China Books

As a professional photographer, I can honestly say that this is a wonderful book! It is full of fantastic photos of a culture that is struggling to survive. I highly recommend it!

This book is beautifully shot by a truly skilled photographer -- a must have for anyone with an interest in photography or of the people of Tibet.

San Francisco Sunday Examiner and ChronicleBy Linda Watanabee McFerrinFreelance photojournalist Alison Wright's vivid portrait of Tibetan life in exile will kindle the warmth in any heart. In her vibrant visual sojourn with the Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India,she reveals lives rich in reflection and celebration, and creates a doorway into a culturethat survives in spite of travail. Nuns, monks, musicians, yak herders, children, the survivors of political prisons and His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, animate the pages. Her compositions are stunning, the color and light with which she adeptly enflames her subjects exuding both strength and intimacy. A short forward by the photographer underscores the spirit of the composition, but truly this is a book that needs few words. Wright, whose work appears frequently in the Examiner, is most articulate in her photography; and that is worth countless lines of text. "Good intent very important. Most important in all that you do. Never forget, " the Dalai Lama advises her in a garden encounter in Dharamsala. In her work, Wright makes it clear that the message is, indeed, unforgettable.

As a photographer and teacher of the photo arts it is easy to realize the quality of capturing the humanity of the people in this beautiful book. Alison Wright has done an excellent job. Place this in you home so that the tragedy that has been inflicted on the Tibetan people by the brutal and ruthless government of China is not forgotten.

Additional reads on the subject should include Tears of Blood / A Cry For Tibet by Mary Craig and for those who like their history in the style of Hollywood check out Kun Dun by Martin Scorcese, 7 years in Tibet, and Little Budda.

This book will move you to write your elected officials and ask them to support policies that will get China out of Tibet. You may also want to visit the official website for the Government of Tibet in Exile.

Ever since I read Heinrich Harrer's "Seven Years in Tibet" six years, then the later "Return to Tibet" by the same author, I was hooked to Tibet, the Tibetan people, the Tibetan land, the Tibetan mountains, the Tibetan monasteries, everything Tibetan. I have cultivated an unspeakable tie to this unique land and its people. I began screening movies such as Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet. I have imagined and pictured Tibet according to Harrer's lively and mindful description during his residence in Lhasa. "The Spirit of Tibet" graciously allows me, for the very first time, to see Tibet unveiling its mysterious yet solemn beauty. A few other readers have complimented on the artistics and aesthetics of this collection. The collection really touches me because it communicates an unfailing passion. After the Chinese invasion in 1950, it is the Tibetan spirit and passion that sustain and unite the country and its people. When you look through the pictures, try to look into the Tibetans' eyes. Behind these eyes you will free yourself from the ordinary and see their life struggles, one and one, rooted deep in their mind and soul.

Words cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the works of art contained in this book. If you only ever buy one book in your life to just look at the pictures let it be this one. I could sit entranced by this embroidery for hours. I agree with another reviewer who stated that you can't conceive of this art being created by human hands. If you need proof simply look at the cover. That is not a photograph folks, it is embroidered.
The photographs are also quite beatiful. Consider as you look at them that the photo's are trying to capture texture...something very elusive in that medium. In many cases you can barely tell the photo from the embroidery and in others the embroidery is an interpretation of the photo.
I cannot state this enough... this book is truly, truly extraordinary and I don't think that there is anything else like it out there.

This is, by far, the most beautiful embroidery book I've ever seen anywhere, at any time. It seems impossible that such impressive works of art could have been created. Robert Ketchum's photographs are beautiful, but the embroideries are, indeed, so breathtaking that it's hard to believe real human beings could have worked on them. This is the kind of embroidery I would love to be able to do, but it is so amazing that I know I'll never reach such a high level of expertise (at least not in this lifetime). My thanks to all the people involved in this project for sharing their special gifts with me and anyone else fortunate enough to have purchased this book or, better still, to have seen these works in person.

I bought this book, sight unseen purely from the rave reviews listed. To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the book. Firstly, Robert Glenn Ketchum's photographs are very average. In fact any 15 year old with a good camera and decent eye could take photo's of this quality. The thing that redeems them is the skill of the needleworkers. Secondly, I just think the book is overated. There's several western needlework books that cover this type of embroidery and have better images in my opinion so I just don't understand the rave. An interesting read, but..........yeah. I wouldn't have paid this much if I'd been able to flick through it first.

This is, by far, the most beautiful embroidery book I've ever seen anywhere, at any time. It seems impossible that such impressive works of art could have been created. Robert Ketchum's photographs are beautiful, but the embroideries are, indeed, so breathtaking that it's hard to believe real human beings could have worked on them. This is the kind of embroidery I would love to be able to do, but it is so amazing that I know I'll never reach such a high level of expertise (at least not in this lifetime). My thanks to all the people involved in this project for sharing their special gifts with me and anyone else fortunate enough to have purchased this book or, better still, to have seen these works in person.

I'm not all that interested in embroidery, but I enjoy visual excitement. One day while gallery hopping, we came upon a small portion of the work depicted in this book. We were both blown away by the work! Absolutely amazing. I would really like some posters of this work.

For those interested in the embroidery details, it is done with fine silk threads, hand dyed, on various fine fabrics, some of which are so fine you can see through them. Much of the interesting texture and effect is from what they call random stitch embroidery, in which the scenes are depicted by various colored stitches .5 cm (1/4 inch) long running in various random directions, yet they all come together to make the image. Other parts of the images are done by carefully controlled stitch direction to give crisp images. They pick up the light and are quite luminous, some are displayed as screens with light coming from behind. Only the enlargements in the book give a sense of the beauty and amazing technique of the actual pieces.

Oh, and the book is good too. Definitely a 5 star quality coverage of the work, with background information, as described in other reviews. But the work itself is beyond 5 stars. (In the gallery they were priced around the $10,000-$150,000 range, some took several years to complete.)

This book was very appropriate for our family. My daughter is 7 years old, and I adopted her from China when she was 10 months. She is very curious about her origins, including her birth mom. This book directly addresses the fact that in addition to a Chinese name and, in many cases, a newly given name when adopted, you also have a third name which was "whispered" by your birth mom. So my only caveat would be to read this book before reading it with your child to be sure that you are both ready to deal with the questions and emotions that are surely to follow.

We purchased this book along with several others that address Asian adoption. We have kept this one back to give to our daughter when she is a bit older and can grasp the concept of adoption better. Until then, we are using books geared more toward toddlers and early elementary school aged children.

Ada has three names: one given her at the Chinese orphanage, one by her American parents, and a third name whispered by her Chinese mother which is unknown to her. An easy first-person story of Ada's world is provided in a series of lovely full-page color drawings by Lin Wang and a scrapbook memoir format inviting kids to gather their own memories.

My daughter, age 7, was completely entranced by this book and then suddenly she said, "Mom! This girl is just like me! Except I don't play soccer. "Three Names of Me is a gorgeous book that fills us with a sense of China-home and instills such hope and love for the future. It would be quite impossible to convince my daughter this book wasn't intended solely for her. Especially after reading Ada's symbol for her first name; the one beyond "her remembering" - Ada chose a beautiful red star. My daughter's middle name is Mei-Xing, which means beautiful star. Mei-Xing is certain Three Names of Me was written just for her. It is her new prized possession.

This book is lyrical in its beauty - telling the story of a young Chinese adoptee in powerful but spare words and beautiful artwork. Might be best for the 9 and up group - my eight-year-old is not emotionally mature enough for this book yet, but I can tell it will be important later on.

which subtly layers all the historical research found in books such as Ian Buruma's Wages of Guilt with sensitively drawn characters that will make you weep at the highs and lows of the human spirit. The love story is generously wrought.

This is one of the most remarkable love stories I have ever read, partly because you are never sure how much these two people from different worlds can transcend their Japanese and Chinese natures to merge in a truly intimate way. Both Kuroda and Li have debts to pay, not only to each other but to those people to whom they have previously been connected. How can Kuroda express his personal compassion when he must also be true to his cultural imperatives and the men under his command? How can Li repay him for saving her life and then coming to truly love her, a lowly Chinese woman held in contempt not only by the soldiers but by her own people? There is a high price to pay, and it is paid in full. I will never forget this book and what it has taught me about the best and worst in humanity.

This book is an extraordinary reading experience. During the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930's, there were examples of the most extreme barbarity by Japanese soldiers, comparable to the inhumanity practiced against Jews in the Holocaust. This book is set during that period and describes in novel form a relationship that develops between a Japanese soldier and a Chinese woman whom he rescues.

I have rarely read a book that creates such a complex relationship between two people. The plot could so easily have become a melodrama about war, subservience, man and woman. Instead it felt like real lives being lived - so much ambiguity, so many things unresolved. Both the captor and the captive are strong and weak in surprising ways, experience fear and ultimately a kind of love, remember their families with deep and often conflicting emotions, feel so damaged by the horrors around them that they have trouble understanding who they are.

The writing is exquisite, much of the description in simple declarative sentences that give every physical detail, every thought and emotion, tremendous immediacy.

This is a powerful book about atonement and the alienation from the self that occurs as we are first enculturated by our families, culture and nation.

This book is absolutely fabuloso :) I've read all of Mr. Binstock's books and this one is by far one of my favorites (right next to light of home...autographed btw hehe) The love between these two people amidst a terribly horrible war brought both tears to my eyes and a dark cloud over my heart. The horrors of both the war and the war inside the people's hearts were very apparant and very real and Mr. Binstock writes about it excellently. I recommend this book...read it. Learn something.

On the one hand, this movie line is seared, seared into my memory:
"Sun-tzu: If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate." Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) "Wall Street"

On the other hand, as we face the threat of global terrorism rather than superpower competition or nation state agression, nothing is more pertinent to the reality of conflict that Sun-.

My point is whether you wish insight into the day-to-day conflict of business, or into current global trends, Sun-tzu is absolutely essential, and this well-written, well-edited book belongs in your library.

Robert L. Cantrell's Understanding Sun Tzu On The Art Of War contains both the complete translated text of Sun Tzu's enduring classic on battle strategy, and a modern-day interpretation packed with advice on leadership, learning to keep one's intentions a secret from one's opponents, leveraging advantages as the key to victory, and a great deal more. An excellent resource for anyone seeking self-improvement through internalizing Sun Tzu's wisdom, Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading of the highest order.

"Understanding Sun Tzu on The Art of War" is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the oldest military treatise in the history of the world. However, this book is much more than just the rehashing of old source material. Robert Cantrell's book delves into the material in a much more practical sense that lets the reader truly comprehend and utilize Sun Tzu's philosophy. Cantrell takes Sun Tzu's 2,500 year old philosophies and applies them to the 21st Century, using a contemporary voice that makes the Art of War much more accessible to today's reader. However, and very importantly, the book doesn't strip away Sun Tzu's words with modern terminology. This book manages to bring Sun Tzu into the 21st century without taking away his voice.

Reading Sun Tzu is a bit like reading Shakespeare. You can read it, but can you understand it? "Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War" allows you to fully appreciate and synthesize what Sun Tzu is all about.

If you are interested in Sun Tzu philosophy, or if you are interested in life strategies, Robert Cantrell's book is a must buy.

This book is in two parts. The first part explains how you can apply the principles of the "Art of War" in current times. The second part is a complete translation of the book. For example in the first part of the book the author talks about the 6 principles: Winning Whole; Leading to Advantage; Deception; Energy; Strength & Weaknesses; and Initiative.

In addition, there is a chapter on observations of the principles outside of the military:
1.) Winning Whole - sell what, how, or where a competitor does not sell in order to command high profits

2.) Leading to advantage - stack the deck in your favor

3.) *Deception - the ability to deceive if necessary, and also to detect the same, is a major advantage for those seeking to win whole

4.) Energy - action

5.) Strength & Weaknesses - all opportunity has opposition, even when that opposition resides within us

6.) Initiative - taking the initiative...serves as a great way to use your knowledge of self and others effectively and proves a key way to avoid deceptions that would lead you off your best path


* Another highly recommended book: The 48 laws of Power by Robert Greene.

Published with permission, a review from Bob Spear, Heartland Reviews reads as follows: "As a retired military intelligence professional and conflict theorist, I must say this is the best interpretation of Sun Tzu's classic work I have read. The author focuses on the meanings behind this ancient Chinese war philosopher's writings. He puts them into a modern context, making them easy to understand. Apparently the Department of Defense agrees with me on this, since they have selected Mr. Cantrell's book as a text for the National War College in Washington DC. This is a must read for all military officers and business leaders. It rated a perfect five hearts."

This book is called, The Warlord's Puzzle by, Nicolas Debon.

Once there was a warlord who ruled china. One day an artist gave the warlord a one of a kind beautiful blue tile. But then. . . The artist broke it. Then the warlord said that the artist should get a punishment. The artist says that whoever solves the puzzle of the blue tile will get a huge reward. Then the warlord agrees with the artist. Later on, everyone knew about the big reward and how to get it. While everyone in line were waiting for their turn, the artist secretly searched for clever people in line. At the very end of the line, a poor peasant and his poor son were fishing for some tasty yummy supper. "What are all you honorable people doing?" asked the peasant. "We are waiting to solve a puzzle for the warlord," answered the scholar. Then the peasant and his son joined the line with the others. When they got to the palace, there were two giant pillars with dragons on it, but the poor little boy got frightened. "Enough!" roared the warlord "Artist, these two offend me more than all the rest. They will share your punishment. It was the peasant and the little boy's turn. While the little boy was trying to solve the puzzle, he was singing a thoughtful riddle. Then the warlord shouted with happiness. They solved the puzzle at last!

This book shows that no matter how poor you are you can still be smart. All of the rich people came to the palace, but they didn't solve the puzzle. The person who solved the puzzle wasn't any of the rich people. The person who solved the puzzle was the peasant's poor son.

I think the warlord should have tried to solve the puzzle by himself. He is forcing his land to solve the puzzle. The warlord is being very selfish. He just wants the puzzle to be solved for himself. If the warlord kept on trying he could have solved the puzzle by himself.

I liked the way the little boy was brave and gave it a shot to solve the puzzle even though he could've gotten a punishment.

By Valerie

Fine color drawings by Nicholas Debon bring the Chinese topics to life. Warlord's Puzzle tells of a fierce warlord in China who receives a ceramic tile as a gift, but sentences the man to punishment when it's shattered. The artist poses an unusual contest as the solution for the problem.

The Warlord�s Puzzle is a traditional Chinese tale that proves you do not have to have money or power to have intelligence. An artist gives a warlord a gift of a blue tile, and then drops it on the ground and breaks it into seven pieces. A contest is held that will reward anyone who can fix the tile, and the one who ends up solving the problem will surprise readers. The book has a mathematical twist because the pieces break in the shape of a tangram puzzle.

The author has found many ways to capture the interest of readers in this unique story. First, the characters of the book come alive through the beautiful pictures. Each page is rich in color and shows the emotions of the characters throughout the story. The words on each page are also arranged in unique ways to help give emphasis to the text and interest readers. Some of the phrasing of the sentences is difficult for young readers to understand, so some explanations may need to be given while reading. Overall, this is a very interesting and creative book that could lead into many different types of discussions.

A Chinese warlord receives a ceramic tile as a gift and promptly sentences the artist who made it to death when the title is shattered into seven pieces. The desperate artist proposes that a contest be held. Whoever is clever enough to put the tile fragments back together will be asked to live in the warlord's palace -- and his own life would be spared. After an enormous multitude of people fail at the task, a little peasant boy figures out a novel and unexpected solution. Virginia Pilegard's The Warlord's Puzzle is a delightful, highly recommended picturebook story that is gorgeously illustrated with the full color, museum quality artwork of Nicholas Debon.

I can highly recommend this book to parents and teachers. It's well-written with characters that come alive through some of the nicest children's book art work I've seen this year.

We used the tanagram puzzle pattern at the end of the book, and went on to make up our own, too. I think it's an excellent introduction to geometry.

Plus we talked about ancient China vs. China today.

You hear a lot about "math across the curriculum" and this book is such a great example of how that can work well for kids.

Outside of the classroom, my son wants to read this book at bedtime, too!

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in history as told through the eyes of an individual. I have always found history texts very difficult to read because they tend to be just a presentation of facts. Mr. Dannenmaier weaves the Korean War and his personal experiences into a well- written book. And there's a lot to be said for comic relief!

Having read several Civil War, World War II and Vietnam autobiographies (e.g Seven Roads to Hell) I found this one to be among the best. Easy to read and interesting from beginning to end. I wholeheartedly give it 5 stars and recommend it for any history buff.

Bravo!!! This is one good book. At one time I read a lot of the 'my personal point of view' vietnam books and this is better than those. They all had a discernable 'hook' or angle which was entertaining but also tried to masquerade as substance and didn't quite pull it off. Dannenmaier's story is substance. Innocents is a simple and straightforward account of a real experience in war and it rings so true.... I am not so much impressed as thankful for the enlightenment of this experience - one I came close to but didn't have.

Thanks to the author for writing it and sharing his life with us. It is a heroic thing to do - getting what is inside of you out and letting us all see it.

First, this book is very well written and an enjoyable read. Dr. Dannenmaier's style is informal and engaging. It also offers a very good description of the many petty aspects of military life: the pointless regimentation, the boredom, the friendship, and the physical discomfort and depravation.

I would have given the book a five-star rating but for one serious flaw. I found the author reluctant to discuss the horrors of war that he surely experienced. Even his account of the battle for Outpost Harry is oddly detached, detached and vague in a way the rest of the book is whenever the subject is the violence of war. Although Dr. Dannenmaier is very articulate and detailed in his descriptions of the mundane aspects of military life and his judgments about the men he served with, he is almost silent about the experiences that so obviously traumatized him when he came home.

His life after the war offers what we would call today an instance of "post-traumatic stress syndrome." While he describes horrible headaches, concern over his irrational feelings of rage, and an almost sociopathic regard for human life that he dealt with after the war, he says very little about the experiences that led him feel this way. In one touching scene he describes being near to tears when confronted with the first hot meal of good food in a warm, dry, and safe environment in months as he prepared to come home. At the same time, he describes his feelings upon learning the war was over this way: "I never felt more desolate or empty in my life. My meaning was gone, my life was without purpose."

This is a fascinating contradiction. Dr. Dannenmaier was clearly damaged by his experiences during the war, and yet, at the time, he found those experiences exhilarating, a true source of meaning and value. Though I can't know, the explanation for this contradiction must lie in the horror of what he experienced. A book that purports to be an honest account of wartime experience should have dealt with this seriously and honestly. The author does not. For example, we never even learn whether the author killed anyone during in the war. Yet, we are regularly treated to detailed discussions of the minutia of daily life on the line.

I whole-heartedly recommend the book for what is does well. But I can't help but think that there's only half a book here. But what a half. . . .

The Korean War has sometimes been labelled the "Forgotten War," lying as it does between the titanic conflict of World War II and the contentious struggle in Vietnam. For many Americans today, the term "Korean War" only brings to mind episodes from the television series MASH--a fact deeply resented by veterans of this savage fight that cost almost as many American combat deaths in three years as the Vietnam War did in ten. True, within the past few years, the Korean War has begun to creep back into the public eye. From the belated dedication in the nation's capital of a Korean War memorial to a spate of books and a (most controversial) television series, the conflict is finally attracting attention as a watershed event in its own right. It remains the only occasion since 1945 in which the armies of two great powers have met on the battlefield. It is filled with military drama (e.g. the destruction of Task Force Smith; the United Nations drive to the Yalu) and an extraordinary cast of characters, such as Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, and Matthew Ridgway. Largely missing from the recent literature has been the story of the soldier, sailor, and airman--an absence all the more curious because one of the most prominent trends in recent military history has been a sharpened focus on the human being confronting the chaos of war. It is here that William Dannenmaier's manuscript promises to make a decided contribution. Based largely on letters that Dannenmaier wrote to family members during the conflict, the memoir skillfully weaves these primary documents with the author's later analysis to make an account that is often captivating in its immediacy and thought-provoking in its reflectiveness. A highlight at one end of this spectrum is the author's riveting description of the brutal fight for Outpost Harry. In the broader sphere, the author's observations on the reaction of fighting men to the challenges of combat and to the incredibly harsh environment present the reader with certain eternal verities. The fact that Dannenmaier's comrades came from a society that seemed largely unconcerned with or even dismissive of them --when coupled with the reality that even their own army was all too often indifferent to their fate--adds poignancy to this story. Transparently honest, occasionally touching, and frequently humorous, "The Korean War: A Citizen-Soldier's Reality" is war literature of a high order.

This is the definitive book on feng shue! It is not for people who are looking for fluff - this is serious, and well thought out. It has really worked to get me to focus on the important things in life and has helped in explaining the balance that we all need to have. I am now giving this book as a gift to people I care about! Thank you, Ms. Reichstein, for writing such a wonderful book.

As a Shiatsu (3rd year)student, this book is so helpfull for me, that I am using it every day.
It explaines every Element in such a way, that you can realy understand it and use it in every day's life.
I reccomend this book to everyone who wants to know more.

We all love now to take care of our own health, right ?! Few of us understand, though, the Chinese medicine, unless you read a lot of books on same subject. And then you have to "digest" the information and apply it patiently to yourself. WE ALL ARE UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS. And the ones who will borrow or buy this book will prove to be the smart ones too. Not only that I would recommend this book to all of you who want to change your life for the better (and get rid of your daily pains) but this book --among the thousands written -- is an eye-opener to many other self-healing directions. Beware, at first you will say to yourself that you will need TIME and PATIENCE to go through it (which none of us HAVE anymore!), but you will feel smarter than any doctor in this world, after you assimilate the knowledge in this book. It is better than you imagined by its modest title. One of the best-kept secrets (until now !), trust me on this one. Good luck to all of you !

this books is well written and provides a beautiful overview of the 5 elements and how they manifest in our world. i was looking for something that was more oriented towards the overall charater of the elements and less concerned with the technicalities of chinese medicine. i got what i was looking for.

This book is excellent for anyone starting to learn any aspect of Chinese healing or astrology. Everything is interconnected and this book expands that horizon. This should be a text book for a curriculum of any "Chinese" course. I have had no previous teachings of Chinese culture and this book explains it all without being too political

this is the second book that i have read by dt suzuki. i started with 'introduction to zen...' where 'introduction' was just that, and introduction to many of the ideas of zen, this book extracts from several other writings to focus in greater detail on different subjects in zen. one chapter that i was excited (but later left feeling wanting for more) about was a comparison of zen with existentialism. furthermore, i feel as though i got enough out of the 'introduction...' that much of this book was superfluous. however, that which i did appreciate were the chapters on the history and development of zen that was lacking in the 'introduction...'

DT Suzuki is one of the most influential writers/philosophers on Zen and Buddhist teachings in the western world. Whether they agree with all of his positions or not, nobody in the western Zen community would deny the importance of Suzuki's role on bringing Zen to awareness in the West.

William Barrett has done an extraordinary job in compiling and introducing Dr. Suzuki's writings in this book, which is a veritable horn of plenty when it comes to the classic teachings of Zen Buddhism. Barrett's introduction alone (around 100 pages) is massive treatise on the core teachings of Zen.

A great read for all! Zen students that have not yet tackled the massive corpus of D.T. Suzuki's writings would be well advised to start with this superb collection which presents the essential teachings of Zen, and the heart of Suzuki's message in a wonderful format for all.

This was the first book I ever read on Zen, and it remains, in my mind, one of the best. D.T Suzuki is thorough and imaginative, linking the principles of Zen to the culture and history of Japan, as well as to Western philosophy. Suzuki has a well-deserved reputation as the 20th century's foremost authority on Japanese Zen. While perhaps more of a scholar's book than a practitioner's book, this selection of essays from Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Culture do a wonderful job of conveying the spirit and rich history of Japanese Zen, and its roots in Chinese Ch'an. Faced with a complex topic that by its very nature does not lend itself to written accounts, Suzuki manages to neither over-analyze the topic nor sidestep the issues by refusing comment. The essays selected give a good taste of the complex spectrum of Zen, and its many cultural and historical manifestations, without swamping the reader with material. A fine and complex work by a well-respected figure of the Zen tradition.

Besides the great writer Alan Watts who was able to popularize Zen and the Eastern mindset to the West,morphing into the literary current day pschologists such as Mark Epstein and Jon Kabat Zinn, much credit must be given to Suzuki who was the undisputed earlier intellect who brought Zen as an academic calling to the West..His writing is difficult,historic, and philosophically prosed yet taking one's time with these works sheds light on Zen's themes of seeing that IS second nature because it is original nature.
The great intellectual's of the day,such as Karen Horney,Erich Fromm all showed their respect to Zen in their concepts while William Barrett's introduction rings fresh as the new intellectual zeitgeist of the then day hit Western shores...Barrett himself a fine philosopher and writer offers a timely overview bringing in Heidegger and existentialism one of his areas of expertise.

It takes a while to understand, but Suzuki really knew what he was talking about. It provides a very good understanding of his take on Zen Buddhism.

I love this calendar. Every day that I look at my calendar by my desk, I long to be back in China again. The photos are gorgeous and the text is quite informative, especially because the calendar doesn't just focus on the most famous places in China. In fact, when I took the calendar down temporarily, I got complaints from my office mates that they missed the China calendar--and not one of them is a sinophile like me. Don't buy it if you don't want your wanderlust awakened. It will make you discontent sitting in your cubicle when you could be out exploring the Chinese countryside.

Reviewed by Barbara Strother, author of Moon Living Abroad in China (Living Abroad).

This is the second year I've bought this calendar. Likely, I will buy it every year. It's gorgeous with great tid-bits about China. As a mother with 2 children from China, it is a nice addition to the play area.

We got this calendar to get us excited for our trip to China next year to adopt our daughter. There are tons of beautiful pictures of all different regions. Very nice.

For anyone who has been in China or for anyone who wants to go, this calendar is a marvelous display of nature and daily life in China. Lisa See's texts are as lovely as the photographs by Keren Su.

I purchased this calendar last year and was pleased with the photos, and this years calendar is just as good if not better. Each month features a province in China and then each day has a smaller photo which would also be perfect for photos for your child's lifebook because the photos of temples, objects, countrysides and people. The provinces featured in this year's calendar are: Guangxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanghai, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shandong & Shanxi, Zhejiang, Beijing which is for the month of August to celebate the 29th Olympic Games and it's slogan - One World One Dream. There is only 1 photo in this month that is of the Millennium Monument and is a small photo. Guizhiu, Anhui, Xinjiang,Yunnan finish out the year.

Lisa See write information on each province and there is also a small black outline of China that shows you where this province is located in China. Keren Su who is the photographer for all of the photos did a fantastic job! I am planning on using the photos of the calendar for photos for my daughter's lifebook. And if your child is from one of the provinces mentioned about you have a nice write up on that province.