Asia Books

This book is a very great book that one can not read it fast. One needs to digest the information. I am very happy to have been told by my teachers to read this book. I am so surprised that libraries don't carry such a great book. After I finish my book I donate it to the library so other people can benefit from it. If you are an spritual person and you are interested in growing your soul read this book.

This is a treasure of a book and is very sacred in nature. There are two editions of this book, the first in 1977. The introduction reveals the history of the text and its translations, and the fascinating history that surrounds the text. See "The Life of Marpa the Translator: Seeing Accomplishes All", by Chogyam Trungpa, for further information regarding its history (both texts were written by the same man). Anyway, the first English translation became available early in the 20th century by W. Y. Evans-Wentz.

I am recalling most of this from memory, so my apologies go out to those who find my data incorrect. I highly recommend the new english translation of "The Life of Milarepa" for anyone seeking the life of saints.

The book quality - new, but not excellent material. Prompt delivery. Thought as a gift, so I had hoped for more. If bought for personal usage, would have been OK.

I think Milarepa was one of the highest levels of enlightened beings ever existed on the planet. Considering the Miracles he did. He is one of the recent enlighten masters, and all this happened a few hundred years ago. He has received little Attention compared to Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and Khrishna. There is defenately a lot to learn from this book, and what he did is worth reading about.

As Milarepa tells his story, one of his disciples interrupts him and says that compared to Milarepa's effort, all of our spiritual practice and effort seems like a banal pretension.

I tend to agree. The story will rekindle your dedication. A great book to get if you are feeling down or if it seems like your spiritual quest is too hard or going nowhere.

It will rekindle your Inner Fire if you give it a chance.

Solly Ganor has told us a powerful story of his life as a child and youth during the Holocaust. His details and honesty reveal a family that loved and cared for each other, worked hard, and took chances to survive. His autobiography with its details helps remove many misconceptions about Jews in the Holocaust that people create from the more common short and simplified accounts of the period. This is not an easy book to read, but it will greatly help you to redefine your understanding and respect for people caught in difficult situations as well as other genocide situations.

In LIGHT ONE CANDLE, Solly Ganor takes the reader into that nightmare world of the Holocaust--I could practically feel the harsh elements, the constant danger of the camps. This book isn't anther rote recitation of death counts. There's so much heart and compassion for all those sweptup in these horrors. The insights into camp life include the primal nature of life stripped to itsbasics--such as the "storyteller" who keeps the outside world and traditions alive. Particularly poignant is Cooky, Ganor's childhood friend whose account of the slaughter at the Ninth Fort is more compelling than Dante's own descent into Hell. Ipersonally feel Ganor's book is deserving of some national/international award. Actually, reading the book I wonder how Ganor got it all done. It must have been so painful to revisit these terrible, incomprehensible, sublime, poignant memories. To me it's the best book on the Holocaust, personal or otherwise--certainly it should be a companion to any serious study of this subject. To me it hits at the heart, gets into the soul. It's the humanity of the account,particularly those heart-rending final glimpses of the condemned trying to smile as they wave good-bye.

Most accounts of the Holocaust I've read, especially memoirs tend to be by Jewish survivors from Germany, Poland & Hungary. This memoir is by Solly Ganor, a Lithuanian Jew who describes the horrors of the Holocaust as experienced by him, his family, and other Jews...his tale is one of hope, courage & faith in the most horrific times...and is told with amazing clarity. His descriptions of life in the Kaunas ghetto is told with vivid detail, the hunger, suffering, and the ever present threat of 'actions' are all described with a level of intensity that often reduced me to tears. It is an emotional account, and the images evoked will not soon fade from one's memory.

Light One Candle: A Survivor's Tale From Lithuania To Jerusalem is the autobiographical story of Solly Ganor, a man who survived the unspeakable holocaust of the Second World War when he was 13 years old through the intervention and rescue of a Japanese American soldier in 1945 (who himself had been releases from a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans just a few months earlier. Light One Candle is a powerful and vividly told memoir of struggle, starvation, and the brutal tolls of concentration and extermination camps. Light One Candle is a welcome eye-witness testimony and a very highly recommended addition to personal reading lists as well as academic and community library Holocaust Studies reference collections.

i have read well over two hundred memoirs. This is worth crying over (not that other ones aren't also) and listening to very carefully. without sentimentality - without profession of feelings that may or may not have been felt but remembered...solly ganor brings the reader inside his mind and heart.

I have read this book. I was with A Co., 3rd. platoon during this time at Hue. It was a very trying time for all of us. I was also one of the people who was with Capt. Helvey when we went on our little night trip. The book talks so much about the first few days of the month of Febuary. In fact we were there for the whole month. It was Feb 24 that My machine gun crew was killed as we were trying to advance toward Hue, "AGAIN". To Broadus Dale Hilyer, "Rest in Peace" You were a great friend.
The book also reflects on the Que Son Valley. I have since had the pleasure to meet Jim Hietz who was wounded on Jan. 7, 1968. Jim was also in the 3rd platoon. We met for the first at a 1st Cav. reunion this year(2002), Wow, what memories we had to talk about. I will also add that I was and will forever be impressed with all the many fine people that I met at this reunion. History is in this book, good, bad, or indifferent, it is there for everyone to read.

George Patterson

I am one of the three Pathfinders with 2/12 and was in the foxhole to the left of Mr. Krohns. He did a wonderful job of telling it exactely the way it was. I can still remember that night as if it happened yesterday. I returned later with 5/7 and recovered the deceased troopers we had left behind.
Juan C. Gonzales(Night Jumper 4-2)

Charles, I want to thank for writing this book. For years I lived with the memories, questioning what had happened. I was in Company D, and on Jan 3,1968 they did use a flame thrower, the guy just missed me. I became a WIA just days before the end of your book and I was able to relate my experience during this time. Again, Thank You, it really helped.

Charles Krohn has presented a well researched book that sheds new light on a complicated battle, the fighting for Hue City during Tet. His book is a valuable addition to history because it specifically deals with a regularly overlooked topic: the 2/12 Cavalry's involvement in the battle for Hue and it's fight against the NVA headquarters there. He was there. In addition, he touches upon the battalion's earlier fighting in the Que Son Valley.

I was the 2-12 Cav S-2 from January 2000 to July 2001, this book is everything a staff officer should and must read. I came upon the book because it was about my unit, it has been deliberately overlooked by army professional reading lists. Mr. Krohn's account highlights the unfathomable value of honesty and integrity in our profession; the lack thereof causes lives. An excellent read, a heart-wrenching story even today for those who were not there. "Those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it." Thank you Mr. Krohn.

I bought this book because I knew the man that it is about. I wanted to have this book in my collection, and to read how his story was presented. I have not read the entire book but it is a good book. It is what I expected it would be.

Kregg Jorgenson has done it again.

This is his latest work about his own unit, H company of the 1 cav divison

Kregg is a very skilled historian, and this show in this book, it is clear that Kregg has done his homework on this one

By far right, many pages are spend on military leadership is defines by one of the greatest LRP company comanders the vietnam war has seen, Capt G Paccerelli

Go buy this book, its a smashing read

Bo Hermansen
Denmark

Good reading(listening). The Real stuff. Very well read. This will take you in to the realm of true warriors.

Kregg Jorgenson has written a outstanding tribute and account of the men and C.O of 'Hotel Company' Rangers in LRRP COMPANY COMMAND. Then Captain George Paccerelli was a seasoned Special Forces / SOG combat veteran when he assumed command of the LRRP Company in 1968. Intelligent, devoted to training and caring about the well being of the men that were being sent behind the enemy's lines. You will find this book well written and informative about the ever-changing warfare the LRRP's were employing and adapted to. While reading this book I found very detailed accounts of being in 'the backyard' while the small LRRP teams set up their ambushes, prisoner snatches and intelligence gathering missions. You will come to appreciate these highly trained and heroic soldiers as they dealt death to the enemy on his level. In closing Col. (ret) George Paccerelli was inducted into the 'Ranger Hall of Fame' in 1993. During his speech at the induction he made the statement ' Getting into the Ranger Hall of Fame was easy with the kind of caliber of people I had in that company, I was very fortunate and the honor is very much theirs as it is mine.' This alone says something about what an outstanding person this man is. Where will you find this retired Colonel today? Having earned a Ph.D. he teaches History at a Community College.

"In a war zone, things never go bump in the night; they go BOOM!" That pretty much says it all with regards to Kregg's finely written tribute to Captain George Paccerelli and the LRRPs of Company E, 52d Infantry. Better keep your head down as you read this intensive tale of LRRP-style warfare. Those green tracers cracking over your head have your name on them! I got to know and admire Paccerelli for his tough, no-nonsense approach to building his LRRPs into a highly-effective, elite reconaissance unit that could fight the enemy on his own terms and win. Kregg doesn't embellish events. He gets down to the nitty-gritty and tells it like it is. This book will go on the shelf in my classroom for my high school students to read and write book reports on. Eminently readable, packed with action, and studded with truly unforgettable characters, Kregg's book stands out as a great antidote to the liberal media's hateful degradation of Vietnam vets as subhuman dopers bent on raping and pillaging hapless civilians. "LRRP Company Command" will help dispel that ugly myth for my students.

A 58-yr-old mother of 5 grown children, a writer, inveterate hiker, traveller, well-educated daughter of a Methodist preacher, Meg Peterson is not simply a skilled travel writer, she is also a gifted observer of the human condition. This is easy, fluent reading at its best.

Having reached the point of realizing she can longer live the way she has been, she determines to make a life of her own choosing, not dominated by men. She divorces her alcoholic husband, opts to spend eight months travelling alone through Africa and Asia with only a backpack, passport, travellers' checks and her camera. She can describe the history and breathtaking beauty of the Taj Mahal, and in the next sentence painfully examine with great empathy the lives of the deprived children. That Meg loves people, and is loved in return, is evident in the joy and excitement of meeting new and old friends. She writes of these things in a natural, open, honest manner that made me feel I was accompanying her, watching her develop a new emotional life. A romantic episode in Nepal challenges her resolve, but she holds true to her new ideals.

Her personal magnetism and versatility are clear. As one of her acquaintances remarks, "Meg, you are some woman." And this is some book, a real joy.

Meg Peterson has written a truly fascinating book. It documents her adventures backpacking, solo, through portions of Africa and Asia, with a determination to rediscover herself. I greatly admire her courage and endurance.
Meg spent most of her time among the local people, away from the safety of the tourist venue, observing and appreciating a wide variety of cultures. Her descriptive passages of the scenic beauty she discovered are exquisitely painted in layers, as with a fine brush, detailed and poetic.
I would highly recomment this book to anyone who needs the inspiration to get out and see the world, or to someone, like me, who enjoys traveling from the comfort of a favorite easy chair. I had difficulty putting this book down, until the end.

I loved this book. I read it cover to cover in less than two days. My hat is off to Meg, travelling alone to all those exotic places. We need to have more books about intelligent, capable, kind and independent women leading challenging and interesting lives.

I just finished reading Meg Peterson's wonderful book, Madam, Have You Ever Really Been Happy? I feel like I just got home from an around the world trip. Every page is full of information and so descriptive. I felt I was with her every step of the way. So well written. Such an adventurer.

Meeting Meg Peterson as she explores Africa, Asia and her own feelings about herself with a perceptive eye and a thoughtful upbeat spirit made me happy to think that at 75 there still is a lot for me to see and do in this world, and there is nothing that needs to hold me back. Thanks Meg.

India has always been famous for her amazing jewels, be it structures like the Taj Mahal or amazing Maharajas stones. This book is exquisite, the images are vivid and crisp and the text scholarly. It is just amazing to see these jewels, you just cannot imagine this sort of wealth. When I think of jewels of India I always think of Louis XIV's French Blue, that came from a Maharaja and now is known as the Hope Diamond, it is simply spectacular, it's a shame it was recut after it was stolen during the French Revolution, but it is still one of the most beautiful diamond's in the world. If you have any interest in beautiful jewelery or Indian history in general then you will love this book.

Forget those diamonds that are supposed to be a girl's best friend - they're mere baubles compared to the opulent jewels that covered India's maharajas from turban tips to beringed fingers. Their palaces needed no artificial light as rooms shone with the brilliance of thousands of precious gems.

"Too much" was not in the vocabulary of these rulers as to many possessing and adorning themselves with fabulous jewelry was their raison d'etre. "The Maharaja of Baroda owned five long strands of perfectly matched, pigeon-sized, cream-colored pearls," which he wore in a bib-like drape. Rubies from Burma, emeralds from Brazil, Golconda diamonds and Kashmir sapphires were the decorations of the day.

Some 300 eye-popping photos in this sumptuous folio-size volume attest to princely extravagance, and to the artistry of great jewelers such as Cartier and Boucheron whom the royals commissioned to set their gems. The accompanying text is rich with insights for all who are fascinated by once princely India and enjoy jewels of unparalleled beauty.

This epoch of luxury came to an end in 1947 with India's independence. The maharajahs resigned and their treasures were either exported or hidden. Fortunately, they're gathered once more in this stunning volume.

I had bought the book "Maharaja's Jewels" by Katherine Prior and John Adamson and I must say that it was truly a wonderful book. For those who have interest in Jewels, Indian history, Royalty, Photography and I think for any one it will be a great experience to read it.

The Authors have brought out the richness of the land in an excellent presentation. The quality of the book in terms of the content, pictures, presentation, the collection of the jewels shown and the history behind them is very well presented.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and certainly recommend to any one with interest in such a book. it should be in any interested person's collection.

Amazing. I spent outside my budget to get this book and it's worth every cent.

Maharajahs' Jewels provides an oversized, lavish examination of maharaja jewelry, considering the history behind royal jewelry making in India and the conditions under which some of the most famous jewelry pieces were manufactured. The stories of the Indian princes and their jewelry will appeal to any interested in Indian history in general and jewelry-making in particular.

This book which combines the two famous tales of man-eaters in India by Jim Corbett is highly readable and interesting. Jim Corbett has the rare ability (like J.L. Hunter's books on Africa) to put down on words which convey both emotions and atmosphere of persuing these dangerous man-eaters (those tigers and the leopard). Jim Corbetts' hunting of these man-eaters would make your heart pumps faster and cause sweat to form in your palms, so thrilling is his way to describe about these furocious Indian cats! I became acquainted with Jim Corbetts' collection of books in the l950s and still have them to these days, which I still read from time to time. I have no hesitation in recommending his work to those who want to enter the period British Raj in India, where the local population survive under the threats of these big cats. The notorious leopard that ate more than a hundred human beings should have earned reknown in the silver cinematic screen as compared to THE GHOST AND DARKNESS about Tsavo man-eating lions. Like me, once you open a book by Jim Corbett, you will find it hard to put it down until it is entirely read....

If (like me)you've read about the adventures of Jim Corbett in the works of Capstick or other writers and wanted to get a real taste of the man-eater hunter in his own words... then this book is an absolute MUST HAVE.

Corbett was the premier rogue cat exterminator in the first quarter of last century and highly regarded as the best ever. This collection contains his most challenging hunts including The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, The Chowgarh Tigers, and The Thak Man-eater. Corbett personally had over a dozen real life assignments against known man-killers and these stories are the best of the best. His targets were reportedly responsible for over 1500 human deaths and countless injuries. Given the remote locations and the fact that deaths resulting from infection, etc. were not counted, that total can probably be doubled or even tripled.

Corbett, in his writings, takes you right into the jungles of 1920s India and you'll be hard pressed to find an author who knows more about his surroundings. His success as a hunter results from his ability to get into the minds of these man-eaters and predict their next moves. Corbett does an excellent job of explaining his thoughts as to the reasons these animals have turned to killing humans and remains very objective. Though his job was to destroy these dangerous creatures, it is clear in his writings that he had a profound respect and admiration for them.

If you are a fan of hunting stories and legends, you will love this collection of tales. Each one is an ongoing cat and mouse game between man and beast. Corbett was the best at beating the world's most dangerous animals on their own terms and Man-eaters will be a book you can't put down. Guaranteed!

This book was read nearly 15 years ago.It was one of the most exciting and unforgettable books I have come across and I am still searching for a copy.After reading some reviews of Jim Corbetts other books I am reminded of the same qualities of the man that come through in "Tiger Hunter". His humanity and regard for nature in the twenties was ahead of its time. I recall one part of his book where he uses his small dog held under his arm while walking through a bamboo thicket in search of a tiger,his rifle ready for use in the other arm.His dog would then indicate the position of the tiger by picking up its scent. This book may have been published under a different title in recent years.If any one recognises this perhaps they could let me know.

If (like me)you've read about the adventures of Jim Corbett in the works of Capstick or other writers and wanted to get a real taste of the man-eater hunter in his own words... then this book is an absolute MUST HAVE.

Corbett was the premier rogue cat exterminator in the first quarter of last century and highly regarded as the best ever. This collection contains his most challenging hunts including The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, The Chowgarh Tigers, and The Thak Man-eater. Corbett personally had over a dozen real life assignments against known man-killers and these stories are the best of the best. His targets were reportedly responsible for over 1500 human deaths and countless injuries. Given the remote locations and the fact that deaths resulting from infection, etc. were not counted, that total can probably be doubled or even tripled.

Corbett, in his writings, takes you right into the jungles of 1920s India and you'd be hard pressed to find a man more familiar with his environment. In reading these stories, you will find that Jim Corbett is not a man out for fame, trophies, or money. In fact, his respect and admiration for the great cats that he hunts goes without question. You find no hatred for these maneaters and in his first words discusses typical reasons these cats turn to human flesh. Its refreshing to see a man in his position with such an objective point of view.

At any rate, these tales are the stuff of legend and should be savored by any person interested in hunting, adventure, or the true history of early 1900s India bush life. If you fall into any of these categories, you will love this collection. Guaranteed!

First, I must say this is a beautifully published book in every respect, as are all the books in the Adventure Library - the binding is actually sewn, the endpapers are very nice, the type is clear and easy on the eyes, and the illustrations throughout are magnificent. It is just a pleasure to hold and read this book. In an age where hardcover bindings are glued in and crack after one reading and the average book is rushed to press before the typos are weeded out, this book reminds us that a book itself can be an object of art.

This book contains the writings of Jim Corbett, a civil servant in British India who happened to be a crack shot and game tracker. Mr. Corbett was hired by the Government on several occasions to dispose of man eating leopards and tigers. What makes Jim Corbett's writings so noteworthy is their direct honesty and utter sense of humanity. Let me say upfront that I love tales of big game hunting, and I bought this book because, among big-game hunting literature, Jim Corbett's books are considered classics, along with the writings of more traditional hunters like Walter Bell and Frederick Courteney Selous. Among these big game hunting classics, Corbett's writings are unique in that, unlike most big game hunters, Corbett didn't seem to derive any "thrill of the hunt." He was doing a job he was very good at to save innocent lives, pure and simple. He had love and sympathy for the animals he was killing, and he became committed to killing them reluctantly. This feeling of respect for the animal and reluctance in its destruction is most evident in The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag.

Once committed, however, Corbett seemed to take personal responsibility for every individual the man-eating leopard killed, and his sense of depression and guilt over each fresh kill done on his watch is palpable in these pages. This particular leopard stalked travelers and towns along the pilgrim's road that led to the shrines in Kedernath and Badrinath, often selecting children or the aged. Reading Corbett's plain, effective prose, the deadly situation takes on a religious significance. Corbett is defeated several times, each failure resulting in more pilgrims killed, and the pilgrims and people in the towns came to believe that the leopard was an evil spirit that had taken on material form.

Let me wrap up by saying that Corbett was a man to be admired for his basic, down-to-earth humanity and his complete lack of self-congratulation. He was simply a man of high character and wrote plainly about being exhausted, disgusted with his failings, and just flat scared. He was also a very humble man and always seemed embarrassed by the extreme expressions of gratitude given him upon his ultimate success in bagging the man-eater.

The final scene, where villagers come to the bazaar where the leopard is on display, is extremely moving. The people came in droves and one-by-one showered Corbett's feet with flowers while reciting tales of their children or loved ones that had been killed by the man-eater. Suffice to say this is one of the most simple and beautifully rendered scenes I have read in any book.

Of all the big game hunting books I have read, Corbett's writings hold a special place for me. His skill as a hunter saved hundreds of lives, ending the suffering of more hundreds, perhaps thousands. Yet he never thought himself a hero.

Perhaps that was the very quality that made him heroic.

Mr. Zhang's book contains layers of messages. First there is the one that depicts a society and culture deprived of the freedom that is cherished by ours, but even now under attack by a paranoid government. Then there is the uplifting one where the greatness of the human spirit shines through in adversity and chaos. It is a story that should be included in all high school literature classes. Thank you.

It was hard to put the book down! It certainly makes one appreciate the fragility of life, freedom, and the God-given blessings we take for granted. I pray the USA will never encounter the atrocities so many others have experienced.

I loved this book. The book was so powerful and touching. I cried for Andy Zhang's family. I am the parent of an adopted girl from China. I can never read enough about China and it's culture. The struggle and sacrifices that the author's family had to endure is remarkable. This book captures the true meaning of the human spirit. I highly recommend this book.

(Posted on behalf of B. Murray)
The natives of Harbin, China, were no strangers to struggle, but their resourcefulness and community spirit managed to pull them through--until the Cultural Revolution ruptured their lives and destroyed the fabric of their society. This powerfully moving story of the harrowing impacts on the Wang family and their neighbors, based on the experiences of the author's own family and village, brings home in a highly accessible way the damage done; the tortures and summary executions, the shocking ease with which powerful bullies could wreck the lives of their neighbors, the enslavement of a generation of children as farm laborers, and, most powerfully to me, the aftermath as the children who grew up in this chaos try to come to terms with their own experiences. Andy Zhang manages to convey all of this with an almost-deceptive simplicity of language and a fast-moving story line that makes it impossible to put the book down. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Chinese history and culture, the triumph of individual moral courage and kindness in a topsy-turvy world of chaos and thuggishness, or simply a good read
--B. Murray

Andy Zhang's novel is really his own story of growing up in Communist China. From the very first chapter, Zhang boldly carries the reader into the lives of Mama who is about to give birth, Baba who is accused of being a counterrevolutionary by the government, older brother Biao, and little brothers Ming and Dong. Eventually we are introduced to Baby Hai, sister Meili who belongs to the Sent Down Generation, and little Hui, our charming narrator.

The story is an achingly honest account of the Wang family's trials under the Mao regime, including Baby Hai's uncertain future, Baba's imprisonment and Mama's arrest. It is also a personal and touching coming-of-age story during which Zhang reveals small triumphs and great joys hidden in the cruelties of Communism. As Hui grows up and is presented with opportunities and tough choices, we learn that pain and humanity can carry equal weight inside the temptation of revenge. Through Zhang's tender characterization and fresh voice, readers will find themselves endeared by Hui's vulnerabilities and willingness to bear witness to a complicated time in Chinese history.

Also recommended: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I grew up with the leader of the incursion and I don't think any of this has had "literary license". In High School, Dev was a wrestler and fierce competitor. He was consistantly demonstrating his leadership abilities. It was in his blood. His Dad and Brother were leaders as well. This book does him justice. He has been and will be missed by all that knew him.

I think that this a very god book, a series of short stories about the vietnam war, one or two off them are perhaps " non-confirme-able", but who cares, just as long as it is a good storie.
I very much enjoyed the R-R storie to Thailand; revenge is to be enjoyed cold.
Also the story about marine SGT Henderson, that died and diden't
send chills up and down my spine.
Kregg has a way with frases and words, especialy his funny and self-ironic way of decribing himself and his conversion with all those who contributed stories to his book, he is very much the
Wiseguy he always describes himself as.

I can highly recommend this book to anyone.
Keep up the good work !!

As in all his books Kregg has done a super job on this book. I have read all the books that Kregg has written, and this one was right up there with the rest.

This was the 2nd book that I have read written by Mr. Jorgenson. The first was Acceptable loss. One of the best I have ever read. MIA Rescue is just as good but more focused on a particular mission. Mr. Jorgenson's style of writing is very smooth and combines points of view from all soliders involved in this rescue mission. Including his own in a very unique way. From the guys that were wounded, to the troops going in to get them, to the pilots flying through the thick fog, Jorgenson captures the full realm surrounding this very very stressful situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone. Mr. Speilberg or Mr. Stone if you are out there. Please look at this book! This story needs to be told on the big screen!

I would have given this book 5 stars, but Kregg makes me out to be more heroic than I really was. Fact is, I would have gone looking for the team if I had been told to, but I was happier than hell that I wasn't! There was a huge storm in the area that night and I had a really bad feeling about flying around in it trying to make radio contact with the team. Using my simple logic, if they were okay, they would still be okay in the morning when the storm passed. And if they weren't okay, increasing the body count by 5 wan't going to help either. Kregg, if you read this, please contact me.

I recently read the new Philip Short biography on Mao. A long and good book. However, I did not learn half as much about Mao from Short's book as I did from the New Emperors.

Salisbury writes a highly readable, brilliant book on Mao, the founding of the people's republic of China, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution.

The book does a great job showing the personal side of Mao, how he treated other people, and how he changed over time between 1949 and 1976.

The book also does a great job on the early career of Deng Xiaoping. However, feel the book falters on covering the demise of the Gang of Four and the early rule of Deng. As great as the book was up to this point, I feel he does not thoroughly cover how the gang of four was defeated and the early rule of Deng.

The book recovers in its coverage of Tianaman Square and in its conclusions about China.

This book is 3/4 brilliant and 1/4 ok.

Salisbury's book is so good, his reporting so valuable, that it will provide ample basic information to future historians as they attempt to sift through this period with some scholarly distance. Just prior to Tiananmen "incident" as it is called in China, he went and talked to the last surviving people who remember Mao and Deng, the two most powerful leaders of Communist China. It was a unique time, as China was open for just a moment during a reform period before shutting down again after Tiananmen and those people were about to disappear forever. Salisbury found them and recorded their memories.

The result is a masterpiece of reporting, bringing Mao and Deng to life and in detail like no other account that I have read - and I have read a lot of them! The book concentrates on government and power politics, leaving the details of policies to others, which strikes just the right balance.

Highly recommended.

What Mao and Deng did as China's "new emperors" are well known. For Mao, the Korean war, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the establishment of China as a nuclear power; for Deng, the Reform and Opening, and the Tiananmen Massacre.

Why did they do it? This is a question that is seldomly asked and when asked, never satisfactorily answered. Salisbury has attempted to answer such a qusetion with more depth than the simple-minded answer "because they want to stay in power". Salisbury carefully laid out for the readers how Mao and Deng's acts were shaped by their personal histories, by attitudes of other countries toward China, and by the burden of Chinese history and culture (unlike America, the Chinese leaders did not start from a clean slate, instead, they carried 5,000 years of history with them). In short, this book is about how history, culture, international hostility and personality has shaped modern China; how these factors brought out the "emperor instincts" in Mao and, to a lesser extent, Deng.

Indeed, what Mao did was almost right out of history books. The emperors' attempts to annhilate their enemies when they sensed danger, the emperors' attempts to better people's lives using means that were totally naive and against human nature, has happened numerous times in Chinese history. China has been too burdened with its history, and Mao was simply an emperor fulfilling his roles while the whole world was watching.

The book also touched upon an interesting (and sad) question: what blames should be placed on ordinary people? It was Mao who unleashed the darkest aspects of human nature during Cultural Revolution, but the darkest sides of some Chinese people were so dark that one has to wonder: why were these people worse than beasts? The Red Guards and the on-lookers who readily cheered as thousands and thousands of people were tortured and beaten (or drowned, pushed from high-rise buildings) to death has to make one wonder: why did they do it? why did they have no judgment of their own and could become the worst creatures on earth simply because of a few words from their leaders? I believe that, if China wants to prevents something like the Cultural Revolution from happening again, it will not be enough to openly admit Mao's role in these atrocities. Ordinary people will also have to do some soul-searching.

After reading this book, I felt extremely sad. I sensed that the disasters that happened to the Chinese people in the past decades could have been avoided. If only Mao had studied Western politics instead of focusing entirely on the deeds of Chinese emperors; if only Kim Ii-Sung wasn't such a fool as to start the Korean War; if only the Chinese people were exposed to Western culture earlier and possessed more qualities than blind patriotism and loyalty; if only more of Mao's subordinates were willing to be outspoken; if only Stalin was a bit less sinister toward China; if only America was a bit more open-minded and not refusing Mao's request for negotiations outright... The list is endless. History is full of missed chances, and ordinary people suffer. Although no reversal is possible, we may be able to learn from the past and avoid some disasters in the future. Because of this, I highly recommend this book.

I am a fan of Salisbury's works for a long time, and this book has not disappointed me. The writing is compelling, the materials well organized, and his unbiased reporting is as good as ever. This is one of the best books on the modern history of China.

This book set me off on a binge of Chinese history reading. I had to know more about Kang Sheng, for example, and "Claws of the Dragon" helped shed light on this "immortal". Then there were: Zhou Enlai's hagiography 'Eldest Son' at the hands of Han Suyin; The White Boned Demon, about Jiang Qing; Mao's doctor's self-glorifying account; Deng's biography. Nothing compares to this book for readability and sense of magnitude. You meet the twenty or so people who decided the fates of a billion Chinese. Modern democracy has nothing to compare. The personalities in recent Chinese history, the importance of them, are staggering. The Great Leap, the Cultural Revolution--these hellish mass movements affected hundreds of millions of people. You get to see the tiny coterie which ordered the lives of a significant portion of the Earth's inhabitants for fifty years. An amazing book.
I wish Harrison Salisbury were still around to write an update. TNE stops in 1991 as the economy is slowing and the hardliners are asserting themselves. Deng visited the "new cities" on the South China Sea in 1993-4, invigorating them and the "capitalism with Chinese characteristics" which they represented. What followed, of course, is our recent history of China thinking itself as a great power.

Let's face it, China is rapidly replacing Russia as the chief rival of the U.S. in world affairs. And anyone who wants to begin to understand modern China must start with this book. Harrison Salisbury is an excellent journalist and writer who chronicles the tragic history of China from the beginning of the communist regime through the early 1990s. He focusses on the two leaders, Mao and Deng, who guided China into the modern era, causing at least as much if not far more destruction to their country the good that came from modernity. The irony is that while Mao was an egomaniacal madman, Deng was at heart a decent man who rebounded from being jailed and humiliated by the Cultural Revolution only to ruin his more benevolent legacy at Tianamen Square in 1989. Salisbury's account is readable and insightful and is essential for anyone with an interest in the country.