Eastern University Books

Nagarjuna: Theory and Practice

Nagarjuna was a philosopher of unparalleled excellence, both in the East and the West, and Garfield has presented his Mulamadhyamakakarika with clarity, competence and coherence. If you like philosophy, and are a serious spiritual seeker with an inclination for The Perennial Philosophy, then this book is for you. However, you will need determination and perseverance to finish this book, for it will take you six months to a year to master its contents.

Here is a sample of Nagarjuna's tactics. He begins by attacking causality. He dissects causality down to its root premises (a thing is caused by itself, by another, by both, or has no cause) and then he closely scrutinizes those root premises and demonstrates that none of them possess any "potency", or power, to force, stimulate, compel, oblige, constrain, drive, make or cause anything to come into existence. Therefore, they are "empty". That is, they have no inherent self-nature or essence to affect anything else. They are like Mother Hubbard's cupboard, there is nothing there. Therefore, if the causes are "empty", the thing created is "empty". But all that is theory.

But what about in practice?. Reading this book will change your thinking. You will unconsciously become a Skeptic, and will not be aware of the state of your own mind until you ponder an issue found in Nagarjuna's treatise. Only then will you realize that you are stuck between three equally unsatisfactory propositions "Things exist", "Things do not exist" and "Things both do and do not exist." Not to worry though. You will be experiencing precisely what Nagarjuna intended.

Garfield specifically declares Nagarjuna's intention, page 314, "This, of course, is the key to the soteriological character of the text: reification is the root of grasping and craving and hence of all suffering. And it is perfectly natural, despite its incoherence. By understanding emptiness, Nagarjuna intends one to break this habit and extirpate the root of suffering."

For those desiring a 'meat & potatoes' study of the Middle Way, this is an excellent book.

Next to the Heart Sutra (Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra), one of the most important writings for Mahayana Buddhists, and this is a good translation and commentary (there is Ocean of Reasoning, but that is way, way too massive and far more than what is necessary). Stick with the basics and simplicity, I always say. For a book of this magnitude, pick this one. You'll have enough to study while still coming to grips with its message.

i have not studied all of nagarjunas logic carefully in this book, it seems that he is arguing for the underlying emptiness of all things on the basis of his assumption of dependent or mutual arising. perhaps its a bit more complicated than this though. a cup of tea is not a cup of tea in itself. nor does the teabag have any individual or inherent identity, rather the teabag is a collection of collections without any individuality. just as my finger is a collection of cells, so a teabag is a combination of dependent things. infact he believes that everything depends on the presence or absence of something else. tea leaves depend on the presence of tanins, flavins, cells, maturation, drying, there is nothing inherently existent that could be called the individuality of the teabag. this of course defies common sense, but is reasonable. why cannot a collection be at one and the same time an individuality. ie one in many, or many as one. such an argument though would be contrary to nagarjunas thrust, which is to emphasise the existence of emptiness through dependence. ie everything that is dependent has no individual uniqueness (or soul) since all individuals are merely collections.

i am still studying nagarjuna, it seems that a statement such as "walker is not the same as walking, nor is it different from walking" can be argued any way which can. "walker is not the same as walking, if it were how could the two be told apart, nor is walker different from walking, or otherwise there would be walking without walker." it could be argued on the grounds of oneness that walker and walking are one and the same, that structure and function are inseperable. you could just as easily say that walker is the same as walking and that is why there isnt walking without walker. if nagarjuna says that legs are not the same as arms because they can be told apart he is right, because they can be told apart, but wrong because arms and legs are all part of one body and cannot be separated. so paradoxically one can say that walker and walking are not the same, but one can also say that they are the same (the same body/oneness).

it can be argued that walker is walking, walker is not walking, and as nagarjuna says walker is not the same as, nor different from walking. infact whatever you seek to prove, if you are clever enough, you can prove it. this is the nature of reason and logic. a donkey that is lead by the carrot of the person who possesses it.

i find his logic is clear (it is)infact, it is pure genius, but as with all logic one has to realise that at this moment logic is thoroughly illogical. though perhaps when he wrote it was thoroughly logical. logic being logical? logic being illogical? two sides of the same coin. if logical can be illogical why discuss something as important as emptiness using logic? this defies a common understanding of nagarjuna, unless of course he wished to impress buddhist emptiness upon the minds of the common people. or, perhaps he really did believe in the immutable logos (reason) of plato. that insoluble all pervasive notion of truth. personally i see that reason has its uses (many of them groundbreaking and earth shattering), but can often be used to say what you want, especially when it comes to philosophy.

i find the argument for emptiness grounded in dependent arising 'can' be compelling, or not compelling. its just how you approach it. in that a collection does not necessarily indicate an individuality, it could be seen as a collective, for example a sea sponge colony 'may' have no singular conscious individuality as the colony as a whole, but then a human being is a collection with a consciousness . but as i see it, dependent arising could be used as a proof against emptiness just as much as a proof for it. i believe that the buddha would have days where he took time out from such an approach, that is he would respect the agile logical display of nagarjuna, but have said "not on mondays nagarjuna" (but only if you dont mind my friend).

i dont think that the buddha was about dogmatising certain concepts and words such as emptiness, as useful as they may be. even freedom can become an obstacle to relationship and his word "liberation" can be in buddhism taken to mean many different things. it may just be that mental freedom and freedom from suffering are synonymous. emptiness is representative of water and air, but one should not forget the presence of fire, or gold (earth)(male elements)that are representative of fullness/form. to argue away form for emptiness seems unbalanced. just as to argue away emptiness for form would be unbalanced, though it may be an interesting excercise (and not too difficult). infact rising to the challenge if one looks in minute detail/huge magnification at an area of space one will find it a quantum soup, and not nearly as empty as one expected. infact buddha is implacable when he says emptiness is form for this could imply that there is no emptiness, only form. or visa-versa one could argue that all is empty.

i have also read nagarjunas, i think its called the flower garland, which was less a discussion of emptiness and logical proof for such, though his approach in the middle way comes across in this book too. no, i remember now its called the discourse of the precious flower garland.

i realise that my comments on nagarguna's mulamadhyamakakarika may seem disrespectful regarding the buddhist saint, and have no desire to show disrespect, but i do feel that all in all, though brilliant his arguments are not compelling ground for emptiness. this is because i am aware of the bias behind reason. there are other ways to illustrate emptiness. the buddhas "emptiness is form" for example is a much clearer statement of anti-logic, that i find very elegant. also the prescence of the zero in any effective numerical system requires a hypothetical emptiness.

i have no doubt that in the original tongue nagarjuna was a marvellous poet, sadly this does not come across in this translation or in "verses from the centre" a different translation of the same work. perhaps, in his poetic form his genius would have shone out as much as it does from his rational genius.

this is an interesting book to read, a fascinating insight into the mind of an early buddhist saint and an example of how one can use logic to prove anything, even that which intuitively seems almost impossible. but personally i dont feel it tells me anything, other than showing patterns of logic, which are a useful thing to aquire. i must say though that i am 'astonished' by the mans logical dexterity.

i would have found nagarjuna more interesting if he had tried to prove the existence of form and balanced this with a proof for the existence of emptiness. for in truth it is not balanced to prove the existence of emptiness without proving the existence of form. and you cannot prove the existence of emptiness without proving the existence of form, for emptiness is form. it can be argued that all is emptiness, but it can also be argued that all is form. whatever you look for is whatever you find. such is the nature of reality. seek and you will find.

infact... making things fun, and killing the buddhas word, i would say that "form is not emptiness, form is form" is just as true as "emptiness is form". this is the buddas freedom. playing with logic, one does not take reason too seriously on mondays, but... aah, on tuesdays it is profoundly important.

thank you nagarjuna for the encouragement you have given many.

love, flakey xxx.

Before you stare at a wall to practice suchness, you may want to spend some time acquainting yourself with this philosophical presentation that justifies your practice.

It will be no easy task. Both Nagarjuna's text and Garfield's commentary are challenging: I'm sure that would be true for the Western philosophers Garfield's commentary is targeted to and it certainly was for me as a lay person. But I persisted in what often seemed repetitious and tedious to find enough interspersed wisdom to make my patient reading worthwhile. This is not a book I could comfortably have browsed. Without Garfield's commentary, I might have quickly read over Nagarjuna's verses and believed I had understood much of it. Despite much that seemed cryptic, I'd have thought myself well educated in dependent origination, impermanence, emptiness, the self and other key Buddhist concepts. But, if I did that, I may have missed about 99% of what Garfield found therein.

A Sanskrit text by Nagarjuna translated into Tibetan and then into English by Garfield. A commentary informed by a tradition of Tibetan teachings. Understandings which may enrich one's meditation ... on emptiness. It is humbling to consider that Nagarjuna composed his verses in India about the 2nd century A.D. Such a thorough and penetrating analysis must have resulted from many challenges from others. That it holds up is something worth ... experiencing as one reads Nagarjuna and Garfield.

Nagarjuna's text is presented by itself, then again interspersed wihin Garfield's commentary. Garfield proceeds very precisely, keeping his interpretations closely tied to the verses at hand. Together they offer a tour de force in Buddhist philosophy. If you read this book and later hear someone say, as if it were a complete thought, that the self is an illusion, you should understand much better what the too often unstated context for such a statement is.

There are many valuable lessons: about the lack of inherent existence, interdependence, conventional and ultimate truth, dependent origination of all phenomena, the emptiness of even emptiness, even dependent origination as dependently originated, reification, of the self as a conventional designation. There are conclusions I found profound such as that "the conventional nature of conventional entities and their emptiness are one and the same". That "to say of a thing that is dependently arisen is to say that its identity as a single entity is nothing more than being the reference of a word", i.e. that its identity "depends upon verbal convention". Do I follow that? One problem may be that at the time I read such lines I may think I do but a short while later, I've lost it. This is not a book I would want to be tested on anytime soon after finishing it. I don't know when I will be ready for such a test. The answers may not be found through further study of the text and commentary but through meditation ... or perhaps some of both.

I recommend going back over after a first reading and making notes. Even then, it may take ... years ... lifetimes? ... for everything taught in here to sink in, but the intent is to enable you to internalize the teachings presented here through meditation so that it becomes more than philosophy but a way to live. A tall order but that is what Buddhist meditative practice, properly understand, seems to be.

I do feel I understand better from this reading, if only a little better, why meditation seems warranted. Being a less confused about that seems worthwhile.

I cannot rave enough about this book. As I'm sure most translators or more authoritative people will point out, the translation quality here is superb. But, from the angle of the guy who knows almost zilch about that, the book offers guidance and discipline. While the original is short and to the point, this book offers a more 'warm' (if I can call it that) feeling, with photographic, smooth paper and various related pictures from the time.

That being said, this book also features commentary by other guys from the time relating to their opinions of Sun Tzu's words. It's definitely interesting to get perspectives from them and not just the author or translator. I felt that was a unique addition that really added to the book. You can read the whole thing of Sun Tzu's words in a couple days or so, but the deep discussion behind it offers a whole 'nother book in and of itself.

book arrived on time and in condition described

This edition makes for a terrific gift for the college graduate. The illustrations and photos add visual interest; the text layout makes for "easy" reading. Although we already own several editions of this classic, this will be added to our personal collection.

This is a classic work on what works and doesn't work it war. It is from the 3rd century BC and cuts through the BS of modern war science. Must reading for all future Presidents, Secretaries of Defense and General Officers.

As a Chinese, I can say that author grasp the essence of Art of war and the English is beautiful.

I see adiobook on this topic. What no one for this version? strongly suggest and if come out I would buy it firstly.

This really is an excellent book. Although scholarly it is not dry and one might even call it exciting at times. It remains the definitive work on the period (most Oxford History books tend to have that distinction) and the latest edition (6th, I believe) contains additions and corrections well worth the bump in price.

The only reason I cannot give this book a full five stars is because in spite of the scholarship, it remains fairly light on ideas and when compared to other Oxford Histories such as "Battle Cry Of Freedom" or "What God Hath Wrought" it cannot hold its own.

Nevertheless, this book is a worthy addition to any historical library and is heartily recommended.

While Spence's "The Search for Modern China" may be currently the most popular survey of modern Chinese history, Hsu's work is indispensable for the student of wants a deep understanding of China and the Chinese. I was fortunate enough to have studied the material covered with Hsu at Santa Barbara, while he was working on the first edition and still using the then only good English language Asian history by Fairbank (+ others) as a text. While I still have my copy of Fairbank's two volumes, which remain useful for Japan and Southeast Asia, it is to Hsu's text I still refer on matters of Chinese history.

I needed a book for my university studies on China, and this was by far the best. It is detailed, sharp and well written. I cannot see much bias either way, or if there is the other side is shown.

A very good treatment on the subject.

This book by Immanuel Hsu used to be my school text 23 years ago! Now in its 6th Edition, I must say is an excellent piece of work. However, there are still certain words which are wrong, for eg, page 100, 2nd Paragraph, "...He was "found" of Adma Schall von Bell, whom he appointed..."
The word should be FOND and not "found"....
I have detected several similar errors in the book.... Otherwise, this book would almost be near Perfect!
Steven Lim. RSTN Consulting (Singapore).

This is the definitive work by Prof. C.Y. Hsu of the University of Californai, Santa Barbara.
It is a highly acclaimed history book which tells the rise of modern China which begins with her occupation by the alien power - the Manchus - from the border of north China and rules the country with an iron grip from 1644 to 1912.

The Manchus were an alien, warlike race which had an eye for China (just like the barbaric Japs in 1935) for a while, and according to Prof. Hsu and his marvellous research, the appropriate time came sooner than expected which altered the future course of China and eventually led it to become a world power a century later.

The Manchus enticed the Ming Dynasty General Wu San Kwei who was then guarding the walls at San Hai Kwan Pass (Mountain and Sea Pass) which effectively blocked the entrance of these warlike aliens to which the weaken Ming Dynasty couldn't well resist. Then internal political turmoil caused the last Ming Emperor to commit suicide and the rise of the rebel Li Zhi Cheng which looted and subsequently occupied Peking. Fatefully, Li abducted the mistress named Chen Yuan Yuan of Gen. Wu which compelled him to open the massive wall-gate and allowed the Manchus to enter Peking to chastise the rebel who was eventually captured and beheaded after many battles.

Then the Manchus began to establish their Manchu or Ch'ing Dynasty from 1644-1912 with ten succeeding emperors and one notorious empress named Tzi Hsi.

China, weakened by internal unrest and revolts and external pressure from the foreign powers - notably Great Britain, France, Imperial Japan, Germany, Italy, Germany, Russia and etc., almost brought the country to total ruin, division and a multiple foreign colony. China was forced to signed many unequeal treaties after she was militarily defeated which included the tranforming of Hong Kong into a British colony in losing two Opium Wars. With the country politically and militarily divided and huge areas curved out by foreign powers, the educated people along with the farmers rose up to try to overthrow the decadent Manchus. Then came the devasting and most barbaric war of conquest by the Imperial "bungsai" troops which climaxed in the so-called Rape of Nanking, whereby some 300,000 innocent and unarmed Chinese civilians were tortured, robbed, raped and summarily executed in cold blood by the contesting samurai swords. Iris Chang told this holocaust in her acclaimed book called THE RAPE OF NANKING (It is also sold by amazon.com too).

Eventually, after many local rebellions against the alien Manchus, Dr. Sun Yat Sen succeeded in overthrowing them and formed the Republic of China and eventually the founding of the People's Republic of China by Mao and Co.

Then in the 1970s, the Chinese people were proud to witness the entry of China into the United Stations and occupied a seat in the U.N. Security Council. China then started diplomatic releations with its once arch-enemy, the United States after the historical state visit of President Nixon. (The Chinese still consider Nixon as their friend today!)

Today, the rise of China as both an economic and military power owes its origin to the resolve of the innovative and determined Chinese people led first by Dr. Sun Yat Sen (Father of the Chinese Revolution) to Deng Xiaoping (Father of the Chinese Economy), which brought China to become a peaceful and superpower power - respected and feared by both friends and foes alike.

Prof. Hsu's thousand page long history book, well-researched and written in an understable language should be in the homes of all English educated Chinese people and those foreigners who are friends of China.

So please go for this highly recommended and worthy history book if you, the reader, has been to China and marvel at its seven thousand years of history, culture, civilization, inventions, battles and peace and rise to become a peaceful superpower of today. Cheers & thanks.

Professor Urwin has contributed a priceless addition to the collection of great American historical letters. Perhaps one of the best compilations of Wake Island information that at no time reads like the encyclopedia it resembles.
This is a huge and potentially intimidating book that is worth every bit of its seemingly steep price tag. Invest in your brain, you get what you pay for and then some!

REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS!

Author Gregory Urwin spent years researching the epic defense of Wake Island using uncovered documents, personal interviews of civilian and military survivors, diaries, library archives and just plan hard leg work. The author to this day still honors those that served at Wake by staying in touch with the survivors at their yearly reunions and was instrumental in making the documentary on The History Channel become a reality. 'Facing Fearful Odds' brings the battle to life again through the eyes of those that were there and gives a balanced view on the Devereux-Cunningham contravercy which showed beyond doubt the shabby treatment given to the Navy Commander. The book is a must read to anyone who wants to learn about dedication, friendship, survival and love of country.

Most people only know about wake Island from the William Bendix movie made in 1942 when very few facts of the battle were known. What was know was that in 1941, as most American outposts in the far east fell in hours, this small Island with a garrison of some 450 marines and a few airmen held out for weeks and became a symbol of hope for Americans in a world of otherwise bleak news. The papers called this unlovely rock "The Alamo of the Pacific" in rememberance of that other famous last stand.
What Dr Urwin goes into is the detail beyond these facts, having interviewed survivors from both sides of the battle and poured over navy records he takes Marines who were little more than faceless icons, and made them human, with fears and hopes and lives all their own, and in so doing makes their stand more iconic. He gives them lives and personalities with annecdotes and humor as remembered by their friends in later years that shows them as a uniquiely American force.
Is it a big book? yup. Is it easy to read? Oh Yeah! The early chapters are about the finding, losing and refinding the atoll known as "Wake," then going into how it was developed in an attempts for commercial air travel in the 1930's. These chapters were so easy to read I found myself wondering if there were books on this, A topic I'd previously had no knowledge of or desire in. The writing is that good.
"What better way for man to die, then facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the Temples of his gods." yup, sums it up well.

I am a student in one of Dr. Uwrin's classes and he assigned this book for us to read. Usually I get annoyed when this happens because it is usually a way for teachers to throw their ideas further onto students and make them pay (literally) for it. Urwin's is one of only two professor written books that I have enjoyed reading for class. Dr. Urwin's writing is extremely clear and easy to follow, and he grips the reader. The language is not the pompous scholarly language one usually finds in books like this. You don't have to be a student of WWII to read this, anyone could pick it up and read it without problems. And to answer someone's musing that if Dr. Urwin's lecturing is as good as his writing, it is and then some! READ THIS BOOK!

The title, Facing Fearful Odds, is taken from Macaulay's "Horatius at the Bridge" (a poem I lovingly remember reading as a schoolboy), and it's evocative of the dramatic siege of Wake Island in the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Gregory Urwin is a fine writer who vividly portrays the drama of a handful of Marines and civilian construction workers who repelled daily assaults by the Japanese navy and air force for 16 harrowing days before finally capitulating to overwhelming force. In stunning detail, the author depicts the frantic preparatory events leading up to the siege, the fierce resistance, and the bitter aftermath. It is sad that these heroic events are little known by today's generation.

What is compelling about Mr. Urwin's account of the Wake Island story is his depiction of ordinary men thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Although the Marines were volunteers, many of them joined the Corps to escape the Depression, and many of them never expected to find themselves in such a perilous position. Nonetheless, like Horatius at the Bridge, these men did more than their duty.

Facing Fearful Odds describes how the United States failed to marshal its considerable resources during the year and three months that Europe had been at war; we were dreadfully unprepared militarily, economically and psychologically for the sudden impact of the terrible defeats Japan dealt us. If we view the events of late 1941 in the context of the smug condescension most Americans felt toward Japan, and the fact that we woefully underestimated Japanese military prowess, we can begin to understand how shattering Pearl Harbor was. Americans were angry as hell and damned scared.

Then, a few gritty Marines and civilian construction workers - every one of them a regular "Joe Everyman" with whom any American could identify - held off the mighty Japanese navy and air force for more than two weeks and dealt them a stunning, crushing blow. That we ultimately lost Wake Island mattered little. That these brave men showed the world that Americans could - and would - fight back meant everything to the people at home and to those in the service. These few men lifted America from its fear and helped focus its anger in a powerful resolve to defeat the enemy.

The Marines of Wake Island were expendable, and they knew it. Mr. Urwin enables the reader to imagine why a man would willingly put himself in harm's way knowing - with near certainty - that he was unlikely to survive. One could argue that the man doesn't have a choice, but of course he has a choice - he can surrender. Urwin shows us that the willingness to fight and not surrender came from something more than patriotism. Though they fully expected to die, it was a matter of pride; though they believed no one would ever know it, they were determined to make the enemy pay dearly for American lives. They knew if they did that, someone else might live a little longer.

Facing Fearful Odds is about defiance in the face of certain death, of abject determination to make the enemy pay a terrible price for their arrogance. The men of Wake Island didn't save the world - that was for the men and women who came after them to do. But they saved America's face. Guam surrendered immediately. Wake Island did not.

Several weeks before the battle of the Alamo, Mexican troops marched into San Antonio demanding a siege cannon that the Texan rebels held. The Texans' reply was, "Come and take it." Implied were the words, "...if you can." Gregory Urwin gives the reader a rare opportunity to know how the men of Wake Island felt when they made the Japanese Navy "come and take it."

This was a very well-crafted and informative book, which I would recommend reading to those who haven't yet. For those who have, and who enjoyed it like I did, I would recommend Tent Life in Siberia: An Incredible Account of Siberian Adventure, Travel, and Survival, which George Kennan's account of his travels around eastern Siberia on dogs and reindeer sleds.

The Other Side of Russia is part travel narrative, part social history, part memoir, part food writing. All these parts come together to make a terrific book.

Sharon Hudgins and her husband Tom spent a year and a half in post-Soviet Siberia teaching business management for the University of Maryland's overseas program. As peripatetic ex-patriates, they were familiar with unfamiliarity. But they were still not prepared for what Siberia had to offer them.

Join Sharon and Tom as they picnic with the Russian Mafiya, try to teach in an educational system that discourages questions and independent thinking, and ponder why a herd of horses is tangled in downtown rush hour traffic.

In "Absurdistan" it is just one perplexing thing after another. The electricity and water in their poorly-constructed apartment building work only intermittently. But in spite of such challenges, they make friends and entertain regularly. Cultural differences mean that the same friends who swoon over delicacies such as wafer-thin horse liver slices rolled with layers of horse fat, are unable to enjoy a Hudgins Tex-Mex feast.

Hudgins's previous work as a food and travel writer are evident here, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she writes fiction as well. The narrative is effortless and the stories she tells are by turns engaging and frightening.

In The Other Side Of Russia, author Sharon Hudgins takes the reader along on her Trains-Siberian Railroad adventure through Siberia and the Russian Far East, an area that was closed off to Westerners (and most Russians) prior to 1990s and the collapse of the old Soviet Union. Here the reader will be treated to a unique travelogue that will take them from the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, to feast with native Siberian Buryats, the food markets and "high-rise villages" of Vladivostok and Irkutsk, Christmas celebrations, New Year's banquets, Easter dinners, and Siberian festivals. The Other Side Of Russia dispels the myths and misconceptions about the Asian part of Russia which extends across eight time zones between the Ural Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Offering a window of observation into this land of harsh winters, vast uninhabited spaces, friendly people, strange cuisines, and thriving modern cities, The Other Side Of Russia is a welcome, informative, and highly entertaining read which is especially commended to the attention of armchair travelers and students of Russian culture and history.

The Other Side of Russia emerged from Barbara Hudgins experience of living in Siberia for a year and a half, from 1993 to 1994. Working as the onsite program coordinator for the University of Maryland University College in Siberia and the Russian Far East, she worked and lived in Vladivostok and Irkutsk.

Hudgins book is the first book about Siberia I'd come across written by someone who spent extensive time in Siberia. This gives her a depth of understanding that adds a lot to her memoir.

The structure of her memoir is unusual. She's divided the book into two sections. The chapters in part one focus on place - Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Lake Baikal, etc. - and the chapters in the second part focus on aspects of life and culture in Siberia - housing, education, food and festivals. Hudgins supplemented her first-hand experience with extensive research. This offers readers an in-depth source of information about many aspects of Siberian place and life.

What's lost in this non-chronological format is Hudgin's own adaptations and reactions over her time in Siberia. She does insert some feelings and personality, but the focus is on the topic, rather than on her personal experience or characters who change and develop over the period.

Hudgins seems to have thrown herself into Siberia with a remarkably open mind. She expertly captures the small details of Siberian life and renders vivid pictures of feasts shared with Russian friends. For those who have been to Siberia, this book will take you back there. For those planning on going, The Other Side of Russia provides a great overview of the life and culture.

In THE OTHER SIDE OF RUSSIA, the University of Maryland University College has established a joint undergraduate degree program in business management with the Far Eastern State University in Vladivostok and the State University in Irkutsk. In the summer of 1993, author Sharon Hudgins and her husband, Tom, packed off to Siberia and the Russian Far East to serve as teachers in this cooperative venture, while the former was also Maryland's on-site program coordinator in both cities. This book chronicles their experiences from their arrival until their departure in December 1994.

Whether she's describing the immensity of pristine Lake Baikal, the problematic living conditions in their high-rise apartment, local customs and food of the Buryat people, the vagaries and perils of shopping for household necessities, maddening water and electricity outages, local festivals, the growing pains of a free-market economy, the university students' learning ethic, or the conviviality and generosity of their Russian friends, Hudgins has a keen eye for small details, as when describing an open air market:

"An Uzbek woman ... sold raisins and nuts in small paper cones made out of official forms from the Irkutsk Municipal Water Department ... In one part of the market, a pretty teenage girl, wearing a garish, flower-printed dress and a thousand-yard stare, held a handful of peacock feathers and sipped a can of Dr Pepper, while in another section two older women, both drunk, tried to punch each other out in a fist fight."

I haven't been so engaged by a travel essay about Russia since Hedrick Smith's 1976 bestseller, THE RUSSIANS. My only criticism is the relative lack of photographs - only a couple at most per chapter. Luckily, Sharon's poetic prose paints pictures almost as effective as snapshots, as this from her vantage point on the Trans-Siberian Railroad:

"A profusion of wildflowers carpeted the meadows, like an Impressionist painting exuberantly expanding beyond the limits of canvas and frame: undulating shades of yellow, gold, and blue, maroon and magenta, soft pink and pristine white, the pale purple globes of wild onions gone to seed, thousands of red-orange tiger lilies, whole fields of dark purple Siberian irises, and occasionally a single red poppy or two, like a stubborn symbol of politics past. Outside Chita a small lake glistened under the midnight moon."

For me, a travel narrative is all it can be if it makes me want to go there myself. THE OTHER SIDE OF RUSSIA accomplishes that. Well, maybe for just a brief visit, perhaps, because I certainly wouldn't want to live there.

The author of this book does an excellent job of analyzing the operational and tactical performance of Arabic Armies in the latter 20th Century. But, be forewarned, the book can be a slog to get through for the novice. Mr. Pollack examines the good, bad and ugly of the national performance of several armies (Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian) in a manner which is useful to any decision maker who might have to confront an Arab Military foe. The best part of this book and its most useful application is in detailing Arabic Armies 'mismanagement' of information. Yes, poor leadership has doomed many Arabic Military operations, but within Arab Military leadership the fatal mismanagement of information is at the heart of each defeat. As detailed by the author, Senior and Junior officers both lie. They lie to their troops, lie to their political masters and lie to each other. At times they seem incapable of any truth telling whatsoever. The author details Senior Officers describing "Great Victories" where battles are being lost. Junior officers repeatedly fail to provide timely analysis of opposing forces or give a true picture of ongoing operations (lest they be termed cowards?). This has caused missed opportunities to adjust deployments and often leads to catastrophic defeats. Another excellent point is that the author never dismisses the ability of the individual Arab foot soldier to display extreme bravery and tenacity often despite overwhelming odds.

This is a superb and easily read treatise, of use both to the military professional and the interested lay reader. The book meticulously details strategic and tactical performance of each of the prinicple Arab states, not only with respect to their well-publicized conflicts with Israel, but it also investigates the lesser-known military endeavors (e.g., Egypt's war in Yemen, Libya's adventures in Chad). As a result, this is a comprehensive evaluation. Fortunately, it was not burdened with background details on Islam and it's baleful influences on the technical aspects of modern warfare: this material would constitute a separate treatise and has been detailed elsewhere. Nonetheless, the insights gained from Pollack's investigation of military performance transfer to Arab domestic politics and Islamic cultural influence on military doctrine.

Unfortunately, the cost of the book and it's length will deter many readers. In summary, this is an outstanding book and should be on the 'must read' list of readers of Middle Eastern affairs. It's only shortcomings were in the maps: symbols used throughout the text were only annotated in one map and never completely explained. Otherwise, a superb work.

This is a solid study. It is well written, well researched, solid on its data, and thorough in its scope.

The sections on inter-Arab/Muslim/African conflict give good looks at relatively obscure pieces of information -- the author's discussion of the Libyan-Chadian conflicts, for example, is outstanding.

A number of interesting conclusions are evident here, whether about Arabs' failure to maintain their weapons and equipment, their poor battlefield employment of intelligence, their horrendous logistical systems, or the failure of their junior leadership to execute, lead, and decide sua sponte.

My only real complaint is that often, I found myself thinking 'but what do you think?' The author is so thorough in the book that he often leaves his intermediary conclusions for the reader to absorb, and extrapolate. This makes the book something of a tool, as opposed to the pedantic thing you would expect given its girth. But I would figure that with all the author's knowledge (and his resume to boot), he would have more of his own things to say. He does offer, at the end, that this book is essentially a shortened version of his dissertation, and there is a follow-on work that looks more in depth, examines other aspects, and offers more analysis.

Bottom line is that this is a great piece of work. It should be seen as, essentially, an encyclopedia. If you're looking for anything else you'll be woefully disappointed. But if you're serious about the subject, this book is well worth the time.

I won't repeat all of the detail and commentary provided by other reviewers, but I wanted to provide a favorable review for this excellent work.

In the introduction, the author addresses the factors often cited for the poor performance of Arab armies--poor junior leadership, poor equipment, lack of intestinal fortitude, etc. etc. He then provides rare detailed coverage of specific operations of the various Arab armies, including their successes and failures, and then returns to address, on the basis of his analysis, the "poor performance factors" for each of the armies which he covers. Very interesting (to military history fans) and well done.

TMR

Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq are six major players in the Middle East. Whether they are US allies (such as Saudi Arabia or Jordan) or die hard enemies (such as Syria or Libya) Pollack gives an objective analysis of their military prowess, or lack there of.

Pollack's argument is twofold. He claims that because of Arab society Arab militaries lack basic skills that modern European armies take for granted. For instance because Arab culture looks down upon those who preform physical labor nations like Saudi Arabia wouldn't teach maitenance skills for rifles and aircraft. As a result Saudi Arabia still rely on foriegn advisors. Pollack notes that "Saudis also were limited in the fact that very few of their people were willing to take on a job that they considered menial labor-hence the support services suffered." (pg. 431)

The second portion of his thesis is that the junior officer corps of most Arab armies is incredibly poor. Considered having one of the finest armies in the Middle East, Jordan showed that on a tactical level it simply could not preform. While most Western militaries have based their soldiers tactics off of the old WW2 German saying "every corporal should carry a field marshalls baton." Arab countries such as the Hashemite Kingdom have good generals but poor lower level leadership. This was evident when Pollack states (talking about the battle of al Karamah), "The artillery was accurate but almost exclusively preplanned, preregistered fire missions and, therefore, did not demonstrate any real improvement over 1967. Whenever Jordanian armor encountered Israeli armor-and these were mostly even fights in both numbers and types of tanks engaged-the Jordanians either lost or, at best gained a draw which still favored the Israelis."(pg.334-335) There was simply little or no improvisation on plans that were drawn earlier.

There was only one minor flaw I found, this had nothing to do with what was written but with the book itself. The sofcover copy has a bit of a poor spine and doesn't do well under a little stress.

Pollack's book is as one review by Choice Magazine says, "[an] encyclopedic study will be of great interest to scholars, military planners and analysts, and policy makers." it really is a true encyclopedia chronicaling every major and minor conflict the above countries were involved in. Whether you are reading because you love military or Middle East history, this book is for you. I couldn't recommend Pollacks book more.

I am in agreement with the other reviewers that this is a very good history of the US/Philippine War that should be more broadly read. Parallels with Vietnam and the present oily Iraqi War are eerie: attacks on the patriotism of war critics to silence them, support of the wide spread use of various tortures against the adversary including "The Chinese Water Treatment" (aka "Chinese Water Torture"--from which "Waterboarding" is only a variation), the excusing of massacres of civilians by American soldiers, etc. There truly is nothing new under the sun when it comes to these dirty little 3rd world wars. I'm reminded of the poet Robinson Jeffers' poem "Blood Lakes." So many blood lakes and we always fall in--with apologies to Jeffers' spirit if I've essentially misquoted him.

Perhaps we can overcome our national "Altzheimer's" on the issue of these 3rd world colonial/neo-colonial wars and stay out of them when the next opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, I would settle for our exit from the present Iraqi mess with all due and reasonable speed. America's moral force and image in the world is not improved by our involvement in such bloody horrors.

A very interesting story about the American armies attempt to end the Phillipine insurgency that broke out in the wake of the Spanish-American war. Originally allied with the Americans the Phillipinoes were angry that the U.S had promised indpedendence and from their point of view, reneged on the promise. An insurgency broke out and the American army used classic anti-insurgency methods to break it, including creating institutions and providing incentives for the people not to back it, as well as combatting it. Famous figures such as Roosevelt, Taft, Pershing and Macarthur's father were involved. This is an important part of American history that is often forgotten.

Seth J. Frantzman

This book reviews the politics and media surrounding the actions by the US in the Philippines following the Spanish-American war. It gives great insight into the propaganda used to sell the war to the American pubic and to obfuscate the atrocities that American soldiers committed there. Miller paints a fascinating picture of egocentric American political and military commands steeped in duplicity and self-delusion; these patterns will be interesting and familiar to any student of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq.

The material is sourced mainly from newspaper editorials, political speeches, congressional inquiries and the letters of politicians and high ranking military figures.
This book will not tell you anything about what the war was like for the soldiers on the ground, American or Philippino. It won't tell you much about tactics. It won't teach you anything about Philippine culture of the time, either.

This book is an excellent general history of the American invasion and conquest of The Philippines in 1898-1902. The author immersed himself in private letters, official hearings, and newspaper editorials from the era. The result of this research is a compelling picture of a sleazy and violent episode in American history, when Republican politicians launched a war to boost their prospects in the 1898 midterm elections. The book is timelier than ever after 9/11, since imperialism has come back into vogue in the guise of anti-terrorism -- anyone who has illusions about America's "innocence" today should read Miller's accounts of atrocities and racism circa 1900.

I gave the book four stars instead of five only because the narrative is based almost exclusively on U.S. sources. In particular, Miller's endless rehashing of imperialist and anti-imperialist newspaper editorials gets quite old at times.

This book was originally from 1982, written in a time of post-Vietnam regret. However, this book may have picked up on themes, very much in the U.S. press in the period of the Philippines war of a century ago, that are suddenly current in fall 2005: systematic use of torture by American forces (particularly the "water cure"); carelessness with the lives of civilians in the battle zones; denunciation of Americans with doubts about the war as unpatriotic or traitorous; the denial of normal legal due process to an enemy deemed too savage and inferior to be worthy of it; considerable confusion on the events where U.S. forces transpose one war (i.e., Spain 1898 or War on Terror 2001) into a new one (the Philippines in 1899 or Iraq today) more by act of U.S. will than enemy action. The author does stretch some comparisons between the Philippines war and Tonkin Gulf and My Lai, but given the events of Operation Iraqi Freedom the book seems eerily more relevant now.

Another reviewer has noted that Mr. Miller's research was almost entirely from U.S. sources. That does take it down from five stars but we should remember that this book, as with the Iraq war, is more about the U.S. mind-set than about the other side. Thus the book's tone is a bit as lurid as the press of that day but it is startling how the U.S. public read this news coverage year after year and then -- as Mr. Miller notes -- forgot. We might wind up putting Iraq out of mind as well, its veterans and victims as forgotten and neglected as those of 1902, a point Mr. Miller does us a favor by raising. Scary.

I bought this book because a friend of mine on met the author on the train while my friend was making a pilgrimage of her own to revisit her past. My friend is mentioned in the book,along with her daughter who accompanied her on this trip. This book gives great insight from the victims perspective.

Bashert is not easy reading. The author doesn't back away from painful discoveries or stand aloof emotionally: Andrea Simon is present on every page of her powerful and personal odyssey of discovery. In this book you get to know her, her family, their community, and their terrifying history. This book contains horrors and heroism. It is an important book for Jews and non-Jews alike. The inhumanities it chronicles remind us of why we must continue to stand against contemporay atrocities. Read this book. Share it with others. It isn't easy, but it is important. Ms. Simon writes of how profoundly she was affected by writing it. Reading it will do the same for you.

I can't imagine many non-Jews looking at Andrea Simon's book in a catalogue or a store and thinking they MUST have it, or that it would necessarily contain anything of value to them. After all, it's just a Jewish woman's search for her history, right? Wrong! It is a tender, and unsettling, story of a personal journey that turns historic. And it is a reminder of what can happen, and has happened, when we lose touch with our shared humanity. This is not an easy book to read but it is a compelling book- and it is a call to action. We must never forget, and we must never give up. Andrea Simon persevered on her journey, as did her grandmother (and many others) before her. So must we all.

This is one of the best holocaust memoirs I've ever read. Simon's account of the atrocities that were inflicted are woven through the horrific experiences that her own family suffered -- experiences that she learns on many steps of her journey. Beautifully written, expertly researched and told.

Bashert by Andrea Simon is not only a labor of love and a remarkable gift to those who came before and will follow, it is an important addition to Holocaust literature, describing events that may not have come to light before. The events are described in a very readable and personal form.

What makes this book especially moving is the way the author weaves her personal story into her search for historical fact. It is the author's personal involvement, warmth and humanity that draw the reader in and create a sense of personal involvement for the reader. We are not just reading history, but being taken along on the author's quest for knowledge and truth. We share her hunger to know what happened to her lost family.

For those with personal experience or knowledge of the Holocaust, this will add; for others it is a good place to start. It is a remarkable personal odyssey which will leave the reader affected and transformed.

George Perkovich has produced a seminal work on India's nuclear weapons program. He analyzes the political, economic, security issues that have contributed to India's decision-making regarding the bomb. George has correctly identified India as being caught in a dilemma for a long time over nuclear weapons testing. India also provides the only example of a nuclear weapons program that was openly debated in a democratic society. This debate (which ranked often very low on the priorities of successive prime ministers who correctly placed socio-economic development as a higher priority) has led to India shifting its position over time -- one from being the first proponent of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to opposing it due to is discriminatory nature today. It describes how India's opposition to nuclear weapons in the '50s which was perceived as being moralizing in the West, has now changed to embrace weapons since the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty permanently endorsed the nuclear weapons status of the five declared nuclear powers without any comprehensive, binding time-table for destroying all nuclear weapons -- a position that India objects to as being discriminatory.

A must-read for anyone interested in nuclear weapons proliferation and arms control negotiations today.

Less to do with the bomb per se, but a scholarly history of the Indian nuclear program. This is a work that will be quoted again and again.

This is easily one of the best books I have read about my own country. Very informative.

Note to editorial Reviewers: India entered the nuclear club in May 1974 and not in May 1998 as suggested by some of your reviews.

Some highlights of the book.

* The term nuclear "haves" and "have-nots" was coined by Homi Bhabha initially and used by others and till date has been central to putting forth our country's opposition to NPT and CTBT.

* University of Chicago's late Prof. Chandrasekhar's refusal to head the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) after the death of patriot Dr. Homi Bhabha.

* One of my disappointment is the author's avoidance in the discussion of the cause of the death of Dr. Homi Bhabha, even though such an incident is beyond the scope of this book. Since Bhabha provided the impetus and leadership during the nuclear program's infancy, I expected the author to throw some light on this issue.

* Vikram Sarabhai's hatred for Nuclear tests is news, especially since he was heading the Atomic Energy commision. As a spaceman it is surprising that he headed the organization in the first place.

* Indira Gandhi's refusal to allow more nuclear tests after 1974 stemmed from her abhorence for anything nuclear after her post-Pokhran I experiences. This is contrary to the popular belief - international pressure.

* Most sections of the book has an objective view of the Indian nuclear scenario except the last few chapters where the author seems to bend towards India signing the CTBT and the NPT. Or atleast implying that India's moral stand on nuclear issue was defeated after the May 98 tests.

* BJP (and its predecessor Jana Sangh) has been the only political party to openly campaign for Nuclear power.

It is time that India and Pakistan get the respect they deserve as nuclear powers. Why is it that France, Germany, Israel, the U.S., Russia, and South Africa (now supposedly non-nuclear) have been able to garner the respect that China, India and Pakistan are alluded by? Is it becuase they are not white Europeans? Nontheless, a well researched book.

As an Indian immensely proud of his country's accomplishments and having had to enter multiple debates with other non-Indians in May 1998, I gained a great amount from the book. It is immaculately researched and it seems that Perkovich has left no stone unturned. It goes into such depth and understanding of the Indian polity's psyche as previously unseen from a non-Indian author. Perkovich is not merely narrating a set of events which led to the testing but defending a theory that goes against current understandings of international relations and nuclear non-profileration by setting India as an example. I enjoyed every chapter of the book and hope that current policy makers in the field learn from it. A must read for every Indian interested it their country's policies and others making policy for the rest of the world.

I first read this book just after it was first published some 50 years ago. It was, I recall, a pleasure to read then and doubly so to re-read the account of Corbett's adventures again today. Jim Corbett's somewhat matter-of fact, understated style is a delight to read and his simple yet vivid descriptions of the Indian locale and the people, who play a part in his story are those of a man that loves and deeply understands this land and its people. Corbett is no wanton destroyer of wildlife but a protector of impoverished and often terrified communities who understands and explains with sympathy, why the prey he hunted were forced to become what they were.

Any book by Jim Corbett is an interesting read. Although, nowadays, big game hunting is a thing of the past (I reckon), yet it is through the eyes of the author that the reader can seamlessly go back to the times when it was not so.

The stories are beautifully detailed in their descriptions of the expeditions, the customs of the hill folks, their traditions, courage, and (some interesting) superstitions. More often than not while reading the book, I have wondered whether whether I would know what happens in the end because of some absolutely incredible situations and circumstances described.

HOW THIS MAN COULD MOVE THROUGH THE JUNGLE SO EASILY I DON'T KNOW..HE MUST HAVE HAD BAZOOMAS LIKE BASKETBALLS...LOL

In a few words Jim Corbett can transport you back 60-100 years & make you feel like you are right there beside him tracking a Tiger in India. There is no bravado, he comes across as very humble. I had read his "Man-Eaters of Kumaon" several years ago & thought it was without a doubt one of the best books I had ever read. Even knowing how good his books were I was still highly impressed with this book as well. It isn't just the tigers he describes but the whole Indian country-side & the people & animals that habitat the place. He takes you there. Don't hesitate to read one of his books.

Once again in this book Jim Corbett has proved it, he was a awesome incredible gentleman. I have never seen anyone who could write like him. Amazing man with amazing courage. His modesty is revealed throughout his book. He goes through so much suffering and pain, but never once writes about it. From his book you can feel how much concern he had for people. People trusted him with with their lives. His book teaches us a lot about jungles. I would recommend this to anyone who likes animals. Once again Jim Corbett you were and still are the best writes of adventures.