China Books

In his book Ed takes us along on his journey to Everest. Along the way, there are lessons to be learned. Mostly about respect. Respect for other people, respect for things that are greater than you and most of all respect for the most precious gift of all... life itself!
His words and photos place you beside him as he faces, and overcomes, his fears .

A superb narrative interspersed with excellent photography.

This is not a book for mountaineers alone, but relays a vivid and descriptive tale of the experiences of life when following a chosen, committed path.

The narrative conveys a real sense of tension and emotion which draws the reader into the story.

Strongly recommend.

What a great book! Ed Webster is a gifted writer with an engaging and powerful story. He is also a gifted photographer who includes fascinating photos of his expeditions and some never published photos from other sources. The foreward and introductions by John Hunt and Tom Hornbein are excellent. The story is uplifting and makes you marvel at the courage and tenacity of humans. I highly recommend this book.

I met Ed Webster on a field trip with my daughter's grade 5 class to DeLorme Map in Yarmouth, ME, home of Eartha, the world's largest rotating globe. He held the class spellbound, especially when he told us of Everest. I bought a copy of SNOW IN THE KINGDOM, and read it into the wee hours, which is saying a lot since I'm not ordinarily a night owl. It was so exciting, I could hardly put it down! But much more than the excitement, I especially appreciated Ed's sensitivity and respect toward peoples of other cultures, keen insight into human nature, and careful explanation of what life is like in the Himalayan regions. Months later, I saw an Omni theater presentation entitled EVEREST at the Boston Museum of Science. I could appreciate it so much more by knowing the names of the people and places from Ed's book. Ed Webster has created a legacy in laboring over a decade on his fine book, for it will enrich the understanding of generations of people. Allow yourself the privilege of being one of them (and visit Ed in person at DeLorme Map in Maine if you get the chance)!

Here's the perfect weekend: a great book, a great subject and the company of great men and women...
Put this on your short list of essential adventure classics: fine writing, wonderful photography (and more of than you'd ever thought possible on a climb of this sort), profound emotion and the ultimate challenge...
I loved this book!
Thank God he survived to tell the tale...

One day, the daughter of a Khampa chieftain, seventeen-year-old Ani Lemdha Pachen, ran away from home to avoid marrying. It wasn't that she disapproved of the match her parents' had arranged, but rather that she preferred the cerebral and peaceful world of a Buddhist nun to the physical demands of traditional married life.

Runaway Pachen had spent little time at the monastery, before she returned to her parents. Despite the shame of what she had done, they not only forgave her but agreed she would not have to marry. Before she could return to the monastery to complete her training, Pachen's father tells her of their country's dire political situation. The Chinese are coming to "liberate" them. As a Khampa princess, she will be expected to lead their people through this situation, especially if the Chief should die. So the young lady received a different type of training instead.

For all her bravery, Pachen was unable to resist for long. She was captured by the Chinese army and spent 21 years imprisoned. This true story focuses on how Pachen's spirituality kept her hopeful and sane during her confinement and during the many tortures she endured. The book is sprinkled with the Buddhist teachings that helped her maintain both her sanity and will to live through these dark days and features an introduction by the Dalai Lama himself.

Apparently Richard Gere also advocated this book's creation and publication. He contributed his own introduction and story of how the book idea was born. He speaks of Pachen's life as a "beautiful, disturbing, and deeply inspiring story." He argues that no "serious literature" in the form of narratives or the "Great Tibetan novel" had emerged from the "Tibetan Holocaust, so a book like this one would be a great boon to the Tibetan cause. Gere, of course, had become a Buddhist and was studying in Tibet at this time.

The story's merits include its insights into the life of a Tibetan woman seeking nunhood during the Mao era, it offers inspiration through triumph against extreme adversity, it draws attention to Tibet's political and cultural situation and the ways in which they have suffered in recent history, and it provides lamanistic teachings.

Despite Pachen's, Donnelly's, Gere's, the Dalai Lama's, and many others' good intentions, however, this book probably has fallen short of its intended goal. The storyline does little to sustain the reader's interest because it is patchy and doesn't flow well (When Gere called it "a miracle of simplicity," he wasn't kidding! Something is clearly lost in translation here.). Although the author supposedly consulted many reliable resources, oddly very little of Pachen's story is put into historical context and few of the sources are used to draw insights into Tibet's situation. Considering the book committee's intentions, I would have expected to find a list of support organizations for Tibet in the appendices. Because of the sketchiness of the writing, it was difficult for me to find the book an inspiration, though other readers might find it so. Those looking for a story of spiritual stamina and female courage may enjoy Pachen's story, while those seeking a new perspective on Tibet should borrow it from a friend or a library rather than spending the money to buy it. Everyone else, just skip it. Sorry Richard, this one's not the great Tibetan novel, either.

I gave this book four stars because this book is a story that people should know. It is the true story of an amazing Tibetan woman who shows strength and courage in unimaginable situations. My problem with this book is that it is poorly written. It could have been an amazing book as well as an amazing story. "Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk" by Palden Gyatso is still the best I have read on the Tibetan people.

This book tells the remarkable story of Ani Panchen, a Tibetan nun, who led the resistance to the ruthless Red Chinese occupation of Tibet, after her father's death in 1958.
For 21 years she was imprisoned in hellish Chinese prison camps, only surviving because of her strong will and faith.
After her release she continued to lead the struggle against the Red Chinese occupation and genocide of Tibet's people. In 1988 she was forced into exile in India, where she has continued to devote her life to the dream of Tibetan freedom, even after it has been forgotten by the world.

She begins by her peaceful childhood in pre-occupation Tibet:
In 1950 she describes how "Our country was still at peace, though on the eastern bank of the Yangtze River Chinese troops were gathering. In a few short years, they would sweep over my country, changing it forever. In the name of liberating Tibet from 'imperialist' powers they would destroy monasteries, plunder homes, burn sacred texts, and drive our people to poverty and despair."
Babies were removed from their parents in their thousands to be relocated to Red Chinese 're-education' centers were they were to be brought up in Communist doctrine. Over a million Tibetans were to be anihilated in the Chinese holocaust that followed, and even the animal life of Tibet destroyed in order to force the Tibetans to give up their reverence for life.
Ani Panchen tells of her experiences fleeing from Red Chinese forces, and of seeing small Tibetan children gunned down by Chinese snipers.
It also tells of Panchen's deep Tibetan Buddhist faith underpinned by her will to 'Let all beings be free of suffering, let all being find peace.'
While the book hopes to expose the horrors of the Chinese destruction of Tibet, in actions paralleling those of the Nazis during World War II, Richard Gere in his forward expresses his wish this book may help to "dispel the darkness of this darkest night of Tibetan history and be of benefit to all beings everywhere".
Will the world re-awaken to the suffering of the Tibetan people mand the destruction of their civilization, and not least their dream of the re-birth of their culture and self-determination.

I just finished reading this book and didn't want to put it down. The story of Ani Pachen is both horrifying and inspiring, how she against all odds not only survived but kept her faith, battling against her own anger at her captors to try to reach a higher spirit of generosity. The writing of Adelaide Donnelley is gorgeous and poetic, capturing the inner spirit and the mystical beauty of the land in words that lift this book to a high literary level. This book deserves to be widely read over many years. But it! Read it! It will move you.

Need a reality check? Feeling sorry for your life? Then read Sorrow Mountain and experience life at it's best and worst. It will lift one out of ordinary existence into the realm of compassion and tolerance. One will begin to experience the essence of the Tibetan region and the mystical struggles of one held prisoner by torturous bandits who tried to steal the Heart of Compassion and failed. Turn off the tv "reality" shows and experience the real-ness of Ani Pachen and her Sorrow Mountain. I guarantee it will become your Sorrow Mountain too.

Peter Hopkirk is a child of the British Empire, having been to many places where generally only mad dogs and English men dare venture; among other exploits he was a soldier with the late and largely unlamented Idi Amin. As a historian he has made a name for himself as a very capable chronicler of the Great Game in Asia in the 1900s. This is his book about the Western Drang nach Osten, the quest of European, an American, and Japanese explorers to investigate Tibet and its secrets.

Tibet was a backwards and forbidden kingdom ruled my monks under the Dalai Lama; with China, Russia and the British in India keen to encroach on Tibet, the Tibetans were at least equally determined to keep foreigners out; officials who let foreigners get past them on their mad quests for Lhasa were at times decapitated on orders from on high. Hopkirk recounts the stories of the various Englishmen, Indians, the American and others who were intent to be the first to make it to Tibet and sometimes Lhasa, who did so in disguise, in an airplane, behind rifles the Tibetans couldn't match and more (I am frugal with details lest I spoil the stories.) I highly recommend them.

When it comes to delineating the history of Central Asia and environs, few writers can touch the craftsmanship of author Peter Hopkirk. In his hands, what could easily be boring history, becomes, instead, vibrant excitement. As in his other books, Hopkirk makes these mysterious and fabled lands come alive. In this book he describes the many attempts by adventurers from the outside world to penetrate remote Tibet and its almost-mystical capital, Lhasa. Chapter by chapter Hopkirk ticks off the sagas of these opportunists, some seeking fortune and fame, some on their majesty's (or tsar's) service. In the contest between Tibet versus the world, Tibet scores early and frequently, thus keeping the others out. But eventually, overpowered by modern weaponry, the outsiders win. It's tempting to cast this in terms of good-guys versus bad-guys. But it's not that easy, as the reader will see. What IS easy is declaring this book a fantastic and exciting history of a mysterious land that just wanted to be left alone.

Hopkirk stays on top of the world with this book!

Learn about the "real" Tibet[before China invaded]...

An extensive review of the many attempts to gain access to the hidden city of Tibet. Well done, authoritative, exciting events in the time line of the many documented attempts to gain a look into the mysterious city that has been protected from outsiders for centuries. The reasons from military desires to the hope of finding hidden gold deposits are some of the many exploits of carefully planned adventures presented by Peter Hopkirk. They will keep your interest from beginning to end, guaranteed.

Although extraordinary geography was the best natural defense the Tibetans had against foreign invaders, it can also be the sole reason that lures many a traveler, visitor, and tourists to Tibet to date. Of course, religion, spirituality, culture, art, and life on the high altitudes in the most extreme of climates are other reasons for venturing into this land. In Hopkirk's book, trespassing by foreigners, especially Europeans, was an extension of the Great Game, the struggle between Britain and Russia for expansionism in Central Asia. Military supremacy, a face-to-face encounter with the Dalai Lama, or recognition by the Royal Geographical Society and other prestigious societies at the time was the prize for people from different walks of life--missionaries, soldiers, geographers, naturalists---to venture into this forbidden land. Alas, no matter how well-guarded the country, especially Lhasa, was, the Tibetans' defense was no match to the military might of the British. China proved to be a formidable occupier as soon as the British lost their firm hold on Tibet during World War II. An American pilot was the first intruder from the air---by accident. Nonetheless, relentless trespassing by foreigners was the inevitable truth that many Tibetans must have found hard to swallow.

The book is a masterpiece of historical writing. Starting with Tibet's stupendous geography, the book segues on the origin of Tibetan Buddhism. Eventually the reader is initiated to the challenging craft of punditry, the only way the outside world could glean some scientific information on this forbidden land. If Hopkirk intended to instill wonder and suspense on the reader as he narrates a series of close calls by pundits and disguised explorers from being caught and daring-do attempts by intruders in order to be recognized as the first outsider to set foot on this forbidden land, he has succeeded. With exquisite writing style and a penchant for vivid description of people, places, and events, the book is a highly engaging read. Those who risked their lives and their families to venture into a forbidden land can be easily blamed for folly, but Hopkirk brings out the humanity in them. Every adventure is told so well that can make good reading anywhere and anytime. History reading can't get to be more fun that this!

GOLDEN BOY, Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
By Martin Booth
Picador Press |(St. Martins) 2004
ISBN 978-0-312-42626-2 (pbk)

What gave a seven-year-old British boy courage to explore the Hong Kong of 1952 in places where no foreign child belonged? Martin Booth felt safe among unusual friends during his adventures, because Chinese people believed rubbing his golden hair brought them luck.
Booth's superb prose pictures brothels, opium dens, Chinese drug-lord friends, forbidden temples and also the wild life and flora in both Kowloon and Hong Kong. Often lonely, Martin's independence was encouraged by correspondence and gifts from his grandfather in England. He never told his parents the extent of his explorations into forbidden and dangerous areas.
The boy also endured the hostilities between his bigoted, bureaucrat father, a man who never quite succeeded, and his out-going mother who was fascinated by Chinese culture.
The author calls himself a "curious, somewhat devious, adventurous and street-wise child whose heart never left Hong Kong" after his father's job sent them back to England four years later.
Anyone who likes biography, history, adventure, Chinese culture and beautifully written literature will enjoy this book.

Martin Booth had an amazing memory for the details of post-WWII Hong Kong and the times he had there as a seven to ten year-old boy. His civilian father gets transferred by the British to the far-flung colonial outpost. While his father is more of a spoilsport, his mother tries live life to the utmost--wherever that life may be--and she allows Martin the freedom to do the same. He takes her fully up on that offer, befriending hotel staff, local storekeepers and more and tasting practically every Chinese dish and joining in every local festival with eyes wide open. However, there are actually very few stories of his escapades with fellow children, mostly stories with the adults that surround him and the nature and culture of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is ruthless with its built history, so a book like this is the only way to get to know the Hong Kong that existed only fifty years ago. It includes one of the few descriptions of a westerner in the `Kowloon walled city.' And from an eight year-old boy too!
I am grateful that Mr. Booth was able to finish this book before he died. I wish he had lived a few more years for selfish reasons--so that he could have finished a book on his second time around in Hong Kong. I am sure he had just as many adventures as a teen as he did as a young boy.
Richard Mason's `World of Suzie Wong' takes place at approximately the same time and is a great and recommended look at a decidedly different part of Hong Kong. So it was neat when Booth's world and Wong's world intersected (innocently) in a few of Golden Boy's pages. Mason actually spent very little time in Hong Kong prior to writing the fictional Suzie Wong, so Golden Boy is a more knowing portrait of Hong.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who said she was sad when it ended. Well, I am recommending it, and also sad when it ended. It is a delightful memoir of a blond 9 year old boy living in Hong Kong in the 1940ties. Blond means "luck" to the Chinese and everyone wanted to pat his head. He learned Chinese and was allowed into areas that no other "white" person could go.

I read this book because I love Hong Kong and its history. I was totally unprepared for Booth's parents and adored Joyce. How cannot you not like someone so lively, loving, accepting (except of Ken) and adventuresome?

While the family (Ken, Joyce and Martin) are exploring Algiers, Joyce buys some dates from a market stall, and Ken pitches a fit because they are probably unsanitary. He asks, 'How can you tell where they've been?' Joyce replies that they've been up a date tree. 'And they picked themselves I suppose?' 'No,' Joyce rplies, 'I expect they were plucked by a scrofulous urchin and thrown down to his tubercular aunt who wrapped them in her phlegm-stiffened handerchief.' I had a large mouthful of iced tea when I read that and spat the tea I didn't snort up my nose all over the page. I couldn't stop laughing. This was, I learned, pure Joyce.

'Golden Boy' is delightful, insightful and something more - a word or phrase that escapes these old brain cells. This is the first book by Booth I've read, and I'm eager to read more.

I had the pleasure of travelling to Asia in 2004 during Chinese New Year and have been to the places mentioned in this book. What a wonderful account of life in Honk Kong. Speaking with persons who have actually lived in this city and during that time I was assured that the descriptions are right down to the point. What a wonderful book.

This work regarding the testimony of God's faithfulness to Hudson Taylor is truly inspiring and amazing. Hudson Taylor was truly a unique individual that sought to pioneer the mission movement in inland. While other missionaries were content to stay in the large metropolitan centers of Asia dotted along the coastline, Taylor ventured forth with a firm faith in God with the purpose of bringing the Gospel to the Chinese countryside. The title of the book is somewhat of a misnomer as the secret is no secret. Taylor bowed his knee in simple obedience to clear biblical commands. The secret of the book is how it documents Taylor's account of how God used him. God said "Go!" and Taylor went, and the influence of that is still being impacted on Asia. The book shows the uniqueness of Taylor as God worked in his spiritual formation, mission philosophy and practice. The Hudson Taylor's spiritual secret is attributed to his radical commitment to live a life in which he completely trusted in God and the living out of the Great Commission.

Very informative and honest account of what it is really like in practice to trust in Jesus Christ to fulfill your needs when you are loving and obeying the Lord's Word (the Bible).

This book is simply one of the most powerful books you could read to draw you to the Lord, in increased trust, fervor and understanding of His love.

Very well written and worthy of commendation. I recommend in for all, especially to those who are seeking, with hope, a trophy of God's dispensations in the diverse and many operations of this world about them, and in them.
There certainly is a refuge in the midst of the storms, who is Christ Jesus...but, sometimes, it is neddful to direct thy bow to face the storm, and to ride the waves right into the storm. It is there, that we may find an "eye" in the storm, with peace and tranquility our anchors and mainstay.

This got me an A on a college paper on Missionaries in China. It is a great primary source.

When one travel to China for a meeting and never studied Chinese before this book can be a good and useful help to reduce the fear of unknown characters. I mean it explains and helps to find and recognise the characters in labels one can need to read during a visit like "exit" or reading city names. So it can be very useful for someone who don't want to study Chinese, but not recommended for students.

I highly recommend this book to anyone traveling to mainland China. It can be overwhelming to be surrounded by unfamiliar Chinese characters, but it really does help to be able to read and understand a few of them! This book is small, easy to read, and fun - perfect for bus or airplane rides. Even after 5 minutes of reading it, you will be able to recognize a few characters on signs, magazines, or the advertisement on the seat in front of you. I wish there were a sequel to teach common characters on menus.

I just got back from a month in China. I bought the language tapes, podcasts, the whole bit. But nothing seemed to stick in my head language-wise, except what I learned from this book, reading it for fun in spare moments in the weeks before the trip and a bit on the plane. It's a small book so I had it with me everywhere in China and pulled it out when I had time to kill. It's practically fun to learn a character and then look up and see it on a bus going by. The book is smart - it teaches you the most common characters that you'll see on signs everywhere, and teaches easy characters. I shocked new chinese friends, who know I can't speak a lick of Chinese, by being able to read signs. It's much easier than you'd imagine, and this book takes away the mystery and intimidation. it's written with a bit of humor which also makes it seem fun rather than a painful language exercise. I think reading is almost more important than speaking - you need to know which sign says women's room as opposed to men's room. What is the name of the street? Which bins say "recycle" vs. "trash"? It was the best $ I spent in prep for the trip.

This book is intended for people traveling to China who want to master some basic characters so that they can find it easier to find their way around.
The book is very enjoyable to read and the characters presented are rather easy to learn. Beside each character and character combinations, the author has provided mnemonic devices to make it easier to remember the character.

At the end of the book the author has also provided a brief section with guidelines for writing Chinese characters.

Some of what you'd be able to read by the time you're done with this little book are numbers, dates, currencies, public utilities, directions, names of public places, signs, tickets, and few other words.

On a side note, if you want to get deeper into learning how to write Chinese characters easily, you may also want to check out Easy Chinese Tutor.

I recently went to China for a few weeks to teach English, and found that after a little bit of study with this book I could easily recognize the basic characters for such handy words as entrance, man, woman, Beijing, etc. But my work really paid off when a friend and I got lost on top of the Great Wall in a sea of Chinese people, none of whom spoke English (how one gets lost on top of a wall is another story altogether!). Anyway, I knew the characters for exit and after I sketched them out on a piece of paper a helpful man pointed us in the right direction. I really liked being able to interpret the otherwise undecipherable scribbles that are everywhere in China. This book was well worth the modest price.

For a book that eventually got made into a Steve McQueen movie I was very surprised by the depth of this book.

McKenna does an excellent job of portraying China in transition, told from the points of view of the sailors on the USS San Pablo and from the missionaries at China Light, people whose world is literally shattered. The first part of the book focuses on the protagonist, Jake Holman, as he learns to adjust to life onboard the tiny San Pablo after having transferred from the Pacific Fleet. Everything is going to be perfect, he is going to have his own engine, his own engine room and be able to run it the way he wants to. Except that's not how it is on the San Pablo - most of the engineering work is done by coolies, cheap contract laborers who make their living by skimming off the ship's supplies. Coolies cook, clean, iron uniforms, swab the decks, maintain the engine and do all of the menial work leaving the crew to drill, and drill and drill and drill. The paper tiger of the San Pablo's small crew and it's three pound cannon is the only force guarding American interests - missionaries, factories, mines and more, this far up the Yangtze and appearances have to be maintained no matter how ultimately ineffective the reality may be.

By the second part of the book the Chinese have seen through it. The armies of Chiang Kai-Shek marching under the "gearwheel" flag of the Kuomintang are marching north towards the Yangtze while Bolshevist forces are working and agitating along the northern banks of the river. At first the coolies start skimming more and more off the top, and then they abandon the ship, running overboard and swimming towards a blockade of sampans that have started to surround and harass the ship every day. China is awakening to a sense of self-identity that had been suppressed for a very long time and the men of the San Pablo are despised relics of the old China, an abused and tortured China with no sense of pride or self-worth.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for the crew to deal with is the fact that the people they are supposed to be protecting, largely missionaries, are full supporters of the Kuomintang. When the San Pablo is told to stand back and only defend American lives, not American property, it is because of the missionaries who have gone home and lobbied for American non-involvement in China. The reader feels the frustration, anger and demoralization of the crew as they are curtailed repeatedly from executing what is supposed to be their primary purpose - protection of American interests. The Chinese have also learned how to make paper tigers of their own from their Russian advisors and waste no time in churning out propaganda and sometimes outright lies about the San Pablo and their men. There is no place for the men of the San Pablo towards the end of the book - their country has for all intents and purposes abandoned them and there is no place in this new, alien China they find themselves in.


One last thing I will mention is that that most readers will be sent running for a dictionary of mechanical engineering by about fifteen pages in. I learned more about steam and marine engines reading this book than I ever expected to.

The Sand Pebbles is a wonderful, edgy, sweeping, panoramic novel, to be sure, and I highly recommend it for all those reasons. But one aspect of it makes it an unexpectedly valuable historical statement. It concerns the sailors of a US Navy vessel patrolling the upper reaches of China's Yangtze River in 1925 and....

Excuse me? Hello? There were US Navy vessels a thousand miles inside China? In 1925? In the heyday of "isolationism?" During the supposedly minimalist administration of "Silent Cal" Coolidge? Can you imagine the equivalent, were the tables turned: that some foreign power might assert its "right" to protect its expatriate nationals by permanently stationing gunboats on the Ohio between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh? The arrogance of it (and its undoubted cost to the US taxpayer) is staggering.

If highlighting this absurdity was any part of author McKenna's immediate intention, it's not apparent. He was too great an artist to flog any political point-of-vew. But his realism requires him to portray the ambivalence of the sailors on the front line of this policy, the rigidly-repressed doubts of the captain, the hostility of some of the putative beneficiaries, the cheerful advantage taken of it by a few, and the stubborn resistance to alternatives or change everywhere.

"The Sand Pebbles" is an interesting and entertaining novel set in China circa 1925. China is governed by feuding warlords, and its foreign trade is dominated by foreign "treaty powers" including the USA, Japan, and the leading European nations, all of which maintain strong naval and marine forces in China to maintain their positions and protect foreign persons and property.

The novel takes place on an obsolete, barely functioning American river gunboat, the "San Pablo," known to her crew as the "Sand Pebble." The protagonist, Jake Holman, is an engineer-crewman aboard the Sand Pebble. Jake has a passion for mastering the ship's engines, but initially is frustrated by the fact that aboard the Sand Pebble each American sailor has a Chinese coolie understudy who in fact does almost all of the work aboard ship. The Sand Pebble crewmen have delegated almost all of the ship's routine to a shadow crew of Chinese coolies, and do very little actual work. Jake's frustration with the coolie-understudy system and his attempt to fit in with the Sand Pebble crew are part of the main theme of the novel.

The real story of "The Sand Pebbles" is, however, the emergence of China as a modern nation. The Kuomantang Chinese Nationalist movement is becoming ascendant in China as the novel unfolds, and it seeks to sweep away foreign influence, and the warlord system that has kept China weak and divided. The officers and crew of the "Sand Pebble," in common with the other foreign military forces, must deal with this new movement, which seeks to change Old China, which had seemed eternally unchangeable. The slow understanding by the foreigners, including the Sand Pebble, that this change is real and something that must be dealt with, is the real story in the novel.

Author McKenna does a masterful job of presenting China as it was in the 1920s, together with life in the American gunboat navy of those times. This is a novel rich with detail and atmosphere. Both the American and Chinese protagonists are presented with dignity and insight, making this a very interesting read. While the storyline of crewman Holman is interesting enough, this is only an excuse to tell the real story--the transformation of China.

This novel will reward the patient reader. I personally found it engrossing and entertaining. Recommended.

Some weeks ago, I was playing channel flip on the telly, and came across an old movie on a cable station. Happily, I caught it at just the begining, and settled in to watch this tale of American Navy men aboard a rickety gunboat in China. In fact, I was interested enough to find a copy of the book that the film was based on and happily settled in to read.

The Sand Pebbles tells the story of the San Pablo, a creaky, none too sturdy gunboat from the Spanish-American war cruising the rivers and lakes in Hunan Province in China. Much like the boat, the crew isn't much too look at either; under the command of Lt. Collins, they're a rough lot, at the very bottom of the barrel. Into this world comes Jake Holman, another American seaman, who has come to the San Pablo to find a place where he can fit in, without the annoyance of the petty demands that the Navy sets on their crewmen.

As Holman finds out very quickly, he doesn't fit in very well at first. For one thing, there's the system of letting the local chinese coolies do all of the work, while the crew merely sits back and, well there's a lot of topside drills. Holman hates it, being one of those sorts who would rather be with his beloved engines than around other people. It's a trait that instantly sets him apart from everyone else in the crew. They don't care what's going on, just so long as they don't have to do much, have good chow and clean quarters, with on board coolies to do the laundry and give daily shaves, and liberty now and then. They grumble a bit, but it's friendly jibbing -- they know they have it good here, with a fine soft perch, and are collectively known as the Sand Pebbles.

But Holman -- it's not so good. He almost immediately gets into a fight with the coolie who is running the black gang in the engine room, with consequences that will have much more serious repercussions later. He takes another coolie, Po-Han, who has promise, trying to teach him the inner workings of the ship's engines, but a lack of communication skills make it nearly impossible. Holman struggles to fit in, but it not easy.

We also get to met other crewmen, from Frenchy Burgoyne who is smitten by a delicate Chinese girl that he could never marry; Red Dog Shanahan, perpetual troublemaker and wise-mouth; Lynch, one of the petty officers with a Russian woman tucked away in Hankow. Finally there are the missionaries at China White, a nearby religious outpost. Holman is attracted to Miss Eckart, a young woman that he is drawn to despite the deep wide of culture and morality that separates them. For a while, everything seems to be settling in place, but all too soon, revolution is growing and soon the San Pablo will be right in the middle of it all.

I have to say, I was really impressed with the book. Author Richard McKenna takes the time to create a world that is very alien to most of his readers, and his own knowledge from serving with the US Navy gives the details of living on board a gunboat an authentic flavour. While many readers will be offended by the slang and abuse that is very misogynist and racist, it also brings forward a past that most of us never knew. McKenna is simply writing about the world as it was at the time -- where other nations and races were viewed with outright suspicision and no one worried much if such terms as 'slant eye,' 'Slopehead' or 'chink' was hurled about. But McKenna is also careful in how he does it as well -- the reader will find themselves being rather unsettled as they read, and left to decide for themselves if times have really changed much in the last forty years since this novel was published. In any case, it is certainly a very good read, with plenty of introspection, action, and the day to day lives of men who are being forced into a untenable situation and one that may have no survivors.

I recommend this one for any one interested in military history, China in the 1920's, or just want a good story about bravery and heroism in a desperate time.

In this new edition, Robert Shenk provides an introduction that talks about Richard McKenna's own adventures serving in China with the US Navy, his attempts to write after leaving military service (he wrote science fiction at first), and then the experiences that brought around writing The Sand Pebbles. The book is now published by the Naval Institute Press as a Bluejacket Edition, a collection of books that focus on naval and military subjects.

It really doesn't matter about your attitudes about war with this one; instead it focuses on the people who work hard and serve, sometimes in awful places and situations and explore their lives and thoughts, and how they survive. It's just about a five star read, and I was left with quite a few questions and thoughts myself once I had finished it. It's a very different sort of novel than what is being published today, without the hyperaggressive macho of most military thrillers today, and one that feels and sounds realistic.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Old China Hand had a meaning during the early 20th Century. Jake Holman, primary American character of this book is an old China hand. He's a sailor on an American gunboat, a part of the multi-national forces cruising the interior waters of a China in the throes of unrest, warlordism, rebellion, turbulence and chaos created by the downfall of the Manchu Dynasty and the Boxer Rebellion.

Jake's navy is one that resembles the post-WWII US Army in most of Asia prior to Vietnam in some ways. Asians do the unpleasant and difficult chores as houseboys and other types of assistants, to the point of imposing a dependence on them and degradation of competence of the Americans. Those who love Chinese history, those who love historical fiction, those who served in the Far East and remember, almost anyone can appreciate this classic work of (greater than) historical fiction.

This book is one you'll read more than once, probably see the movie and love it, and read the book again without feeling the least letdown. It's a gripping tale of an almost forgotten time in history. I recommend it thoroughly, whatever your reason for reading it.

I use this book at least twice a week because every dish has been a hit with the family and the dishes are so easy to prepare and healthy too. Even when I don't have all the ingredients for a recipe and I need to improvise, the dishes always turn out tasty anyway. Every recipe comes with a very appetizing picture of the finished product and several, very helpful, how-to photos. She also gives detailed descriptions of unfamiliar ingredients and photos of brands she uses. This a great beginner cookbook!

This is an art book accompanied by wonderful recipes. The photos that accompany the recipes are so beautiful!! I could taste the dishes!
It's a fantastic book for a beginner because some of the dishes are wonderful yet simple and looks do-able. But, there are dishes for more advanced cooks too.
Kylie includes a lot of step by step photo instructions like how to fold wonton, how to cut and fry tofu cubes, how to clean and score squid, etc... In this instructional aspect with the photos, she's the BEST. This book will be appreciated by all who wants to learn Chinese cooking.

I love this book! Kylie Kwong has put some fantastic fresh ideas forward that really liven up any meal. It's a great book for the beginning cook as well as the experienced, not everything is traditional and both will find something that is surprising and inspiring. I have to say that I adore the vegetable section in this book, it's fantastic.

i bought this book not sure if it was any good.the photos are excellent n the recipes are superb n easy to find frm the asian market.i would really recommend anyone who likes to cook chinese food at home.

What more could an aspiring cook of Chinese food desire? This is a beautiful book, complete with glorious photographs, easy to follow recipes and includes a menu planner.

Variety is the essence of Chinese cuisine. Fortunately variety need not mean complexity. Every recipe we've cooked from this book has been a success, and the tips and presentation are superb.

All of Ms Kwong's books are superb, but if you have to choose just one, then this would be my choice.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Stephen Mitchell's translation is a great intro to the Tao. Simple, a little convoluted at times and yet somehow straight to the point. I bought this illustrated hardcopy as a gift and keep a text version as my guide.

I have come to have a fondness and deep appreciation for Mitchell's work and choices of subjects. I bought this translation because of high praise for it hidden in one of Jim Harrison's poems. This version is, perhaps, the most readable of all I have encountered. Many people find it inspiring and that must be why it is such an acclaimed translation. Having dealt with a dozen or so translations and the texts behind them, I do note that Mitchell takes some liberties. His is a very idiomatic translation, which often reads better than word-for-word literalness, the latter often proving too wooden to be enjoyable or clear. And Mitchell might even omit a few phrases or add one here or there. But the spirit is all Lao Tzu. Also, the volume is full of the most exquisite ancient Chinese illustrations, making it the most beautiful of any of my Tao Te Chings.

Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (The Book of the Way) has long been referenced by those who seek to understand the Eastern philosophy of the harmony of the universe. In simple, eloquent verse this collection of poems (though there are those who would object to the 'poem' label) the secrets to shedding the self with its attendant judgment, desire, and critique provide the guide for finding oneness with the cosmos.

Steven Mitchell is the translator of these ancient texts and his sensitivity to the poetic flow of the concepts and instructions enhance this version of the TAO TE CHING. And as if that weren't sufficient reason to make this your access to these ageless meditations, this book is an 'illustrated version', tastefully combined with old Chinese drawings and paintings that allow the eye to roam while digesting the moments of beauty of the words.

This book becomes a constant companion for those who look to make sense of the world and its chaos. If ever there were the perfect gift for the friends in your life, this elegant little book is surely one of the best. Grady Harp, March 05.

In this version, Peg Streep edits James Legge's 19th century translation. The editing is a major bonus, as it adds something
to the overall flow of the work. Here is an example of the poetry of the words: "Abstinence from speech marks him who obeys the spontaneity of his nature." Whereas countless other translations are well worth the read, the text in this edition offers something every bit as beautiful as the artwork that accompanies it.

If every philosophy or religion had a book like this, it would be much easier to appreciate and perhaps even enjoy the diversity of belief among humankind. Mitchell captures the simplicity and straightforwardness of the text, and what we get is a incredibly beautiful book of verse. Some scriptures and cornerstone philosophy texts try to argue their way into your head; the Tao, especially as translated by Mitchell and coupled with stunning artwork, effortlessly works to seduce its way into the core of your being.

When you put the book down, you may disagree with many components of the Tao's underlying philosphy. But during the short time you live between the book's covers, it is a joy to enter the rhythmic flow of the Tao and put skepticism on hold.

This is a very moving and heart stirring true account of how God moved on young children in an orphanage in China. It's amazing!

Oh my goodness... this book is precious and made me soooo hungry for more, more, more of God!

My wife and I found this book to be very exciting as it depicts how orphan children in China where provided with a home in an orphanage; how they were fed and clothes and taken care of. This - in and of itself - is a dynamic testimony of how Jesus Christ brings victory into the lives of these children. However, their experience of seeing visions and dreams of Heaven, of God, of Jesus and of angels is one to be envied. We strongly encourage you to read this book. You will not be able to put it down.
Sincerely, Rev. Richard and Holly Lang

This is an essential read for those who want more of God.

Story of these Chinese orphans who experience a radical outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The book documents their experiences and visions which will stretch your brain and wreck your heart.

It's a short read that should be in all believers libraries.

I rate this book very high as it offers hope for the Christian and even greater hope for the Christian missionaries. H.A. Baker's journal account of what the children in his orphanage experienced just confirms many of the testimonies of others in different parts of the world, even as recent as 2007. God is alive and He still reigns! Books like Visions Beyone the Veil are inspiring to motivate anyone with a desire, to Ask, Seek and Knock knowing that God will answer, you will find and He will open the door to understanding.