Asian Books

Calligraphy and brush painting are not easy to learn WITH an instructor; learning from a book is daunting at best. Yolanda Mayhall's book is as close to having an instructor as any I have found - and I have tried many books. Her style is informative without being pedantic, guiding gently without drifting into boredom.

If you take nothing else away from reading her book, you will realize that art is not "taught", it must be appreciated, understood, to be learned. Like a foreign language, sumi-e demands inspection and appreciation before you can begin to replicate it! Even those who can read printed Japanese will have difficulty understanding how the strokes are created. Those impoverished by a lifetime of penmanship will find the basics of "brushmanship" as foreign as Japanese language!

Never fear! This book will lead you gently through the process. From preparing ink to holding the brush to creating those first tentative strokes, this teacher is at your side. She will guide you through the strokes of the "four gentlemen" at the core of brush art. Bamboo leaves will give way to the orchids, birds, mountains and waterfalls all illustrated s0 beautifully in her book.

Remember that brushwork requires practice. I have used many a fat Sunday newspaper as an inexpensive substitute for rice paper (a point worth remembering to all the "grasshoppers" out there). Practice makes perfect. Yolanda will inspire you to practice and lead you through the levels until you could paint bamboo in your sleep! I have yet to find a live teacher who can inspire me to improve my brushstrokes like Yolanda can in her book.

If you are new to Japanese brush art work and want to learn the technique, this is the book to start with!

Personally I am also interested in using colour in my sumi-e works, this guide only has black and white. But the images are just beautiful. Hope I reach that level soon!

If you're a beginning Sumi-e painter you might want to wait on purchasing this book until you're more comfortable with the basics of brush loading and color gradiation.

This book tends to avoid going into detail about the intricacies of brush loading and the importance of your paper quality and it's absorbency.

If you are a beginner looking for a solid book that explains in alot more detail the four gentlemen and the importance of your brushes quality and methods for loading the brush, buy "Japanese Ink Painting: Beginner's Guide to Sumi-E" (Paperback) by Susan Frame. It's a marvelous book with alot of great examples and step by step instruction as well as some history and excercises you can do to become more comfortable with your brushes.

After exactly two lessons in watercolor and an appetite to learn more precise brush strokes I purchased Sumi-E. I immediately was able to make headway using the carefully written examples shown in this lovely book even without purchasing the precise Japanese brushes. I highly recommend it.

a story of courage and survival that proves that truth isstanger than fiction. these men were true patriots. the author was able to bring them and their plight alive and real for the reader.

This is not a book made great by the writing. Rather, this book is great because the author didn't get in the way of this epic story. No US submarine sunk more enemy tonnage than the Tang and whether any US sub sunk as many enemy ships is debatable. Dick O'Kane, the Tang's skipper, literally jumps out of the pages as America's foremost sub warrior. Anyone uncertain about what it means to be aggressive, go into harm's way and do all one can to serve one's country will find answers in this book.

This is a very good book that tells a great story. It is engrossing and draws the reader in from the beginning by painting a compelling portrait of the USS Tang in general and of the U.S. Submarine service specifically. They are portrayed as the miracle workers of their age.

Still the book comes up short in several areas. We don't learn as much about the Tang's patrols before the final patrol. If we learned more about the other patrol the book would have been much more compelling. We are also rushed through the crew's time in the POW camps in Japan. These do a disservice to what could be an amazing book. But rest assured, the book is very much worth the read!

This an unbelievably well-written book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and I couldn't help wondering what I would have done if I were thrust into a similar circumstance. Calling these guys the Greatest Generation is uttering an understatement.

As the son of a career sailor who served on submarines (USS Baya, SS-318, USS Menhaden, SS-377, and USS Segundo, SS-398) from the late 40's until his retirement in 1963, some of my earliest memories are of going to work with him and eating ice cream in the galley when the sub was in port. I also attended several dependents day cruises on the Menhaden and loved and respected the crew.

With that background when I saw Escape from the Deep by Alex Kershaw and realized what the book was about I had to read it. Life on a diesel electric boat was truly hardship duty. Though the crews ate well, they still managed to lose weight while on patrol, a fact that says it all about the stress under which they served.

The history of the USS Tang can't be matched by many other submarines in the PTO. Her skipper, Dick O'Kane was considered to be one of the best submarine skippers around, and his list of successes can't be matched by many of his contemporaries. It was on a war patrol that the Tang experienced one of submariner's greatest fears; a run-a-way torpedo that circled back and struck the submarine a death blow. Only nine of the crew managed to escape. They were picked up and finished the war as POW's of the Japanese.

Alex Kershaw's telling of the story of the USS Tang is an historical account of one of America's most successful submarines, with one of America's best trained crews, led by one of Americas best skippers. Having read the Bedford Boys I was already familiar with Kershaw's attention to detail in his storytelling and the quality of his research. However, he surpasses himself with Escape from the Deep.

Dramatic, suspenseful, and emotionally charged, Escape from the Deep is a must read for anyone interested in the war in the Pacific and with submarine warfare specifically.

American submariners suffered the highest casualty rate of any military specialty in WWII. Fully 25% of serving crews were lost while on patrol. Escape from the Deep is an excellent statement about the submariner's courage and sacrifice.

I highly recommend.

Peace always

This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is Ms. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is something else. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance....)

OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. Not good if you REALLY want the real thing...

This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling.

This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself.

Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. 172), and it was delectable. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. 73) and green beans with egg (p. 130). Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics.

_The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. This book is a real treasure.

I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste. I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that.

I gave this book to a Georgian and she loved it. It had all the dishes she had eatten as a child. If your looking for a book to fill in any missing recipes this is the book for you.

As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking.

More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).

I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book!

Our 6 year old as well as us (2 parents), love these stories. While other books we've read are very worthwhile (Wiz of Oz, Little House, Polacco books, and more), the Children's Favorite Stories series (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean) is a good change. They offer divergent themes, varying settings, and an interesting incorporation of magical elements. The stories in the books are fairly short, which makes them adaptable to bedtime or day reading. We have the two Japanese, the Chinese, and Korean story books. All are very good.

I recently purchased this book for my granddaughters who recently moved to Japan. The book arrived very quickly and in excellent condition. The book has very colorful and fun artwork and the stories are very interesting. Was great to see a different style of storytelling.

My grandparents, who had lived in Japan, had this book at their house and I loved reading it everytime I visited. It just was a wonderful escape where the stories were so foreign, unique and amazing to a child - and still appear so in my adulthood. I'm convinced it's what made me a world traveler.

This book, in my opinion, should get 4.5 stars because it is interesting but also a bit confusing. It was fun to read the first few times, but after awhile the stories seemed predictable. Occasionally, the stories were random and confusing. The pictures aren't very detailed, but they show the point of what they are discribing. I also like the book because of the creativity of the authors. I know that as a writer you must construct creative and understandable stories and I am almost overwhelmed by the uniqueness of these stories. I recommend this book to younger children who enjoy reading simple fantasy stories with adventure.

This book is very special to me as it was a dear part of my childhood growing up in a Japanese American household in the early 1960s. When I was about three years old, one of my "uncles" gave this book to me with a pink hardcover and it has stayed dear to my heart since. I was quite delighted to see it still in print and being offered here on Amazon. What's even more amazing, is that from what I can tell by the image previews for this newest edition, the illustrations are the very same ones as my forty-some-odd year old book. This collection of stories would be similar to a Japanese Grimm's Fairy Tales and were also part of my father's childhood in 1920s Japan. Overall, they are quite simple and to the point and have a cuteness typical of Japanese stories. In recent years, my ex-girlfriend had enjoyed listening to me tell her these stories at bedtime even from my 40 year memory. I'm sure I've mangled some of them and combined them into a hybrid monkey, ogre, old man, cookie tale. I've been meaning to find my original copy, but now I know I can relive my childhood with a fresh new copy.

A well written and represented book! This book gives the reader a totally " Gungy " feeling! Real to life excerts from day to day life with " Mother Green & her Machine" Col. Fox is a Marines Marine, his method of leadership and Esprit de Corps was like no other, I know , I served under his command and unknowingly absorbed many of his talents, wisdom and leadership trait's through following his training and command. Well worth it!!!!!!!!!!! Col. Fox is a Marine to model ones self after, a Great American!!!! ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK. Semper Fidelis

Recommended reading for all Marines and Wannabees which includes just about everybody.

Col. Fox's memoir is as educational as it is entertaining. This is a must-read book on leadership, which drives home two essential principles: the leader must set the example and the leader must look out for the welfare of subordinates (which includes correcting them or even steering them into better paths, if they don't fit the Marine mold). And he does it in an entertaining style. It's rare to find someone with his experience who is also such a fine writer.

Though he holds the Medal of Honor, Col. Fox isn't at all full of himself. He's not afraid to say when he made mistakes, or when the system made mistakes. I found myself both wishing I'd served under Fox, and grateful I didn't, because I'm not sure I could have measured up to his very high standards. We should all be eternally thankful for Americans of this caliber.

Give this book to the young man or woman thinking of joining the Corps.

Robert A. Hall
Former SSgt, USMCR
Author of "The Good Bits"

I gave "Marine Rifleman" to my 17-year-old son last week, not to have him again revisit my Marine Corps "era" through this terrific book, but to have him exposed to these thoughts:

-- "Normal" people can have a successful military career. And Marines are not cold-blooded killers to begin with, nor trained as such.
-- Military careers can co-exist with a family lifestyle. The Fox family is a wonderful example.
-- We owe a considerable debt of gratitude to those who have served, especially in combat situations. Our comfortable life is largely due to the sacrifices of thousands of military personnel since 1900. Many of these sacrifices are short of serious wounds or death, but are not experienced by or even known to the public-at-large.
-- You can lead AND command without losing respect for your subordinates (very important today!!!), or having them lose respect for you.

Does "Marine Rifleman" bring out these lessons? You bet it does. Get the book, read it, pass it on to others. The reader does not have to be Marine-familiar. It will be one of their better reads from the bewildering choices in the bookstores. Especially for young people. Let them experience the personal growth of this man Fox as he maintains his spirit and integrity through a demanding career.

Every Marine that has served can easily tell you about the types of people in the Corps. There are the people who do their job and are just waiting to get out, the less than desirable bottom "10%" and then guys like Wesly Fox: the super-hardcore, gungy types who eat and sleep Marine Corps and epitomize the professionalism and dedication of the modern warrior. Col. Fox spent 43 year in, making it to 1st Sergeant before being commissioned and ultimately obtaining his bird. Many field grade officers today remember him as the CO of OCS, and his reputation carries his name throughout the Corps, even today, a decade since his retirement. Gungy Marines only come along maybe once a year in a unit, and Marines like Foxonly come along once in a great while.

The book is written by the author, and goes from chapter to chapter through each rank and his experiences in Korea, Vietnam, and all of his assignments (e.g. drill instructor, recruiter, MSG, etc.); He did it all. The prose is not extremely well written or memorable so much as the content of his story is remarkable. He seems to be a very warm and realistic man. There are almost no political views in the book, or rants about government or red tape, just his perspectives on the COrps and how it changed over 3 years. A great read, I feel it should be added to the Commandant's reading list.

I was standing in a college bookstore and saw this title as the text for a class on Asian history. I typically have no interest in this genre but this book was riveting. The detail and genuine quality of the author's words are unique. One expects a POW who was tortured to seek out the torturer for revenge not forgiveness. This story has a beautiful, eternal message to the rest of us who hold grudges over much smaller offenses.

When I read this book 10 years ago, I couldn't understand what Lomax was talking about when he described how he was held down by Japanese soldiers, a cloth placed over his face, and water poured over him.

It's now very topical.

It's a very honest and informative personal story, as well

What an incredible book I was not able to put down. I am a big military history buff and found the early pacific theater defeats very disturbing especially the battles in and around Malaya.

The treatment of Mr. Lomax was not surprising as the Japanese were ruthless. Putting this experience into such a personal and riveting ordeal makes this book a must read. Eric Lomax puts personal vivid perspective on the years after his ordeal that is often left out of most military history accounts of battle, defeat and capture.

This book is very cathartic and brought tears to my eyes. Forgiveness is a more powerful emotion and triumphs over anger and revenge.

I read this book when it was first published about ten years ago and the moving experience has remained with me since I finished the final sentence. It is an incredibly vivid book that you will not be able to put down.
What Eric Lomax went through as a POW, and his eventual reconciliation with one of his torturers 50 years later displays a depth of humanity that is deeply moving.

i also read this when it first appeared, was deeply moved and presented it to my wife's father, a ww2 veteran. i write this review today because a man george bush proposed for attorney general is about to be approved while refusing to admit that waterboarding is torture.

as every reader of this book knows, this is precisely the torture that was used on the author eric lomax, which terrified and impacted him for his entire life, and made it so hard for him to forgive even the interrogator present during it.

several reviewers have said this book documents how brutal was the japanese treatment of prisoners, and i agree.. how can we allow ourselves to become the same as those wartime enemies we have characterized as monsters? god help us if we do not object..

There are a plethora of translations of Chinese classics out there, but please know that many of these "translations" are just "re-imaginings" of the original, i.e. the authors usually do not know Classical Chinese (let alone modern Chinese!).

Merton is one such "translater". This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as one is aware that this does not strictly reflect the original text (although it may resemble it). What we have here is a picking over of existing translations of the Chuang-tzu and a recombination of them. This is often done with some artistic licence.

Merton is better than most in that he is somewhat sensitive to the original material. Things get vastly worse with translations of the Daodejing (for example, Ursula le Guins monstrous butchering). If you want a more accurate account of the Chuang-tzu then I recommend A.C. Grahams' expert translation which is a relatively successful facsimile of the Chinese original (given the difficulty of rendering Chinese into English anyway).

I am a recently retired teacher who for thirty-five years have begun every class (Theology, Sexuality, Physics, Chemistry, Math and in summers Arts and Crafts to kids 4-12 years old) with a sounding of small brass cymbals (Tibetan), a minute of silent breathing followed by a short reading from the Tao Te Ching, Emily Dickinson, a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, or the Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton.
I meet former students now pushing into their fifties who baldly admit that those moments have stayed with them all these years and they have included meditation as one of the most important activities in their lives.
Thomas Merton's Introductory Notes say it far better than I ever could and should be read .
I can only wholeheartedly recommend that you buy this book and keep it at your desk or bedside for a quick straightening out of your mind concerning what is really important in life.

If you have an interest in learning the deeper meanings of Tao then this is a book you must add to your collection. A seldom translated philosophy of poetic renderings are clearly detailed in the transliterations of Thomas Merton...the spirit of Tao is clearly revealed.

This is a very good translation made by Tomas Merton of Chuang Tzu's works. This also gives a little bit of the view of Tomas Merton due to his Note to the Reader section and his specific selection of some of Chuang Tzu's writings to put in this book. This book has many good proverbs and stories written by Chuang Tzu which can be very enlightening and sometimes humorous. Chuang Tzu is one of the greats of Taoism but of course Lao Tzu takes the top position. If you are interested in the learning about the roots of Taoism you should check out this book and some about Lao Tzu also.

Like a fine wine, this collection is best consumed slowly. As it is clearly stated in the foreward, this is not a faithful reproduction of Chuang Tzu but a collection of personal and spiritual interpretations of his work. Readers that expected otherwise might consider reading the description of the book before purchasing it. It would seem embarassing to write a negative review of a product that goes in complete contradiction of the product's clear description and intentions.

Thomas Merton was a Trappist Monk who took a particular interest in Buddhism and Asian spirituality. Because Merton tragically died at a young age, we will never see a final product of this work. In "The Way of Chuang Tzu", Merton selects writings of Chuang Tzu which reflect a Christian mentality. Obviously, Chuang Tzu was not a Christian. However, this does not disqualify his writings to a Christian audience in any way. If the reader can go into this book with an open mind, he/she is likely to enjoy it. Those who are closed minded to this type of work which may seemingly blur the line between faiths according to their view may be outraged. I would strongly encourage open-mindedness.

The book arrived on time and in excellent condition.
It will be a good read.

Ken Bell's story of a tour flying F105 Thunderchiefs in Viet Nam is a masterpiece of the technique of making things dramatic by being understated.
Although, like a number of military writers, he tends to put exclamation points after quoting an order from somebody, none of his own writing hits you in the head. Not in any one sentence. It's the accumulation that is gripping.
Bell, although an experienced fighter pilot, had had no command time and no combat time when he was ordered to Southeast Asia. So while we don't hear much about his problems just keeping the aircraft aloft, we do see him feeling his way through demanding staff jobs in addition to his flying.
This contrasts with Jack Broughton's book, "Thud Ridge" where Broughton is immediately immersed in the problems of command--he'd had earlier command slots--along with the flying.
Very shortly after arriving, Bell was put in charge of standards and evaluation, a job in addition to his flying. It appears that most pilots had such additional taskings. Stan/eval meant keeping the pilots and their flying up to Air Force scratch, modified for local conditions. This had Bell monitoring and evaluating others, sometimes during combat missions, and some of them his seniors. Later, he was put in charge of developing and selling technical and operational modifications to the higher ups. Obviously, his seniors had confidence in him.
The book gives us, as do Coonts' fictional story of Viet Nam flying, and Broughton's books, one each of various missions. We get to see how it all goes.
Bell sets out the immense effort it took to put some bombs in Pak Six. A dozen and a half tankers, a squadron or two of F4s for Mig Cap, SAR on standby, electronic warfare aircraft, recce either before or after. If it works out right, a couple of dozen Thuds put two or three tons of bombs apiece on a target.
Which brings up a point. Some of these major efforts of a major industrial and military power were devoted to a ferry landing site. A ferry landing site!? You could bomb one of those for generations, and until you changed the course of the river by the accumulation of bomb craters, nothing useful would happen.
Lose guys for a ferry landing site?
Or a steel mill. A generating plant?
This was not Germany or Japan during WW II where they were making their own stuff and the manufacturing assets could be destroyed.
Bell only hints at what Broughton explains in outraged detail. Some or most of the targeting decisions were made by non-military geeks playing war games back in the White House.
While we were pissing away men's lives on ferry landing sites, the important targets, Haiphong Harbor, the Hanoi-Haiphong transportation axis, the railroad up to China, were all left alone. It would seem that the propensity to leave a good target alone was directly proportional to its use to the enemy, to the prospects of victory, and the number of American lives which would probably be saved.
Broughton, having a bigger picture as a commander, got sufficiently outraged about such things in "Thud Ridge" as to make that part of his book, and all of his later book, "Going Downtown, The Air War against Washington and Hanoi".
Another point that Bell makes, not meaning to, I expect, is the incredible complexity of flying combat.
He speaks of landing just behind his lead. Lead reminds him to pop his drag chute immediately and to tell him when the chute is working so lead can pop his. If lead goes first and decelerates quickly, number two runs into him. So Two pops the chute first and tells lead who then pops his. There are a million little ways to screw up and get somebody killed. And you have to be watching all the time. It puts one in mind of Kipling's poem about the extremely young naval officers of WW I, referring to the "drowsy second's lack of thought that costs a dozen dead."
Great book to learn about the war in Southeast Asia and the men who flew in it.
And it also gives us, inadvertently, an insight into fighting a guerilla war with conventional tactics. You end up losing guys to bomb a ferry landing site.

I was mechanic on the F-105 in Thailand when Major Bell was flying his missions there. I believe he has written a superb account of the trials, skills and frustrations the Thud pilots had during Viet Nam. He brought back many memories of the two years I spent in Thailand.

My dad, a Wild Weasel 105 pilot who was there around the same time Bell was, recommended this book to me and once I started, I literally couldn't put it down. As other reviewers mentioned, you really feel like you are experiencing it firsthand. I think it's important to mention that it is written in a way that your ordinary person can understand exactly what is going on (something I feared before I bought it). It is an outstanding book and while I've always respected what my dad did, I feel I have 100% more insight into the extent of what he, and his fellow pilots, were up against-how they were able to face those odds day after day is almost unbelievable. The (physical and mental) strength and bravery of those men leaves me speechless and in awe. Thank you Ken Bell.

I first learned about the F-105 strikes against Hanoi in G.I. Basel's masterpiece; "Pak Six". Prior to reading that book, my concept of the air war over North Vietnam were the B52 strikes that were publicized, in the popular media, in the late sixties. The breavity of "Pak Six" left me hungry for more which Ken Bell delivers in " 100 Missions North" "100 Missions North" fleshes out the details and gives the reader a better idea of what the job, and life, were like for the pilots who flew the dangerous missions into Hanoi. While life, planning and debriefing are covered in more detail, there is still plenty of in-the-cockpit action, rocketing toward earth in full afterburner through clouds of flak to put the bombs on target.

A lovely book. Translations from another culture and time that we can still relate to. A pleasure to read and reread.

Wonderful poems showing the power and of two woman poets of the Heian Jidai. Exposes the "nature" poetry prejudice that derives from the unfortunately all male cutesy pie abbreviations of Westernized haiku. Waka yes, Haiku no.

The Heian period of Japan was artistically fertile time that produced numerous classic works of literature. It was even more remarkable in that most of the major literary figures of the time were women. Among those great women, Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu were two of the best. Their waka poetry (now called 'tanka') is some of the best literature ever written in Japan and the poetesses themselves have become the stuff of legend.

Doing justice in translating ancient Japanese into modern English is no easy task, but Hirshfield and Aratani have created translations that are as beautiful as the originals. Anyone who enjoys poetry, who loves love, or who is interested in other cultures and finding the universal passions of the human heart will enjoy this book.

--M. Kei, editor of Fire Pearls : Short Masterpieces of the Human Heart

Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani have done a marvelous job with the translation of these lovely tanka-- manages to capture both their fragility and robust complexity. I had an acquaintance who was a scholar with a focus on Japanese literature. She explained to me a little bit about the complexity of translating waka. I have nothing but admiration for those who can do it well. Hirshfield actually has an essay at the back of this book called "On Japanese Poetry and the Process of Translation". I recommend it highly, even if you do not normally read this kind of essay.

I am a little bit afraid that the focus on the love poems and the emphasis on Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu as female writers may give the wrong idea about the strength and importance of the poetry. Shikibu is widely considered the greatest poet of her period and Ono no Komachi was one of the Rokkasen-- the six best waka poets of the early Heian period. The reason that I am not giving this volume five stars is because of this packaging and not because of the poetry itself.

These poems are a joy to read aside from any issues of scholarship. They are strong and sad and very affecting. There is actually no stronger recommendation to read this than the poems themselves, so I will close this review with one of the poems by Shikibu:

What is the use
of cherishing life in spring?
Its flowers
only shackle us
to this world.

Unlike other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of Japanese poetry or culture, nor have I ever studied this period in Japanese history. I found this book entirely by chance buried in an obscure corner in my college library. I read a couple of random pages and fell in love. I checked it out repeatedly throughout my academic career, then bought it.

These women so effectively communicate, in few words, universal feelings of love. While the poems are deceptively simple, they manage to be so beautiful that I am amazed every time I pick it up.

Even more impressive than the writing is how easy it is to relate to the emotions behind it. As I have grown older and experienced so much more of life, I am surprised to find my own feelings mirroring one poem after another. What once seemed pretty words are eerily my own thoughts. It's amazing, considering they were written one thousand years ago!

If you're thinking about buying this, I suggest using the preview to read the few sample pages. If you like what you see, just get it. You won't be disappointed.

This book is the best source on Japanese cruisers for any type of source wether its for the dedicateted historian or model enthunist. I myself am building a 4.2m model of the heavy/seaplane cruiser Mogami and by reading this book and using its exilent drawing I found out that the plan were total wrong parts copyed from other ships. Note for Modelers this is an exilent book for begining a model it includes hull profiles, profile drawings and brige cut away drawings. Put this togeather with Janusz Skulski's book Anatomy of Ships Book The Heavy Cruiser Takao and you have just about all the deatalis for an IJN cruiser.

Book is sooo HUGE that it should have been divided into 2 books. Everthing you would want to know about japanese cruisers and then some!!!!Highly recomemeded!!!

This book is easily the most complete book of it's type in the English language. Every picture, drawing and description as well as narrative fill in a huge void on this subject of Japanese Cruisers.

There is few stones left unturned by this work describing design philosophy, weapons and control systems, machinery and operational history of the designs and ships. Diagrams and photos are plentiful and are placed in the narrative extremely well.

This is the sort of work that needs time to delve in to all it has to offer the reader but the time is worth every second.

There are few adjectives that give this book it's proper due.

First thing I thought when recieving this book from our tame white van man was: that is very well packed. Till I discovered that about the whole package was the book itself.
I found it a very interesting read.
It gives a complete insight in the development history of these cruisers and show the choices made in designing these ships and the factors (technical or political) that influenced these choices.
The amount of detail is amazing. Where can you find drawings of the development of the bridge structures, even of individual ships within their classes ?
It must have been an incredible amount of work to sift through all the material that went into this book and write it up to a balanced and succesfull story about these ships.
Apart from my enthousiasm for this book it has a few small drawbacks.
Some of the drawings are printed on such a small scale that the keys are hardly readable. I would have liked some more photographs; but I very well understand the choices made, and they are certainly sufficient.
The operational histories are a bit dry and a bit to much of: and then we went there and then we went there.
What I missed was a reasoned discussion about the operational value of these ships in conflict with or in comparison with other relevant warships of their time.
But I consider them minor compared to the wealth of ordered information and relevant background as for instance the structure of the japanese navy, radar development and gun control systems. Illustrative for the quality is a nice detail as the description of the significance of the ships names.
A treat tot read, but reserve enough time to do it.

This book is EVERYTHING it is advertised to be. The term "definitive" is often overused, but not in this case.