Asia Books

I originally bought this book in order to do a report for a japanese culture class about ki (kiai), but found it so interesting that I still open it every now and then a year later. It gives some real insight on the writer's days in Japan and what he learned in martial arts, and I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the martial arts and the related culture in Japan.

Great book filled with one of a kind information. If you are looking for techniques then this is not the book for you. However, if you want history and insight then this book is one of the best. I rank it up there with the works of Donn Draeger.

A reprint of the turn of the century book on the martial arts of Japan. A fascinating view of not only the martial arts of that time, but the social, cultural and philosophical influences during a critical period of development. It provides context and understanding of the future development of Judo, Karate and other martial arts. If you pair this book with Jay Gluck's book, "Zen Combat" you would have several long days of very entertaining and enlightening reading. I think anyone interested in the history of modern martial arts should read this.

Someone asked me to get an old copy of this book for them but I couldn't find it. So I bought it from amazon.com and got it shipped to their address direct - only to find that they'd moved! So it was redirected to me. What a piece of luck. This book is an informative and entertaining read. Not only is it readable, but it is very re-readable. So impressed was I that I now have two copies, one for me - and one just in case the person I originally bought it for ever turns up, belatedly demanding their copy! This is one book no martial artist should ever get caught without.

Someone asked me to get an old copy of this book for them but I couldn't find it. So I bought it from amazon.com and got it shipped to their address direct - only to find that they'd moved! So it was redirected to me. What a piece of luck. This book is an informative and entertaining read. Not only is it readable, but it is very re-readable. So impressed was I that I now have two copies, one for me - and one just in case the person I originally bought it for ever turns up, belatedly demanding their copy! This is one book no martial artist should ever get caught without.

This has become a personal review for
me because I was recently involved in
bringing the MOVING WALL to Southeastern
Indiana and having it on display in
Rising Sun, IN. We paid a special
tribute to Donald Philip Schuck and the
others from a 5 county area here
including Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland,
Ripley and Franklin Counties. Schuck was
from Franklin Co. and Brookville, IN and
I was honored to be able to go
and visit with his sister, Betty Stivers,
who was gracious enough to give me articles
about him and some pictures of him. I also
visited his grave site at St. Michael's
Cemetery and took a photo of his military
grave marker. We had a special supplement in
the local papers with the information about
the ones from our area who died in
Vietnam. I'd be glad to send one to anyone
who knew Don Schuck because he's an
AMERICAN HERO. Phil Ball did a great job
of bringing the war home to us and telling
us about his friend, Don. Don's sister
Betty is proud of her brother and what
he did for OUR nation. GHOSTS & SHADOWS
shows the respect he and Don Schuck had
for each other and the very difficult
times they had in Vietnam. It's a shame
we had to lose such a fine young MARINE
like Don Schuck. There are 58,260 brave
souls on that WALL and each one deserves
our gratitude for their ultimate sacrifice.
May they rest in eternal peace.
P.G. Gentrup
Rising Sun, IN
25th Inf Div
Cu Chi, Vietnam 1967-68

I noticed this book when I was looking for another book at the library. It is riveting and hard to put it down.

It has some good lessons on how to overcome problems in general.
Reading the book will help you understand Vietnam on different levels.

This book is probably the best Vietnam War narrative I have read, and I have read quite a few. It really puts you in the middle of the action. It's not too gung-ho; just the experiences of an ordinary guy fighting in the jungle and living day to day.

For fans of this genre, this book is a must have. It is written clearly with no dead time in action and intesity of this eye witness account. I rarely rate books but this one deserved my time and review as it acheives what few ever do. Bravo to Phil Ball! Rest in peace leatherneck. Michael Shannon

This is one of the best Vietnam books I have read. It is so truthful. Written in a way that made you feel what they (the marines) and all our young men who served in that war must have gone through. Wonderfully written!! ON July 5th, Phil Ball died, he was a wonderfully gifted man. He will be missed for all he was and all he could have been.

Here is a book that captures, with humor, the travels of two young American single men, searching for exotic adventures and new experiences in a foreign land. By the flip of a coin, the two headed off to Asia with exuberance and enthusiasm. Jon Olmstead leads the reader across Asia from one exciting and hysterical event after another, as well as back home with his flashbacks of delightful and sometimes comical "growing up" happenings and mishaps. A great book for the guys to relive some of their own similar "events" and a fantastic book for the gals who are curious about the most personal thoughts of young gents - on American soil or while traveling and fancy free!! Highly entertaining and light, easy reading that is sure to make you yearn for more!

I read this book in two sittings. The first was over some wine, but the next sitting was so funny I didn't even want to get up to go to the kitchen. It's witty, original, and comedic storytelling style is sure to make anyone laugh.

I picked up this book in the airport on my way to France. It is a great travel companion, Mr. Olmstead completey draws you in and entertains. Before you know it you're in final decent and that's the best way to travel.

Very funny travel log. It reads like an extended email from a friend writing about his travel. Mr. Olmstead also finds a way to weave in stories from his childhood. It comes off as a friendly extended travel note.

The humorous and self deprecating nature of this travel writing is very much in the tradition of Tony Hawke. You'll find yourself alternating between laughing out loud and screaming, "Doh!"

I am thankful that I'm not a friend of his. :-) I'd hate for him to dog on me like he reams on his buddies!

Going Down In Asia is rekindling youth and innocence impacted by the world's reality and diversity in a hilarious and insightful way. Its been some 40 years since my carefree days of foreign travel and it brought it all back. How much more meaning there would have been if I had the book then. A fun and fine read.

What a wonderful opportunity we've been given here. We may never get to see our very own lives as we experience 'life' written in newspapers or in history books yet in this book we read not 'fiction' although the book is equally captivating as many novels often hope to be because along with Grace, an American, and her children we, too, can almost participate in their own experiences living deep inside China between 1934 and 1974. It's all here. And, yes, I agree with another reviewer: "The small press editor of GRACE IN CHINA, Randall Williams of Black Belt Press in Montgomery, Ala., deserves praise for recognizing an important, memorable book that deserves both critical and popular acclaim. Since a small independent press doesn't have the resources for extensive publicity, "word of mouth" will have to spread the news." It is a rare glimpse into what few Americans saw for themselves after 1949, especially during China's Cultural Revolution.

Grace, a woman from a fairly ordinary southern family, goes to New Yort City in the 1920's to study voice. There she falls in love with a Chinese engineer, goes to Tiensin in North China and has three children. At first she lives a luxurious life in a foreign "concession." She has a wide variety of friends: American service men and officers, Chinese, British, French and other nationalities. But her life slowly changes as the Japanese occupy China, as the Americans win the war, as the Nationalists take control and then the Communists. While her lifestyle descends into cold, hunger and illness, Grace reads and writes. She is astonished at the distortions of the American press and says so in letters she sends home and to officials. Grace's story is told through her letters, autobiographical fragments, the reports of her children and the narration of Eleanor Cooper and her son. I expected the book to be disjointed. It isn't. On the contrary, Grace's voice, her intelligence and her strength provide a unity that is beautifully upheld by her editors. Along with "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson, this book gives us a view of "the East" that we are not often allowed.

GRACE IN CHINA reveals both a fascinating true love story of a Chinese-American marriage and a unique personal insight into Chinese-American history during the tumultuous years of 1934-1974. These years of violent change still influence the future of China and the United States and indeed the world. If you've watched the presidential debates, you know that China policy is one of the top issues, an issue which demands better understanding by leaders and citizens alike. This book can help, and what's more, it's a great read!

Grace meets FuChi Liu--her beloved "F.C."--in New York City where she is training to become an opera singer and he is working as a hydraulic engineer. Their heart-tugging courtship and marriage is followed by Grace's exciting journey to China with her baby daughter to make a new life with her husband. For 40 eventful years she is an eyewitness to history in China.

The early years are full of vivid scenes of the social life and corruption of the "old ways," mixed with her husband's struggle to bring change. Then come harsh stories of the Japanese invasion and occupation, the joyful arrival of U.S.Marines, and finally disenchantment with Chna's post-war leaders. As the Communists approach her city of Tientsin, Grace resolves to stay with F.C. instead of fleeing with other "foreigners." With a sense of history in the making, she watches hordes of "apple-cheeked" young soldiers of the Red Army march down her street.

For the Liu family, life goes on surprisingly well under the new regime as Grace and F.C. work hard "for the Chinese people." Unfortunately, F.C. dies from lung cancer at the height of his national career of bringing modern water systems to many regions of China. How Grace manages to survive with the help of her three children and warm-hearted neighbors makes an inspiring story. With "gumption," this southern girl undertakes a fulfilling career of her own by developing new methods of teaching English at Nankai University. But what happens to her and her family during the Cultural Revolution provides hair-raising reading. Finally in 1974, after Nixon's visit to China, she comes back to the United States to reunite with her American relatives. But China is her true home now. Her ironic return to Tientsin (now Tianjin) gives a moving conclusion to this unusual and significant biography of a woman who possessed a special kind of "grace under pressure" in time of war,social upheaval and personal challenge.

The authors of GRACE IN CHINA, who are her cousin and son, have skillfully created a vivid document that reads like a novel, using well-preserved letters, memoirs, interviews, articles, photographs and other primary resources blended seamlessly with excellent background narration. The editing is a triumph of weaving many voices into strong, intimate storytelling. Many scenes are so humorous, passionate, or dramatic that the reader can almost see the action on a movie screen compelling as one's own imagination. But it's all true--and it's a story that begs to be heard.

The small press editor of GRACE IN CHINA, Randall Williams of Black Belt Press in Montgomery, Ala., deserves praise for recognizing an important, memorable book that deserves both critical and popular acclaim. Since a small independent press doesn't have the resources for extensive publicity, "word of mouth" will have to spread the news.

I am ordering this book at the moment, although I have already read it. It was actually lent to me only three days ago by a person who is an expert on Chinese history and culture. She and I now both live in China, accompanying our Japanese husbands whose work is based in Beijing. I had just visited Tianjin on Chinese New Year's, and when I told her so, she immediately handed me the book. It got me firmly anchored on my sofa for 15 hours straight. I've never read a more intriguing book. Grace endured countless hardships not only as a foreigner but as a precious witness to one of the most important years of this great land. This excellently compiled collection of her letters and recollections also serves as a superb textbook of Chinese modern history. My husband, seeing how absorbed I was with this book, took it in his hands after I finished and now he can't put it down. So we decided to order it because we suspected our friend intends to get it back very soon. I recommend it to everyone, whether interested or not in China.

I came to USA from China. The true stories told in the book Grace in China are so believable and moving. I was so taken by the book that I finished it in one night. I recommend it highly to anyone who want to know something about China and Chinese people.

Grace's life was not an easy one. However, she always had the love in her heart, for her husband, children, family and friends, her neighbors and her work. She dealt with hardship of life with such courage and humor. Her modest attitude toward her own appearance and ability, in contrast to the terrific literature she was able to create, makes me love this lady who is older than my grandmother.

The observation and descriptions to things and people of China in this book are quite accurate. So many books about China published in USA are rather misleading in that they select only the materials that fit their agenda, no matter how untypical their examples are.

Graces son William Liu and cousin Eleanor Cooper have done a marvelous job in organizing the original materials in such a readable manner. The scattered photos and old newspaper articles are remarkable pieces.

Here Be Yaks chronicles the author's experiences traveling in Tibet. She provides detailed descriptions of the land and people as well as the difficulties and pleasures of the trip. Her goal on the trip was Mount Kailash and to settle question of the source of the Sutlej River as well as a spiritual journey of her own. Most books of this type are not particularly interesting to read through but this one is an exception. She adds so much detail and history that you come to appreciate the trip as well as the country, the geography, the people, and the culture. She wisely does not include the political factors of the country except to the extent that they directly affect her ability to travel safely or provide an important historical explanation as to why something is the way it is. If you have any interest in Tibet at all you will probably appreciate this book.

Manosi Lahiri's book is a magnificent story of ordinary people on an extraordinary adventure. Mrs. Lahiri combines a cartographer's eye for geographical detail with sensitivity to the thoughts of companions, and a storyteller's flair for the interesting.

HERE BY YAKS takes the reader along a trail following ancient paths that are still lightly travel today. It gives the reader a glimpse of Tibetan culture which is often mentioned in casual conversation but is little understood or actually experienced.

The book has all the elements of a search for a Shangri La taking one through a kaleidoscope of landscapes and people in the solving of a geological mystery. It's a great read. I recommend it highly.

Her Be Yaks: Travels in Far West Tibet is a travelogue chronicling a group of ordinary people who embarked upon an extraordinary journey to Tibet's Mount Kailash, a peak revered by four faiths. They battled physical exhaustion and altitude sickness on their arduous journey, all to perform the sacred kora (circumambulation) of Mount Kalish and seek religious inspiration. Author Manosi Lahiri was one of this group, searching for consolation after the loss of her ancestors; in the course of journey, she solved a geographic mystery concerning the source of the river Sutlej, a matter that had been contended for centuries. Part adventure, part scholarly narrative, Here Be Yaks is an amazing look at Tibet through a visitor's eyes, and highly recommended.

This traveller's account reminded me vividly of my own trip across Tibet in 1987. Twenty years later it conjured up memories of capricious weather, devout pilgrims, rancid yak butter, tea which might be better called soup, the unfathomable devotion of Tibetans, sunburned noses, indescribable sanitation, breathtaking temples and palaces, the appalling destruction of monuments and buildings by Red Guards and above all, the landscape. Is there anywhere else on earth that comes close to matching the colours, drama, inaccessibility and mystery of Tibet's topography? The star of this journey is the landscape, brought to us with the eye of a geographer. Not only does the author bring dramatic vistas alive as she travels from Lhasa to Tsaparang, she explains them too with textbook clarity. Her journey, part pilgrimage, homage and exploration, takes the reader to Mount Kailash, sacred to Buddhists, Hindus and Jains and more interestingly, to the little visited and destroyed Tsaparang, centuries ago the capital of ancient Guge in far west Tibet. Over the centuries it has been visited by Jesuits, Kashmiri Muslims and intrepid travellers and explorers, not always happily. But as the author recounts, the greatest destruction to Tsaparang and its temples and art, happened in our own lifetime at the hands of Cultural Revolution zealots. Still, with an explorer's optimism and determination, she scrambles up the ruins of Tsaparang into chambers hewn out of the hillside and discovers wanton destruction but also the vibrant remains of murals, hundreds of years old. To have come this far and seen what few of us can only dream of, is a singular accomplishment. Yet there is one last goal to tackle: a return to Tibet's landscape to research the source of one of Asia's great rivers, the Sutlej. Is its commonly accepted source near Mount Kailash and Lake Manosarovar correct? Or is there a mystery to be solved? Using accounts of earlier explorers, especially Sven Hedin and Swami Pranavananda, and applying a geographer's keen eye and GPS and satellite imagery, we can add the name of the author to her illustrious forebears. For she makes a compelling case for discarding the popularly accepted source of the Sutlej for another. This entertaining book therefore is not just a travelogue. It is a piece of history which on my bookshelf rests besides Hedin, Swami Pranavananda and Alexandra David-Neel's accounts of their journeys to incomparable Tibet.

This is a most gripping and unusual book. A good story, travel interest, personal feelings and if that were not
enough true scientific research! To anyone who might be planning a journey to Tibet this will give invaluable pointers over where to go, how to, what to take and critical cultural elements. The international perspective of the author is combined with local knowledge and insight of she and her travelling companions.

Offers a wealth of information about traditional Vietnamese culture and society...essential reading

Indochina's refugees, who in jungle death camps felt the chill of the heart or saw life turn cold in crowded boats, give their harrowing stories in this collection

These 22 memoirs focus on life after the Communist victories of 1975 and escape by land or sea. The stories are all from refugees at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center who have not yet reached the United States. They are an older group of survivors from a wide range of backgrounds. Each story is preceded by comments by the author on the storyteller or on life in and outside the Processing Center. Appendices listing the names of inmates in four "seminar" camps in Laos are included. Recommended for most libraries.--Library Journal, August 198

In this volume, Joanna Scott shares the personal stories of nine Lao, four Khmer, and nine Vietnamese refugees whom she interviewed at the Philippine refugee Processing Center between October 1985 and May 1986. "The one thing they had in common, both with their fellow-countrymen and their fellow Indochinese, was a fervent passion for freedom that overwhelmed their mourning for a lost country." The book is divided into three sections, "Vietnam-Land of the Boat People," "Cambodia-Land of the Killing Fields," and "Laos-Land of the Seminar Camps." The refugees speaking in this book come from all walks of life and include teachers, military officers, a Buddhist monk, a housewife, a farmer, an artist, and a student. Their stories not only relate their personal ordeals in surviving, but also provide their unique perspectives and details about the political situations of their countries. One Lao refugee even reveals information about American POWs still incarcerated in various areas of Vietnam. Another Lao refugee describes the sorry fate of the Lao Royal Family and includes a photograph of the king and queen in a seminar camp. A map of seminar camps in the Viengxay area of northern Laos and four lists (compiled from memory) of those who were incarcerated in the camps are also included in this publication.

Stories that American have been reluctant to listen to-non-American participants' stories of the horrors of the Vietnam War itself, of escape from new but undemocratic countries, of conflict-ridden adjustment...personal details about the effects of the war...Scott's collection is prefaced by a dramatic frontispiece, a painting by a Vietnamese artist that depicts boat people on the high seas, titles "A people forced to go a dangerous drama across feats of darkness and turbulent seas in favor of freedom." Collected from Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese in Philippine refugee camps in October 1985 [through] May 1 1986, these twenty-five stories are the testimonies closest in time to many of the events they describes. Scott identifies empathetically with the refugees' search for "the freedom land," as well as with those who failed to come here. In lengthy appendices, she provides maps of the Laotian reeducation camps and memorializing lists of those who have disappeared in them. Pictures of the refugees in the Philippine camps supplement the written stories. Some narratives are told by camp advisors; some are presented by "Name Withheld." While one story was given to Scott "in perfect English," others were told only through an interpreter. Scott presents her subjects' narratives entire, occasionally segmented by asterisks, with provocative titles ("The Hope of Ho Chi Minh Is Fallen Now") and with brief headnotes characterizing the individual or the historical situation. The narratives are occasionally quite long; almost all are organized chronologically... Here is Khamsamong Somvong, a former first lieutenant in the Royal Lao army: "In the seminar camp there were a few men who were Communists. They were there to execute the policy of the Politburo. And it was they who decided who should be killed in the camp. We were supposed to respect the Party only. If one of the Communists said, `This is red,' we had to say, `Yes, this is red.' If we said, `No, this is black,' we would be killed. So I lived a very hard life in there. I saw many people killed before me."--Oral History Review 21/2 (Winter, 1993)

Ahsan presents a very unique and fresh prespective on the history of Pakistan. His hypothesis is that Pakistan or "Indus" (Sind) as he refers to it, has always been integrally different/seperate culturally and geographically from India (Hind). It's an excellent read for anyone interested in south asian anthropology, history, culture, literature etc. It is by far one of the best written, most balanced and unbiased books I've read on the subject.

Conventional books on Pakistan's history usually begin with the arrival of Islam in India (Bin Qasim's arrival in Sind), whereas this book takes the primary focus from the Muslim Dynasties of Delhi to the history of the land, not the religion - which includes the formation of Hinduism and Buddhism etc as well.

Read this book even if you (like me) don't completely agree with that point of view.

My intial reaction was that this hypothesis discludes the legitimacy of areas like the Bengal, Junagardh, Manawadar, and Hyderabad which are not in goegraphical proximity to the Indus, but were, or were supposed to be parts of Pakistan once. The principle of Pakistan is that it should comprise of all muslim regions of India not just the western ones. But the truth is that Modern Day Pakistan has ultimately become the western provinces and that fact makes this book relevant as well as accurate. Also it does not outright refute the religion-based principle of Pakistan, rather just adds another angle to the history of the nation in general.

This is a brilliant account of the history of the people of Pakistan. From pre-history to the modern-day creation of the separate state the author has provided to the Pakistani and to the world a fresh and new perspective about the roots and identity of this nation. The book blasts all fundamentalist mumbo-jumbo that has been the main content of all Pakistani history books and also all the anti-Pakistan venom that has been the main theme of all the history books written by non-Pakistani authors. It is the first well researched historical analysis of this region by well-recognised Pakistani intellectual. For some time there has been a difficulty in the procurement of The Indus Saga. I now have good news. A fresh new edition has just come out. It is by the NEHR GHAR PUBLICATIONS. Email address of the publisher is nehrghar@hotmail.com. The price of this edition is half that of the earlier publication while there has been no compromise on production or printing. Readers interested in knowing about the real and unbiased history of the Indus region which today comprises Pakistan can now order The Indus Saga at nehrghar@hotmail.com

I am probably the biggest fan of Aitzaz Ahsan's as it is... and after this book, I'm sure you will be too!

I have read the book and am deeply impressed by it. Now the Urdu version has also come out as "Sindh Sagar" It also contains the following excerpts from reviews of "The Indus Saga" by some well known authorities and analysts of the subject: The DAWN: (September 6, 1996) "The Discovery of Pakistan":(Professor Emeritus Ahmad Hasan Dani) Mr. Ahsan was deeply pondering the subject while he was in prison. He has come out with a new vision of the history of Pakistan - a vision that may be termed as the "Discovery of Pakistan". This deserves due consideration on the part of the historians in Pakistan as well as outside. A similar project for writing the history of Pakistan as a part of the golden jubilee celebrations has been undertaken by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. On this occasion, I again submitted a long write-up to the Ministry of Culture stating clearly how the history of Pakistan, the "Indus Land", should be written. But being a humble historian of no great importance, my views have been 'filed' up in the Ministry. I am glad to note that Mr. Ahsan has come forward boldly on a theme which the Pakistani historians have so far hesitated to elaborate - a theme which has been my life's dream. If we have created Pakistan - a land which has deep roots in history - there must be the history of the land and of the people who have lived and laboured here. The future generations deserve to have a history of the country. I congratulate Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan on showing a way to the historians. While he has succeeded, I have stumbled and miserably failed to convey my opinion and persuade the bureaucrats to understand historical Pakistan in the manner in which Mr. Ahsan has so ably done in the present book.

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Summer 1997) "The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan:" Susan K Hausman Questions and rejects many of the widely-accepted myths of subcontinental history; highlights the dichotomy between the Indus region and India; and shows the almost unbroken continuity of a distinct social and political order.

Journal of Comparative Studies of South Asia Africa and the Middle East (Vol. XVI No.1 (1996)): Professor Carl W. Ernst. Ahsan's own "journey" through the contemplation made possible by imprisonment would continue, he notes, in the jails of Sahiwal, Faisalabad, and Mianwali. He writes of the vision that unfolded to him "of myself as part of a magnificent continuum," something destined as an inheritance. He began to explore this vision through history and myth, writing the entire study during his jail terms. Disarmingly, he makes no claim as an historian, but presents his conclusions as the results of a journey of self-discovery. Although the primary importance of the parallel with Nehru is symbolic, The Discovery of India has been clearly on Ahsan's mind, and he quotes directly and indirectly from the book on more than one occasion.

I want to reproduce an excerpt on the Book out of "The London TIMES' LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: LONDON (August 8, 1997) "Indus man's resistance" : The question of Pakistani identity is fraught with paradoxes and ambiguities. Unlike its nearest neighbours - most notably India, Iran and China - it has no grand narrative of cultural heritage; created to serve a historical and political need, it has continuously to invent, and reinvent, its own story. Is Pakistan a religious state, or an ideological construct? Does it, in spite of their much-articulated difference of religious identities (which have come to be seen as ethnicities), owe its cultural heritage entirely to India, of which it is often considered an amputated limb? Or, in the rising tide of fanaticism that threatens to engulf some of its Muslim neighbours, is it fulfilling a long-neglected agenda of returning to spiritual roots in the Arab or Middle Eastern world? These questions are addressed, with a dense and often bewildering proliferation of detail, by Aitzaz Ahsan in The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan. Ahsan is a lawyer, which makes the breadth of his historical, sociological and cultural research all the more impressive.

McClain offers a holistic approach to Japanese history. In this book he explains how Japan got to where it is today by going through the various historical periods. For recent Japanese history, he concentrates on the social aspects as well as the political and economic ones. Readers gain a thorough understanding of Japan with this book.

I am not writing a review in fact. But I can't find anywhere else here to ask my question: What is the difference between the college edition and hardcover ed.? There is no info on this.

If you are looking for an excellent resource on the history of Japan in the past 4 centuries, I recommend this book highly. It does an excellent job in tracing the tortuous path that wove from Japan's feudal fiefdom society to the current modern parliamentary democracy. In addition to the governmental and military matters that are generally covered, there is notable space dedicated to the arts and the contributions of women, peasants and others not normally found in history books. The maps and illustrations are adequate, and do help to support the text. Highly Recommended.

This is a good summary of the history of Japan. It spans all topics and is quite balanced in social, political and economic issues. McClain's book takes quite an academic approach to Japan's history, (without exessive notes of course). It is well founded, he is precise, concise and avoids controversal or journalistic subjects and speculation (such as whether Roosevelt knew about the attac on pearl harbor). In this sense this book can be highly recommended for those readers who look for a no-nonsense textbook. However, this style makes the read a bit boring. Compared to other historical books I have read I found it hard to read and - as a non-english native speaker - it took me a long time. Because the writer never goes deep into one subject, the reader gets only a kind of the summary of an issue. The book is never really gripping and as a more casual reader it is probably not my the first choice. John Dower and David Nathan have left me more inspired.

McClain has fashioned a highly detailed, sophisticated, and complex history of Japan from 1603 to the present. The historiography is superb (he obviously is totally bilingual and is fluent in Japanese sources). The history is both descriptive (chronological, social, political, economic, family/personal) as well as analytic (how social structure affected the rise of industrial society, for example). The overall effect is to make Japanese history clear and comprehensible. The people of Japan stand out in distinct relief.

I was puzzled that the Boston Globe reviewer was much cooler toward this book than I think most readers are or will be. McClain's history will stand the test of time.

I've been interested in popular Japanese culture for a long time, so I was pleased to see this new exploration of the interface between Japan and America, . . . though I was somewhat put off by the use of the pejorative word "invaded" in the title. That seems to have been a marketer's contribution, though, because the half-Japanese author, who has become something of a professional explainer of Japanese and Americans to each other, seems not to reach value judgments about the wide popularity of manga and anime in this country, nor about the much more longstanding popularity of everything American in Japan. It's largely a generational thing, though; most Americans over the age of thirty have no idea what Gundam is, nor what "otaku" and "cosplay" mean. And while anime has become increasingly popular in the U.S., it remains deeply Japanese. There's really no such thing as "American anime." Though he comes to no strikingly original conclusions, Kelts does a good job of explaining things to those who are new to the subject.

Mr. Kelts' book about the popularity of Japanese culture in America is first rate. He discusses more than just anime and manga and provides the reader with an easy to understand analysis of Japanese popular culture both in Japan and as it appears in the US. It should be in the collection of any Japanophile.

As an American who is fascinated with Japan, but frustrated with books about the relationship between the two countries, I found Roland Kelts' "Japanamerica" to be a welcome breath of fresh air. Kelts focuses on the growing popularity of manga and anime among Americans, and the "mobius strip" of give and take between the two cultures, but his focus inevitably widens to address the broader mutual fascination between these two worlds. I love the fact that, as an American with a Japanese mother, Kelts avoids the two hazards of Japanophilia and Japanophobia. There is a refreshingly grounded and sensible middle ground in his analysis, a realism that seems to lighten things up and make it all more accessible and welcoming. Perhaps best of all - and this is a miracle in the world of cultural analysis - Kelts is delightfully unpretentious and his prose is as clear and comprehensible as it is filled with fascinating ideas and observations. Never for a moment do we doubt that Kelts knows what he's talking about it - and he brings it all across with infectious enthusiasm.

For those who have been to Japan or have an interest in anything Japan, I highly recommend this book. The author does a wonderful job explaining Japanese pop culture and how it relates to Japanese society and culture. IT was a very easy, entertaining, and insightful read.

I read this book after a Village Voice critic called it "a Wired Magazine article on steroids," and Ain't It Cool News said that it was "an imperative resource." Then Bookforum called it "an amazing ride," and The Boston Globe raved.
Then: Even Pete Townshend of The Who endorsed it!
I am skeptical of books trying to capitalize on trends, and very skeptical of books on Japan. But the chorus of praise from so many different voices was enough for me.
This book is written in lucid, carefully crafted prose--telling you everything you need to know about transcultural entertainment and the psychological and spiritual traumas embedded in pop culture, and also precisely what makes Japan so sexy to Westerners in the 21st Century. It is also hip and smart, and very accessible. I only wished it were longer.
The author is no geek, but a writer of considerable talent and range. Get Japanamericaa now.

Several years ago I bought a reprint of Dr. Morse book and it has become not only a treasured Clasic but a Bible of information. Although there are no pictures, none are needed with Dr. Morse drawings and detail descriptions.
E L Smith

I purchased this book simply to get a quick overview of Japanese domestic architecture. The price is always right with Dover books so I just ordered it without any research. What a pleasant surprise to find myself reading a definitive work on the subject a few days later. The text is thoughtfully written and the illustrations skillfully done. As with any well written and illustrated book, color pictures are not overly missed. As a result of this book I find myself much more interested in Japanese architecture than I ever intended to be and heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in home or interior design.

"Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings" is a great book. If you've any interest in traditional Japanese architecture, get this book. Edward Morse was an American who went to Japan in 1877 to study brachiopods. He ended up recording a vanishing way of life instead. He tells you how Japanese homes were built and why they were built that way. Not much escapes his eye. In serviceable prose and clear drawings, he tells us about carpenters and their tools, houses, furnishings, privies, fences and gateways, water supplies and gardens. Most of it he compares favorably to American and European counterparts.

Best of all, it's a Dover book and cheap.

I bought this book about 3 years ago from Amazon. So you'd think that it would be old hat by now. Yet I find myself picking it up at least once every few months to either refer to it for a construction detail or just to look for something new. What a wonderful resource for traditional Japanese design this book is.

Trained as a Zoologist, Morse put his scientific powers of observation and systematic description to work during the 1880's in producing the sketches and text that describes a world of everyday Japanese design right before it was swamped with Western influence and largely disappeared. There are plenty of books that can show you pictures of ancient Japanese temples and teahouses, but what about the method of constructing the roof of an ordinary 19th century Tokyo home? This was stuff that few people thought was worth recording for posterity. Which is why Morse's book is so unique and valuable to us.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in the way that things are built or designed would do well to put this book on their shelf. Interior decorators, architects, DIY types (such as myself), finish carpenters, contractors and furniture makers should all have a tattered, dog-eared copy of 'Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings' within easy reach. It is a constant source of inspiration.

I picked up the Dover paperback edition at a library book sale and was charmed by the author's detailed drawings as much as the description of domestic life in 19th century Japan. Morse originally published this in 1885, barely 30 years after Perry's expedition, and traveled around Japan documenting as many houses and styles as possible (including those of the Aino culture). There are no photographs, but the intricate line drawings and intimate descriptions of functional households -- kitchens and cooking utensils, washing areas, sleeping quarters -- are minutely detailed and thoroughly described in the text. Not just a book for those interested in architecture but history as well.