Chinese Books

After reading "Riley's Journey," I was so impressed that I took it upon myself to read "Fiona." Once again, I found myself taken back in time, experiencing the adventures the characters find themselves embroiled in. Ms. Parker's ability to blend romance, adventure, and comedy is without compare and I heartily recommend "Fiona" as well as "Riley's Journey" as great reads.

I loved the book. Once I started reading it, I couldn't let go.... The book had everything in it---the busy modern every day life, mother/daughter relationship, child birth, the simple life, the everlasting love, and especially the unknown. The book touched me in a way that it's hard to explain, and I'm sure everyone will connect to it in their own ways. It's hard enough being an outsider whatever the circumstances may be. The young and beautiful girl, Fiona, has the ability to easily adapt to her new surroundings, learn a new culture, and continue being strong without forgetting who she truly is. I was very impressed by the way the author commingled the good with not so good things in life. There is so much more to this book... the romance, the other characters. I would definitely recommend Fiona to everyone. WHAT A GREAT BOOK!

This is an absolutely wonderful book to read. The way that Ms. Parker describes the characters, they actually come alive when you are reading this book. It is full of wonderful historical information and interesting characters that are really well described. This is one book that is hard to put down until you have read the whole thing. A must read.

The course made spoken Chinese fun and easy. My student uses it as an independent study tool and it works. It's like a video tutor. I showed 1 minute of the tape to a group of students in my university, they all learned how to say two basic sentences --- Ni Hao (Hello) and Qing Wen (Excuse me).

The video series comes with one of the easier follow along books that I have seen. The book can be used by itself but I strongly recommend to watch the tape. I have shown the video and book to my native speaking Mandarin teacher and she was very impressed as well. The main thing is that I have also shown the video to people who considered Chinese too difficult to learn. After viewing the video they had a totally different viewpoint. Really is very possible to learn to converse in Mandarin in a relatively short period of time. To me Mandarin is one of the most beautiful languages there is. That alone is reason enough to learn it and reason enough for any school to teach it. I think any school that teaches Mandarin should recommend and expose their students to this wonderful supplementary video learning material. I really can't imagine that anyone would be disappointed with these tapes. They really make learning fun!!

The course made spoken Chinese fun and easy. My student uses it as an independent study tool and it works. It's like a video tutor. I showed 1 minute of the tape to a group of students in my university, they all learned how to say two basic sentences --- Ni Hao (Hello) and Qing Wen (Excuse me).

Fortress Besieged is one of the set books in the morden Chinese literature course I take. Though I like English literature more than Chinese one, this book gave me a refresh. Chien Chung Shu was so called Scholar writer, his works are full of both Chinese and western idioms. Therefore reading Fortess Besiged you can learn a lot of about Chinese and western world. Though it was written in the 30s, you will not feel it is old fashioned.

One of the greatest modern Chinese novels. Disguised as a "modern Rulin Waishi (Scholars)," Fortress Besieged is much more than an ingenious satire of the haute intellectual class in 1930's China. Its depictions of Chinese society in a time of great adversity (the Sino-Japanese War rumbles in the background much as the Napoleonic Wars do in the works of Jane Austen) is thorough and penetrating. The sheer wit of Qian Zhongshu, who possesses a stunning erudition in both the Chinese and Western literary traditions, makes the book one of few "random access novels": novels the reader can flip to any page and start reading with equal relish. The central characters, Su Wenwan, Tang Xiaofu, Zhao Xinmei and Sun Roujia are all unforgettable. Above all, it is the portrayal of the hero Fang Hongjian that elevates the novel to the realm of the highest tragicomedy.

I am astonished to find that this book has not been reviewed by anyone at amozon.com. Fortress Besieged is the immortal work by one of the most talented Chinese modern novelists, Chung-Shu Chien (Qian, Zhong-shu). This book has been translated into all major languages and enjoyed by readers all over the world. It has also been made into a very popular TV series in early 90's in China. Almost every educated Chinese is familiar with the story of this book, while the truth of life told by this book appeals universally to all mankind.

This book is about the life of a young Chinese intellectual in the 30's. His travel, his career, and most importantly, his relation with women. Through the simple, everyday happenings of this young man, the author shrewdly seeks for the motivation that drives us to receiving education, building a career, falling in love, and forming a family. The conclusion is that everything of life, including career, marriage, etc., is like a besieged fortress; the people ouside of it want break into it and the people inside of it want to break out of it.

The language used in this book is very humorous, sarcastic, and intellectual. Preferrably read in Chinese to get the most enjoyment out of it.

This book is a comprehensive look at the relationship of Western and Eastern medicine. It describes clearly and effectively the healing art of Chinese medicine with its herbs and acupuncture. It also explores the history and underlying ideas of Western medicine.

Today, there is growing interest in ancient healing arts like Chinese medicine. The reason for this, shows the author, is the growing knowledge that mind and body are intimately related, that many diseases can effectively be prevented and that we are about to embark on a new era of "energy" healing. In this, there are many paralells between East and West.

In the tradition of Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics, The Future of Healing is destined to be a classic and will interest anyone interested in more than just medicine, but in the essence of health and healing.

This book explores the amazing similarities, connections, and commonalities shared by Western science and Eastern mysticism. Milburn distills the knowledge of the ancient Chinese philosophers and reviews the discoveries of both the pioneers of twentieth century physics and the cutting edge contemporary scientists of the "new biology". Striking parallels emerge from this discussion and exciting ideas for a new approach to medicine are presented.
The intellectual triumph and popular appeal of this book are a product of the author's treatment of two seemingly opposite, but equally expansive and difficult, subjects; Eastern and Western medicine. Topics as diverse as the mysteries of Qi and field theory are deftly explained, losing none of the inherent complexity while still easily comprehended by the reader.
For anyone interested in health, on a personal or societal level, "The Future of Healing" is a must. Avenues of thought are available here which can be found nowhere else in such a succinct and entertaing format.

As the review above suggests, this important new book should be compared with The Tao of Physics and read by anyone interested in the future of medicine, either western or Oriental. Milburn's synthesis of the two different systems is clearly laid out, and can serve as a review for those already familiar with some of the concepts. Recommended!

I HAVE BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR FOR 8 YEARS AND THIS IS NOW ONE OF THE REQUIRED BOOKS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN MY TRAINING CLASS FOR NEW DEALERS. AT MY SUGGESTION A LOCAL POKER ROOM HAS INCLUDED THIS AS THEIR RULE BOOK AND ALL SUPERVISORS ARE REQUIRED TO USE IT. THIS BOOKS HAS COMPREHENSIVE UP TO DATE RULES. AS WE KNOW RULES MAY CHANGE FROM ROOM TO ROOM, BUT SOMETHING THAT IS CLOSE TO STANDARD THE POKER ALMANAC HAS IT ALL. TDA RULES, ROBERTS RULES, GAMES, AS WELL AS A GREAT UP TO DATE GLOSSARY. THIS BOOK IS AN ASSET FOR TRAINING NEW DEALERS. I USE THIS AND THE PROFESSIONAL DEALER'S HANDBOOK AS A REQUIREMENT TO PURCHASE.

This is a concise encyclopedia of the rules for poker. The Official Rules will particularly appeal to novices as it explains the nature of the cardroom, the equipment integral to the game, and hand rankings. Much of it is based on Robert's (Bob Ciaffone's) Rules of Poker and is elaborated upon by the author. It provides an introduction to the game as well by experienced player, Kelli Mix. The various styles of games are also discussed: limit, spread limit, no limit, and pot limit. The text covers just about everything including seven card stud high low and deuce-to-seven high low. The explanation of tournament rules is valuable because, as those of us who watch HSP already know, tournaments and cash games are entirely different animals. It even tells you what should be done with the "odd chip" in casino games. I appreciated the definition of "kill pots" and wish I would have read it before I began playing in kill limit games online, lol. This is definitely something I could have really used back in 2004 when I first began learning about the game.

Game Day highly recommends this book as the standard poker book for use during all types of poker games. This book is especially helpful to players in home games of poker, where it is important to have a way to resolve rules disputes quickly and amicably.

We at Game Day saw that there was something missing in the current field of poker books: a standard poker rule book. Before we published the Official Rules of Poker, the only authorities on the rules of poker was Scarne and Hoyle, which were written in the Nineteenth Century. The game has changed, especially in the last ten years, and we realized that it was important to have a Twenty-First Century rule book.

When we put out the word that we were looking for an editor and for such a book, Kelli Mix came forward. Ms. Mix, or "Poker Mom" as she is known at the poker table, eagerly took up the challenge of gathering and writing the rules to suit the modern game of poker. This turned out to be a gargantuan task. Ms. Mix researched each rule, making sure that they were found in at least five independent sources. Mix turned out to be a wonderful choice as editor and author of the Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker.

Mix is a professional poker player. She is still under most poker players radar, but she is quietly climbing the ranks of tournament poker players (she finished 11th in the 2007 World Series of Poker Texas Hold 'Em Women's tournament in a field of more than 1,200 players). However, she is more likely to be found at cash games, playing high stakes.

The Official Rules of Poker includes all the rules of poker, from the most basic hand rankings to the most obscure tournament rules.

Contents:
1: Elements of Poker. This chapter covers the most basic rules of poker, and also describes the way poker is played in casino card rooms. Mix wrote these rules in a way that makes them easy to use while playing a game.

2: Professional Poker Rules. These rules cover more of mechanical means of acting in a poker game, giving the finer definitions of what constitutes a raise, a call or a fold. They also discuss the penalties of rules infractions. There are four parts to this chapter.

a) Robert's Rules of Poker. These rules were written by professional poker player and authority, Bob Ciaffone, as a standard set of rules of cash games in casino card rooms. While local laws may require changes to these rules, and some casinos use their own rules, these rules are often cited as the official set of rules in professional play.

b) Robert's Rules of Poker for Private Games: This is Ciaffone's "Robert's Rules of Poker" which he adopted to home games where no impartial dealer or floorperson is present.

c) Poker Tournament Director's Association Rules (TDA Rules). Each year, the Professional Poker Tournament Directors Association updates its rules, which most casinos and poker leagues use as their official rule book in tournament play. Tournament rules add a new layer of rules to poker, as tournaments are about eliminating players, not about accumulating money.

d) World Series of Poker Rules: The World Series of Poker is considered the premier poker tournament event. Due to its sheer size and commercialism, the rules for WSOP tournaments are different than TDA rules. Many poker leagues use WSOP rules instead of TDA rules, as the WSOP rules are more popular among those who learned poker from television.

3: Poker Etiquette. There are types of behavior frowned upon in poker games, due to the fact that poker is a highly competitive game and may involve large sums of money. In some games of poker, violating etiquette may result in ejection from the game.

4: Variant Poker Games. Includes 69 different versions of poker, including 5-Card Draw, 5-Card Stud, Cincinnati, Chicago, Baseball, Anaconda, Mexican Stud, Chinese Poker, Iron Cross, Guts, English Stud, Kansas City Lowball, California Lowball, Pineapple,Spit, Three-Card Draw, and the ever-hilarious Indian Poker. Also includes rules for declaring wild cards and using jokers. WhIle professional poker players and casino card rooms will never play most of these games, home games are notorious for playing "dealer's choice" where the dealer chooses which of the many variations of poker will be played that hand. (Note: Mix and I had a really good time finding out about all of these games.)

5: Glossary. Again, Mix was very thorough in her research. Poker terminology is highly colorful and is a lingo all its own. from the Nuts to the Fish. Mix used multiple sources, as there are many local poker terms and terms used that do not last more than a few months. She excludes popular names for two-card Texas Hold 'Em hands, purposefully, although we plan to have a separate glossary for hand names in future editions. Still, this is one of the most complete glossaries I have seen in a poker book anywhere.

6. Index: Okay, I did the index. I believe that indexes should be thorough, and so I did my best to make the index easy to use in the heat of play. Still, this was a fairly easy index to create, as Mix's presentation of the rules and her organization of the material was straightforward, allowing me to easily pick out the rules.

The Official Rules of Poker has been wonderfully received. Professional poker dealers have been clamoring to get this edition. When we released the book at the WSOP 2007 in Las Vegas, the WSOP dealers practically knocked me over trying to get their own copy.

Thank you for considering The Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker. I personally hope you will find it to be of great use, and that the book will provide you with years of fun--and fair--poker.

David A. Rozansky
Publisher
Game Day (an imprint of Flying Pen Press)

I am a native Chinese speaker,I recommend you read and learn from this book if you are intrested in learning Chinese and a little bit of Chinese culture.

If you want to learn Mandarin Chinese and you must do it on your own, Get Talking Chinese is the best way to start.

The book covers the language in its spoken and written forms; that is, it uses the Pinyin system as the pronunciation guide and includes a CD with audio of the lessons, and it includes the Chinese characters for its vocabulary set as well as guidelines for drawing the characters. Some Chinese language instruction books focus either on the spoken language or the written language; the former using a pronunciation guide, such as Pinyin, almost exclusively with little or no reference to Chinese characters, and the latter focusing on the characters themselves with little support for the vocabulary needs of the beginning student. Get Talking Chinese is a great improvement over those books because it covers both the spoken and written forms. It has what a beginner needs.

The best part of Get Talking Chinese is its format and design--its use of pictures, drawings, and color, especially color. It is so visually appealing that it draws you in. Once you're in, you discover interesting tidbits about Chinese culture. Every page is a delight--and you want to learn.

I found Get Talking Chinese by accident in the children's section of a book store. That is so unfair to adults. Mastering the contents of this little book will provide a solid foundation for Mandarin Chinese no matter how old you are.

I bought this for my 8 year old son for his birthday. While he loves it, I think my oldest son(16) and myself like it just as much if not more! Lots of information in such a little book. A great introduction into Chinese and Chinese culture. Lots of tidbits of not only educational information, but fun items too, like the Chinese Zodiac and more!

Between regular grammar school Monday through Friday, Chinese school on Saturdays, homework, and gymnastics practice, Ivy's plenty busy. She's looking forward to an upcoming gymnastics meet, but she's worried about her routine on the balance beam, having fallen off of the apparatus in an earlier competition. When she learns a family reunion is scheduled for the same time as the meet, Ivy has to decide which event to attend . . . or figure out a way to go to both!

The book takes place in 1976, so Ivy references the 1972 Olympics and Olga Korbout's balance beam routine, which won her the gold medal. Even though the book takes place over twenty years ago, the theme of appreciating your family's culture is timeless. Readers will hopefully be moved to consider the struggles and traditions of their own families.

Good Luck, Ivy is a spinoff of the American Girls books about Julie Albright, in which Ivy Ling is introduced as Julie's best friend. Ivy is definitely a great American Girl who is trying to keep up her family's customs while making her own path. I wish there were more books in the Ivy series!

The vignettes at the end of the book, written by Nika Korniyenko and Susan McAliley, detail real-life events in the lives of Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans. This section also includes photographs of author Lisa Yee and her relatives. How cool is that?

This is surely one of the "winners". History, a great story and not only that, but really gets inside a Asian family's life in San Fran in the 1970sCannot be beat!

This is the 'extra' book in the 'Julie' series from American Girl. Julie is the newest American Girl character, and Ivy Ling is her best friend. I am an adult who works at AG, but that doesn't influence my opinions on the books. It just makes it easy for me to read them.
I really liked this book. Ivy was born in America, and so were her parents, but her grandparents are a big part of her life, too, and they were born in China. They own and operate a very popular Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Ivy loves her family and she feels badly when she blurts out that she's sick of Chinese food. She's afraid she hurt their feelings. Ivy feels totally American and wonders why they can't just eat American food, like cheeseburgers.
Ivy's parents send her and her brother Andrew to Chinese school every Saturday to learn to read and write Chinese. Ivy would much rather spend her Saturdays practicing gymnastics. Ever since seeing Olga Korbut during the Olympics, Ivy dreams of being a gymnast. She competes on a team, but a mishap on the balance beam at a previous meet has shaken her confidence. Ivy is excited about her upcoming city meet, but when she learns it's the same day as her family's big reunion, she has a tough decision to make.
At the end of each American Girl character book there is an educational section telling about real events. This one has nice information about the restrictions that were placed on Asians that came to America in the early 1900's and contributions Asians have made in America, like helping to build the transcontinental railroad.
This is a great book for children 7 and up. I also recommend the 'Julie' series.

The Haunted Monastery was one of the first of Dee's books I stumbled into while in highschool. Outstanding and complicated... full of period accurate and consistent elements that make it vastly superior to others of its kind... and sporting characters that you really begin to know.
Fans of the development of jurisprudence, whodunnits, and historical fiction simply must try one of these series IMHO... but there's no reason that journey must take place with these excellent stories (that actually take place well after key character establishment in the series): van Gulik's first 4 (and Dee Goong An, his initial experiment) are surprisingly great reading.

I've read all of the Judge Dee Mysteries and this double novel is one of the best. The Haunted Monastery gives fans a fascinating glimpse into Judge Dee's family life, including relationships among his three wives. The plots all revolve around the loves and mores of the Chinese upper and lower classes. The Chinese Maze Murders follows Judge Dee's dangerous attempt to end a criminal overlord's stranglehold on the Judge's new district of Lan-fang. The story of how Judge Dee out maneuvers this ruthless godfather and his hidden backers provides an excellent read. Don't miss this economically priced complete edition of two of the best Judge Dee mysteries

Robert Van Gulik evidently had a lot of fun translating "Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee"; when he couldn't find any more Judge Dee mysteries, he decided to write his own. "The Haunted Monastery" takes place during one night (appropriately dark and stormy) in a Buddhist monastery where several young girls have disappeared without a trace; among the characters are a Taoist sage, a dissolute abbot, a performing bear, and a female impersonator, all set against a backdrop of dark winding corridors, secret rooms and a version of the Taoist Hell. By morning the storm outside has abated, and the mystery inside has been solved. "The Chinese Maze Murders" involves an overgrown, impenetrable (literally and figuratively) garden maze, a painting with a secret clue that will give the key to how to reach the maze's center; two young sisters, and a particularly vile murderer who specializes in torturing and killing young ladies. Of the two, I thought "Monastery" was more fun, but both books are excellent examples of the Chinese mystery genre and Van Gulik succeeds in capturing the essence of the original Judge Dee. Of all Van Gulik's Judge Dee novels, "Monastery" and "Maze" come closest to the unknown Chinese author and are therefore, for this reviewer, his two best original books.

Hawai'i One Summer is a slim collection of luminous essays reflecting diversal topics ranging from surfing to house chores. Indeed, this is the least read book by Hong-Kingston. Her prose is clear and evocative. It is very different from the radical Woman Warrior. It evokes a zen quality, like sipping a soulful cup of ginseng tea.

HAWAI'I ONE SUMMER is probably Kingston's least-read work, but I think it's the piece which captures this writer's clear and graceful prose style the best. Her essays range from surfing to dishwashing. Who'd ever guess that someone could write a substantial essay on a mundane activity like dishwashing? Well, Maxine Hong Kingston achieved this task. HAWAI'I ONE SUMMER would probably be good to use in an expository writing course.

A memoir of Maxine Hong Kingston's memorable years in Hawai'i, when she went from Viet Nam protests and virtual street existence to pedagogies and mythologies of empowerment that took on national and global impact. This, I find, an insightful, wry, even caustic book on the local literature movements in Hawai'i, always fresh and insightful even when New Yorkerish.

This is a great cookbook for anyone that wants to make authentic Chinese food in their own home. Oh yeah...it's also supposed to be low fat...you wouldn't know it from tasting the food! (That's a good thing.)

The recipes are easy to follow... The food is excellent and very tasty- you would never know it's actually good for you. Better than any Chinese take-out.

This book is a compendium of both great chinese dishes that have been re-created to minimize fat content, and innovative new dishes. My doctor is happy with my cholesterol drop, and I love the taste and texture of these dishes. The glossary, units conversion, low fat cooking methods, and nutrition notes sections are really helpful. Everyone that cooks should have a copy of this book. I have not seen any other books that compare to it. My hat's off to the author.