China Books

I got this as a gift a few years ago. Looking at the publication date, I would have to say I recieved it when it was fairly new. When I saw the title I was a bit put off...there a quite a few books that use *feng shui* as buzz words to rope in suckers looking to change their...well...chi...and inprove their lives...

But this many years down the road, I have to say, grudgingly, that there are many plusses to this book. The recipes are nutritious, delicious and *solid* in a culinary sense and the directions are clear and easy to understand. The recipes are decidedly Asian in nature. In my area most are easily available with the possible exception of dashi soup stock and tamarind paste which would require more of a hunt...

Several recipes stand out as ..well...outstanding. Berry balsamic parfaits (try it over vanilla ice cream with mint sprigs, unbeleivablely good)Seared salmon with horseradish butter (actually the horseradish butter is a winner all by its lonesome) easy and delicious. Chicken soup for a cold is a very good asian soup soup stock with the addition fo ginger and chilies. Adding your own touches makes it a whole soup meal for company... just pass around accompiments...

There is a lot of feng shui information in the beginning. Some I found interesting. Where is the best place in my home for the kitchen? What if it wasnt there? How to set up the kitchen so I didn't eat too much? (okay, i liked that part)...The yin and yang of eating...

There are different options on changing the recipes thru out the book, I like that. And how to serve the dishes. The book is more square than rectangle and is a hardcover that lies flat (yay!) The binding is in very good shape after all these years. It does tend to open to the recipes i have used more frequently at this point tho.... the paper isnt wipable unfortuantely...soy sauce stains from earier dishes are here and there. The color of the paper is a nice off white, very easy on the eyes... the pages are a bit thin, you can see shadows of the other pages through them. Ah well, you cant have everything...

There is a removeable and cleanable attractive book jacket and the artwrk inside is tastful with and asian flair... no bok choy running away from dancing knives thankfully!

Thinking back to my original objection, I was wrong. This was an excellent gift and an excellent cookbook. It's smaller size would make it an excellent addition to a themed gift basket with an asian flair (like some dried noodles, soy sauce, dried mushrooms, dashi stock, mirin...all inside a big wok!)

I'm not sure what I expected when my wife brought home this cookbook (not much though). We must have 30 cookbooks... but we keep coming back to this book for quick and easy recipes that are quite wholesome. I can't vouch for the Feng Shui aspects--I guess it's cool that the dishes have a purpose. But every recipe we've tried has been great. We also like the Moosewood series of books--but find those recipes often take way longer than estimated (the ones in this book are very fast).

From the Feng Shui book we regularly make the peanut noodle vegetables; the chickpea curry (mentioned in another review), and the grape gazpacho. There are a couple other stand-bys... but we're also up to try new ones all the time.

There are some pretty goofy "theme" cookbooks out there... and, on the surface, this may seem like one too. But don't be left out--it really is good.

I've heartily recommended this book to friends who are interested in Taoism and those who love to cook, and both groups seem pleased. I've cooked a dozen or so of the main dish recipes; none required cooking skills beyond the average meal-a-day home cook, and all the ingredients have been readily available at a well-stocked grocery. And every one has been a hit!

Having never been a person to play close attention to my yin, let alone my yang, I was understandably frazzled when my wife announced that our day guest had turned into a dinner guest. With two young children, dinner is on a set time-table. Now I pride myself on having dinner guests. Cooking is my hobby. (My wife told me I needed a hobby and her genius suggested cooking.)

So there I was with a few cans and a little over a pound of ground turkey meat. I rifled through my recipe books and came across one that I wasn't even aware of: Elizabeth Miles' The Feng Shui Cookbook. And there on pg. 167 was a recipe for Quick Chickpea Curry (containing the ground turkey). While the recipe promised to warm my qi and creative energy, I was glued to word quick.

Well in less than 20 minutes I had achieved both. The curry was fab, sprinkled with yogurt and cilantro. Our dinner guest went back for seconds and then thirds. And the conversation was robust. The Feng Shui part achieved its goal in spite of my cynicism.

Since I have enjoyed a number of the other dishes with other guests. Miles' text is as strong as her recipes. She has carefully crafted a book which tells you how certain food can feed certain moods and inspire different reactions. And this makes for immensely edible thoughts and results and of course, food.

I visit Taiwan at least once a year, and always make it a point to do as much birding as possible. The main problem I have faced in the past has been finding a good English language field guide. I have always used James Wan-Fu Chang's "Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan" (ISBN-13: 978-0917056437), and Wu Sen-Hsiong's "A Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan" (ISBN 957-9578-00-1). Both books are very good, and highly recommended. However, each has its drawbacks. The main one being that both are written in Chinese, although Chang's guide does have very brief descriptions of range, habitat and status in English. In addition, both books are a bit out-dated.

The MacKinnon & Phillips guide addresses these drawbacks. For starters, it is written entirely in English. The paintings are generally of high quality, and differences between subspecies are indicated. Range maps are also shown on the page facing the paintings. The descriptions of many (but not all) species are fairly well detailed, and the ranges for subspecies is also described.

The guide does have some minor problems, which are probably unavoidable. Because of the large geographical size of the area covered, and the number of species described (over 1300), the guide is quite bulky - and somewhat expensive. In addition, the descriptions are in the back of the guide, rather than on the page adjacent to the paintings, making it somewhat inconvenient to use. As I have alluded above, some of the species descriptions, particularly those of the Taiwan endemics, seemed to have been glossed over (perhaps to save space in an already sizable guide). And although most of the paintings are of high quality, not all were. Overall, I think they are slightly inferior to those of the Wu guide. That being said, no field guide is perfect. Putting a field guide together requires a lot of patience and a great deal of hard work. I, for one, really appreciate the dedication and effort of the authors.

All in all, this is the best field guide to the birds of China available. I would highly recommend this guide.

This field guide is a well done book introducing the birds of China to its readers. It is fairly standard as far as field guides goes in content. The book contains 128 color plates depicting the birds of China with the corresponding range maps opposite the plates. Next, the descriptions of the 1329 species are given. Herein lies the major problem with the book, the descriptions are not adjacent to the plates; however, had the book been arranged in this manner, the number of pages would have at least doubled and the book is already a bit cumbersome for use as a field guide at its present size.

A couple of other bits of useful information in this book include a map detailing vegetation type and an introduction to the region. Also, a list of protected and endangered species is included. For researchers, a nice bibliography is also included. Whether you just want to look at birds from a country you never plan on going to, or if you intend to go birding in China, this book is for you.

This book is absolutely essential for any birder who plans to visit any of the regions covered in this guide. The plates are very good and the descriptions are detailed. This is probably the most up-to-date guide for the region. The taxonomy is based on Sibley and Monroe, and nearly all subspecies and their ranges are listed. There is even an edition in simplified Chinese available in China and Hong Kong. However, covering such a broad region has its drawbacks, and at least in Taiwan, I recommend that this book be used more as a reference than field guide. A bird's voice often varies across its range, and the status of a species in one location can be completely different in another. For example, the White-bellied Green Pigeon, described by the book as "very rare," is in fact common in Taiwan. The quality of the plates is sometimes inconsistent (e.g. the geese and swans on plate 7 look very small!). Also, errors I've noticed include where the range map does not correspond with the descriptions (e.g. Eurasian Jay, plate 67), the bird number on the plate does not correspond with that of the range map and descriptions (e.g. Varied Tit, plate 88), and some typos (e.g. Pygmy Wren Babbler subspecies, plate 105). Although Appendix 2 lists the species endemic to the region, it left out at least three species from Taiwan (Yellow Tit, Collared Bush Robin, and Taiwan Whistling Thrush). In general, this book is excellent and highly recommended, but I do hope a new edition will be published in the future that fixes the errors and include new discoveries made since publication (e.g. Chinese Crested Tern, Taiwan Bush Warbler).

A Field Guide to the Birds of China is a must for any traveler who wants to identify birds in China. De Schauensee's earlier Birds of China is not really a field guide although it provides useful background reading. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan includes a lot of the species occurring in eastern China, and the Beijing area is included in most of the range maps, so if you don't have the MacKinnon-Phillips new guide, this is second best.

All species of known regular occurrence somewhere in China are illustrated in excellent drawings by Karen Phillips, all but a few in full color. Colored range maps are on the page facing each of the 128 plates. The text for each species provides a detailed description, voice, distribution and status, habits (useful), and in some cases a note on taxonomy.

I used this book for more than two weeks in China during October 2001 and confidently identified every bird I got a decent look at. (Regrettably, eastern China is not exactly overrun with exotic birds, but you can find some interesting species even in the cities.)

The most noticeable problem with this book is its sheer bulk; at 256 pages of plates, 586 pages of text, and some front material, this monster tops out at well over 800 pages and won't fit in most fanny packs, not to mention pockets. So taking a utility knife with a new blade, I sliced the spine following the last plate and taped the last page to the spine, creating a book of front matter, 10 pages of introduction and all the plates and range maps--a tad over a third the thickness of the whole book. A few species are illustrated in black-and-white in the text, so I xeroxed those (with their black-and-white range maps) and pasted them below the range maps of appropriate plates. I left the text home.

The book is not without minor errors, of course. For example, the range maps on plate 35 mistakenly call the Red Phalarope the Red-necked Phalarope, with the same error in the scientific name (although, curiously, the Chinese name appears to be correct). Both species are illustrated. On plate 56 the illustration of the Red-throated Loon is mistakenly marked with the species number of the Common Loon (which is also illustrated and correctly numbered on the same plate). On plate 72 the female Japanese Paradise-flycatcher is so marked but the symbol for the male is missing. Most users can figure out such slips.

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Sincerely hope the authors bring back the Alperts in another adventure! (Especially now that they are independently wealthy and don't necessarily have to return to gainful employment -- as exciting or boring as it might be.)
This global tale of intrigue, complete with dastardly characters and near-death experiences, will have you wanting to skip ahead, but at the same time not wanting to miss a beat.
You will surely want to read another adventure involving the witty, intelligent, savvy and lovable Alperts.

Great chemistry and development with the characters. Also a very believable story and couple. It was very fast moving and suspensful. I loved the way the journal was interspersed into the time line. All around great story!

Heir Apparent, Inc sends letters to married sisters Paige Alper and Sheryl Fenster informing them they can earn $62,500 each if they sign the attached legal document. Apparently, their globetrotting seafaring Uncle Jock Boylan left a fortune. Because of her husband's latest get rich scheme, Sheryl needs the money to pay off loan sharks, but Paige prefers to find the loot and not share it with Heir Apparent, Inc.

Paige and her husband Max are investigative reporters; she gets time off while he quits. They begin tracking Jock's last days by visiting the Oceans Shore Nursing Home in San Diego where he stayed whenever he suffered from Lassa Fever. That leads to Asia as Jock had business dealings and a surprising family connection there. As the journalists follow the clues, they soon realize that Jock was murdered to silence him from exposing a white slaver ring. Now the intrepid Americans have a mission besides money to uncover.

HEIR TODAY is a terrific private investigative tale that is made even more realistic by the simple act of Max being fired when he wanted time off. The story line is fast-paced as the lead couple hop seemingly everywhere uncovering and including having their clothing taken away one shocking but always dangerous clue after another while Paige realizes how little she knew about her Uncle Jock. Fans will enjoy this fun thriller starring two adept journalists, who spend much of the inquiries in precarious situations.

Harriet Klausner

HEIR TODAY by J.J. Lamb and Bette Golden Lamb grabs you by the brain stem and whips you into wit, intrigue, and adventure faster than you can say "Heirs Apparent, Inc." When Paige Alpert gets a letter from the devious heir tracers offering to split her inheritance from her uncle Captain Jack Boylan fifty-fifty with her, she's not happy. Why should they get half of the quarter-million dollars that she and her sister are due? Hah! And her husband, Max, agrees. They decide to find the money themselves. They're investigative reporters. How hard can it be?
As it turns out, it can be pretty hard, not to mention deadly dangerous. But it's funny, too. And charming. And as entertaining as Nick and Nora Charles ever were on film. Even as this husband and wife team are abducted, beaten, nearly roasted alive, and forced to investigate a nudist colony, they work together with such love and wit and intelligence that you want to be a part of their team. Murder, high seas piracy, prostitution, revenge, corrupt Chinese officials: the Alperts face it all with the courage, integrity, and persistence of all true heros.
I love Paige and Max Alpert. I wouldn't have missed my armchair adventure with them for all the world...or a quarter-million dollars. I just hope I get to play with them again soon. This book is a must read!

This book is incredible. First, the photography is excellent, beautifully portraying most of the recipes. The book begins with a complete listing of all of the ingredients used. It is about 6 pages of pertinent information, including pictures for some of the most obscure ingredients. The recipes cover a thorough range of the basic recipes that you may be looking for. I am Indian and am thrilled with the list. Just about every recipe is critical, they appear back-to-back and have several pictures. I will probably cook every recipe in the Indian section. That section alone makes it worth the purchase. However, it covers seven other asian cuisines in a very similar manner. It also offers enticing "melting pot" menus, mixing the cuisines. You will get the recipes you want, that you can make, with a little commentary and exquisite pictures. This is one of the best cook books I have ever seen.

All recipes are well described and illustrated. Everything is clear and easy to understand.

It is soo good !! I tried the eggs curry from Indonesia it is so yummy !! Also the have menu suggestions so that was real helpfull since I do a lot of parties !!!

Picture of Singapore's famous food example spicy satay,laksa,chicken rice...

I love this guy!!! This book is about the views of an enlightened soul with regard to abstaining from meat. The book is outstanding right from the first page, including the introduction which lasts long but is VERY VITAL to understanding the entire picture. Shabktar Tsogdruk Rangrol has amazing insight and courage to sift through doctrine, scriptures, the beliefs or behavior of respected holymen and common people and poke fun at hypocrisy sometimes with great humor. He is able to see through the "muck" of society and see very clearly what is truth and what is religious or spiritual distortions of the truth or hypocrisy to suit personal or group advantages. I was giggling at some parts that were humorous and his perceptions reminded me of many Catholic nuns I used to know . . . Spiritual muck or distortions to spiritual or religious scriptures is present in every religion--the inquisition is a stark example of the severest distortions of Christian scriptures in human history. Catholic holymen used every imaginable torture conceived by the human brain and covered up the face of the statue of Jesus cruxified on the cross (present at tortures and burnings) so Jesus wouldn't see what they were doing!!!! Ludicrous!!!! His approach is gentle, humorous and he is DEEPLY COMPASSIONATE & DEEPLY COMMITTED in trying to separate fact from fiction and instill compassion for animals, thus bringing an end to eating meat and the suffering it causes--even under the circumstances.

This book is MORE than the sum of its parts, because reading this book should enable folks who have not yet taken a vegan pledge to do so. If you will read what the tremendous hardships the location and times meant for people in Tibet who abstained from meat and the passion he had to teach his spirit of compassion for animals, one should have no trouble abstaining from meat and even animal products here in the United States and Europe with SO MUCH to choose from and so much ABUNDANCE on both sides of the ocean. My findings show that Tibet has an average temperature of -9 and -15 (below 0) degrees Fahrenheit!! This is not cozy California weather and back then with the Himalayas right at your feet in this far off land, you can surely believe that a homeless spiritual person didn't have the best comforts in the world to say the least, and with all these UNBELIEBABLE difficulties--elements, lack of proper food and the abundance of hardships, he STILL found the courage to abstain from meat and seek truth and enlightenment. I truly find this very inspiring to the rest of the world to say the very least. He was not aware of the horrors of today's slaughterhouses--many cows are still very conscious after having their legs cut off and are skinned alive up to their neck and hung up as documented by HFA. (you can see the immense suffering in her eyes). What a horror. Highly intelligent pigs spend their entire lives in unbeliebable squalid misery in crates too small to even turn around, horrid amonia-filled air (people have to wear breathing masks), and they squeal in utter terror at the sight of humans. Male calves are torn from their mothers (as their mothers grieve) and put in tiny pens where they can't turn around until they are sold as veal. That chould be you. This is the price of the meat and cheese we eat and the milk we drink--all for mere superficial desires. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

Shabktar has amazing compassion and sacrificed SO MUCH COMFORT and MUCH LIFE SUSTAINING food to live his ideal of not causing harm either directly or indirectly to animals. His hardships were UNBELIEVABLE by American or European standards. His ideals and actions under those conditions should enable one to become a vegan in this land of abundance. This is a book for anybody to read and there may be some things that border superstition (for westerners) such as garlic being bad and the belief that eating meat made you mean, but to tell you the truth I giggled at this one because I heard it before visiting my relatives in Western Europe where folks there on some rare occasions warned against eating too much meat because it made people "mean" . . . Who knows?!

Truly, this man is an INSPIRATION TO ME and TO THE WORLD.

The same people living in Tibet during that time period are the very same people living next door to you and down the street--NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE--except for the customs.

I really highly suggest reading Animal Gospel. Animal Gospel is the Christian ideal on animals written by a theologean, but I believe that it should be cross-read by Buddhists or anybody. It is VERY ENLIGHTENED reading as it gives extra intellectual and spiritual ammunition for the cause of animal liberation.

Hail to this saint!!!

This is the final convincing arguement against the eating of meat and to adopt vegetarianism.

Over the years, I've heard all sorts of arguments for and against being vegetarian. One of the qualities I appreciate about Lama Shabkar was his ability to speak with such authority and yet remain non-judgemental. In this book, Lama Shabkar praises the merit of vegetarianism, making his case from Sutra and Tantra. It certainly gives a Mahayana practitioner food for thought!

The canon of vegetarian Buddhist literature is pretty small. Until recently, its only major works--aside from the teachings of the Buddha--were Roshi Philip Kapleau's To Cherish All Beings (1981), Dr. Tony Page's Buddhism & Animals (1999), and Bodhipaksa's Vegetarianism (1999). So it was with great surprise and pleasure that I found no less than three books on the topic were published this very year (2004), Norm Phelps' The Great Compassion, Bodo Balsys' Ahimsa, and now Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat by Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol.

Known simply as Shabkar (1781-1851), the author was a renowned Tibetan Buddhist practitioner who spent most of his life in retreat or wandering the Tibetan and Himalayan regions. His level of compassion was truly inspiring, and it was said that he had "a spiritual career that began with the first stirrings of renunciation in his early childhood and culminated with perfect attainment."

The lengthy translator's introduction (it's nearly one-third of the book) does an excellent job of profiling Shabkar's life and placing the importance of his teachings into historical perspective. But the introduction goes beyond that, discussing the many invalid reasons Buddhists have for eating meat and delving into these excuses, with particular attention paid to Tibetan Buddhism. It is pointed out that while most Tibetans eat meat, a growing number of Tibetans in exile are giving up the practice.

Being a vegetarian in Shabkar's time was truly heroic due to the harsh living conditions, but his concern for animals was legendary and inspiring. This led Patrul Rinpoche, author of The Words of My Perfect Teacher, to comment: "Compassion and love are the roots of Dharma. I think that in the whole world there is no one more compassionate than Lama Shabkar." The aim of Shabkar's compassionate teachings, as clearly explained by the translator's introduction, is "not to repress one's desire for meat or to terminate one's use of animal products by a draconian act of will. Instead, our task is to develop a heartfelt compassion and a genuine sensitivity to the suffering of animals, such that the desire to exploit and feed on them naturally dissolves. Shabkar's main concern is not to instill a sense of guilt or inadequacy; it is to elevate the mind toward new and more noble objectives."

There are two of Shabkar's texts presented in Food of Bodhisattvas. The first, "The Faults of Eating Meat," is a collection of quotes from Mahayana scriptures and teachings of Tibetan masters. The second part, "The Nectar of Immortality," is Shabkar's seminal discourse on the topic of vegetarianism and is of particular interest since the text was only recently found in 2001.

The first section contains lengthy selections from the Lankavatra, Mahaparinirvana, and Angulimala Sutras, as well as excerpts from the Sutra of Close Mindfulness and several commentaries and Tantras from the likes of King Yeshe Ö, Changkya, and the Ven. Milarepa. While some readers may be familiar with a few of the selections in "The Faults of Eating Meat," most of these texts are unknown in the West and comprise a unique collection that is both inspiring and, well... enlightening.

The first section is concluded with an original verse from Shabkar which is both stunning and, at times, graphic:

All of you who eat this baneful food,
The flesh and blood of beings once your parents,
Will take rebirth in Screaming and the other burning hells,
There to bake and boil.

He goes on to describe the various hells that will be experienced by those who kill animals or order others to kill animals, who eat animals, including fish, who slaughter and sell animal meat, etc.

The second section, "The Nectar of Immorality," is just as stunning and a wonderful representation of compassion towards all sentient beings. In this part Shabkar details the various negative consequences associated with flesh foods, including the idea that any animal we eat was at one time, because of samsara--the cycle of rebirths--our mother or father. He delivers this message in his typically straight-forward style: "We should look upon all beings as our kind parents, and in order to repay the goodness they have shown us, we must meditate daily on loving-kindness, compassion, and bodhichitta. Let us not be stained by this evil food, the flesh and blood of our very parents!"

Shabkar takes an in-depth look at the horrid consequences of monks eating meat. If you've heard of trickle-down economics, this could be called the trickle-down evil of the monastic meat trade. Shabkar also speaks on the many misrepresentations that the Buddha freely ate meat, he exposes many of the misguided teachers of his day, and answers the numerous excuses meat-eating Buddhists have for this bad habit-many with a Tibetan bent-and he does not mince his words, saying that those who use these alibis are "very far from compassion, the mental soil in which the aspiration to supreme enlightenment in cultivated."

Not being a Tibetan Buddhist, some of the terminology was a bit confusing to me. But numerous endnotes and a glossary guided me through. The translation of Food of Bodhisattvas is very well done. Shabkar's free-flowing teachings are a joy to read, and I would recommend them to Buddhists of any lineage. In Western Tibetan Buddhism--where the question of vegetarianism seems to have been answered by Galek Rinpoche's comment "we Tibetans like to eat meat" (Tricycle, Winter 1994)--Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol's voice is a breath of fresh air. A 153 year-old breath of fresh air.

The majority of reviews, by far, are overly happy with this, and I am no exception. I bought the first 2 volumes and CANNOT SAY ENOUGH. ITS SUPER ! I read 2 seperate reviews of the book (one in each volume) and I couldn't believe how uptight people are. These cartoons are WONDERFUL and skillfully drawn. One reviewer said he (and his daughter) were offended because of the chinese stereotype characters. THERE IS NOTHING OFFENSIVE IN HERE. And to be honest, these are traditional characters, and dressing they way they did in the old days. If you go to china today, much of the tradition still exists. They even still pull rickshaws. This reviewer was chinese & should come to grips with the traditional appearance of the chinese. I think its wonderful. As for the other reviewer who Loved the book, but felt embarrassed in front of his kid, because women were seen in "traditional" roles preparing food, etc.... damn, get a life. This is still the way in china, and even to a lesser degree in the USA. Why the hell is everyone LOOKING FOR THINGS TO BE OFFENDED AT? DO yourself a favor and buy this book. you won't regret it. Its fantastic & I learned alot. This is a FAMILY book you can share with anyone.

The first time I took a glance at this book I immediately decided I was going to read and finally learn Chinese. When I opened it, I was overtaken by the simplicity and structure of the book. A minute into the introduction I knew how to read Chinese!! I was very surprised, I never thought it would be this simple. By the 20th page I was smiling and thinking, "Wow!! This is fun. I have to buy this book." Unfortunately I have to return it within 2 weeks to my campus library at Cal State Northridge but I know that during those 14 days I will learn and return it knowing that I could speak Chinese. This book deserves 5 stars and I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to learn this language that day by day is becoming more necessary. I am positive that you will learn and have plenty of fun.

This is a helpful book. My five year old and I have just about gone through it twice, and it has held her attention, though I should say that she is insanely into languages of all kinds. But the the book is well designed, showing the etymology from ancient forms to traditional forms to simplified forms. Each character gets a page, and the etymology and cartoons constitute the top half of the page. The cartoons are fun and -- usually -- help you remember. My only criticism is the cartoons: often, embarrassingly non-PC, making me wince a bit as my daughter absorbs the roles men and women are _supposed_ to have. Also, I think the cartoons, though always drawn well, are often a little too far out there to really help you remember the meaning of the character. The middle to bottom of the page shows the character in phrases, and the bottom shows the character in a sentence. The phrases and the sentence are well-chosen, vernacular, and contemporary. Overall, the book is excellent, and I'm trying to track down the next volume, because nothing I could find at the local bookstores comes close to being something a five-year-old would want to read!

This book does not fall short of it's title. The Introduction gives some helpful background as to the ancient genesis of Chinese script, going back to the legendary period and Cang Ji, on up through the Modern Period. It clearly illustrates how various types of compound words are created - and potentially deciphered, and covers pictographs, ideographs, and determinative-phonetic characters. The Preface gives a general overview of Chinese as a means of visual communication. The body of the book gives a description of each of 176 of some of the most common characters. Each character description includes a cartoon to help the reader recall the etymology of each character, which can help novices simply to remember the character. As well, a number of examples of how the character is used in compound phrases are offered. This is the first of a three-part series, and the only one of the series to have the Intro and Preface described above. A great introduction to Chinese characters for someone unfamiliar with them, and a fun read for someone who is.

400 pages and over four hundred color photos pack an in-depth examination of plants used in Chinese gardens for ornamental purposes. Listings appear using both Latin and common names and Chinese names, presenting the history, myths, horticultural information and uses of the plants. A beautiful presentation recommended for horticulture collections.

This is a fabulous, beautifully photographed, survey of the decorative plants native to China. The book opens with details of China's rich horticultural heritage and the role of plants in Chinese culture.

Further chapters are broken down by type of plant. These include bamboos, fruit trees, orchids, roses, chrysanthemums, aquatic plants and more. Items both familiar and exotic to the western gardener will be found here.

Many specific varieties are described in each chapter, with Latin, Chinese and common names. History, native habitat, and uses for each plant are described.

The photography is outstanding with several close-up color photos on each page. There is also a nice smattering of old botanical illustrations and Chinese art. I highly recommend this book.

This is a beautifully produced and immensely readable work of considerable scholarship . Its subject matter is intriguing and the author writes in a style where one finds oneself going quickly from one section to another. The wonderful photography certainly enhances the text. My views would seem to have been borne out by the recent decision of the British Gardens Writers Guild who have just awarded it the Reference Garden Book of the Year. I'm sure this will become the standard reference work for this engrossing subject for many years to come. I highly recommend it.

This book has just been awarded the Reference Garden Book of the Year by the British Garden Writers Guild on the 25th November 1999. An award richly deserved for this superb work of scholarship and book production . It is likely to stand as a major reference work for this intriguing subject for some time. I think that says it all.

Every morning at breakfast, I read a page from this book. It has 365 reflections - one for every day of the year - and 12 calligraphies - one for every month. I take this reflection with me throughout the day and try to understand it with my deluded mind. I try to look at it from different angles and at the end of the day, I will draw a conclusion. Will that be the same conclusion I will draw a year from now, when I study this same page again?

If you are a student of Sogyal Rinpoche, a lot of reflections will sound familiar to you. This book will then be a reminder of the teachings, a source of contemplation. If you are not, there will be a lot of valuable information in there for you to think about. And perhaps, you get more and more curious about this Tibetan wisdom!

I have been reading this book for 4 years and it has changed my life. A truly beneficial tool for deepening spiritual practice.

Thought provoking and shattering insights to break you free from limiting thoughts. This is a wonderful collection of Tibetan "koans" to free our thinking. I found it shook the foundations of my limited perspectives and made me question the true reason for my human existence. Rinpoche opens our mind to the temporal nature of existence and inspires to prepare for our next existence.

I try to read the glimpse each day when I get up (and sometimes the night before), and have found the experience helpful. I have yet to develop strong discipline in my practice, and find it easy to get caught up in life for days or weeks at a time. Reading a couple paragraphs (the glimpse for one day) has been like a bell calling me back to myself. I wouldn't be surprised to be reading this book for the next 20 years as my understanding deepens.

A fine book on cigars. I completely enjoyed this book and refer to it often.

I just picked this book up recently (2007) and though the book is getting on in age, it really holds up today. The first half of the book discussed history of tobacco, cigars, and smoke shops. The authors can really tell a good story and their historylessons were highly entertaining.

This is a useful and well-written cigar guide. It is getting a bit dated, but it is still very good for all cigar lovers.

The Good Cigar is to your brain what your tobacconist's walk-in humidor is to your nose. It's a cornucopia of history, anecdotes, and general cigar lore that makes you want to relax and stay a while.

Jeffers and Gordon start their history with the original tobacco lovers, the indigenous people of the Americas. Then they discuss the introduction and development of tobacco in Europe and the New World. Jeffers and Gordon acquaint us with many of the people who have influenced our image of cigars (Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, Ernest Hemingway, etc.) and give quotation buffs a nice supply of material. From the "Wooden Indian" to cigar boxes and bands, they explore the history and artistry of cigar paraphernalia.

The authors include a cigar index complete with their personal ratings of each cigar. The book shows its age here, as some of the cigars are no longer sold. This doesn't necessarily detract from the book. You just might run into somebody who's had a box aging for several years and is willing to trade a few sticks. In a situation like this, an older index of cigars would be helpful.

Jeffers and Gordon also cover humidors, cutters, and lighters. They even include a resource guide. These sections might lead the cigar neophyte to believe that cigar smoking is a costly pursuit, but this doesn't have to be the case. Less expensive and perfectly functional accessories are readily available; but as Winston Churchill warned, "Shoddiness can be found easily, in quantity" (I got that from this book). Choose carefully. There are several Internet message boards devoted to cigars that would be more helpful than this book in finding accessories that fit your taste and budget.

My son read this book as part of a book club. He enjoyed it thouroughly. It gave us an opportunity to talk about a different culture. Some of the text describing the behaviors and actions of the characters were a great place to ask text comprehension questions. I enjoyed reading it along side with my son.

I read this book and then had my 8 year old daughter read it and give me a report on it. She not only loved the story, she picked up on Pong Lo's plan right away and couldn't wait to get to the end to see what came of it. It's a very good story with more than one great lesson.

Multiplicaton pays the bills .He wants to marry the princess,but he is a peasant. See how Pong Lo wins the right to marry her by using his math skills. Wonderful story about an old culture and about how smart people are regardless of their social stature.Ahhhhh....yes ! DON'T FORGET THE RICE.

This is a great story for teaching how something as small as a grain of rice can earn a farmer a marriage to the princess, and a kingdom. Multiplication is used in the book, and can spring into a math lesson for teachers and parents alike. It is most likely to interest 4th and 5th grade children.