being said read the book!!!

I wanted to know whether there is any officially published solution book for the above book? As its certainly not possible to solve each n every problem which one(actually each n everyone) would find time consuming. So let me know about it. That's the only reason i rated the book 4 stars.Its worth 5 stars otherwise.

Can u tell me if this text book has a detail answer book to its exercis ?? I need to know... Please mail me about my question... Thank you so much

The diction in the tape are clear which is essential for an audio and language tape. The English version will be said first than the korean version. Containing essential topics for travelling like buying train tickets, numbers at the restaurant. So its very useful. Also it is really a phasebook without lenghy sentences that are too difficult to learn. But I do suggest anybody learning a new language to have two books/materials on hand at the same time to compare and compliment the information

I thought that this cassette was well worth my money because it gave me an insight to the basics of the korean language.

I really like this book because it reminded me to treat people nicely just like the Bible teaches. It also has a happy ending and a great poem!!

This is a simply sweet story. It encourages acceptable behavior to Special Ed children and to love and respect each other.

I found this book very readable and exciting. A true story presenting his journey from humble roots in North Korea to being a doctor in the US. Anyone looking for real insight into what the Communist North is like must read this book.

Donald Chung's account of the Korean War in his eyes was extremely touching because it showed his struggle to understand the war. He also showed how difficult it was for the Korean people who were forced to live and thrive with the line that others drew for them, which caused the people to be separated from their family. Then to see his life as he tries to regain contact with his family in North Korea during the Iron Curtain era was sad and extremely endearing to see his struggle. I used many tissues to get through this book. I definitely recommend it for the great story but also the history behind it.

Philippa Gregory hit yet another high note with The Queen's Fool. I love reading Philippa's books because I never feel like I'm reading fact after fact. I feel like I'm reading just another story I love, like Twilight and other books such as those. Even though this is a different genre I never feel as if it's a bunch of facts. The Queen's Fool is a story of a girl named Hannah Verde. Though she changed it to Hannah Green when she came to England. Hannah came to England with her father; her father is a scholor and a bookseller. Back in Spain Hannah's mother was burned to death for being in the Jewish religon. Now her and her father have to keep their religon hidden at all times. While there in England Robert Dudley and his comrad John Dee visit the book shop. John Dee claims that Hannah has the "sight". So Hannah is sent to court to be the King's holy fool. When the king dies at the age of 15 his sister Mary steps up to the thrown. History knows this queen as the bloody Mary. Hannah then becomes Mary's holy fool. The Queen's Fool is a great story of Hannah, and you learn many things about Mary and her sister Elizabeth. I highly reccommend this book to all who are interested in history and I also recommened it to people who enjoy a thrilling book. Great book, give a chance, don't let the whole historical novel thing throw you off this is a great book!

Gregory is a great writer. She draws you in immediately and it's hard to put the book down.

WONDERFUL BOOK, COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT BOOK BY GREGORY.

You will love this book if you love English history and novels written in that period. We are going to London in one month, and I am anxious to see some of the places talked about in the book. I highly recommend - the story keeps you interested throughout the whole book!!

I slogged through this novel, hoping to find some redeeming value, only to be disappointed. I found the pace slow, repetitive, and mostly boring. Some of the plot twists were interesting, but barely believable. The main character, Hannah, had no integrity. She curried favor with whomever she happened to be with at the time, and was very disappointing. No heroine here, really. I really wanted to like her, but her feminism and intermittant chutzpa just didn't correlate with what is known about women of the time.

"Regeneration" is best read as part of the so-called "Regeneration Trilogy," of which it is the first book. (The other two, in order, are "The Eye in the Door" and "The Ghost Road.") This way, you will be able to follow the main characters: Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Billy Prior (all but the last are historical figures) through all three books. In particular, you'll be able to appreciate the ways in which Barker develops the complex character of Rivers, the psychologist who treats soldiers who have suffered breakdowns and who, before the war, had done fieldwork in Melanesia, studying the cultural practices of a tribe of headhunters. "Regeneration" is set in Craiglockhart, the psychiatric hospital where Rivers treats Sassoon and Prior. "The Eye in the Door," mostly set in London, focuses on the social and economic conditions of British society in the war years, while "The Ghost Road" shifts among three settings: London, the battlefields in France, and Melanesia. As one reads through the trilogy, characters appear and disappear, but the figures of Rivers and Prior are central---and often antagonistic. I particularly admire the way Barker uses different techniques to illuminate complexity of character and thought, as when, in "The Ghost Road," Prior begins to write in a field diary (which he does not do in the first two novels). Some readers of "Regeneration" have compared Barker to Hemingway, but I don't think so. His technique is spare, but she works like a painter with a large canvas, one who paints panoramas of historic events. Thus, some parts of the canvas are minutely detailed, while others are merely brushed in. The effect, taken as a whole, is stunning and, by the end of "The Ghost Road," will reduce you to silence, the way a great painting does.

When the First World War broke out, most people assumed it would be over in a few months as their nation (whichever one that was) sent the others packing. In fact, many raced to enlist fearing that "the fun" might be over before they got there.

Instead, what they discovered in Western Europe was a stalemate with trenches dug from the North Sea to the Atlantic Coast across which English, French, and German soldiers faced each other for years from cold, wet, corpse-filled, and disease-ridden trenches.

No one knew how to break the stalemate. Millions died as shelling continued against these fixed positions.

Every so often some general would convince himself that a massive charge would break the other line. Each time this was tried, the slaughter accelerated as men ran into point-blank machine gun fire and artillery barrages.

Regeneration looks at the disillusionment that led one decorated English officer and poet, Siegfried Sassoon, to remonstrate against the military leadership in public. Rather than court-marital Sassoon, the military chose to send him to a psychiatrist, Dr. William Rivers. Regeneration creates a fictional account of their relationship at Craiglockhart War Hospital. The book also looks at how Rivers treated other "mental" cases sent his way.

The most interesting parts of the story come in looking at the ethical dilemma of being asked to help those who cannot mentally deal with the war any more . . . when that "help" may lead to them going back to France where their life expectancy is measured in weeks. I was reminded of stories I've read about patching up people who tried to kill themselves so they could be legally executed.

There's a revolting section on how less sensitive physicians dealt with these "mental" problems . . . basically torturing soldiers until they wouldn't resist going back to fight.

The book has two weaknesses that mar its obvious strengths in recapturing that difficult moment in English history.

1. Ms. Barker assumes that her readers already know about Siegfried Sassoon (or at least that they don't mind her holding back details about what he did for some time). I had never heard of him so it was annoying to try to figure out what all the fuss was about in the early pages. The book could use an extensive historical footnote as a prologue for those who don't know about the incident.

2. The book often skates around the edges of how Sassoon and Rivers related to one another. Much is tacit, and I found it hard to understand in all scenes what Ms. Barker was trying to suggest each one was thinking.

I commend Ms. Barker for picking real characters and bringing them to life in a way that's very poignant (even for those who aren't English) 90 years after the events have taken place.

This book covers some of the same ground as Ben Elton's praiseworthy The First Casualty, although in an entirely different way. Both try to retrofit as mainstream largely post-60s values towards homosexuality, pacifism, and atheism (in the latter case by omission in writing as if Christianity was as marginalised as it is today, an historical absurdity), but in their defence it could be reasonably argued that of course homosexuals, pacifists and atheists/agnostics were plentiful. While Elton surrounds his message with action and a crime story, Barker instead goes deeply into conversation and rumination, and in both cases there's so much more to the book than mere preaching.

Barker ambitiously imagines encounters between real and fictional historical figures. Of course once she's imagining dialogue that's not recorded her characters are all fictional, but her painstaking research (and the availability of so much detailed material) makes for some powerfully authentic writing. Moreover she has an impressive ability for informed empathy: she asks herself, "What would Dr. Rivers, or Sassoon have been thinking? How would they have reacted?" and comes up with some fascinating and plausible answers. Plausible? Hang on a minute: they seem plausible to me, a guy who'd never even heard of Rivers or Sassoon before reading this book! It would be interesting to hear reactions of others who had studied (or knew) them.

There is not a standard plot, and much of the book is composed of recreations of counselling sessions between `shell-shocked' soldiers and their psychologist. Barker's version of Dr. Rivers is a real triumph - one of the most developed characters I've probably come across. Hats off to Barker for having the skill, compassion and intelligence to convince us of Rivers' skill, compassion and intelligence by what she has him say and do. He's not a quaint historical curiosity, but clearly someone Barker has read extensively and admires. The way she's immersed herself in writing from the time making her characters not `just like us', but still wonderfully real reminds me of O'Brian's marvellous RN stories (much as the authors portray quite distinct attitudes towards battle).

We have in James Hillman's memorable phrase, 'a terrible love of war'. Living dangerously, at the edge, imminent distaster and probable annihilation excite the deeper drives. Baker's study of hospital records from the first World War (documents few of us would pause to access) have been recast as a fiction that sears all the more for its restraint of rhetorical flourish. Her avoidance of any hysterical note provides the appropriate tone for the accumulated horrors to seep in. By using her protaganist, the voice of novelist Siegfried Sassoon, she can shift her authorial tone to permit Sassoon and fellow 'inmate' Wilfred Owen, to rage poetically against the war's tragic outcomes. However, it's the dilemna of the psychologist, Rivers, treating them, that provides access to the less conspicuous, if no less dramatic consequences of the violence. It is his unenviable task to cure and deliver minds and bodies of young cannon fodder back to the trenches. This is a terrific book, and as we deal now with young veterans returning from their tours of duty be it Baghdad or elsewhere,and encounter the dysfunction from experiencing excessive violence, brutality and injustice, the text of this book should provide some understanding of their stress. Read to the accompaniment of The Pogues awesome take on Eric Bogle's,'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' from ,'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash', in turn attributed to that ace warmonger of both catastrophes, old Winston.

Honestly, my teacher assigned the book. I would never have picked up the book. It just did not sound like "my thing." Reaccounting the horrors of war just plain worries me. I guess I always fear the author will regurgitate cold, hard quasi-facts wrapped up in a political agenda. Thankfully for me, my teacher has wonderful taste. The book is emotional. It focuses less on the physical and more the mental well-being and change in the war combattants. Constant peaks into the characters' minds allows the reader to engage with the characters on a personal level and see them develop. There are no clear cut answers. They live in a perpetual grey, faced with hard decisions, and split loyalties. This book will make the reader question what the reader thinks, and give a whole new spin on the evils of war. Although, the book constantly has humorous moments; I'll never be able to look at a billygoat the same. It's an emotional experience of a lifetime.

Honestly at first the tone of the book is so dark I wasn't sure I was going to keep reading. Next thing I knew, while there is not even a hint of a "Disney ending" - I could not put it down.

Seeing life through the eyes of the main character was illuminating and will stay with me for quite some time!

Excellent reading!

It was difficult to find the exact descriptive word for this Alice Hoffman novel. "Spectacular" "Imaginative", "Dream-Like"...I couldn't choose. I found "The Ice Queen" absolutely breathtaking. The tale's core centers around fairytails and the realization that life is more than what you wish for. The main character sees her life in "before and after" terms. A quiet librarian, she's forced into living in an uncomfortable environment and then struck by lightning. Much like being reborn, we see her evolve through relationships with a lover, her brother and her sister-in-law. I really enjoy Hoffman's books and this is one of my fave. You many never look at the color red the same way again!

Fairy tales about life and death and cheating both are the basis for this book, I think. I'm not sure and I don't think I want to know for sure. I found myself just enjoying the story as I was pulled through the lives of the characters. Bizarre and unusual yet identifiable. Not my kind of book, but I loved it. Not my style of writing, but who cares when the story line is good. So many novels written these days are long on prose and short on story telling. Not this gem. Enjoy!

The main character, the ice queen librarian, is weird. Not without reason, mind you, but weird nevertheless. She blames herself for her mother's death long ago and deeply feels everything that has even happened since then is all her fault. She feels that every morbid wish she makes comes true and everything she loves, dies. When she is struck by lightening, it is a change for the better, tho not right away. She has an amazing torrid affair with Lazarus and her love and devotion to him is quite amazing and magical escpecially after she discovers the truth. One does not find devotion like that nowdays. This book is disturbing at times and the author and the character has an extreme obsession with death but the ending is pleasant. I also love the way her and her brother finally get over their issues together and become good friends in the end.

The protagonist of this chilly and unsatisfying novel blames herself for her mother's death. When she was eight, her mother said she was going out to celebrate her 30th birthday with friends. The little girl gets angry and says she wishes she will never see her again -- and of course the mother dies.
From this day on, the "heroine" is like an ice maiden, emotionally frozen. She makes a second wish -- that she should be struck by lightning -- and that also comes true. She joins a support group for other damaged victims of lightning strikes and hears of one survivor who died for 45 minutes and came back to life. So she seeks out this man whose flesh is so hot that merely touching it can cause second or third-degree burns. This man is so hot he can eat raw food and it gets cooked in his mouth. (Yes, he's a real hottie.) They make passionate love in a bath full of ice cubes. The man has a secret -- but when it's revealed it turns out to be pretty ho-hum.
I can't really go on with a description of the plot for to do so would be wasting my time, just as reading the book would be wasting yours.
This book has no characters and little plot. Various people flit in and out -- the heroine's brother, another burn victim, the librarian. None has any real character. The reader's guide at the end poses this question: "The narrator's two romantic interests, Lazarus and Jack, are different from each other. What does each of these men offer her?" In fact, they are completely alike in that neither has any character at all.
Hoffman apparently isn't interested in men. She doesn't bother describing them. She's not all that much interested in women either. She's interested in mood, in weather, in atmosphere, in words -- and she has talent. But this doesn't add up to a satisfying novel that tells us anything about her characters or the human condition in general.
I read Hoffman's "Seventh Heaven" and enjoyed it. It had a certain magical quality even though I thought it was seriously flawed. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book at all. It started out being depressing and ended up being boring.