Eastern University Books

This art book shows brilliant medieval Gospel manuscript illuminations by renown Armenian painters. The quality of the art is world class and the quality of the reproductions is excellent.

I read this book as part of a course in college. The book does an excellent job of examining how art gets tied up with national politics, especially when governments are involved in an ideologically oriented war. The photos are all in black and white, but this is not really a problem as much of the art discussed is either in black and white itself or are granite statues which do not loose much when photographed in black and white.

This is an excellent book for those looking to understand how art is appropriated by nations or states for their own use. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in political art or who is convinced that art is not, by definition, political.

This is one of four books (& at 5.6 pounds, the heftiest!) that I highly recommend for those wishing to absorb some of the culture and art of south-east Asia. And of course, ART includes cooking! The area is loosely bound by RICE -- food of sustenance, and by beliefs & rituals that nourish the people's spirits.

1. It Rains Fishes (Thai cookery) # 0876543565 (1995)
2. Hot Sour Salty Sweet (Mekong River cuisine) # 1579651143 (2000)
3. Seductions of Rice (luxurious, delicious book!) # 1579652344 (2003)

I have been pursuing the weath of information, rituals & folk tales from these volumes, but oh, so slowly. (Taking a break & watching the movie "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" [# B00005JKG1] is a good prescription to follow.)

Each book lifts up the Rice Goddess and the value of following an Asian diet with rice at its heart. Some of the recipes are as fascinating as the traditions & folk stories. "It Rains Fishes" has colorful BOLD watercolor paintings by T. Goodenough, & delicate companion drawings by M. DeSong which are delightful. The author is Kasma Loha-Unchit who teaches in the Bay Area & also leads discovery tours to Thailand each year. The two books by Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid have handsome photographs and it is difficult to be content staying at home after browsing through these books.

Aurora Ammayao is the author, and Roy Hamilton (UCLA museum curator) editor of "The Art of Rice." Ancient antiquities connected with rice are shown with contemporary crafts, all conveying the sense of cultures centuries old, and rich beyond description. Questions come to mind about what will be there after "civilization" has sucked all the art & rituals from these people, leaving only commerce with its greed, and greater poverty.

Many writers have contributed to the scholarship of "THE ART OF RICE" - - You will follow your individual leadings but these are the chapters that piqued my greatest concentration:

c.30, The Future of Rice: there is a photo of a freezer vault at the International Rice Genebank in the Philippines; also, a collage-like painting of "Golf" with a commentary on the loss of rice fields to those building new golf courses, mostly adjacent to the burgeoning cities of SE Asia. Someone should sell this as a poster to finance a campaign against the descecration of sacred lands. American-multinational food conglomerates continue to kill the future livelihood of native farmers.
c.28, Wrapping the Body with Images of Rice (Kimono patterns from the Edo period; many show sheaves of rice & wooden noisemakers "naruko" to shoo ravenous sparrows away.)
c.25, Straw Matters (beautiful, intricate craftsmanship)
c.26, Rice, Self and State
c. 8, The Granary: A Home for Rice Spirits
c.31, Let's Hope the Bile is Good
c.18, The Goddess of Rice
c.12, The Gods Walk on Rice (Bali)
c.14, The Ghost Fest of Dan Sai (Thailand)
c.17, Of Mites and Men (Japan)

This book is tremendously important. All the museums I can never visit, and the glorious countryside & markets and waterfronts! REVIEWER mcHAIKU says perhaps some of these people are benefiting from our "Tsunami Gifts" - - a thought that makes being a homebound traveler much 'easier to take' !

The relatively high price that I paid for this book is worth every penny. It is a very thorough book on my favorite subject: The art of the Holy Land. I also bought this and the 2nd part of this title by Jaroslav Folda. They are outstanding and very very complete. You will not be disappointed.

Victor Mair is amazing! I own an older version of Sun Zi, and I have to say hands down that this is much more readable and insightful a piece of work. Mair is an excellent writer in his own right, and his expert scholarship is clear from the authoritative introduction, some 55 pages long but easy to read. I have devoured this book. It is hard to put down and it doesn't bog down. His translation is superior to the older Shambala edition. I enjoyed the discussion on putting the treatise into a historical and military context. Even the forward by another author, comparing Sun Zi with Clausewitz, is excellent, thought-provoking work. I think this moves Sun Zi scholarship forward but in a way that is also perfectly readable to the layman. Mair gives the more serious scholar ways to get more into the weeds in the notes section and in references to more academic papers he has done on the subject, which is fine by me.

I highly recommend this to anyone interested the Sun Zi, tactics, and Chinese philosophy.

This book traces one of the origins of modern racism. Its analysis of the intellectual history of the 19th century and their innocent creation of a theory which gives the inspiration of modern racism is an excellent piece of scholarship. The profound knowldge of the author on Indology and Indo-European studies made his argument authorative. This book should be read by all history students, instead of only the students in South Asian studies.

There are many books on parenting, but none that I think captures so well the joy and pain, the challenge and reward of being a parent in the modern age. I am the parent of an adult son, and At Work in Life's Garden carried me back into the emotional roller-coaster of pregnancy; the sweet learning to engage with a newborn; the years when dependence and rebellion collided head-on; and the deep strength of a parent-child bond that stretches but does not break. Having contributions of many skilled authors makes the book like a sampler box of chocolates - each story a fresh surprise, each so different from the others, and each delicious in its own way. I have given copies to many friends and relations, and will continue to make it a special gift for new parents in my life.

From the first page this kept me captivated by this book's wonderful knowledge and obvious intelligence. You can't help but give great trubute to the author for his extensive research. Five stars to a man who deserves them.

Book includes over 85 photographs, 60 tables, 48 maps, and 40 figures. Here is an excerpt from the book's preface:

" The book is divided into six parts. Part 1 describes field study methods and discusses hawk identification. Part 2 provides an extensive survey of the most important or useful eastern North American hawk lookouts. The survey thus serves a a catalog of sites of exceptional ornithological importance. Hopefully conservationists will be able to benefit from this survey by being able to visit many more hawk lookouts than previously were known to them. Parts 3 through 6 detail technical aspects of autumn hawk migrations. Even novices will find much of this information of value, however. The list of literature cited also will lead interested persons to sources of much fascinating reading."

Singerman spent years living in "popular" (i.e., poor) parts of Cairo and came away with a fund of knowledge. In "Avenues of Participation" she explains many of the subtleties of everyday Egyptian life and then, with great verve, shows the significance of these patters for the government.

Perhaps the most fascinating of her explanations have to do with marriage. As every resident in Cairo will testify, the subject of marriage comes up in conversation almost hourly. Singerman shows why: because marriage involves not just a man and woman but also their entire families; and because it has huge implications for their social, economic, and even political lives. "Parents organize their savings and consumption strategies to be able to finance the marriage of their children, sacrificing their material comfort for the future of the family-not unlike parents in the United States who begin saving for a child's college education as soon as he or she is born."

Singerman explains how, on a national scale, the drive to finance marriages has profound implications for the state. The jam`iyat, a huge network of informal savings associations, keep most capital out of the state's hands; the preoccupation with saving a penny here and a penny there causes many Egyptians to live so close to the edge, they depend on subsidized food-making it difficult for the government to cut subsidies; and the millions of Egyptians who emigrate to countries like Libya and Iraq earning money for marriages tie the government's latitude in conducting foreign policy.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1995