Washington University Books

The photography in this book is excellent. The book is keyed to the Pacific Northwest, so those who live in or visit the area will find it very easy to use. The descriptors are clear especially concerning edibility. The book fits nicely into a day pack for all you hikers out there. I would highly recomend this book, it is probably one of the best books out there!

The 5 Star rating is due to the fact I live in the geographical area that this book is focused toward. (Pacific NW) It gives very clear descriptions and key indicators that help in determining which mushrooms are edible, as well as information regarding those that are not. It explains toxicity, advises about being careful with certain fungi, and informs greatly!
I do wish Margaret was still with us, but am pleased that the book was updated by her colleague.

Since Nimrod was my ggggrandfather, I give this book 4 stars. I learned alot about him.

I had the pleasure of learning from Ron Lansing for three years at law school. He is an amazing mind, and one of the finest story tellers I have ever encountered. Since most of us can't travel to Oregon to hear him lecture on the law, do yourself a favor and get this book.

Paul Howard Takemoto made a very moving account of his parents treatment during WWII. He used interviews of both parents to tell their story. Interesting to read as well as an excellent account of America's treatment of the Japanese Americans during the war. I hope we learn from it.

The forced movement of thousands of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast of the United States to camps inside the country is not one of America's better moments. At a political level the arguments are still raging. A group of activists have succeeded in getting not only an official apology but a cash payment. On the other side, there are reports that the recently declassified Magic intercepts confirm that there was an active spy ring operating in the West Coast Ports. I frankly don't know.

This book, however, is not on the larger political aspects. It is on the personal issues of two people, the author's parents. They were stripped of their property, sent to camps, and generally deprived of the rights we expect as citizens. Their stories match those of several people I have known.

The stories of his father in the 442 Regimental Combat Team have particular meaning to me as I have met several veterans of the 442. All had been wounded in action.

This museum catalog is one of the best of any I have seen. I was fortunate enough to be involved in a living history demonstration when this exhibit came to Los Angeles in about 1991. The catalog covers the best and most significant pieces from the show (which I find rare among museum catalogs). It begins with comprehensive coverage of the history of the tribes of this region. Other chapters in the catalog are devoted to spirituality (both concepts and religious artifacts), clothing, jewelry, housing and other commonly used items. It has become one of my favorite pictoral reference books on Eurasia.

Vladimir Basilov's broad history of Central Asian nomadic cultures is a companion volume to a traveling exhibit of nomadic steppe art put together by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1990-1991. Basilov's book is not merely a catalog of the exhibit, but rather is designed to provide a background chronology of the cultures encompassed and thus grounding the viewer/reader in an understanding of the artifacts and the peoples who produced them.

Basilov, as editor and principal writer, begins with an introduction that describes the land and conditions that support a nomadic lifestyle in these steppe areas of Central Asia, with an overview of the chronology of Central Asia. The first chapter, written by Larisa R. Pavlinskaya, describes in detail the archaelogical findings on the Scythian and Sakaian cultures of the first millennium BC the next chapter, by Evgenii I. Lubo-Lesnichenko, is devoted to the Huns, linking them the Hsiung-nu who ravaged China's western borders up to the sixth century AD, and drawing on both Chinese and European primary sources to enhance this history. Each chapter builds on the information of the previous chapters, as in the next chapter on the Turkic peoples of the sixth to twelfth centuries, written by Sev'yan I. Vainshtein, who links the culture of Turkic tribes to those of the earlier Scythians and later Mongols, setting-up an understanding of the origins of Mongolian culture which then becomes the focus of the book. In this chapter also can be seen the multifaceted, multi-tribal nature of these cultures which the author shows by focusing both on distinctions between different tribes like the Uigher, Avar, and Oghuz as well as the similarities inherent in all such warrior-nomadic societies.

Basilov, whose personal interests seem to lie in the study of the Mongolian peoples, devotes over one-half of this book to the Mongols that arose as the predominant nomadic culture of Central Asian steppes from the twelfth century onwards. He draws heavily on anthropologic details as well as on Arabic and Chinese primary sources, and divides up his remaining chapters into specific areas of research: Mongol history, housing and household goods, clothing, weaponry, herds, music and religious practices. Each of these chapters is a study not only in the artifacts but in the people who use them and the how and why of that use.

Aside from the incredibly beautiful photos of these artifacts, which alone would makes this a worthwhile book, Basilov's text is clear and to the point providing an easily understood, but not simplistic, view of these nomadic cultures. By telling Mongolian history through the use of artifacts as well as documents, Basilov has given a more socialized than political look at the history of the Mongols entirely without making value judgments on this unique nomadic culture--a pitfall of many histories that take a less cultural approach.

I was deeply inspired and moved by Ana Maria Spagna's essays set in or around Stehekin and the North Cascades National Park in Washington State. I've had a cabin in this area for over 30 years, but even if that weren't so, I'd still love this book! It is honest, witty, succint, insightful and of course, well written. Think Pam Houston (Cowboys are My Weakness, or, in this case, cowgirls) meets Anne Lamott (Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith) with a little Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson thrown in. Each essay kept me moving on to the next one, there are 17 in all. Some are really personal, others lighthearted. It is also great reading for anyone who loves the outdoors and nature. The references to Walden are to many to mention.

I was assigned this book as part of a nature literature course. I did not care for the other books we had already read, so I thought I would dislike this one as well. But the opposite is true. The book is poignant, honest, evocative, funny. Unlike so many other nature novels out there, it is entirely unpretentious. Spagna does not pretend to be "better" than people with different viewpoints (as she holds a few herself), she is not afraid to laugh at herself and reveal her innermost thoughts. Really, this is not a nature novel per se. It is a book about finding oneself, about belonging, and about how wilderness was a catalyst for her own soul-searching quests. It can be taken at face value, but there are also many opportunities to explore deeper themes and symbolism. Highly recommended.

OFFSPRING OF EMPIRE is, in one aspect, history of a powerful landlord family, Kochang Kims, their interactions with Japanese colonial authorities and the active role they played in the growth of textile and other industries throughout 20th century Korea. More broadly and importantly, it is a rigorous and insightful analysis of the emergence of industrial capitalism in Korea. When it was initially published, the book received criticism from Korean scholars for challenging the then-dominant model of the nationalist scholarship; "sprout theory," or the notion that indigenous sprouts of industrial capitalism were nipped by the colonial exploitation by the Japanese. Recently, however, nationalist scholarship has come under attack by a new generation of Korean historians. Much of the nationalist criticism -- including the claim that the book "rationalizes" Japanese colonial rule -- were operating under the (unstated) assumption that economic development was an unquestioned good, and since the Japanese colonial rule was evil, it could not possibly have helped Korean economic development. Some young Korean historians are now seriously questioning this assumption. Economic development , in either colonial or postcolonial Korea, no longer appears to be an unquestioned good, given its gross human rights violations, environmental destruction and other negative legacies. (North Korea in its way had to deal with the legacy of colonialism -- it can be seen as a nation where nationalism, emerged as an oppositional ideology to the Japanese colonial rule, has been elevated to the level of religious credo. The result of this, as we all can plainly see, has been disastrous to the basic human dignity of North Koreans) The evidence for continuties between colonial and postcolonial regimes is too numerous and obvious to be brushed aside. The fact that there was economic development under the colonial rule by no means justifies or excuses the Japanese domination, an act of profound disregard and contempt for the people of Korea. Acknowledging this fact simply opens the way for raising more questions and topics to be investigated about the nature of Japanese colonialism. The critical attitude of many young Korean historians indicates, indeed, that one of the most important negative legacies of Japanese colonialism, i.e. absolutist, unyielding allegiance to nationalism, (which so often breaks down into the "blood is thicker than water" variety of ethnic chauvinism) is becoming the thing of the past. Read OFFSPRING if you are interested in modern Korean history, modern Japanese history and East Asian economic development, and make up your own mind.

OFFSPRING OF EMPIRE: THE KOCH"ANG KIMS AND THE COLONIAL ORIGINS OF KOREAN CAPITALISM 1876-1945 is a detailed economic, historical, and biographical polemic about the origins of capitalism in Korea. The author argues, that Japanese "(c)olonialism...for better or worse...was the catalyst and cradle of industrial development in Korea...". Using the example of two brothers, Kim Songsu and Kim Yonsu, Eckart reveals a rough portrait of middle-class life in pre-and-Occupation-era Korea. Wading through economic statistics, newspaper clippings, boardroom minutes, and interviews, the author also contends against nationalistic, whether South Korean ("sprouts theory") or North Korean, theories of Korean development. What remains is the disturbing thought, that the glue holding nationalism together on the Korean peninsula, is morally bankrupt.

Although this book was published originally in 1991 (reprinted in 1997), the full effect of the events it describes are still unfolding. Relations between the two Koreas, and both Koreas' relations with foreign nations, particularly Japan, China, Russia, and the United States, are complicated by questions from just this period of history. Where is Korea? Who are the Koreans? Both these basic questions continue to unnerve Koreans as they try to locate themselves in the larger world outside Asia. Eckart's argument undermines the Korean argument, that Koreans were developing into a modern nation just like any western nation. He also undermines the role of Koreans in the capitalist development of their own country. He even, by questioning the origins of Park Chung Hee's inspiration for developing South Korea after the Occupation, undermines all of Korea's development efforts. One is left with the disturbing thought, that Korea, as the average Korean loves to say, is the land of one racial group, a theory fraught with serious moral implications.

Eckart's argument also frustrates the search for an alternative to authoritarian development by a strong government, whether colonialist or Park-esque. Its as if the Americans had crowned Washington after all, instead of devising an original alternative to the despotism the revolutionaries had just defeated. As Korea stumbles through reform with a president highly unpopular and limited by constitutional restrictions, these thoughts,this book raises,take on more urgency.

This book shows the level and complexity of organized crime and political corruption in the United States. Using Seattle, WA as a place of study, Chambliss looks at all levels of corruption in the city and the effect it has on poltical decision making leading up to the 1972 Grand Jury Indictment.

Professor Chambliss bravely exposes crime and how it is allowed to operate in the big city of Seattle, and how it extends throughout the nation and other governments. When you read it, you will lose your naivity and your false sense of security, because you will learn how government really operates and for whom. It is the truth spoken when legislators can do nothing to rid the governments in WA state of their vipers, and out of fear one sent her own grandchildren to live in another state. This book is a must for all interested in the truth of political power. Look for it's sequel which is in the works, so says the grapevine.

Because U.S. Corporations has invested billions of dollars into joint ventures in China, they feared change. An overthrow of the Communist regime might cost them billions. As a consequence they appealed to Bush Senior to do all he could to defeat the democratic movement. CIA agents spied on the students and reported their findings to the Chinese Communist leaders. It was an ugly married between big business and the Chinese ruthless dictatorship. The author documents this well. One cannot doubt the accuracy of the book. I was there. I saw the massacre at Muxidi. As an eye witness I can vouch for its accuracy.

Good book ! its incredibal what happened to those
students in China , they thought Bush would help them,
but Bush and his busness partners were more interested
in looking after there own interast s . My heart goes out to the students . I liked how the book was written .

Stone does not make the assumption, as so many writers about Oriental rugs do, that he knows what the reader wants. Instead, he provides an exhaustive, impartial spectrum of places, conditions, qualities, methods, and types affiliated with Oriental rugs, from earliest known times to the present. Stone manages to keep his work from being dull by interlarding it with astringent observations and keeping his entries brutally essential. Whoever did the layout of this work deserves kudos, too-- it is easy to access, each entry is set off from the others so as to be memorable to those of us who are visual, and there is generous, attractive use of clearly-labeled graphics. I genuinely appreciate this matrix-like, non-linear expert treatment of Oriental rugs, and find myself reading it up like a novel. The only thing I have found lacking so far is an entry on arbash.

In the rug world there is almost a constant competition of scholarship. Very rarely does one person so dominate his field as to be the indisputable authority. One of those rare exceptions is Peter Stone. One rug restoration expert told me that there will never be another major book on rug repair in my life time because "Oriental Carpet Repair" by Peter Stone says it all. Stone's new book the "Oriental Rug Lexicon" may well exceed "Oriental Carpet Repair" as a scholarly triumph. If you are at all serious about collecting or if your rugs are anything more than floor coverings to you, you need this book.

The Definative Guide To Rugs, Carpets, and Trappings What Stone has done is to make one large dictionary of rug terms. He has identified and defined them in an interesting and informative manner. As soon as I received the Lexicon I decided to put it to use. The first job was to decipher a page of notes I had made on dyes and dye sources used in oriental carpets that someone had given me. To have a source where I can double check the difference between a flavenol and a luteolin is invaluable. Other questions are solved just as easily such as what is a Medici Mamaluk versus a regular Mamaluk. Rug books have so many alternate spellings that it is nice to have a source that confirms that a Khorjin, Kharjin, Khordjin, and a Khurdzhin, are all the same thing. The book is designed like a dictionary and it is easy to look up individual words. It is not designed to be read cover to cover but as I spot-checked the definitions I found some thing interesting and fun on virtually every page. As long as I am mentioning spot-checking let me say that I spotted no errors. If, indeed, there are no errors, inaccuracies or mistakes, I will be astounded. There is to be found a wealth of rug terms with all the common alternative spellings including some that I have not encountered until now. All in all, it is an amazing resource.

The layout of the book is superb. It is packed with informati! on without being crowded. There are many more color pictures than I would have expected with a book of this type and there is an abundance of helpful sketches and line art to illustrate and illuminate Stone's points. Just this week a good friend who has a world class rug collection told me I "have" to buy three books if I want to keep up with things. The total for all three is over $1000 US. I mention this only to make the point that at a list price of $29.95 (US currency for softcover edition, $60 for hardcover edition) Stone's book is about as close to free we are likely to see for a serious rug book. Let me sum up my opinion in just three words: BUY THIS BOOK!

When I'm not picking this book up again (& again) as a source of inspiration, it rests on my shelf between Phillip Levine's _What_Work_Is_ and B.H. Fairchild's _The_Art_Of_The_Lathe_. It holds its own in that company as a solid, timeless book that both furthers and transcends the genre of poems about work.

This book opened my eyes to the secret life of men. Camille Paglia, Philip Levine, Richard Hugo and Larry Levis would love this book. If you've ever worked, raised a child, been married or divorced, had a desperate love affair, drank too much, tried too hard, missed your father or read Keats out loud to the salt marches, this is the book for you. A great accomplishment by a wonderful new poet.