Asia Books

I found a reference to this book while trying to find an authentic MiG-21 camouflage paint scheme. The book is excellent in its limited coverage and contains very specialized material. Not designed for the casual aviation reader.

As a US Navy Radar Intercept Officer flying in the back-seat of Phantom IIs, I had two engagements with Mig-21s during the Vietnam war...won one, lost one. Winning is a lot more fun, that's for sure, but both types are very interesting. Reading Istvan Toperczer's book, "Mig-21 Units of the Vietnam War" was like taking a little peek inside the Mig pilots' play book...it gave me an idea of how they planned and set up their attacks... and it reinforced for me that we already had pretty good ideas of what was coming when we took them on in aerial combat.

This book has a lot of superb photographs, drawings, illustrations and words which all flow together very nicely and make reading it a real enjoyment. If you are interested in fighter-flying it will be very interesting, and for those who actually fought against the Migs in Vietnam, or tried to engage one, it will be intensely interesting. It was a unique experience for me to read this book and be able to critique it from the vantage point of one who actually lived through it. I highly recommend it as a purchase, and certainly it will make a great gift for any aviation buff, most particularly any military pilot. This book is not just another "book about flying", it is the product of some very thorough research and painstaking efforts to match-up all the reports by Dr. Toperczer, and reading it is like reading a colorful history book on a subject which you love.

Dr Istvan Toperczer has produced several books on the North Vietnamese People's Air Force and surfaced more photography and information on their side of the battle for the skies over North Vietnam against the United States than all the other researchers combined who have tried to elicit this type information. This volume is a welcome addition the Osprey series that deals with type aircraft (in this case the MiG-21) in conflicts. As the thirtieth anniversary of the conclusion of hostilities over North Vietnam approaches in 2003, it is fitting that this work has arrived for the many veterans and interested readers to be able to add to the considerable work on the subject which is always light on the aspect of the NVPAF perspective. The ability of this fledgling air force to introduce the MiG-21 into combat with "home-grown" pilots with a modicum of success in challenging the latest US fighters is a worthy read.

There has been some very good writing on the USAF side of the airwar over North Vietnam(for example 'Thud Ridge' by Col, J Broughton). This book gives at least a glimpse of what that war looked like from the other side.
The dialogue has a slightly scripted feel, but given that English is a second (at least) language for most of those involved, and the descriptions are to some degree at least the formalised language of the combat report, this is perhaps understandable.
The production is to Osprey's usual high standard with an interesting selection of colour profiles, and some very striking b/w's, the shot of a MiG 21 being airlifted into position under a Mil 6 being particularly memorable. Another feature is the attempt to reconcile the claims of each side with admitted losses.
Primarily a modelling resource, this is also a useful historical document, drawn from primary sources. I found it interesting enough to look for the author's other volume on MiG 17/19 units.

Thoroughly recommended

LTC Burruss, wrote one of the definitive books on the use of indigineous troops in the Vietnam conflict. The tactics, techniques and procedures learned by the men of the Mike Force in battle, have now been passed to a new generation of Special Forces soldier now fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

COL(R) John Tobin, SF

It may be fitting but it's hardly proper that the most popularly acclaimed works of literature from America's most distinctively unpopular war -- among them, Michael Herr's "Dispatches" and Phillip Caputo's "A Rumor of War" -- reflect the growing socio-political ambivalence that undermined America's resolve in that war. It's understandable but a shame that first-person accounts by participants in the war, such as L.H. Burruss' "Mike Force," that project the author's strong belief that what he and his comrades did was necessary and honorable were largely ignored by the arbiters of popular literary taste. It is encouraging that "Mike Force," published in 1989, has been reissued. Along with a new wave of war literature exemplified by Mark Bowden's widely popular "Black Hawk Down," this revival points to an emerging readership that apparently, at long last, accepts soldiering as a worthy vocation.

One would hope that readers of this new wave of war literature will work their way back to discover such gems as "Mike Force," which give a needed balance to the collective memory of a war that for too long has worn the dunce's conical cap.

Burruss, who tried teaching high school English before joining the Army, and who taught again briefly after his first hitch before deciding to make the Army a career, has a ghost-writer's skill with language. What lifts "Mike Force" far above the usual ghost-written account is that Burruss' narrative smokes and crackles with reality, losing nothing -- neither detail nor passion -- in its translation from principal to interpreter.

Burruss includes everything -- his irritations and agonies, confessions of bad judgment and frank acknowledgments of competence, moments of weakness and triumph and even the irreverent hijinks and scrapping of boys learning to be men in life's toughest academy. Burruss retired as a lieutenant colonel and deputy commander of the elite Delta Force. His book is honest, unpretentious and illuminating. He includes well-turned, heartfelt, haunting poems, which he composed on or near the battlefield, usually in tribute to a friend lost or severely wounded.

It's high time for "Mike Force" to be included among the books that must be read by anybody who wants a balanced picture of the Vietnam War and by all who simply want an unfiltered glimpse of what it's like to carry their country's flag into humankind's darkest quarter.

Don't be fooled by the trashy men's magazine cover on this book. It is one of the best accounts of the Vietnam War from a soldier's perspective that I've read. Those looking for a chest-thumping narrative will be surprised to discover a writer of surprising range, subtlety and honesty, a soldier who never paints himself as a hero, and emerges as more of one because of it. We will never fully understand the Vietnam experience in this country until we embrace the memories of those who served, who risked their lives and saw some of the best in their generation killed. When the best accounts of that episode are compiled, "Mike Force" will be among them.

LTC L.H. "Bucky" Burruss is the real thing. He's one of the original members of what's known as Delta Force and even received praise from the British SAS.

Bucky lead a Special Force "Mike Force" in Vietnam. These were quick-reaction forces composed of Montagnard tribesmen led by American or Australian Special Forces advisors. The Mike Forces were probably the least known of all of the SF activities in Vietnam, but they saw plenty of action. Bucky was in the thick of the fight with guys like Mike Donahue, Larry Dring, "Blue Max" Pfeistenhammer and Clyde Sincere. The book is well worth the read if you want to learn about some of America's "Silent Professionals."

"Moore pursues in even greater detail in Minor Wife the changing social roles of Thai women (changing, but not always quickly or for the better) and their relations among themselves and across class lines and other barriers."-- Vancouver Sun

"What distinguishes Moore from other foreign authors is how much more he understands its mystique, the psyche of its populace ..."---Vancouver Sun

After being in Asia 20 plus years and reading a couple of Chris Moores books, his new one "Minor Wife" is a tale that moves quickly through to the murder plot but at the same time slows down to describe each of the main characters Detective Calvino comes in contact with the solve the case. Chris's accurate and detailed descriptions of people and places in Thailand makes you feel like you are sitting in the corner watching the drama unfold before you with the smell of mekong and coke so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife. Detective Calvino leads you thru the best and worst of Thailand from the seamy sides of life in brothels to the upscale country clubs of the rich and famous and untangles the knots that bind them together throughout the investigation that the officials have all but written off as an unsolveable and unworthy expenditure of assets to solve the case of a murdered prostitute nick named 8K, which is also her price for a round of bedroom olympics. A must read, I couldn't lay the book down until Calvino had led me all the way through the labyrinth of pimps, yings, golfers, and real estate tycoons. Too bad that Calvino is only a fictional character because you'll want to book a flight to Bangkok and have a drink with him after you finish the book.

My full apologies to Chris Moore for not doing this review sooner because Minor Wife proves that after ten years of outstanding work in Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam,both Vinnie Calvino and his creator,Chris Moore,still have the powerful ability to get your attention and make you voluntarily go through thie story.Minor Wife is a very appropriate title in that much of Thai society is a contrast between major wives and mia nois,the lesser wife of a man.This novel takes one through these two worlds that can often intermesh in manners that are not pleasant whatsoever.Moore finds himself involved in this area and deals with it as he has before in his previous adventures in the darkest--and most interesting--hearts of Southeast Asia.It was also sanuk to see his expat friend from Cold Hit,McPhail,return with his own sarcastic outlook of expat life in Bangkok for people such as himself,Calvino and Quinn the upper-class level of expatriate.The chicken fight that McPhail arranges for a chicken named Calvino vs a chicken named Hitler is well worth the price of the book alone and likwise,the chaos of Songkran on the streets of Bangkok is entertaining to those of us who have been in Thailand and are fully expected to act like small children as we soak the hell out of anyone walking before us!For myself,however,I can honestly say that the part of this novel that I find most intriguing and a firm reminder of how long I've been reading about Calvino's life in Bangkok is the scene where he is in the room of his long-term secretary,Ratana.Chris shows us so much of the hidden thoughts and insights of both characters without fully taking you into their feelings or even allowing either character to make a complete verbal statement to the other one and this piece alone is perhaps the best part for fans such as myself who have been here from the start.The last segment to this fantastic story that got my personal attention was the character Darryl,a golf instructor who was badly injured in a motorcycle accident and is currently having troubles with using and pronouncing the proper word in the average sentance.I can relate to this because I was involved in a motorcycle accident in Chiang Mai in '99 that split my head open and left me in a coma for three weeks.It took me a long time to remember even the smallest details and there are times now when I forget names of family and friends and this is a deep time of fear for me.Chris' rendering of Darryl is yet another striking example of a writer who knows how to make his characters realistic and gets you to keep coming back looking for more.Please read this book for the best possible insight into the expat world of Thailand!

Arun Shourie gives the picture of the motive of missionaries in India. Christians should read this and understand that missionaries in the past were militants just as they always point out the Muslims countires as Islamic Fundamentalist. The author gives vivid details and one can easuily follow how Christianity spread in India and the world.My thanks to the author for dispelling the myths Christians have about Missionaries. Chirag Parikh San Jose

Reviewed by C. J. S. Wallia

Arun Shourie is India's leading writer on politics and history. He has been an economist with the World Bank, a consultant in the planning commision and the editor of Indian Express. Among the many honors and awards for his writings, noted for rigorous analysis and meticulous research, he has received the International Editor of the Year Award, the Dadabhai Naoroji Award, the Magsaysay Award, and the Astor Award.

In Missionaries in India: Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas, Arun Shourie focuses on the intentional misinterpretations of Hinduism by Christian missionaries. The book is based on an invited lecture, he gave at the 50th anniversary meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India in January 1994. The bishops got quite an earful! Nonetheless, to their great credit, Shourie notes, "the bishops, the senior clergy, and scholars gathered at Pune heard him politely with unwavering attention." He adds, "Had I urged the themes of this lecture to our 'secularists', they would have denounced them as 'communal', 'chauvinist-fascist' and, having labeled them, they would have exempted themselves from considering what was being said."

Shourie quotes from a recent issue of the Texas-based magazine Gospel for Asia: "The Indian sub-continent with one billion people, is a living example of what happens when Satan rules the entire culture... India is one vast purgatory in which millions of people .... are literally living a cosmic lie! Could Satan have devised a more perfect system for causing misery?"

Swami Vivekananda during his historic visit to the U.S., a hundred years earlier, wrote: "Part of the Sunday School education for children here consists in teaching them to hate everybody who is not a Christian, and the Hindus especially, so that, from their very childhood they may subscribe their pennies to the missions .... What is meant by those pictures in the school-books for children where the Hindu mother is painted as throwing her children to the crocodiles in the Ganga? The mother is black, but the baby is painted white, to arouse more sympathy and get more money. What is meant by those pictures which paint a man burning hisown wife at a stake with his own hands, so that she may become a ghost and torment the husband's enemy? .... If all India stands up, and takes all the mud that is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean and throws it up against the Western countries, it will not be doing an infinitesmal part of that which you are doing to us."

Is this fair to the missionaries? one asks. What about the numerous schools, colleges, and hospitals the missionaries established in India? Did they have a hidden agenda? Yes, says Shourie quoting from Gandhiji's Collected Works. In Gandhiji's discussions with missionaries, they acknowledged that "the institutions and services are indeed incidental, that the aim is to gather a fuller harvest of converts for the Church."

Many of the missionaries who came to see Gandhiji had in his words "designs to convert" him to Christianity. "But what is your attitude to Jesus? the missionaries would always come around to asking Gandhiji. He was a great world teacher among others, Gandhiji would say But that he was the greatest, I cannot accept. He had not the compassion for instance of the Buddha, Gandhiji would recount.... The reverend gentlemen would retire with the imprecation, 'Mr. Gandhi... soon there will come a day when you will be judged, not in your righteousness, but in the righteousness of Jesus."'

In the central section of the book, "The Division of Labour"-- among the British administrators, missionaries, and European Indologists-- Shouire cites extensively from historical documents to establish that these three groups colluded in essential agreement that "India is a den of ignorance, inequity and falsehood; the principal cause of this state of affairs is Hinduism; Hinduism is kept going by the Brahmins; as the people are in such suffering, and also because Jesus in his parting words has bound us to do so, it is a duty to deliver them to Christianity; for this, it is Hinduism which has to be vanquished."

Macaulay's notorious minute instituting English as the medium of instruction in India, says Shourie, "was laced with utter contempt for India, in particular for Hinduism, for our languages and literature: of course, Macaulay did n6t know any of those languages... his ideas about Hinduism had been formed from the calumny of missionaries .... But the breezy, sweeping damnation-- even a century and a half later, the imperialist swagger takes one's breath away."

Shourie quotes, at considerable length, from the writings of two high-ranking nineteenth century British administrators, Richard Temple and Charles Treveylan. Richard Temple: "...the missions in India are doing a work which strengthens the imperial foundations of British power.. the results are fully commensurate with the expenditure." Trevelyan: "A generation is growing up which repudiates idols. A young Hindu, who had received a liberal English education, was forced by his family to attend the shrine of Kali, upon which he took off his cap to'Madam Kali,'made her a low bow, and hoped her ladyship was well."

Most of the European Indologists were far from being the objective scholars they pretended to be. The two most prominent Indologists were Max Muller and Monier-Williams, both committed to uprooting and destroying Hinduism.

Here's what Max Muller, the best-known European Indologist, wrote in a letter to his wife. "...I still have a lot of work to do... my translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of that religion and to show them what the root is, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last 3,000 years."

Monier-Williams, the second holder of the Boden chair of Sanskrit at Oxford University and whose Sanskrit-English dictionary is still used, wrote in its preface that "the Boden chair of Sanskrit was set up by Colonel Boden to promote the translation of Christian Scriptures into Sanskrit, so as to enable his countrymen to proceed in the conversion of the natives of India to the Christian religion." He told the Missionary Congress held at Oxford on 2 May 1877, "The chief obstacle to the spread of Christianity in India is that these people are proud of their tradition and religion." His dictionary, he hoped, would enable the translation of the Bible into Sanskrit and "when the walls, of the mighty fortress of Brahminism are encircled, undermined, and finally stormed by the soldiers of the Cross, the victory of Christianity must be signal and complete."

Looking at the cauldron of calumnies cooked up Christian missionaries, the imperialists, and the so-called objective scholars, makes the outrage expressed by Swami Vivekananda and Gandhiji entirely understandable. Gandhiji wrote: "If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytising.... it is the deadliest poison that ever sapped the fountain of truth."

To present the point of view of the Church, Shourie has included a 50-page report distributed by the Catholic Bishops at the Conference. This report describes the four churches which make up the Church in India--the Syrian Christian communities in Kerala; the Padroado Church originating in Goa, the Tribal Churches in Central India and in the North East; and the Dalit Churches.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the intellectual history and cultural make-up of contemporary India.

A man of acute perception and immense integrity. One of the greatest social and political writers of India. Just like every other writing of his, a thorough and clear analysis of the missionary institution, it's ideology and practices as applicable to Indian society. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in contemporary social issues in India.

Arun Shourie, as always, starts out with exhaustive and authoritative research, quoting extensively from the gospels, the Church, and other Biblilcal research published over the ages, and then proceeds to the conclusions. The conclusions drawn by the book are that even though the Church worldwide has long abandoned most of the falshoods it has used throughout the ages to convert people, in India, missionaries are still using those to convert people. Example - missionaries in rural and tribale India employ this favourite ploy: a stone idol of a Hindu god is immersed in water, where it prompty sinks. Then a wooden cross is immersed in water where it floats. The missionary then proclaims, 'How can your God save you when He can't even save himself?!!' Incredible but true. Section by section, chapter by chapter, Arun Shourie strips away at preconceived notions held by many people regarding the Church, the Bible, the gospels, and the historicity of those books, people, and events. To call it a 'neo-Hindu' view of Christianity is misleading, and suggests a narrow-mindedness to the book that is simply not present. I found it highly readable, and recomment it.

Buruma has the key to a door I, a newbie Nipponophile, use: cinema. His own personality leaks tastefully into his blend of experience and academics. Just the levels I like! Some of the articles are a little outside my area of interest, but he managed to hook me into finishing them.

I found Buruma's collection very absorbing, especially helpful to someone living out East (Hong Kong and Singapore), as I was in the late 90's. The Singapore essay, "The Nanny State of Asia," is an extremely perceptive look behind the official facade of Harry Lee Kuan Yew's police state. If you plan to visit/live in S'pore, the things the locals won't dare discuss with you (out of fear) are dealt with here. Even if you're just travelling from the armchair, this is a well-written and (again) extremely absorbing read.

As someone who lived out East I rank this up with Christopher Lingle's Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism and Stan Sesser's The Land of Charm and Cruelty (another great essay collection on various Asian countries) as books helpful to the Westerner trying to learn about the region. Buruma's God's Dust has more essays on Asia, including S'pore. For Singapore, I also recomend Francis Seow's A Prisoner in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, and Paul Theroux's Saint Jack (a Singapore novel set in the Seventies but (I found) remarkably up to date in the attitudes it records of both locals and expats).

Very well documented essays about the East, although most of the articles are treating already out-of-date items. Still they will continue to be essential reading for historians.

In his ironic style, he unveils the lies and double-talk of political and industrial leaders. E.g. Sony's Akio Morita's statement that 'today's Japanese do not think in terms of privilege', while he almost disowned his son, when he wanted to marry a popular singer.
Other targets are Benazir Bhutto, Cory Aquino, Imelda Marcos and most of all the imperious leader of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.

I recommend nevertheless the autobiography of Yew 'From first world to third', because it is an essential read in order to understand what's happening in China today. Lee Kuan Yew is Jiang Zeming's best friend.

Buruma is a very perceptive observer and reader. His analyses of writers like Yuhio Moshima, Mircea Eliade or Junichiro Tanizaki, or movie directors like Nagisa Oshima or Sayajit Ray are brilliant.
This book is to be put on the same high level as the works of Simon Leys on China.

Sceptical of all talk of "asian values" (profound "culture differences" used to justify the denial of human rights), Buruma is a clear-sighted observer of the East. Buruma describes the phases that Western visitors to Japan tend to go through; an initial phase of delight oft succeeded by rage, and ultimately leading to a sort of near manic-depressing rapidly-alternating hatred/love of the East. Buruma, while obviously retaining a great love and respect for Eastern culture combined with a deep scepticism about "asian values", is unseduced by either extreme. The book opens with essays on individual figures, such as Yukio Mishima (it is impossible to take Paul Schrader's 'Mishima' seriously after Buruma's curt dismissal of its portentious bombast) and Wilfred Thesiger (again, one sees this oft-romanticised figure anew, as a misogynistic, rather sinister worshipper of racially pure noble savages) It closes with a section of essays devoted to Japan, on topics as diverse as Michael Crichton's Black Rain, the Hiroshima peace industry, the treatment of black American baseball players in Japan and the continuing echoes of Pearl Harbor.

The book is fair and illuminating in giving us a Kurdish side of Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian history. It's an important story, full of significant sub-plots. For just one example, McDowall explains that after Saddam nationalized Iraq's oil in 1972, Kurdish rebels like Mulla Mustafa feared that "Kurdish oil would be turned into Arab oil". They still wanted 2/3rds of all oil revenue reserved for the Kurdish community, and now they sought support from the United States. As the Pike Papers revealed in 1976, Henry Kissinger argued that "a new regime might let us back into the oilfields". In 1973 Mulla Mustafa threw secrecy to the winds by announcing in the Washington Post,

"We are ready to act according to US policy if the US will protect us from the wolves. In the event of sufficient support we should be able to control the Kirkuk oilfields and confer exploitation rights on an American company."

Very detailed description of the modern history of kurds. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the kurds.

The only shortcoming of the book is that it stops in the year 1996. And thus does not account for the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader PPK, and other major new incidents. Nevertheless, you will learn a lot!

Although the authorhas cut some of the subjects very short such as Kurdish language and excluded Yezidi and LUR from Kurdish nationality,he is very detailed in the history of the last century of Kurdistan in amanner i have never seen.I truly encourage every Kurd,Turk,Persian, and Arab to read this Treasure.I also would like to get in touch with Mr Mcdowall to discuss the possibility of translating it into either Kurdish or Arabic.

The tragic history of the Kurds, with regards to their internecine politics vis-a-vis the various tribes, and more importantly their use as a pawn by larger states in the harsh realpolitik of the region has been captured in this extraordinary book. From the Treaty of Sevres, which offered a glimmer of hope to the Kurds for statehood, to the Treaty of Lausanne, which ultimately marked the end of any Great Power support for statehood aspirations, the book creates a remarkable story.
Following WWI, and with the subsequent jockeying for power in the region following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, McDowall presents a clear pattern of failure by the Kurds to coalesce and create a common front to articulate their views. Also presented is the similarly clear pattern by the states, which currently have Kurdish populations, to disenfranchise the Kurds and marginalize their political aspirations.
This history covers the fallout from the Coalition war against Iraq (Operation DESERT STORM). I would love to see a more current version of the book which discusses how the current status quo has refueled Kurdish aspirations for autonomy...likewise I would like to see how recent events in Turkey have affected the Kurdish population of SE Turkey.
A great book for both the casual reader of the history of this volatile region of the world, and for the scholar alike...Highly recommended. McDowall has penned the authoratitive modern history.

I bought this for my nephew's 2nd birthday (which was, coincidentally, spent in India during the monsoons). I almost wanted a copy of it for myself, so evocative were the illustrations and text. My nephew is almost 4 and his parents tell me that it is one of his favorite books. He's at an age where the appeal of a book does not of course lie in the memories it evokes, but in how captivating the the illustrations and the story are. I have to add that this is not one of those tiresome books that presents India as the exotic land of snakes and snake-charmers, and that in itself is a huge selling point.

I received this book yesterday and read it to my 2 1/2 year old daughter. (I try to get books about India whenever possible because it's the land of my husband's birth.) She asked me to read it twice through and then said, "That's a good story, Mommy!" And we've read it twice already today!

I don't think anything else needs to be said!

I can't decide if I love the beauty of the paintings or the words more in this picture book. My overwhelming reaction was nostalgia for India, where I grew up, yet the book appealed to my toddler, who has no memories of India. She gave it her five star rating, by saying "Again" when I finished reading it - that's reserved for the most captivating picture books.

Sometimes, when a picture book deals with another culture, it sacrifices story and style for explanation to it's readers about the who where and what is going on. They can become text heavy and too pedantic for young listeners who are more interested in what happens next than a rounded education. The rarest-and the best-multicultural books don't try to explain at all, they let you discover as you read the story. Ms. Krishnaswami's MONSOON is one such jewel of a picture book. It tells the story of a young Indian girl waiting for the monsoon to come after all the hot, dry weather. It shows the cycle of seasons that is necessary for living and the simple poetic beauty of the place the narrator lives.

The theme of this story--a child impatiently waiting for a change in the weather-is a fairly common one in literature, especially picture books. But the heart and soul of this story is India, and properly so. It's no surprise to anyone that reads this picture book that the author grew up in India. In the story India is not a far away or exotic place, it is home-and Ms. Krishnaswami's poetic prose paints that love of her home on every page, with every word. The text on each page is brief, but it is text to be savored, full of rich imagery as everyone prepares for the monsoon rains. This is clear from the very first line: "All summer we have worn the scent of dust . . ." The author does not fall back on old clichés, but finds new metaphors to describe the town and the coming rains. The result is description that is refreshingly vibrant and just different enough to tantalize--but not to alienate-readers. It allows me to step into another country as if I were a native, experiencing the anticipation through the young narrator as she waits, worries and hopes for the rains to come. At the very back of the book the author has included a page of information about the monsoons and India for those who want to understand the 'what' and 'where' of the story better. The addition of the information at the back allows the author to accomplish the goal of sharing the knowledge without allowing it to bog down the text of the story itself.

All that, and I haven't even mentioned the pictures yet. This is Jamel Akib's first picture book. I, for one, hope it is only the first of many. The artist has perfectly matched pictures to Ms. Krishnaswami's marvelous text. Vivid colors with the soft edges give the images a slightly dreamy and comforting sense of familiarity. Golds and warm reds and misty blues dominate the palette, making the book feel rich and sensuous. The scenes themselves are delightfully clear portrayals of life in an Indian city, with cows wandering down the streets next to the cars, spice merchants selling their wares, a modern house with patterned rug and wall hangings. The effect is contemporary and yet culture specific. Like the author's text, the pictures never become so foreign as to lose the reader, evoking comfort, but including elements and details that never let the audience forget the setting.

If you want to introduce your child to India for any reason, this is an excellent first step. The images and text provide fertile ground for sparking a child's interest and curiosity and giving parents a starting point for discussing the Indian culture in greater detail. It is one of my favorite new discoveries in the world of multicultural books and deserves a look by any picture book reader who loves the delicious feel of diving into rich art and image-rich language. Best for children of four years and up, and for adults of all ages.
If you enjoy this, you might want to look for THE DAY OF AHMED'S SECRET by Florence H. Parry and COME ON RAIN! by Karen Hesse.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

Mountain light is a really good book. i would give it 5 stars because it is an all together really good book. it is about Cassia and her "friend" squeaky, and how they help their villages, and how squeaky goes the the land of the golden mountain.

this book was a great sequel to The Serpent's Children, which i recommend. it shows a more subtle romeo+juliet deal, except less dramatic and fatal. it shows us that friendship and love can conquer all.

Mountain Light shows how a friendship can survive the adversity of war and ancient grudges. The two characters are hardly alike but they seem to be the same person.

Mountain Light
Mountain Light by Lawrence Yep is the best children's book I have ever read. It is full of Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mystery, love and at the same time like a cool documentary because it is so educational. It is about a young man that is faced with the decision whether or not to leave his friends and go back to his family or "pack" where he belongs. But he realizes that he has become so close to his new friend Cassia it is a hard decision to make. He decides to go to the land of the Golden mountain in America and work with his friend's brother and his friend to make money so maybe, just maybe he can be married to Cassia. It is full of hardship and a lot of drama. Mountain Light is actually a book in the Serpent Children Series which is one thing that I love about this kind of book, they never seem to end when it's a series. I don't find books very exciting if it's only one topic. This book is about every topic you can think of! Another thing about the book that makes it interesting is the characters in the book can relate to everything and everyone and it's fascinating. What makes this book so much unlike others that I have read before is every time you read a new book in the series it is always a different person in the series telling the story. I believe that anyone who likes to read at all would fall deep into this book. During the time reading this book I refused to go down to dinner! Mountain Light is defiantly the best children's book if not book i have ever read!

My son and daughter, ages 7 and 10, enjoy this book. The illustrations are very detailed and the book is loaded with interesting facts about the country. I highly recommend this book for kids with inquiring minds.

Great book in the world of Magic School Bus. We loved it. I loved the facts about China written all over the book. Read over & over in our house!

Miss Frizzle and her class from The Magic School Bus are back. This time instead of science adventure the kids are off to learn about history. Miss Frizzle and her students travel back in time 100 years. They arrive at a farmers village in China. Here they learn lots of things like how to eat with chop sticks and how to grow crops like rice and silk.

Splendidly illustrated with accurate details, this book is a delight to read: funny, informative, colorful, clear and comprehensive.

An excellent, highly recommended book for children ages 8 to 12.

I bought this book for my first-grade son, who is a huge Magic School Bus fan, but usually not all that interested in social studies. He found this book very interesting, and we have re-read it many times.

The book is in a larger format than the original Magic School Bus series, which leave more room for all of the sidebar explanations that typify these books. Cole and Degen explain processes, like growing rice and making silk, that are easy for kids to follow, and may teach the adults a thing or two. A common thread through the whole book is a list of things that the ancient Chinese invented before the West, another point that may teach adults something new. The plot is a little silly, but it made my son and I giggle.

All in all, it's great fun, and a nice way to introduce kids to Chinese culture. Teachers could read it to a class, then delve more deeply into subjects that they want to pursue.

This young author does a magnificent job to portray one of the greatest athletes of our time. If you are an avid Ali fan, or just looking for an outstanding read, check out this gem. I hope the author keeps his works coming!!!

In this book the reader gets to know the outstanding athete, Muhammed Ali. He was a man with strong feelings on human rights, and even shocked the world when he refused to serve in Vietnam. This is an excellent book, um, about a man with strong believes and courage.

Muhammad Ali, The World's Champion, is about the professional boxer who accomplished many goals in his boxing career. He started boxing at a young age and by the time he was done with high school he went professional. Muhammad won three world championships and he was the greatest boxer of his time. I think the author, John Tessitore, did a good job on this book because he covered everything from when Ali was a child to his retirement.

This was enjoyable and easy to read. It started with his childhood, then moved on to his career, and finished with his retirement. The book is very well organized as it follows a timeline of his life. The way which the author describes Ali's rise to the top, is the strongest part of the book. The descriptions were clear and easy to relate to. The author talked more about Ali's success and not enough about the struggles that got him to the top.

I gave this book five stars because it is informative and entertaining. I would recommend it to others because it gave a thorough overview of who Ali really is. I believe that the message the author is trying to send is that if you work hard you can accomplish your goals. It is in my opinion that this is an important message to give to readers. I believe that the author was successful in getting his message across to the readers.

Mr. Tessitore displays a writing talent that makes you feel as though you are sitting next to him as he interestingly relates Ali's story. A genuine craftsman and wordsmith, the author creates a memorable look at Ali that you will want to revisit and enjoy again.