Eastern University Books

Dr Cole has provided insight into the thinking of the Israeli who has been confronted with terrorist tactics. We can all learn from this. A book well worth reading and studying.

Len Cole's book shares real experiences of Israeli victims of terror, their families and care providers and explores the services and procedures that were developed to help them heal and cope. The organizations that provided these services have formed the network that is the Israeli national system for dealing with these devasatating events. This network can be a prototype for developing an uniquely American system to save American lives. Terror, How Israel Has Coped And What American Can Learn, is moving, erudite, well researched and is a must read for all concerned about responding to terror in America.
Elaine Schreiber, Phoenix, AZ

Leonard A. Cole's book reads both as a terrifying documentation of the nightmare experiences of Israeli citizens at the hands of Palestinian suicide bombers while at the same time demonstrating the magnificence of heart of those same Israeli citizens. Dr. Cole has painstakingly researched the entire spectrum of senseless violence and the way a gallant citizenry has dealt with it and has drawn conclusions and recommendations that has a universality for all countries now facing the threat of Terroism. Many of these recommendations could perhaps one day save American lives. After reading Dr. Cole's book, one finds himself/herself reflecting long hours on the nature of the human condition.

"Terror" by Dr. leonard Cole, provides a sophisticated analysis of how Israel has coped with terror within it's borders. All Americans should be reading this book to help us as individuals as well as our gorvernment in putting the Israeli experience into practice in the united States.

Inspirational. Dr. Gutwein presents the urbanization with fluidity and knowledge that has not been seen since Dag Hammarskjold. Thank you, and keep up the good works. God bless America.

-LIB

I loved this book and Dr. Gutwein is a close companion of mine. Love you kenny!

A superb work by Dr. Gutwein, which highlights the crucially important Byzantine period in the history of the Middle East. The documentation is truly superb, and the rich sketches, chapter notes, and detail are awe innspiring. Truly a "magnum opus," for anyone interested in the ancient Middle East!

You'd love this book if you are into Byzantine Urbanization. It's great!

What I especially liked about D. Lampton's approach to this very popular subject is how he structured the book and the terminology that he used because it is done in a way that reflects Chinese thought and vocabulary on these issues. Moreover, his analysis and understanding of the issue is top-notch!

KW

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am enjoying it. It is a difficult read, smaller print and a very interesting choice of words. I often find myself re-reading a sentance to make sure I understood the authors intent. I think the material is relevant to those who are interested in the ever growing China and how the US will be challenged by them in the future. Reads very much like a text book, which was OK because I bought this book to learn something.

It's a very interesting book that the author uses a unique argument to discuss current Asian affair and related issues. I like it because it provides a framework to decribe US-China relation, but not writting a micor-history along the time lines. Great book and reasonable assumptions of powers, "Might", "Money" and "Mind."

I gave this book to a friend, Henry Sailer, who was raised in China and very knowledgeable. This is his review.

This is a remarable book.It will enlighten the most advanced specialist and, at the same time, teach the new beginner.

There are new facts to be absorbed in virtually every sentence and Mr. Lampton's writing and organizational skills are such that the reader approachs each chapter with mounting fascination.

Mr. Lampton obviously has entree to leaders of most of the Asian states of which he writes - an entree which he has employed with commendable discretion and which brings to light facts and ideas which would otherwise not be available to the most zealot scholar, student or layman.

I have never said of any book of this kind that I intended to read it again. I do now.

Mr. Arthur Waley has proven that a good work can stand the test of time. First published almost 60 years ago this work does a wonderful jobof explianing the differences between various schools of thought not just in China but in the rest of Asia.

The differences between the teachings of Chuang Tzu, Mencius and The realists may not seem like much to us westerners but these three groups have all done a lot to shape Asia.

The thing I like most about this book is that it is short and broken up into three parts. Therefore your mind doesn't do a blowout trying to digest all the material and you can study each school indivudally.

Overall-Great book, most of the stories are very deep and will hold some meaning for everyone if you are just willing to listen.

Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China is a book that opens the door to Chinese philosophy. Some of the writing may be familiar, such as Confucius while other lagalist writing sounds more Machiavellian. A good book for an introduction to Chinese philosophy, much of it reads like poetry.

This work is one of the very few great English language classics in the exposition of traditional Chinese thought. It is delightful reading. Its author, Arthur Waley, remains long after his death the premier translator of traditional Chinese and Japanese literature. The pleasure of reading this book for the first time, years ago, influenced me in great measure to complete a doctorate in Far Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Today, it is the first book I recommend that my students read as an introduction to traditional Chinese thought; the book gives a clear glimpse of the value systems of people in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore right down to today. Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China, by Arthur Waley, is a book not to be missed by any educated person. Enjoy!

It's easy to give short shrift to a book that hopes to summarize three major traditions of philosophy in just over 200 pages. What makes this brilliant is Waley's assembling views of Daoist, Confucist and Realist thinking in the form of imaginary colloquia between the various philosophers.
The result is an introduction, for the Western reader, to the rich and highly conflicted intellectual background of Chinese civilization.

As China becomes more of a world power, this little book, even without mention of Maoist thought and legacy will remain a good, short introduction to the foundations of that world.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG

I red this book for a very simple reason: the research i'm working at is just about Harbin, its uniqueness as the only russian city outside russia and the cultural atmosphere it enjoyed during the 1920's. I found Wolff's work very useful, a miracle of different sources, but i keep asking to myself: why such an amazing experiment in history as my Harbin was not studied until now? Anyway, good job..i wish i had written it myself!

I didn't really read the book, but I used to stay after school in 3rd grade and draw cartoons with Wolff. His cartoons were wonderful, so I have no doubt his insights and analyses of Harbin and the Chinese Eastern Railway are every bit as good.

I found the book very interesting .As a kharbinetz born in 1949 in Harbin I left Manchuria as an infant for Poland and don't remember myself anything of the atmosphere of that unique town.My parents (they were Russian and Polish) were born and spend their youth there.I remember their stories about that vibrant, colorful, exciting and multicultural life in that Pearl of North Manchuria.The Poles and Jews are mentioned as "minorities" in the predominantly russian town, but the significance of polish technical staff during construction and running the CER was underestimated.Russians noticed that influx of Poles in CER, so even press in S.Petersburg warned about "polish danger" on russian railways .The personalities showned as Russians were Poles : Stanislaw Kierbedz, Adam Szydlowski, Stefan von Offenberg, Seweryn Wachowski, Mikolaj Liniewicz, Aleksander Letowski,Alfred Zaremba ).The magnificent Harbin railway station was design of polish architect Ignacy Cytowicz, art nouveau in Harbin was supported by architect Konstanty Jokisz then responsible for New Town development.The landmark of the city famous railway bridge was built by polish steel construction company "Konstanty Rudzki i S-ka" from then russian Warsaw, frames were prepared in it's plant in Minsk Mazowiecki then sent by rail to Odessa and shipped through seas to Vladivostok and then on barges to the site in Harbin.All steel bridges on later Amur Railway finished in 1916 were also prepared and built by that company.It is estimated that about 35% of technical personnel of CER was up to the IWW of polish origin.Suppressed in their homeland Poland , sought career and better life in outskirts of Russian Empire, so did Jews fleeing from antisemitism and discrimination.But they were active rather in commerce, banking and industry .Far away from "problem" areas all "minorities" could live without all the limitations imposed on them in the Empire.Ironically as it is they were accepted as "Russians" by St.Petersburg bureaucracy, that was unable to furnish Manchuria with adequate number of energetic, able and educated people of pure russian origin.

This book provokes a tremendous amount of thought. A broad and powerful array of forces - political, social, cultural, and commercial - converged at the start of the century in this uncharted bit of Manchuria to make for a great laboratory experiment. The author describes brillantly the under-emphasized successes of Harbin and the Chinese Eastern Railway, which are a triumph of cooperation, tolerance, vision, and simple good sense. Much is to be learned in terms of strategy and negotiation from Russian finance minister Witte, who, with careful patience, offered mutual benefit rather than threat to potential adversaries from other nations, ethnicities, cultures, and factions of his own government. These themes are of the greatest relevance today, with diversity at the forefront and corporations increasing still further their influence away from home borders.

The author has researched his subject comprehensively, exploiting fully his outstanding combination of academic and linguistic skills.

I was expecting woeful tales of life as a female in Muslim society but I was wrong. Her stories are wonderful in the context of just being a human female. She thinks of a lot of the things that I do, for example obsessing over someone else's possessions at a yard sale. Her insight into male/female thinking is very poignant. This is a bargain book and leads me to seek out other female Arab writers works.

The Waiting List is a book that depicts the emotional struggles of Middle Eastern women. The short stories could all be talking about the same person at different times in their life. The author Daisy Al-Amir lends to us her insight into the various issues facing women in the Middle East. Each story, though short, leaves us with a lasting impression that is emotional and thought provoking. "The Umbrella" tells what it is like to be a woman who lives for the approval of her spouse with no self-image. Her friend finds her walking in the rain but barely recognizes her because of her bad appearance. The story called "Weeping" was about a mysterious weeping at night and no one was able to tell where it was coming from. In this story, our heroin brings a different meaning to being in touch with nature. I like the creativity in the weeping. In "A Doctor's Prescription" the woman used intelligence for the wrong reason. I want to withhold what she did because it would be giving the story away. Nonetheless, it shows an intelligent woman who lost hope. "A Crutch in the Head" brings to us a female who confronted her husband with the issues that made her unhappy.

What I liked most about this book was the author Daisey Al-Amir. She was strong enough to cross boundaries and bring us stories that appeal to people all over the world. During times of war in her own solitude she reached outside herself to create. I feel a kindred spirit with her and I appreciate the different sides of women that she was able to portray through her short stories. The stories were in depth enough to be interesting and short enough for us not to get bored.

Al-Amir writes in a minimalist style, focusing, for the most part, on small scenes of humanity. Interesting observations about the place of time within an individual person's life are explored in "For a Pittance." After purchasing a photo album in an estate sale while visiting a foreign city, the narrator ponders the idea of living in the present. By immersing herself in the history of an unknown family, the narrator is able to live in the present because she is distracted from her own personal past and future. On page 21, the narrator thinks,
"I was squandering the present that I had planned to enjoy. I had deliberately forgotten my own past so that it wouldn't disturb the serenity of my present, the present I had rescued from crisis in order to forget the past and distance me from the future. And now I was intentionally occupying myself with an unfamiliar time and place, with people who are strangers to me. In my imagination I had arranged a future for their past."
I think what the narrator doesn't realize is that only by immersing herself in the photo album is she able to live in her own present moment, a moment she is glad ends at the end of the story when she returns to her home.

A few things bothered me about Al-Amir's writing style. I am willing to attribute these minor details to lingual discrepancies, but of course I can't read the Arabic version and thus don't know for sure. Exclamation points abound, along with rhetorical questions. There are very many brief paragraphs, which I found somewhat disruptive. Nonetheless, once I got to a certain point in the book I was able to overlook these grammatical and structural issues because I was interested in the stories that Al-Amir was telling.

In the story "Oh the Waiting List," Al-Amir returns to an exploration of what is means to live in the present. The narrator is placed on a waiting list at the airport to get on a flight home. She feels as if the present becomes burdensome and overwhelmingly static because it is purely about wasting time. This resonated with me and how I feel when I travel-which is that time spent in an airport or on airplane is literally dead time.

I have to say that I loved the story "The Doctor's Prescription" simply for its anecdotal qualities. The woman's breathtakingly logical argument for why the pharmacist should give her tranquilizers belies her true motive in a very clever way. The story is brief, but actually the one that stuck with me the most after finishing the book.

In the last two stories, "A Crutch in the Head" and "The Cake," Al-Amir tries to discuss gender relationships--with mixed results. The play-like dialogue format of "A Crutch in the Head" was off-putting to me at first. I'm also not sure why she separated the dialogue into five line "stanzas." Nonetheless, there is a certain universality of her depiction of the argumentative man and resigned woman. The dialogue format also piqued my interest and served her purpose, I think. I found "The Cake" to be a more powerfully written story. Again, she uses the dialogue format, but in doing so also gives the reader a context in which to understand the story. I think Al-Amir's message is that women protest through tears and men through anger. They each do so because they think that it is the only way to get a response.

The Waiting List by Daisy Al-Amir is a collection of short stories about
Arabic women. These women are all suffering in some way, either through
separation from their home or some other emptiness inside of them. I like
this book because the author really made me feel for the characters, even
though I have never been through their situations. The author wrote this
book in a way that anybody could read, understand, sympathize, and enjoy.
One of the stories that I really liked is "The Doctor's Prescription". This is a very depressing story about a woman who goes from pharmacy to pharmacy without a doctor's prescription and convinces all the pharmacists to give her some tranquilizers. She does this by giving them all the same elaborate story of how she would never be able to kill herself with these tranquilizers. She is so convincing that all these doctors each give her the pills, saying "With an intelligent woman like yourself, who thinks through all these stages, I suppose there's no concern". The woman then goes home and
kills herself by taking all of the pills.
I think that this is so ironic, and so true in life. You never know
what a person is thinking or feeling inside. The way that Al-Amir wrote this
story, even the reader herself is fooled into the woman's story until the
end. I like the way that this story made me think about the shows that
people put on for other people, and how they could really be feeling inside.
Also, it made me think about how unhappy this woman must have really been.
The manner in which she convinced every pharmacist to give her the pills, she
seemed so intelligent and honest, not like a woman who is about to kill
herself. She wasn't insane, she was just unhappy. I liked the way this story
was written because at the end it made me think. I wondered what could have
been so terrible in this woman's life that she would kill herself. I like
the way that Al-Amir didn't give a clear motive for suicide, because a reason isn't the
important part of this story. The important part of this story was the
woman, and what the woman was thinking and feeling in the moments before she
decided to take her own life.
Another story that really made me think is "For a Pittance". In this
book a woman is traveling in an unfamiliar city when she happens to walk by
an estate sale. The woman is intrigued by this, and goes back everyday to
see what has been sold and what remains. She decides that she is going to
buy the very last item left, the unwanted item. That item ends up being that
family's photo album. The woman is once again intrigued with the family and
begins to look at the pictures and try to figure the family out. Towards the
end of the photo album she finds a picture of the family at a funeral. The
woman can't figure out who died, and she feels like she has invaded their
lives by looking at the photos. She leaves the photo album at the hotel and
returns home.

This short story made me think for two reasons. The first is, how could a
family sell their own memories? I found myself once again trying to think of
reasons for this since none were given. I felt sorry for the family that
was in such a state of despair that they had to sell their own memories. The
other reason this book made me think is how the woman who bought the book
became to too involved with this family through their pictures. I wondered why
she was so interested and thought maybe she had some issues in her own
family that made her search out this surrogate family.
The reason that I liked his book is that it made me think, which not
all books can do. I found myself trying to figure the stories out further
after they were finished, NC because Al-Amir made me want to know more about
these characters.

This book is not intended as an introduction to Shingon Buddhism, but rather, provides an in-depth, scholarly look at Nara and Heian-era Buddhism and the rise of Shingon Buddhism. This book is intended for serious scholars of Japanese Buddhism and reads like a college thesis. Professor Abe's research is immense, and he regularly cites the research done by previous Japanese scholars through the book. What I like best about this book is that Professor Abe debunks a lot of long-held beliefs in the academic world regarding Shingon and early Buddhism, such as the myth that Shingon appealed to the upper classes only.

Abe's research on the Mahavairocana and Vajrasekhara sutras also is very valuable as very few books in the West even explain what the sutras are about.

This work may not be your first source to learn about Shingon, but for Japanese historians, this book is a treasure of academic research.

For the first time I read a convincing explanation, what Kukais thinking - and thus also Esoteric Buddhism - was about.

Fortunate enough to find this gem in a Kyoto bookstore recently, it was with the greatest pleasure that I savored this book. Abe has indeed set a new standard for true Esoteric Buddhist research, investing within "The Weaving of Mantra" original and insightful ideas concerning Kukai's creation of a new esoteric presentation of Buddhism. Abe brings together not only highly reputable sources here within the Japanese community but original introspection into a period within Japanese Buddhist history that has left its mark on Buddhism as a whole.

The serious student or researcher of Esoteric Buddhism will no doubt require this volume in his/her collection as it now represents the pinnacle of Mikkyo insight. A treasure not to be missed.

Dr. Abe has, with his THE WEAVING OF MANTRA, accomplished a rare feat. His book is an in-depth analysis of important era in the history of Buddhism and Japan, which surpasses all other works written on the topic, and which is nonetheless accessible to the non-specialist. Written in an engaging style which informs without resorting to pedantry, Dr. Abe introduces us to Kukai and his social and historical milieu. Focusing on Kukai's construction of Esoteric Buddhism as an innovative category in the field of Buddhist discourse and practice, he avoids the simplistic models of past studies and brings to his topic an analytic sophistication that is matched only by his eloquence.

This work is by far the best book on Kukai and Shingon Buddhism currently available in English, and it should also, hopefully, exert a powerful influence of the field of Buddhist Studies as a whole, for which it should serve as a model for excellent scholarship.

I read most of Sunallah's novels. I honestly think that he should be given the Nobel Prize for literature. He is not afraid to speak his mind and to criticize the status quo. He is a man of high moral principles. He is also funny and very detailed in his descriptions. He wrote another great book that was set in Berkeley, California. I think it is entitled, Americanlee. All his books are a must read.

I did not expect that book to be so interesting. It tells the story of a middle-class Egyptian woman, her job, her relationships, her hopes and dreams. I really liked it and what is innovative is that some capitals have extracts from newspapers which show in a plain way all that is going on in Egypt that time (in the '80s at the beginning of Mubarak's reign). You will be taken aback by the extense of the corruption in the Egyptian society, but this is the target of the book itself. I recommend it!

If you want to know the modern history of Egptian you must read this book !! it takes you to the social life of the modern egyptian from 70's to end of 80's . and also the effect of the media,poltics and economy on our life. with real headers of newspapers.It is a new way of writing in arabic shockes you about the facts we face in our life and we don't care!!! we just live!!Sonallah lights up we are doing in our life. braeks all the taboo's we belive in !!!IT is amazing book.

I am halfway through the book and I must say that I am enjoying it tremendously. The author describes the life of Zaat, a simple egyptian woman who works in the archives department of a government newspaper. The book would have deserved 5 stars if not for some obvious typos in the text. The editor should have gone through this book at least one more time.

I like the way the author alternates between chapters of excerpts from egyptian newspapers and chapters dealing with the daily life of Zaat. The newspaper excerpts are very effective in conveying the corruption, totalitarian system of government, and apathy towards human and consumer rights in Egypt. The life of Zaat shows the daily concerns of a simple minded egyptian, some sort of egyptian Forrest Gump without the achievements of the latter.

As an aside, I had no idea that Egypt was this corrupt. It is a shame that corruption has permeated this society at every level. I had just finished reading a book about the Congo and Mobutu's reign. It is now obvious to me that foreign aid is a curse when given to totalitarian nations. It keeps unsustainable forms of government thriving as the elite of the regime suck all the foreign aid to their benefit and use that money to distribute favors and stay in power.

I highly recommend this book.

This is an admirable volume II, consistent with what made volume I my first choice. In this volume, there are monumental inscriptions, instructional literature (including some very amusing works on the scribal life), hymns (including the great hymn to Osiris, and the Akhenaten hymns to the Sun), selections from the 'Book of the Dead', some prose tales and a factual narrative. Introductions and notes are terrific. Ka's are left untranslated.

Ms. Lichtheim has done a wonderful job in her book, Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom! Her selections cover a wide range.She has a small introduction to each piece, besides the introductionto the book itself. Her placement of notes at the end of each selection is a godsend, no more madly turning to the back searching for the appropriate notes! An excellent choice for those interested in Egyptian history, or simply those wanting a better understanding of ancient literature. Buy it, it's worth it!

Finally, a collection of good and readable translations of Egyptian literature which both the layperson and the expert will find useful. Lichtheim has given the academic world a much needed reference with the translations of the text and a good introduction to the social history of the creators and the circumstances of the texts being recovered.

I live in the Buddhist hell of Too Many Zen Books. This nicely accompanies all my other ones, and clearly stands out in its own right.

This scholarly work on the teachings of Bodhidharma sets a new standard. Not only does Broughton provide clear translations, but the volume of informative commentary has made this text my number one Bodhidharma resource. Broughton provides quality with quantity here, explaining unusual phrases from the ancient texts at page bottoms, and endnoting items requiring more thorough treatment. (The endnotes are generally both useful and quite insightful. My only "wish" is that the endnotes could be footnotes instead. This way, the reader could have simultaneous access to both the root text and Broughton's research. As it is, you have to flip back and forth a bit. This is a really minor quibble though, as footnoting everything would have the drawback of making the root text harder to read on its own - mostly by making the pages too "busy.")

This is not a book on "pop Zen"; it is a resource for those seeking to contextualize Tamo's teachings both historically and philosophically. Broughton makes a very good case that the "Two Entrances" commonly attributed to Tamo is actually the work of T'an-lin, an early Sanskritist. He points out that the character of the "Method for Quieting Mind," what he calls "Record I," is more consistent with what we know of Tamo's teaching. Broughton also discusses other members of Bodhidharma's circle, the supporting roles played by other sutras in these texts, and much more.

I believe that I can state objectively that this book represents a superb piece of research, and that Broughton has made Tamo's early teachings very accessible. It is my sincere hope that the author will continue working in this field. For anyone interested in the early development of Zen, this text is a fascinating read.

Thorough and enlightening. Brilliant insights! Where has Prof. Broughton been all of these years?