Asia Books

My boys and I do not tire of this book. The beautiful illustrations match the delightful story of an unlikely relationship that benefits both parties, and benefits the reader! We love it.

Chopsticks is a little white mouse who lives in a floating restaurant in Hong Kong. At the door of the restaurant are two enormous pillars that are carved in the shape of magnificent dragons. And when, on a New Year's night, one of the dragons talks to little Chopsticks, it is the start of the greatest adventure of little Chopsticks' life!

Every night, I read several books to my little four-year-old. Well, this is one of our favorites! Chopsticks himself is so cute, and we really liked the foreign settings. The illustration work is very good, and goes excellently with the text.

Yep, this is a great book, one that I love to read, and she loves to see. We both highly recommend Chopsticks to you and your little reader!

Brought to life by a gorgeous selection of colours, textures and settings, this simple story of friendship and dreams transports us to another world.

A tiny mouse befriends a wooden dragon in this simple story that takes place on the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong Harbor. Anything is possible, and thanks to Berkeley's atmospheric description, it's easy for a child to suspend disbelief.

He paints whole scenes in a few lines of prose, so we're right down there with little Chopsticks, the mouse, as he scurries late at night in search of crumbs on the floor of a floating restaurant. It's an impressive place, with hundreds of windows and two enormous carved dragons guarding its mammoth entrance.

We might even tremble in empathy too when, one New Year's night, one of the dragons clears his throat and asks Chopsticks to draw near. Turns out he wants to confide his secret longing to Chopstick, and a friendship is born.

Berkeley's Hong Kong Harbor is a misty dreamscape, where an old carver in his sampam holds the secret to granting the dragon's wish. The dragon's a friendly sort, with big, cheerful eyes and a lopsided grin, and, like Chopstick, you instantly want to help him out.

His acrylics glow with filtered sunlight and streaks of gold radiate from gleaming surfaces. We're keenly aware of Chopstick's diminutive size amidst the bustle of the world's busiest harbor, but we never lose sight of the little fella' as he sets out to help his new buddy.

This is a perfect one for teaching about friendship, about good deeds, and about bringing your own sense of adventure to all you do.

This study is by a Barnard College professor that I heard lecture at the China Institute in New York City. The traditional Chinese cultural custom of deforming women's feet to make them smaller, resulting in pain, deformity, and disability, is no longer practiced. But it is a complex and controversial subject involving, among other things, sex, social status, and feminism. For me the value of this book is the author's focus on the perspectives of women who experienced, continued, and even promoted the practice, highlighting their views on it's costs and benefits. It's a useful counterpoint and a rich resource.

Dorothy Ko locates the core of interpretation for footbinding lost in so much that has been written on the topic for the last 150 years. Ko has written extensively on the topic, feeling that such a complex phenomenon cannot be adequately explained by a book or two. Not content with prevailing feminist writings which privilege "oppressive patriarchy" as the only worthwhile conclusion, Ko frequently attracts critics who often suggest she glorifies footbinding and undoes strides towards gender equality. It's even been implied she undermines advancements made since the May Fourth events which empowered Chinese women almost 90 years ago.
Though some readers feel she euphemizes the "crippled feet" by resorting to cultural poetics which justify oppression, she actually advances a much more sophisticated strategy employed by the Han women of late imperial China. Rather than rage conspicuously against patriarchy the path lies in re-appropriating the meaning of footbinding to a custom that subverts the gender inequity; in short, diminishment of the oppression from within its complicity.
With Cinderella's Sisters Ko addresses the rhetorics called chanzu, tianzu, and fengzu (bound feet, natural feet, and letting out feet, repectively). A conflation of male desires, and a redefined view women had about their own bodies are both at odds with each other yet bound together in a custom whose meaning differs not just across gender and class, but across time and place. Ko produces very original and badly needed insights through new readings of Gu Hongming (1857-1928) and Wang Jingqi (1672-1726) contrasted with (some say) biased western scholars such as R. H. van Gulik (1910-1967) and Howard S. Levy (1920- ).
By translating women-authored works from anthologies of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ko delights readers of this latest work who benefit by having the feminine perspective so often missing. When this recovered discourse converges with the new deeper readings of male texts, both anecdotal and scholarly, the subjectivity of a whole society comes together, resulting in unprecedented integrity. Indeed, Dorothy Ko's greatest "fault" is appending the subtitle A Revisionist History of Footbinding to Cinderella's Sisters. This book is not revisionist - this book is vision, belonging on every bookshelf of every library.

It's a wonderful book for chinese women's history, let you learn about the history of footbinding in feminism perspective.

Like a typical Westerner, when I first encountered the story of bound feet Chinese women, I was horrified. How could someone actually do something like that? But my initial disgust grew into interest, and I found I wanted to learn more than simply see the results of the practice of binding feet. The world is full of misinformation of this custom.

After reading Beverly Jackson's Splendid Slippers (a beautiful and informative book), I decided to find a more academic text on footbinding, and selected Dorothy Ko's Cinderella's Sisters. This book has provided me with a thorough overview of the historical context of footbinding. It explores the difference in gender perceptions of bound feet, the different definitions of bound feet, and more. Ko's style is very readable, and I appreciated her using Chinese terms (tiangzu, chanzu, fangzu) and their rich interpretations to illustrate her points and describe the historical context.

If the name John Blofeld means anything to you, you've probably been consulting the I Ching. Blofeld wrote a popular translation to the Chinese oracle at a time when the only other version available in English was Richard Wilhelm's groundbreaking but somewhat turgid text.

"City of Lingering Splendor" is an autobiographical travelogue, one of the best ever written. Dedicated to ' the hermits, scholars, youths and courtesans who inspired these pages ' it's a love letter to Peking and the breathtaking greatness of an ancient civilisation at its twilight, about to be extinguished.

While remote jungles still offer anthropologists the chance to chew the fat with stone age peoples, the romantics among us are simply out of luck. Until someone invents a working time machine, Ancient Egypt is gone forever along with Homer's Greece and Imperial Rome.

But in 1934 it was still possible to travel back in time. Back to Old China, to a culture that had remained virtually untouched for thousands of years---and chew Peking Duck with Taoist sages. . .

Wonderful reading.

This is the most sensitive, respectful and intelligent book I have read on traditional Chinese culture. The writing is terrific, on a par with Peter Fleming's, though more from the heart.

It records the author's love affair with the city before WW2 (and includes a return to Beijing after it). While meeting many of its remaining Daoist, Confucianist, Bhuddist and literary leaders and exploring its temples, nightlife and food, we get a last sympathetic, philosophical, tragic glimpse of the splendour decaying under the Republic. Before it vanished under the Maoists.

If you thought there was little more to pre-War China than footbinding, Dowager Empresses, opium and Shanghain greed and degeneracy, this book will even the score a little.

I had no idea when I picked up this book that I had such a pleasant experience in store for me. Beginning in 1934, a young man in his twenties spends "three exquisitely happy years" in a China at the edge of the abyss. Japan had already invaded Manchuria and made no secrets of its intentions of further conquest. The shaky Chinese Republic was ruled out of Nanking; and Peking was still full of memories of the old Dowager Empress, the last of her line.

The streets of Peking were full of Confucian scholars, aging palace eunuchs, adepts of Taoism and Buddhism, starving White Russian refugees, 14-year-old opium addicts, and gentle courtesans and flute girls. Blofeld threw himself headfirst into this world which was on the point of being snuffed out forever. Most memorable are the White Russian hermaphrodite Shura and the Rasputin-like Father Vassily; the decorous Buddhist scholar Dr Chang; Yang Taoshih, the Taoist sage, and his friend known only as the Peach Garden Hermit; the lovely courtesan Jade Flute; and the mysterious Pao, who elopes with a young girl intended for a Japanese colonel.

After Blofeld leaves for a trip to England, the Japanese finally invade. There are two bittersweet chapters at the end where Blofeld revisits the scenes of his youth after 1945. His fragile Peking of the 1930s is now poised between a growingly thuggish Kuomintang secret police and the great unknown of Mao Tse-tung's Eighth Route Army.

Blofeld's Dr Chang says it all: "Decay is inherent in all things, as Shakyamuni Buddha bade us always remember. Death swallows all that has been born; rebirth or re-creation follow in their turn, as spring follows winter. Things rise and wane in unceasing flux."

CITY OF LINGERING SPLENDOUR is recommended to all sentient beings who were ever young once and are now faced with a confused welter of possibilities, none of which seem particularly appetizing.

I have been reading John Blofeld since the 80's. His writing is honest and straight forward. What is special about this work is the time frame. It is a first hand account and we are not brought down by the dreary chronology or dry scholastic jibberish of Western history academics. His introduction warns of his awareness of the flaws of the culture, but he wishes to show the strengths and beauty of a dying civilization. Truly unique, inspiring and thought provoking

Ideal for people who live outside North Korea and wish to learn about North Korea, people who live in North Korea and are confused or for Geoge W. Bush.

Very factual. A good complement to the general news on the subject.

I started reading this book a few days before the July 4th misstle launches. I was glad to get more information on North Korea which was a total mystery to me. Now I understand much more. The book reviews Korean history and how Confucianism has just as much influence in North Korea as communism does. Absolute devotion to the Great Leader is rewarded and the slightest deviation from that is punished by execution. How North Korea will play the nuclear card out is yet to be seen, but I don't think I want them to have nuclear weapons. They will use it for terrorism.

This is a concise and well written modern chronicle of North Korea. There are very few resources available on this "mysterious" country. I found the book to be engrossing, concise and most informative.

This is an outstanding book for understanding why the US military has such problems with confronting insurgency. Counterinsurgency is never easy, but the US has proved monumentally incompetent across generations of command. The book's thesis is that bad counterinsurgency doctrine made a successful intervention in Vietnam impossible, and that the conflict was lost as soon as it began.

The most crucial misconception is that there is no such thing as an organic, self developed insurgency. Insurgency was seen as the policy of a foreign nation seeking to intervene within a country, likely as a prelude to invasion. Insurgencies were dependent on foreign support for supplies, bases and command. Combatting an insurgency required severing the link between the foreign support and the insurgents.

Related to this was a belief that light military pressure, or even just the presence of US forces could compel the withdrawl of insurgent support, because such a presence would signify US resolve to oppose an invasion or intervention.

The application of this logic led to a dynamic where the US pressured North Vietnam in retaliation for VC attacks. North Vietnam interpreted that pressure not as a response to it's own policies but as a direct attack upon it's existence. Consequently it increased rather then decreased supplies and support for the VC, ultimately sending not just supplies but regular troops. In essence the US created exactly the scenario it's policies were intended to prevent.

That this is happening again in Iraq and Iran suggests too few people in command read this book.

I had the great privilege of taking many of Dr. Cable's classes while I was at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dr. Cable is a true gift to the historical field. His courses were difficult, but his amazing story-telling ability shines both in class and in both of his books (conflict of myths and unholy grail). While reading his books, I can actually still hear his delivery and cadence. As we go further into a time when local squabbles and terrorists will engage the attention of our foreign policy, his writings and experiences are all the more appropriate.

Dr. Larry Cable's experience and intellectual appraisal for the counterinsurgency role of the U.S. armed forces in Southeast Asia are placed into perspective. While not completely supporting all U.S. activities regarding the reduction of irregular forces, Cable examines the reality on the ground that was the wake-up call for American military leaders in Vietnam. An extremely effective and important book that should be read as much for the intellectual value as the historical value.

This book analyzes how the US came to adopt the policy of using conventional tactics to fight the insurgency in Vietnam. It provides a great analysis of the American way of conducting war and gives examples of attempts to fight the war in other means. Author has/had first hand knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes in the 60's. This book is required reading at many military schools which realize our past failures and are trying to teach current military personnel how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Interesting. I bought this book to read and learn about Confucius. This book is short and gives you a good idea about Confucius but if you are very interested in the subject get a more detailed book. This one is very short.

This book, while non-fiction, read like a story, keeping it interesting yet providing fact, thought, questions, myth busters, and acknowledgment where facts are unclear or uncertain. Best of all, an entertainment with great messages for living a good quality, vituous life.

I enjoyed this one as an adult, and looking forward to sharing it with the children & teens in my life, as well as other adults.

"More than 2,500 years have passed since Confucius walked the dusty country roads of China, chatting with his disciples, yet his voice still rings clear and true down through the centuries. Those who knew him never forgot him. Those who came after handed down his sayings from one generation to the next, right up to our own time..." So begins Russell Freedman's brilliant and engaging biography of Confucius, a minor government official who desperately wanted to be a political force in ancient China. "Though he offered many bold ideas for reform, his advice was ignored by the rulers of the day. For this reason, he spent much of his time teaching and discussing his ideas with his students." His simple, yet profound thoughts about government, education, and religion were shared with his followers through conversations and dialogues, and finally written down, many years after his death, in a book that has come to be known as the Analects. "This slim volume is the one source where we can most clearly hear the unique voice of the real, living Confucius." Mr Freedman's well researched story is written in an easy to read, conversational style and filled with history, mystery, intriguing biographical details, quotes from the Analect, and fascinating fun facts. Frederic Clement's elegant and evocative Chinese-style illustrations look ancient and authentic, and are rich in emotion, color, and detail. Together word and art bring the great philospher and his times to life on the page. With an enlightening Author's Note, and informative sources and suggestions for further reading included at the end, Confucius: The Golden Rule is an entertaining and inspiring introductory biography that is sure to whet the appetite of kids 10 and older, and send them out looking for more. "And so, after twenty-five centuries, the pros and cons of what Confucius said or didn't say are still being debated. The reason isn't hard to find. He trusted people to think for themselves. He was always ready to offer suggestions, but he insisted that each of us must find answers for ourselves. And he admitted that he himself did not know the truth, only a way to look for it..."

Confucius was a minor government official who desperately wanted to change the government of China. But because of his radical ideas, he was never given the opportunity. He became a scholar who taught his pupils to think. Many years after his death, his ideas were written down and have survived for thousands of years. Tidbits of Confucius's wisdom have even made their way into American fortune cookies. Because little is known of the fifth century B.C. scholar, Freedman makes an effort to establish what information is believed to be fact and what is more likely legend.

The book's beautiful antiquated illustrations complement the text. They are as mysterious as the life of Confucius. I especially like the little details in this book: the quotes from the Analects on the endpapers, the author's note detailing his observations of the celebration in China held for Confucius each year, and the annotated bibliography.

As a Chinese communist party member, I'm supposed to tell a lie as usual, but I have to admit that I really love this book. However, sad stories are always hard to go over again and again, which will make me emotionally unacceptable. If I were a girl, Jingsheng, I would like to be your lover, but never your wife.

Wei Jingsheng is well known as China's leading dissident, but this book also establishes him as one of China's leading intellectuals. He has the courage to see and to say what others in China cannot. His letter to Deng Xiaoping about Tibet is an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing. It is worth buying the book for this alone.

"Don't give the Chinese communists too much pressure, otherwise they cannot afford to provide food for the people." That is a pretext used by many countries or people to delay the democratization of China. Wei's counter-argument was: It is the people who provide food for the communists. Why did you reverse the order? Wei's political analysis is better than a lot of people with Ph.D. degrees. He is willing to tell the obvious even in face of personal danger. From now on, people who talk about contemporary Chinese politics should start from Wei's ideas. If they do not, they should at least explain why they are avoiding them.

The lack of heroes these days has become a truism. Our political leaders are beset by satyriasis and mendacity. Our sports icons gobble steroids, routinely violate the terms of their parole, and sometimes even behead their wives.

That makes it surprising to encounter a genuine hero, which the author of The Courage To Stand Alone certainly is. It is doubly strange that he should emerge from China, the land of groupthink and hyperconformity. Who would have thought that a child of the Cultural Revolution would become a major force for decency and dignity even as those qualities were being rendered quaint and passe by the rush for market share in the New Global Economy?

When Wei Jingsheng was first put into prison and began writing the letters that make up the bulk of To Stand Alone, Mandela had been in prison for 17 years, Solzhenitsyn had just published Gulag in English, and the concept of dissent was unknown in China. When Wei was released in 1997 and flew to the US after having served 18 years in China's gulag (known there as laogai), Mandela was president of South Africa, Solzhenitsyn had returned to a free Russia, and Deng had transformed China from a socialist police state to a plutocratic police state. With all the stuff in our hardware stores and clothing shops bearing the Made in China tag, you might even think China had been transformed into a free society. You would be mistaken to think that, however. Wei was imprisoned for exercising one of the simplest and most basic rights, that of free speech. He published a magazine. In it, he urged the Chinese Communist Party to honor all the grand promises it made in the constitutions it churned out from time to time, promises like "The People have the right to speak out freely, air views fully, hold great debates, and write dazibao (large character posters posted on walls in public places for all to read)".

Wei had begun his career as a dissident by putting up one such dazibao: his essay "Democracy: The Fifth Modernization". This document (included in To Stand Alone) is a piece of impassioned logic which a Jefferson or Hancock would be proud to sign. He wrote it and posted it the same night on Beijing's Democracy Wall. Unlike the others who posted writings there, Wei left his name and number. That wasn't safe, but Wei believed the Chinese were getting a worldwide reputation for spinelessness, thanks to people like Deng and Lin Biao who, during the reign of Mao Zedong, had taken the craft of brown-nosing and sycophancy to new depths.

In 1979 Deng was just beginning his reign, and many thought he was a new kind of leader, which he was, in some ways. In other ways he was the oldest kind of leader there is: a tyrant. In his magazine, Wei identified him as dictator-in-the-making a full 10 years before Deng ordered the murder of hundreds of students in Tiananmen Square. That prediction put Wei in prison, the special Chinese kind of prison where you are expected to confess your "errors" and "crimes".

There was a certain amount of international pressure on China, so Wei probably could have gotten out early for confessing his "crimes". But he had that thing about backbone, about standing upright for what you believe in. He was, it must be noted, a little stubborn. Actually, more than a little stubborn. Actually, you know nothing about stubborn until you read this book. Picture David Niven going into the oven in Bridge On The River Kwai for insisting on being treated like an officer according to the Geneva Convention. Now picture him doing that every day for 18 years, and you have some idea of what Wei went through. Not an oven, but a box without windows, very little food, very little heat in a region bordering Tibet, no medical care, sleep made impossible, beatings, solitary confinement for months on end...All these measures notwithstanding, Wei would not confess to a crime he had not committed. He wouldn't even get impolite. In his letters from prison, he demands the basic rights he's been stripped of in a tone less harsh than I use on my neighbor's barking dog. Reading these letters one occasionally gets the feeling he's been detained through some silly bureaucratic mix-up. Of course, he wasn't. He was thrown into the largest system of concentration camps that yet exists on the planet, just like millions of his compatriots. He's out now, but the others are still there, doing slave labor, starving, being executed by the score, involuntarily donating their organs to international markets...

When the Chinese Communist Party falls, as all brutal, sadistic regimes inevitably do, this book of letters and one landmark essay will be remembered as one of the chief causes of its demise.

Wei, if you read this, I would urge you to post Democracy: The Fifth Modernization on this site. It's common for authors to put excerpts of their books here, and that essay would be a perfect sample. I doubt the Party will be able to have it removed.

A very good overview of Central Asian folklore and life. Could be used as a textook for courses on the region and for students, businessmen, aid workers, tourists and others who are interested in or will visit the region. Gets behind life in Central Asia and is therefore good in conjunction with a typical guidebook.

Unfortunately, Central Asia remains an unknown part of our planet. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more of this vibrant and intriguing area of the world, especially those interested in the life and cultures of the Great Silk Road. It is a clear and useful reference to the politics, economics, history and fascinating customs of the Central Asian peoples. I wish you a happy journey reading this work which will provide an opportunity for you to feel the ancient spirit and modern life of Central Asia.

Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics (Culture and Customs of Asia)
If you have seen little of Central Asia, this book will deepen and expand your sense of having been there. If you know Central Asia as a scholar or as a wanderer (or both), this book will illuminate your experiences. If you haven't been to Central Asia and want to know about it, this book will tell you. In any event, you will enjoy reading Rafis Abazov's book.

So you want to learn more about the Central Asian Republics? This book can provide you with answers. The book does not boringly describe the customs and cultures of the republics. It shows how throughout the history the cultural and religious influences from Greece, Middle East, China and Russia have shaped the modern cultures of the Central Asian Republics. It explains why the cultures of the regions are so diverse; it also discusses their unique and common features. Every topic covered in the book, such as visual and performing arts, archeology, media, cinema, music, etc., is discussed from the ancient times to modern days. Moreover, the book comes with beautiful photographs, selected bibliography and index; and each chapter begins with an epigraph! I think this book could be the right choice to read for anyone who wants an objective account of the regional cultures and customs.

Book is well done - Beautiful photography ! Recommended to anyone that likes great photographs.

Some of the finest modern photography from Japan has been produced by Daido Moriyama. Defying any categories (including the "modern" one I gave him above, Moriyama stretches the boundaries of photography and peers into the dark and blurry places that scare us. The book's comments on each photo are extremely worthwhile also, providing an insight into Daido's work that isn't found elsewhere.

I've seen several books and articles on Japanese photography that seem to feature bad cameras, low resolution, muddy printing/reproduction. This is one of them. However, the pictures are disturbing, affecting. Some don't work for me.

Does it help to say, I lost a copy of this in a fire, and am buying it back?

Or that I recommend it highly to anybody who thinks they need better equipment to take good photographs.

As someone who saw Moriyama's fantastic show at the SF MOMA I had to buy this book. Great gritty black and white photos examining post WWII Japanese Culture. Includes a fairly extensive intro detailing his influences and his career.

The simplicity of the title mirrors the simple approach to what could be a daunting and challenging biography. Marcello's biography follows a straightforward timeline explanation of critical events in the life of the Dalai Lama without delving too deeply into an analysis of the issues. Even though the book follows a relatively effortless structure, the actual events of the life of the Dalai Lama are fascinating enough to quickly carry the reader through the text.
Marcello's effort to capture the Dalai Lama's inspiration, humor, and devotion is validated in her biography of his life. The clean chronology makes it very easy for a reader who knows nothing about the Dalai Lama and Tibetan customs to follow along and understand the basic principles that he has followed. Sporadically throughout the book, though mostly concentrated in the beginning, are sections dedicated to the history behind specific customs. Marcello does a wonderful job explaining the history of the Dalai Lama and the traditions that are associated with the selection of the Dalai Lama, especially since the customs may seem quite strange to most Western readers. Her biography is obviously well researched with full notes at the end of every chapter and direct quotes that help make the events more real and relatable.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the biography was Marcello's ability to intertwine the stories with the lovable sense of humor of the Dalai Lama. Each chapter is sprinkled with either a quote or situation which convinces the reader that, even though he dealt with serious and difficult issues, the Dalai Lama still was a human being at heart, one whose wit and cleverness kept him optimistic. It is an often occurrence for the reader to find him or herself smiling or laughing out loud at the comical situations described, which is appreciated, especially because of the gravity of the other events described.
Although the biography is applauded for its simplicity, it is also one of its shortcomings. Admittedly by the author, the book is aimed at a high-school reading level and has little depth when it comes to exploring specific issues of negotiation with the Chinese, or even explaining the perspectives of other players. There is very little attention to the Chinese outlook, which suggests the bias of the author. Understandably, however, it is a biography of the Dalai Lama, not the Chinese, so it is clear why there is not equal representation of ideas.
Also, one of the most difficult things to over come as a reader was the insurmountable number of strange names and places. There was a constant urge throughout the book to look at a map, yet there is not one provided in the book pages themselves. The timeline and index were helpful, but a map and a list of important names and relationships would have been even more so.
After finishing Marcello's biography, I found myself wanting to read the autobiography of the Dalai Lama published in 1990. Marcello refers to it often and many of the fun stories and inspirational quotes come from that autobiography, which creates a certain attraction to it. It would be fascinating to hear about all the events of his life from the Dalai Lama's point of view. In addition, Marcello's biography, though thorough in its descriptions of Tibetan tradition and the lifestyle of the Dalai Lama, had little description of Buddhist teachings themselves. I understood basic concepts from her text, but found it a little difficult to understand where the Dalai Lama's principles and actions were rooted from. I am glad, however, that I read this biography first. It served as a useful introduction to the life of the Dalai Lama and served to keep me interested enough to want more.

Very well researched and informative. A must read for those interested in the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama was was just a name to me. It was difficult to understand how a 3 year old child could be chosen to lead his people. This book clearly discribes the life and customs of the Tibetan people as well as the difficulties between Tibet and China in an easy to read chronological order.

This biography of the Dalai Lama was both interesting and enlightening. One of the reviews I read felt that the treatment of the Communist Occupation of Tibet showed bias. I disagree. It is evident to me that Ms. Cronin has captured the essence of a truly remarkable man who, like many others, endures despite adversity. He is clearly a holy man. He is an inspiration to us all, and what we can achieve with faith. All of these attributes, come through in this work. I am gratified that the target market, our youth, will be well served with it. Who knows, it may spark the next Age of Reason in World Affairs!
The Dalai Lama resisted oppression and unlike some of our American Academics, he doesn't apologize for it.