Hawaii Books

I agree completely with the reviewer below. This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection, gripping at times, the social and political issues never forced or didactic (and certainly never manichean), but integrated critically and astutely into the fabric of the stories themselves. Some of the stories share an affinity with the magic realists, but ultimately, Gary Pak's stories offer a fresh voice and perspective, and a much necessary one. Definitely excited to read his new collection.

Gary Pak is an awesome writer, who captures a range of political and cultural positions in Hawa'i with care and tact: he offers, in this collection as in his recent novel with U of Hawai'i Press, a multi-voiced and situated portrayal of local Hawai'i today in all its complexity and struggle. Highly recommended for ordinary readers, college and high school courses, but maybe not for tourists looking for exotica on the beach.

Emergency physician and martial arts practitioner Anthony L. Schmieg presents Watching Your Back: Chinese Martial Arts and Traditional Medicine, explores the symbiosis of traditional Chinese medicine and the martial arts. Chapters reflect on how the martial arts grew out of the need for survival, their history and intent, the distinction between martial and military disciplines, the influence of Daoism upon the evolution of an ancient system, and much more. Watching Your Back debunks common myths such as misinterpretations of the yin/yang dichotomy, and over-emphasis on the role of Shaolin temples in the genesis of Chinese martial arts (the Shaolin temples reflected Buddhist culture specifically and isolated their warrior-monks from Chinese society, and therefore could not be prototypical of Chinese martial arts). An articulate, well-thought-out philosophical treatise revealing the far-reaching depths of Chinese martial arts, reflecting meaningfully on their purpose and greatness in human history.

I found this to be, from the first paragraphs of the Preface, a delightful book. Dr. Schmieg does as he says and tells us the story his experiences with the "high" Chinese martial arts and his Sifu, Dr. Xia. As Dr. Schmieg points out in the Preface this is a "why" book not a "how to" Book. In my experience, "how to" books about the martial arts are a waste of time unless you are already experienced in one or more forms. "Why" books are much more interesting because they allow me to compare my own experience with that of others.

This is the intensely personal journey of one person with a traditional Chinese Sifu. Schmeig's explanation of the sifu-tuer relationship opened new horizions for me. This is not simply and explanation of an explanation of Daoism and martial arts, but rather the story of Dr. Schmeig's personal journey through the high chinese martial arts and Daoism.

Dr. Schmieg does place his personal story within the much larger context of the history of martial arts in Chinese, South East Asia and its more recent impacts in Europe and North America. However, the point of the book is to introduce the reader, martial artist or not, to the inside world of "high" Chinese martial arts through one lineage. While this is not a scholarly work intended to place Dr. Schmieg's lineage within some larger context, it is a wonderfully personal work.

I particularly enjoyed D. Schmieg's writing style and his frequent use of personal anecdote. I felt very much like I was in a conversation with Dr. Schmieg. This particular style allowed me to continuously compare my personal journey and experiences with Dr. Schmeig's in what I found to be a non-threatening manner. For all practitioners of martial arts this book is a necessary read.

I did find some of Dr. Schmieg's comments about Taijiquan and Qi to be incongruent with my personal experience. Someday I hope to have the opportunity to speak with him directly about this seeming incongruity.

Dr. Schmieg's attempts to put his personal experiences in the context of the history of Chinese martial arts are very well done. His grasp of the broad scope of Chinese history certainly matches my own and may be much better. There may be some readers who take exception to his debunking of some mythological aspects of the martial arts. That is only to be expected given his premise of the differences between high and low practitioners.

I feel compelled to note that this book will undoubtedly receive many adverse reviews. Dr. Schmieg's personal experience and the experience of Dr. Xia, which he reports, are certain to offend many traditional martial artists. That is a good part of the strength of this book. Again, given the premise of the high and low aspects of Chinese martial arts as explicated herein, it is inevitable that the book will receive adverse reviews from those who are unable to apprehend the message, for whatever reason.

I know of no other books that deal with this particular subject in this precise manner and I suspect that this makes book unique. However, in the realm of `Why " books I would include John Lash - "The Tai Chi Journey"; Margaret Schorre _ "How to grasp bird's tail, if you don't speak Chinese; Deng Ming Dao - "Chronicles of the Dao. In my opinion Dr. Schmieg's book is the equal of these books.

The book is well written and easily read by both martial artists and non-martial artists. To the best of my knowledge and experience the material is accurate.

The work is important because it provides a uniquely personal view of a particular lineage of Chinese martial arts that is little known outside of China.

The audience is anyone with a background or interest in martial arts or classical Chinese culture.

The writing style is very clear and the presentation was delightful. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion as I read.

Being born and raised in Hawaii and tasted the delicious local food growing up, I found this book to be one of the best cookbooks of local, Hawaii-style cooking. The recipes were easy to follow and the color photos brought back many fond memories. If you ever ate the 'ono' local food in Hawaii, be sure to add this cookbook to your library!

From Shoyu Hot Dogs to Lamb Wellington "Indianne" with Tropical Fruit Chutney, two local authors have hit the nail on the head with their new cookbook, What Hawaii Likes to Eat.
A collection of 130 recipes submitted by readers of a Honolulu daily newspaper, the range of dishes and tastes are as varied as the multi-cultural and chop suey residents of Hawaii.
If there is one thing that all people like to do is eat, and with so many influences in the Crossroads of the Pacific, it would be impossible for even the most finicky of eaters not to discover something in this book that would make their mouths water.
Cookbook writer and editor Muriel Miura teamed with the newspaper's food editor Betty Shimabukuro and asked the professional cooks and chefs along with the experts -- the eaters -- What do Hawaii folks like to eat?
After months of reading, testing and eating, the result is this spiral-bound cookbook -- with the required color photos needed for any amateur Pacific Rim food preparer to serve a mouth-watering dish.
What Hawaii likes to eat will provide comfort food for those who grew up on the plantation: Chicken Hekka, Musubi and Mango Seed; for those townies who were raised in Honolulu or Hilo: Loco Moco, Hamburger Steak and Chicken Katsu; for those who love luau food: Chicken Long Rice, Laulau, Lomi Salmon and Haupia; and for those who appreciate the ambiance as much as the meal: Cavalier Restaurant's Lobster Thermidor, Hiroshi Eurasian Tapas' Garlic Shichimi Ahi with Ponzu Vinagrette and Kahala Resort and Hotel's Roasted Garlic Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Herbs.
For poi dog palates, try Napua Steven's Taro Biscuits, Arare Cookies and Sam Choy's Hawaiian Pulehu Tri-Tip Steak.
The kamaaina baby boomers and their parents may remember Jolly Roger's Orange Bread, Queen's Surf Chicken Kamaaina and Little George's Shrimp Scampi. The Stewart's Pharmacy Corn Bread would bring a tear to the eye of anyone who frequented the once-popular Waikiki establishment.
But for all the fancy Lavosh, Orange Souffle, Golden Phoenix Claws and Scalloped Potatoes that are in this book, perhaps the most intriguing recipe is the first -- and possibly the simplest -- the "Oki Dog," an American, Mexican, Tex-Mex and Okinawan Fusion creation, which is a bright red, crispy Redondo hot dog, Zippy's chili, shoyu pork and iceberg lettuce all wrapped up in a tortilla.
The delicacy was actually first served on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood by Sakai "Jimmy" Sueyoshi, an Okinawa native who got rich selling his "Oki Dogs," and brought to Hawaii by one of the organizers of the Okinawan Festival who replaced the shredded pastrami that Sueyoshi used with the shoyu pork.
Onolicious.

As with the 2nd volume, this first work is a much welcomed western academic publication of Nichiren Shonin's writings. Few sources of this quality are available in English, and I hope to see similar works in the future.

The two main works found in this volume are the Rissho Ankoku-ron and Senji-sho, both of which are foundational texts to Nichiren Buddhist doctrine. The book itself is very attractive, easy to use, has introductory comments for each letter, and includes a comprehensive glossary. Another attractive element is that footnotes are kept on the low side, and there is little editorial intrusion upon the body of the texts.

This is an excellent volume in the ongoing translation project at the University of Hawaii. I understand that it will eventually be seven volumes. It is an excellent introduction to Nichiren's writings and his world. I found it well written, well translated, with a helpful glossary of terms and phrases peculiar to Nichiren's writings, and a good index.

Nichiren is one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in Japanese History. The largest group of Buddhists in the West follow one or more of the many Nichiren traditions. His teachings have a broad appeal across cultural and class lines. Those interested in Nichiren, Japanese Buddhism, and why this form appeals to so many westerners, will find this volume, and the rest from the U. of H. helpful in understanding this great Sage's comprehensive views of the Buddhadharma.

Dharmajim

BETWEEN ZEN AND WESTERN THOUGHT. MASAO ABE TRULY DESERVES READING.
A FANTASTIC EXPOSURE OF A VERY WELL PREPARED SCHOLAR ON BOTH AREAS. THE
WESTERN WORLD MEETS EAST. VERY GOOD READING!

Fabulous book. I read it when I was sixteen and it was my second book on philosophy. I had to keep a dictionary beside me as I read it because the vocabulary was esoteric, but it made me want to read it more. It changed the way I thought about things and helped me see relationships between events and ideas that at first glance might seem unrelated. In seeking to understand this book, I exposed myself to a way of thinking very alien to my experience up until that point. It was very rewarding. I highly recommend it if you want to glimpse something greater of yourself. Doing nothing else unusual except reading 2/3 of this book and praying, my SAT scores leaped from 1150 to 1350. It is the best book of its kind. Truly. After reading it, most autobiographical works of modern WEstern Zen practitioners will seem flat and trite. If nothing else, you will better be able to discern what is crap in Zen literature.

This work follows the journey through many teachers of healing through bodywork, and has influenced me to take my work to a higher level.

The author presents his life story of beginning work on massage
and muscle work, to his learning Rolfing and Feldenkrais, to his work with a Zen Kendo (and healer) master. Along the way,
you are treated with fantastic stories of transformation and healing, all presented in a matter-of-fact way, without ornamentation or (much) philosophy. Rather than trying to proselytize or show why "his way" is the "best way", the author
tells a tale of his personal transformation and growth and the potential inside us all. Highly recommended.

Well written and fully researched, beautiful graphics and pictures of Hawaii; and a very useful guide for preserving the wonderful environment of Hawaii, and, for that matter, any community.

This book is great for looking up Old Chinese word families and their Tibeto-Burman comparanda. Arranged by pinyin, cross-referenced and indexed, it's very handy. Right after I got it, a classmate asked me "where does the Mandarin question particle ma5 come from?" We looked it up and there it was. (It's probably related to the negative marker wu2.) It proved its worth on day 1. :-)

Awesome! My 3 granddaughters go to this book first when it's reading time. It is simple to understand, yet filled with knowledge as the author applies the ABC's to the intrigue of Hawaii.

This is an amazing collection of arial photos by one of the best. Robert Carerons work is the benchmark of this genre, he is the master and this book really demonstrates this in full. Let's face it it's not hard to make Hawaii look good in photographs, but what makes Cameron so great is that he can make something that has been photographed so many times look like something totally new, that is the mark a great photographer. I am a huge fan of his work and this book is an exemplary example; he does Hawaii a great service. I highly recommend this to anyone with an appreication of photography, this man was special.