China Books

This book makes an incredible gift. I, personally, can't wait to color in these beautiful Tibetan Drawings. I have always loved the art of Tibet and admired the meditation involved in producing it. I think it is a brilliant idea to make a book that allows all of us a chance to participate in this sacred tradition.

I am a teenager interested in Tibetan culture and the Tibetan Buddhist religion. I love to look at, color, and create my own thangkas (Tibetan paintings), which made this book a pleasure to work on! "The Tibetan Art Coloring Book" is one of two Tibetan art coloring books I have. Unlike the other one, this book comes with a coil on the top, so you can easily fold the book, and go from one picture to another! The paper is of perfect texture to use with colored pencils, being very smooth. I, infact, scanned some of the pictures I colored, and put them on my personal homepage!

The line drawings in this colouring book are so lovely that I was almost too intimidated to start colouring them in! Truly beautiful illustrations and I have enjoyed my time with them, and look forward to many more hours of colouring.....

we wonder if the feelings we have are too bounded & we learn that the tendency is -- yes -- we do restrict ourselves. something, aweful. & this text assures us that our inclinations to be children in bed, as well as in our hearts, is a key to the liberation & empowerment we seek & can find in a partner; like iron sharpening iron . . .

I am new to the study of eastern religions, and I enjoyed this book. About a third of it is devoted to a literal translation of a handbook on Vajrayan Buddhism which was published in the 1930s - pretty spicy stuff in those days, a veritable how-to list. But there is not much new in that part if you have read " The Joy of Sex" or any amount of other erotic literature. There are no pictures and if that is what you are interested in, you would do better by going to your local big-box bookstore. The strength of this book would seem to be in two areas. First, there is a detailed analysis by Jeffrey Hopkins, who evidently is a professor of Eastern Religions in London. Replete with footnotes. In a scholarly way, he re-interprets the imagery of the original author so that a modern reader would understand the references. Also, Hopkins has added a chapter 5 is titled "Sexual PLeasure and Spiritual Insight" and I thought it was the most illuminating section of the book. The chapter links the practice of yoga & meditation, the theory of spirituality, and the chakra system to the path of enlightenment, and also describes the nature of the link between sexuality in Tibetan Vajrayan ( also known as Tantric) practice with all these. I confess that maybe I should have known all this, and maybe there will be those who take it for granted....but it did not come together in a cohesive whole before this.

Everything you ever wanted to know... and more. Unflinching details, well written, and thorough. Somehow more accessible than the Kama Sutra.

I'm an artist with a particular interest in the decorative arts - and, while I can't say much about the text (I haven't read much of it), the artwork shown in this book is exquisite. I purchased this book for the eye candy - and there's quite a bit here to be had.

The book focuses on hand-painted Tibetan furniture, and it's the highly stylized, decorative, and "folky" painting which I find so appealing in the work presented. The book is richly illustrated with many examples, the examples are well photographed, and the printing is high-quality.

If you're an artist, it's a great reference book - there are many decorative motifs and design ideas from which you can "steal", "borrow", "adapt", or otherwise use as inspiration in your own work.

This beautiful book offers much more than a generous selection of wonderful photographs! It is historically informative and well organized so that it is easy to read for both the professional and collector. If you are interested in Tibetan antique furniture-this is the publication for you!

This is an early book--one of only two at the present time--focusing on Tibetan furniture from the perspective of the antiques field. Tibetan furniture is an area that will surely find a wider, recognized place given the growing role of some Asian countries, especially China and India, in global political and economic affairs. Already one sees a growing interest in Chinese antiquities and art. As Buckley notes, the time when a survey of ancient and older Tibetan furniture including many photographs such as found in this book is possible is likely passing because many of the finer pieces of Tibetan furniture are already scattered in private homes and museums throughout the world and there is already considerable interest in this field among Hong Kong and other regional dealers. Although the author admits he is "biased toward chests," these serve sufficiently for instruction and examples on the construction, materials, dates, and carvings, illustrations, and other decorative and symbolic features of all Tibetan furniture. "The echoes of contacts with peoples all over Asia can be traced in the designs found on Tibetan furniture." Yet the furniture and its designs are not a simple imitation or composite of forms, designs, etc., of other cultures, but shown the stamp of the "unique identity" of the Tibetan people and culture so that Tibetan furniture is unmistakable. The illustrations and symbols of Tibetan furniture are usually related to the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet. Buckley's book is not only a guide to identification of the desirable antique Tibetan furniture, but it also relates the historical and cultural context of the furniture. The author is a recognized expert on antiques and collecting currently living in Beijing.

This is an excellent book and anyone with an interest in the Viet Nam War should read it. The events of July and August 1964 are thoroughly examined and analyzed step by step. There are interviews with many of the people who were involved in the incident on both sides. It has a good technical discussion of the military equipment(ships and radar/sonar systems) that greatly contributes to an understanding of what happened on those "dark and stormy nights". This is definitely the best book about the Tonkin Gulf incident. The author is a History Professor at Clemson University and I had the priviledge of taking his Vietnam War and Modern Military History courses back in 1993. He told our class that he was writing a book about the Tonkin Gulf incident so it was great to finally read it after all these years.

Sometimes the details that matter aren't captured on videotape and broadcast around the world, like more recent events in the year 2001. What history doesn't have to show what was going on is a picture of how things were set up for this book. "Around noon on August 2, at the White House, President Johnson discussed the American response to the August 2 incident with Secretary Rusk, George Ball, Cyrus Vance, and Tom Hughes of the State Department; General Wheeler; Colonel Ralph Steakley of the Joint Staff; and Winston Cornelius of the CIA. At this meeting the president not only confirmed the decision that sent the Maddox back into the Gulf of Tonkin along with the Turner Joy, he authorized the continuation of OPLAN 34A raids (definitely the one scheduled for the night of August 3-4, and perhaps also those for the night of August 4-5; the procedure of waiting for the results of each raid to be evaluated, before approval of the next was initiated . . . would not have been practiced when there were to be raids on consecutive nights)." (pp. 103-4).

The amount of detail in this book could support a view that secret operations are those things which are not revealed in order to create the greatest spin in the direction of the psychological warfare advantage desired by whoever is keeping the secrets. To get a full appreciation of the kind of restraint which the American government displayed in this incident, the whole picture should be compared to how well the participants in World War II responded to the order given by the president in August, 1945 (a mere 19 years before the Tonkin incident) not to drop any more atomic bombs on people whose government exhibited any hostility toward military activities directed by the United States of America. President Truman's order was followed by massive conventional bombing, much as the history of American bombing in Vietnam shows how long a superpower can maintain a campaign of destruction against anyone who knows the truth about something which is supposed to be secret. This book shows great deference to the feelings of the anonymous secret operations experts who would never say anything that wasn't in the best interests of the powers that be. "Escalation" is an understatement for the overt actions taken against North Vietnam in August, 1964. Adopting a bombing routine as a conditioned response to false accusations in anticipation of making the bombing a regular routine, in the absence of any debate on why things happened as they did, was the real policy. Even now, most people who ought to know better are pretending that a lot of things revealed in this book are still secret. What people don't believe now is the preamble to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which stated that the United States was going to be maintaining peace there, where it had no territoreal, military, or political ambitions. My ambition was to get the Combat Infantryman's Badge without getting killed, so I could be the CIB who failed to agree with whoever thought this ought to be. Check the facts in this book for a truly tortured bit of not being able to see a forest because the treehouse doesn't have any windows, and the trap door in the floor is closed.

This excellent book demonstrates that the Gulf of Tonkin "incident" was not really an incident at all. It explains in detail the events that lead up to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and the escaltion of the war that followed. My only complaint is that the author says that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was based on a "misunderstanding" and not "knowingly faked." Even if that is true, the fact remains that it was used as a convenient excuse to escelate war. In addition, the fact that there was no effort on the part of the government to determine the facts behind the Tonkin incident demonstrates that the government wanted war, and were just looking for the right excuse.

Pour l'Occident, la Chine qui a constitué depuis plusieurs siècles à la fois un spectacle et un spectre. Alors que pour la Chine, c'est l'Occident qui l'a menacée, envahie, et contrainte à changer ses modes de vie. Pendant plus d'un siècle la société et la culture chinoises ont dû faire face aux pratiques et aux mentalités de la modernité occidentale et le métissage socioculturel y a été imposé par le colonialisme. En Occident, en choisissant d'oublier cette histoire, on exige aussi que la Chine reste « authentique » et « exotique », source de philosophies apaisantes et passives pour assouvir nos âmes troublées.

Que cet ouvrage cible les pratiques lyriques n'est pas un choix aléatoire, car si c'est le roman qui a narré et négocié notre modernité, c'est bien la poésie, quand ses pratiquants ne se sont pas laissés séduire par les politiciens, qui l'a contesté.

Dans ce livre, des contestataires lyriques célèbres, tels que Benjamin Péret côtoient des poètes chinois « dissidents » tels que Duoduo et Bei Dao, et des penseurs d'avant-garde tels Guy Debord et Raoul Vaneigem, sont associes à des chanteurs d'Occitanie, à des troubadours des Chinatowns, ou encore aux pionniers du rock et roll pékinois. La mobilisation de ces diverses formes de pensée exprime toute la puissance que représente l'arme de la critique intellectuelle et poétique.

Dans les combats de civilisation qui se jouent aujourd'hui autours des formes de la mondialisation n'oublions pas le monde rêvé par les penseurs poétiques qui en imaginent aussi l'avenir.
PS Ce livre est disponible en français : La Chine et le spectre de l'Occident : Contestation poétique, modernité et métissage.
Editions Syllepse, Paris, 2002

This book attempts to promote a non-authentic, non ethnocentric, and more complex perspective on certain aspects of Chinese poetic and political culture. Its concerns, as the title suggests, are not just with the culture of making and consuming lyrics, poems and songs, but also with questions to which such practices give rise. As the sub-title ( Lyricism, Nationalism and Hybridity in China and Its Others) suggests the interest is also in `inauthentic' hybrid practices and communities - the book talks not just about mainland China, but about peripheral communities like Chinatowns and Hong Kong. Since this is a comprative work it looks at other non-national communities and cultures like that of southern France, or Occitania. Nor is the book an orthodox British or Western sinological statement on modern Chinese culture. Rather it attempts to shed light on those lyrical works that are either marginalized and occulted, or considered by conventional scholars to be literally beneath consideration. The chapters on contemporary poetry and the chapter on Chinese popular music, are attempts to do just that. Similarly the chapter on the representation of the Chinese American and the descendants of Chinese immigrants to Britain is there to tell a story of Chinese people who in a sense are no longer Chinese, and yet will always be seen and represented as such, and so at a certain level will always remain so.

Louise Edwards writing in The China Journal (July 1999) says: "This innovative volume furthers a dialogue between China studies and postcolonial and cultural studies. Using literary debate as its primary focus (popular music is also discussed in Chapter 6), the book raises questions for all disciplines of China studies, Gregory Lee also makes a timely contribution to the field of postcolonial studies...Troubadours, Trumpeters, Troubled Makers makes a valuable contribution in resisting the "mixophobia" that is so prevalent in academic scholarship."

The author did a magnificent job of telling the story of a bunch of kids who were handed a tough job and went about getting that job done, even at the ultimate cost...the book will always occupy a place of honor on my bookshelf.

Jim Vesely presents an interesting treatment of the life of American aircrews and support personnel by combining operational reports, veteran naratives and some letters from his uncle Sgt Adolph 'Otsie' Malovich, who was killed-in-action while serving his country, his family and his comrades. Mr. Vesely shares his heart with the reader, explaining his search to know more about the uncle he barely knew, and what Otsie's time might have been like while he was part of the 'Burma Bridge Busters', 490th Bomb Squadron. The author beautifully highlights how this group of men, serving in one of the remotest actions of the war, performed with gallantry, dignity and dedication. A must read for anyone interested in American participation in the China-Burma-India theater!

Well written, educational, well-researched, and intensely interesting. I learned more about the war in and around India, Burma, and China from this book than from my experience in the two plus years I was in the squadron. I really appreciate that aspect. The author must have spent untold hours researching the facts and then did a splendid job of putting it all together in an interesting way. The book helps a lot in putting a time frame on some of my memories. Thanks again.

Fascinating book of adventure & discovery. For the reader the fact that the photographs, taken in the 1920s are gorgeous and outstanding, is a revelation for us. Also a very interesting human interest story is revealed.
I thouroughly enjoyed it and encourage others to take this journey to a world no longer available to us.

80 years after, we know a voyage thru the Tibet, Chine and Mongolia for the eyes and the pen of a young lady. A different land and people, a great aventure, great images, someones hand-coloured.

In the early 1920s, explorer Janet Wulsin and her husband Frederick journeyed the far reaches of China and Tibet to study the people and the lands of these remote regions - the photos from their expedition come to life in this collection, along with several dozen hand-painted lantern slides that appear in color. Vanished Kingdomsis a rich archive of treasures which charts the findings and peoples of a bygone world. Any serious collection of Asian treasures - both art and cultural - will find Vanished Kingdoms an essential addition, unparalleled in scope and coverage.

This book is a beautiful introduction to Tibetan culture and landscape and Buddhist beliefs and practices. It's left me longing to see Mount Kailas and the other sacred places he lovingly describes. I've since bought the author's more recent book, "Buddhist Reflections."

The author, Lama Anagarika Govinda, is an erudite and sophisticated buddhist who brings to life a land and a people who will hardly exist in their native Tibet much longer. For someone who wants to have a westener
explain the history, geography, art ,etc. of the "roof of the world" prior to the Chinese genocide, this is a wonderful guide. Of course there is a terrific description of buddhism in general and the specfic variety practised in Tibet. However, this may not be the best place to start. At least a basic knowledge of Tibet would be helpful, otherwise one could get mired down in so many strange names and concepts.

This is a wonderful insightful book on Tibet and Buddhism. It opened my mind even more to a different way of thinking and being.

As a history major we read this book, or an excerpt of it, in a class on Vietnam. Two years later I sit down and read it again, and the ties to the political dissidence, confusion and conflict today in Iraq are all too clear. While the contributors at the time were concerned with a conflict in Nicaragua, we are now drawn east. As the United States continues to either openly or covertly work towards the overthrow of governments that do not support it, peace is becoming harder to find. Just as the American public did not agree thirty years ago to its tax dollars being used to fight a war that we cannot win, once again the people of the US are speaking out against a war that cannot be won. This is an amazing book, and a great read. An interesting quote comes from former president George Bush as he says that, "We must ensure that any major foreign policy commitment has the full support and understanding of the American people..." How quickly we forget.

I was a student at Pryor Junior High School when Bill McCloud decided to publish this masterful piece of work. I did not sit in his classroom, I had the other 8th grade history teacher (Mr. D), but I still learned a great deal from Bill McCloud and this book. In fact, I purchased the first copy of this book off the press and the author signed it as such.

Since then I have purchased several copies and gave them to friends who have become history teachers. However, the book helped me to understand not only Vietnam, but war in general. My father and several uncles served in nam, and I hardly knew a thing about the 'conflict' or what they went through until I read this wonderful book. I gained a new respect for my father and all those who served. When my father finally asked me about it (my interest in the book) it opened the discussion between he and I about his time spent in the war and the effects it had. Those conversations were some of the best times I was able to spend with my father.

Thank you, Mr. McCloud once again for your effort and I hope more people will be encouraged to read the responses to this question from some of Americas greatest leaders, and heroes. I rate it a strong buy. If you don't have it in your collection, then your collection isn't complete.

I first came across this book when preparing for a Veteran's Day presentation. As a Vietnam Veteran it was difficult for me to sum up my feelings about that time (my time) in history. I really struggled with what to tell Jr High kids about my experience and war in general. Bill McCloud's efforts to collect and record thoughts from some of the major and minor players of those difficult days in American history was invaluable to me. In my view the book captures the essence of the mood and thoughts regarding the "Vietnam experience."

Where is Tibet? is the book of my dreams. As a multi-cultural family (I am American and my husband is Tibetan) we cherish reading this with our [...]. (It helps me practice my Tibetan, too, with its clear phonetic translations) I first found this book in Nepal when I was teaching English to Tibetan nuns, and several of the older nuns and I were crying by the end of it, the book is so touching, but in a simple, accessible way.

I have learnt Tibetan for about two months in India, I found this book extremely helpful for Tibetan students too. The text, though simple, are written with Tibetan script, transiliteration and English translation, the story is good too. I found it quite touching that finally His Holiness (in the comics) said, "Tibet is in your heart".

Yes, Tibet is in my heart, I'm going back there one day.

where is tibet is a book that displays tibetan buddhist philosophy in a clear and beautiful way. it is an inspiration to read and motivates the reader to want to work to save tibet, and to treasure what tibet means in their own heart, to live a life of compassion. it is about two tibetan children living in exile in india and is an excellent introduction to the plight of the tibetan people as well as testimony to their spiritual strengths and hopes. i find the book to be inspiring and motivating to readers of all ages interested in buddhist philosophhy or the plight of the tibetan people. the illustrations are beautiful and intricate, adding texture to the written word as they display another facet of tibetan culture. this story seems to penetrate the heart of tibetan buddhism. i recommend that anyone interested in their own personal spiritual journey read this little book of wisdom and hope for the words apply to all struggles, not only the tibetan exiles, and the philosophy is buddhism in simple terms.