Asia Books

Actually, it's probably vice-versa, I think my two sons came to bagels as a result of enjoying this book so much. It's a very charming story, and really wonderful illustrations (We have a few other Grace Lin titles as well). Some of the writing can be a little awkward for reading aloud (especially when you're exhaustedly trying to get your kids to go to sleep), but even still it has brought my family a lot of smiles (and a well-worn catch-phrase heard frequently around our house).

a delightfully simple book with a multi-cultural theme (korea and the usa)...about a little boy in korea wishing for a bagel (which he had never seen nor tasted) and how his community helped to create one and to share in its eating! very well-illustrated and written to be read over and over again.

Bagels. Yum. You know, for years I thought I disliked the tasty carbo-loaded concoctions simply because the only ones I'd ever eaten were of the gawdawful frozen variety. Maybe I would've come to bagels a little sooner in life had I had access to a book like "Where On Earth Is My Bagel?". Taking an essentially ridiculous idea (bagels are the stuff of visions and portent-laden dreams) the book is a nice little tale of a boy and his mini-quest for a good old-fashioned schmear.

Yum Yung, who has lived all his life in Korea, awakes from a mid-afternoon nap one day to declare with very little doubt in his mind, "I want a bagel!". This being rural Korea, New York bagels are (to say the least) a teensy bit scarce. This fact does not deter Yum Yung in the slightest, however. Without further ado he finds himself a pigeon and ties a note to its leg that amounts to a one-bagel order form. The pigeon takes off but no bagel returns to Yum Yung. He asks everyone he knows if they happened to get it by mistake. Sadly, the man working the wheat field hasn't. The fisherman working the salty sea hasn't. Even the woman tending the beehives hasn't. Yet to Yum Yung's delight, the pigeon returns with a bagel recipe (the note explains that bagels older than a day are not exactly edible) and the boy is able to get wheat, salt, and honey from the three people he bugged just the morning before. At the end of the story Yum Yung and his friends create an enormous bagel and sit down to a one-food-only feast of sorts.

The first two pages of the book show the Atlantic Ocean with New York and its tantalizing bagels on one page and Yum Yung, hands pressed dramatically to his chest, on the other. As another reviewer of this book pointed out, this shot is a bit askew, with Korea ending up where Spain could be. My only other grief with the book was that it did not include the recipe that Yum Yung received from New York. Books of this nature are especially good at getting you to crave the items they write of. How hard would it have been to include instructions for making your own? Not everyone lives in New York, after all.

Otherwise, the story's rather sweet. I give a lot of credit to the book for having such a bizarre premise. The pictures will not blow you away and the writing is somewhat pat, but this is a nice little tale that follows the rule of three and has a satisfying and delicious conclusion. A fine little tale for those kids already in love with bagels' chewy ways.

This is the story of Yum Yung in Korea. One day, for some unknown reason, he decides he would like a New York bagel. He send a pigeon with a message to New York to order one bagel to go. When the bagel does not show up right away, Yum Yung decides that he must search for it.

Yum Yung encounters a farmer, a fisherman, a beekeeper, and a baker while searching, but to no avail until suddenly everything comes together and the whole cast gets the chance to enjoy a fresh-baked bagel.

A truly fun story told in just the right way for young readers (repetitive language, etc.). After reading the book, go back to the start and you will notice that while Yum Tung is dreaming of his bagel, all the settings of the story are visible from his hilltop.

The only downside in the book is in the opening illustration that seems to place Korea in the vicinity of France or Spain (East and a little south of New York). Considering the obvious care in the rest of the illustrations I found this rather unusual. But this should not detract from this story of a young boy who has a dream and sets out to make it a reality.

This book contains all of the perfect elements that make a good children's book. It has imajination as the impossible happens. It has repition as the same conversation happens as the main character meets new people. Children just love this as they can predict what is going to happen and can follow along easier. It ends by using parts gleaned from the rest of the story binding it together beautifully. The wonderful solid structure of an absolutely perfect children's book. Beautiful

We bought this book to use as our guest book at our wedding, since we'll be honeymooning in Vietnam. It's perfect. There are large pages with great photos and plenty of white space for people to leave messages for us. It's the perfect alternative to a traditional guest book. Also, the photography is great - making us very excited to actually see Vietnam ourselves. There weren't any beach photos - which is one of the things we're really looking forward to in Vietnam, so that was a little disappointing.

I didn't know what to expect but this book is really full of real life pictures and also scenery. The text is also a nice support. It's very well done.

More than simply a work of art or collection of jewels, "Window to Vietnam" is an equisite experience. It combines visual delight with intangible imagery to render a deep understanding of a multi-dimensional country... its past, present and the marvelous confluence of both. This book is a "coffee table must!" But don't be surprised to find yourself taking it to bed.

Windows to Vietnam is truly a beautiful book. Scott Clarkson's photography and Veita Jo Hampton's poetry complement each other perfectly. Clarkson's photographs selectively, yet effectively, show us both a people and a nation that are positive-thinking, confident, optimistic, and ambitious. At the same time, the book pays homage to the character, the culture, the history, and the heritage of the Vietnamese people. Hampton, recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, in this book goes well beyond her proposal to Clarkson to allow her to "write to these photos": Her poetry looks not only at but deeply into, even beyond, the photographs and brings out details that are not readily visible in the photos, except perhaps to a poet's imagination and ability to "see" that which may not be evident to others. The metaphoric "Windows" in the title is most aptly chosen, as evidenced in "Carved Frames of Hue" (p. 55; photos pp. 48-57 and back of cover), as well as in other photographs and poems showing or alluding to windows and views. Clarkson's cover photo, "Friend on the Mekong," captures in a single shutter's click the face and figure of a man that reflects the strength, character, and heritage of the people of Vietnam. The poetry and the photographs stand as testimony to Hampton's view, quoted on the inside/back of the book's jacket, that the most effective communication is achieved through the "deliberate blending of words and pictures."

I spent one month in Viêt Nam last year and although I shot more than 1800 pictures, may I say this is a wonderful and marvelleous book which has remembered me all my journeys. I recommend it to everybody who wishes to visit this amazing country.
I fell in love with Viêt Nam and their people. This is a different book; you have beautiful photographs far away from the ones you usually see in any publication shot by Scott Charles Clarkson; you read poems with a very special sensitivity written by Veita Jo Hampton and the Foreword written by Mark A. Ashwill is a must, before you start looking and reading the book.

I bought this book (and the companion volume) after reading some of Lamb's work in the 'Flashing Swords' ezine and anthology from Pitch-Black Press (Sages and Swords). I'd never heard of Lamb before--and now I've read his work, I'm stumped if I know why that is. Everything that's good about adventure fiction is in this book: strong and cunning protagonists, treacherous villains, and exotic locales, and all written in a clean and fast-paced prose style I wish I could emulate.

I read the whole thing in a week, then read the other volume straight after. When I finished, I went back and read them again.

My only caveat about the books has nothing to do with the stories, but the covers. The stock used for the covers is a little thin, and it warps badly if it gets damp. If you do buy a copy (and you should), then keep the cover away from water, otherwise it will curl and start to come apart.

If you're at all interested in adventure fiction, you should buy this book and any others by Lamb you can. Really, they're very, very good.

[This is the same review I wrote for the other of the two books currently available--but I read them both at the same time, and I have the same comments about both, so ...)

Among the ranks of forgotten pulp authors, Harold Lamb's obscurity is one of the strangest enigmas. Imagine if you only knew Robert E. Howard or H. P. Lovecraft from a few hints of having been significant once, or inspiring later authors, and their works were unavailable in print. This is pretty much the situation with Lamb, and it is hopeful that this book and its four companions will remedy it.

Because, in fact, Lamb is a master of the genre, easily the equal of REH, HPL and other pioneers of fantastic fiction. The main character, Khlit, a veteran Cossack on the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, is just as iconic as Conan the Barbarian, Ffahrd and the Grey Mouser or Cugel the Clever. His gruffness, practicality, and sharp wit despite being completely illiterate, makes him an appealing protagonist. In turn, his foes, Tatar Khans, schemers of the Chinese court and masters of secret cults and societies, are classic pulp villain material without indulging in base stereotypes. The pacing, including the trademark twist at the end (where I usually cried out "Of course!"), is exemplary. Finally, the locations where the stories take place are well chosen: exotic to modern readers, and presented fantastically, yet with a sharp eye to historical detail and accuracy as well. Lamb's deep knowledge of Asian cultures and customs is remarkable, and he can weave it into his plots without looking intrusive or forced.

It is hopeful that these four volumes will pave the way before more collections and reprints, and that they will introduce many more people to Lamb's excellent works. As someone who had known next to nothing about them even a few months ago, and only discovered the author when he was mentioned alongside Talbot Mundy on a message board, I definitely recommend them to anyone with an interest in great adventure stories. The editor, Howard Andrew Jones, is to be commended for his efforts in making this happen - and the cover illustrator as well for providing four elegant, moody illustrations to adorn them.

For those interested in historical adventure there is probably no better choice than to pick up this volume and read the epic story of a lone, wily cossack, who leaves his clan and sets about adventuring across Asia. Not only is the volume a bargain - you would be lucky to find a sole story in the original magazine version at the price of the whole volume - it is entertainment pur sang,from the first page to the last. While Lamb gives us great descriptions of battle- and actionscenes, in the end his heroes win by their wits and not by their swords. This gives every storyending the unique "Lamb-twist" In addition the backgrounds and details of the stories are all historically accurate - which does not detract at all from the enjoyment! If you like to have your imagination stimulated by adventures in far lands and other days, this is the book for you!

For honest disclosure, the editor, Howard Andrew Jones, is a friend and colleague.

But that won't stop me from saying "wow". The first tale of Khlit starts off the character at the very audacious age of 50-ish. And Khlit ages as the series goes on. To have this wiley old man have to think his way through the traps and conflicts that beset him and not just rely on sword and brawn, is just so damn cool.

Others have noted how modern Harold Lamb writes. I concur. His prose is evocative without being overly flowery. He sketches a world that is deep and dangerous, but never gets in the way of the story.

And Lamb's exploration of cultures and religions of this region, well, I think that Khlit and Lamb expose us to some very thought provoking situations that pertain to our world, NOW. After all, this is the world of Turkey to China. I think there are some events happening in that area these days that are of import. I'm not saying that this is a history lesson in these pages....but history and culture are nonetheless taught as we follow the wandering Cossack.

If, like me, you've hunted for Harold Lamb's stories dispersed in old and rare magazines and books long out of print and despaired that you would ever have them all - you will be grateful to Howard Jones for collecting and editing them. I am, even more so because I got to know Howard towards the end of this enterprise and got a glimpse of how huge and intricate his job was.

If you've ever dreamed of adventures in a world younger than ours, where bravery and cunning count for something and danger or treasure could wait around the next bend of the road - these stories are for you.

If you've ever wished for tales that would let you breathe the sharp air of the Hindukush range, feel the burning sun of the deserts, taste the dust of the steppes, see the Cossacks or nomads quarrel, fight and revel - these stories are certainly for you.

Get all four volumes and ride with Khlit, a cunning old Cossack retired from the Sietch, who keeps looking for adventures, alone or with a few companions, in lands where if your hosts regret your parting you never know whether they found your company good or whether they regret they did not have enough time to rob you.

Read these stories, enjoy them and tell your friends!

If you've dreamed of sailing in a lovely wooden ship around the world and exploring strange new land, be advised one emperor of early China dreamed of just such adventure - and achieved it! Years before European ships rounded the tip of Africa. "Adventures of the Treasure Fleet: China Discovers the World" is a picturebook recounting the true story of Admiral Zheng, who sailed on seven far-reaching expeditions five hundred years ago, at the behest of the Chinese emperor. Zheng's exploits fighting pirates, discovering new lands, and captaining the legendary "Treasure Fleet" make for a rousing adventure. Admiral Zheng He and his fleet of 'treasure ships' embarked on 7 different expeditions that sailed further than any thought possible - and continued the journey for over 28 years. Finely drawn and colorful pencil drawings by Singaporean artist Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard illustrate this amazing story, told in narrative format with additional historical facts mentioned at length on the bottoms of the pages. Highly recommended for public and children's library collections.

This beautiful, engaging book delighted my 6th grade history students! The art work is detailed and gorgeous. There are 2 stories told here. One is historical fiction. It tells of the adventures of the Chinese Admiral who set out to explore for his emperor. The bottom boarder of each page contains the historical information related to each fictional page.
My students enjoyed spening time examining the beautiful, detailed artwork on each page.
The artwork alone would hold a younger child's attention as the story was read aloud by a parent or teacher.
What did I love most about this book? It inspired my students to ask questions, make connections and have conversations about ancient history!

This is a treasure of a book, with lively text and illustrations geared to pull the young reader into the world of yesteryear and many of its ancient cultures. In 1405, Admiral Zheng He led his fleet to an amazing number of ports around the world, creating trading routes and opening opportunities for modern commerce. Blended in are explanations of China's early inventions, boat building, the magnetic compass, navigation techniques, how to create diplomatic bonds with strangers, what was traded and how global trade developed at the hands of the Chinese and their partners, and more.

Bowler's roots as a teacher are on display. The reader is seamlessly transported into an ancient world, and made to think about how incredible these accomplishments must have felt to people without the modern conveniences we all take for granted. How to communicate among all the ships, navigate stormy waters, fight off pirates, and make friends with strangers in a language you do not share? Bowler entices her readers to think about how amazing all these accomplishments were.

Intricately detailed art work helps the reader visualize every day life, as well as different cultural characteristics of Africa, India, Siam (now Thailand), what we now call the Middle East, and of course, China. The artist shows homes, dress, animals, musical instruments, dinnerware and vases, food, plants, places of worship, boats, traded goods of different countries, and much more. The map at the end of the book helps the readers grasp the magnitude of the 35,000 miles of oceans traveled.

This book tells the story of many fantastic voyages of a visionary explorer in a way that should catch and hold the attention of the reader. What a terrific way to introduce an important piece of our global history and culture to primary and secondary school readers - as well as their parents!

ADVENTURES OF THE TREASURE FLEET is much more than a picture book. It is a chapter in world history--85 years before Columbus--that is rarely told. How have we missed the 6'tall Admiral Zheng He's incredible voyages in 300 huge Chinese ships, each the size of football fields? And pirates too! Ann Martin Bowler's detailed research and Lak-Khee Ty-Auduoard's wonderful art have made history an exciting adventure!

This beautifully illustrated and written book opens American children's eyes to a fascinating epoch in Chinese history--the great sailing of the "Treasure Fleet" on its several voyages all through Southeast Asia, India, the eastern coast of Africa, and all the way to the Red Sea. Not only does it open a window onto China's rich history, it also provides an excellent geography lesson (thanks to some beautiful maps). Adults will enjoy reading it as well, especially since a "grown-up" history of these voyages is provided at the bottom of the pages. A superb effort!

This is an outstanding book...as one who just returned from a trip to Angkor Wat, Angkor Cities and Temples provides beautiful photography of these amazing structures and an excellent description of the sites. I highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Siem Reap to help prepare for your visit. It is also a most memorable book that you can share with your friends as you attempt to describe this historic area.

I have reviewed a few Angkor books. I think this is the best book among them. The pictures are very good.

Angkor Cities And Temples is perhaps one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. Everything about it beckons the reader to remain absorbed in its pages. The text by Claude Jacques is erudite, well-written, and very well translated. The photography by Michael Freeman is astonishingly good. Not only by virtue of his technical skills, which are considerable, but because he handles the art and architecture of the monuments with a tremendous sensitivity to detail and a glorious feel for the way in which light interacts dramatically with stone. Together, the flowing text and luminous colour images provide a wondrous exposure to an ancient world of great sophistication and profound aesthetic development.

Angkor: Cities and Temples by Claude Jacques, et al undoubtedly presents one of the most enchanting illustrative descriptions of Khmer architectural design and history I've ever seen. The photos are crisp and clean and the printing quality is first class. However, the text, translated from French, is overly technical and lacks a sense of cohesiveness, which would have otherwise made it easier to percieve the "big picture" concerning the period of Angkor.

I had always wanted to visit the Angkor temples.And I was looking for some good books on Angkor. When I saw this book, I immediately bought it inspite of its price. The text is crisp and illuminating. And the photographs are the best I have seen of Angkor. They are so real and dramatic that you feel that you are right there. The only drawback with this book is its size. It is mammoth, making it a reference guide rather than a guide you can bring with you on your travel to Angkor. Nevertheless, only in this book has justice been done to the magnificent temples of Angkor. If there is only one book you buy this year, make it this one.

This review by Ghostwriter Reviews, Reviewer, Sunshine is posted by D. K. Christi as a member of Amazon.com

Arirang: The Bamboo Connection
Arirang The Bamboo Connection

AUTHOR: D. K. Christi¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Melani, a young American wife and mother working in Korea, is the picture of the proper image; faithful, dutiful wife, loving, attentive mother and hard-working, dedicated teacher. She has a "friend" on the side, Dale, whom she spends her time with due to the lack of interest and communication on the part of her husband. But then she meets Jack, a handsome officer on temporary duty. What ensues with them is a flirtation with trouble, as they begin to sneak around to meet each other and spend time together behind closed doors. If word got out, she could jeopardize everything she has, her job, her child, her husband, even her household help. Should she stop because of those reasons or continue with it because her husband has his share of company as well? What happens when Jack's time there is finished?
Wow, some women have all the luck! A beautiful son, an interesting job, a husband, a "friend" to spend time with when your own husband doesn't give you the attentiveness you need and another man who makes you feel what you've long ago forgotten. Being an enthusiastic reader, I can really appreciate the effort this author put forth in writing this book, from the plot, to the descriptions, to the over all feeling of the story. When an author puts in this kind of effort, it makes it easier to get into a book such as this one. Since I also have a very active imagination, the descriptions of scenery and locale really helped me visualize the idea the author is going for. I also appreciated the effort put into the technical research, like describing the various cultures, history and mannerisms that are encountered throughout the character's lives. Though it's long, this is a book I'd read more than once, just because the descriptions allow my imagination to run away, taking me with it.

I give this book a very enthusiastic 5!
Reviewer: Sunshine
Ghostwriter Reviews

ISBN: 142414776X

It is a book of adventure. The reader will learn much about foreign living and travel to a variety of locations. The reader will also sail the seas enjoying the high life with all the hazards of sailing. The frustrations of life and survival play a large role in D.K. Christi's book. It includes romantic encounters with the agony and ecstasy of love given, received and lost. The book gives a down to earth look at life's struggle and the plight of people to survive in the land of plenty.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (1/07)

Jack has the bluest eyes Melani has ever seen. There is something special between them when their eyes meet. She met him at the tennis courts in Korea never suspecting their paths would cross again. Jack wanted them to meet again. Melani is married but her husband "spends his business evenings in the Kiesing houses, arriving home too drunk to miss me. Like Cinderella, the ball has come to an end."

Jack mesmerizes Melani. "He has impressed on me that our whole existence is based on our relationship together at that moment in time. The rest of the world is another place, not allowed to intrude on our feelings for each other. Nor do our feelings need to affect anyone else."

This is the life story of a young girl, from childhood through her "senior" years. Melani's life is an adventure. She travels from America, to Korea, the British Isles, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Her marriage to Derek began like most with dreams and ideals but it ended with affairs and divorce.

Another marriage ends in rage and abuse. "When he was good he was very, very good but when he was bad he was horrible." Melani and her son Brian were on their own again "with an ocean of tears behind us." Jack will always remain her soul mate.

This is a book of tears, joy, adventure, pain, love, duplicity and grief. Melani is a woman of great character and intellect. She is strong but doesn't always realize it. This book is a window into her soul.

D.K. Christi is a tremendously talented author. She writes "Arirang: The Bamboo Connection" from the first person perspective, giving readers the sense of being Melani. She offers great insight on the personality of her main character. Despite character flaws I could not help but love Melani. She shows strength that one would not expect; a strength that grows with each page. I could have been easily convinced that this was not fiction but based on a true story if I had not already read otherwise. The cover of this book teases the reader to delve inside. This book is of epic proportions. I truly enjoyed reading it.

ARIRANG, an incredible story of a young girl's journey through life from childhood to the "golden years." It is filled with adventure, betrayal, love, joy and sorrow. As you witness Melanie's life as seen through her prospective, Melanie will soon live in your heart from the beginning of the very first page through the last. She is a person of great intelligence, integrity, passion, depth of character and "true grit" that the author has an uncanny ability to reveal to the reader. This is not just a book traversing seven continents, but a book that takes you into the depths of Melanie's psyche allowing the reader to identify and feel her pain and her joy. The reader will experience the terror of surviving life-threatening seas to the frustrations of performing daily tasks while Melanie and her husband sail their sixty-seven foot sailboat from Miami to Venezuela. It is my hope that D.K. Christi will write many more books. This one, I could not put down. Melanie remains in my heart.
Nancy Canter

Review by D. L Montgomery, author of A Nanosecond To Eternity in the Twinkling of an Eye . A tour of heaven and how the earth comes to the end of life as we now know it.

Book Reviewed:
Arirang: The Bamboo Connection. By D.K. Christi

ISBN: 1-4241-4776-X 487 pages, Softcover PublishAmerica

D.K. Christi unfolds a compelling tale that has everything that you would want in a romantic novel: travel, love, adventure, happiness, pain, grief, disaster and finally how to live comfortably through the rest of our days on earth.
D.K. Christi, uses her vast education, her many travels to foreign lands and her knowledge of various cultures to write this brilliant, seamless, love story.
Melani, her main character in Arirang: The Bamboo Connection, is married, has a young son Brian and works and lives in Korea. She is not happy with her marriage but has made friends with Dale and Jack, who have given her the friendship and love that she so desperately needs.
Melani, her husband Derek and son Brian take a vacation to various exotic lands in the mid east, that are described in the book with exacting detail; one can see in their minds eye every enchanting sight, smell the aroma of the food available in the various outdoor market places and have a tingling sensation at the back of your neck when reading some of the harrowing adventures that take place during the vacation and through the balance of the story.
I found the book to be a tour de force that will be enjoyed and appreciated by readers of all genres.

Beautifully illustrated, delightful and extremely informative. This book is a marvelous supplement to the typical art history text books.

This is a challenging work.

He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.

Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place

Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.

Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.

As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.

Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.

While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

I like the author's approach to writing an introduction to the arts of China. Instead of trying to touch at least all of the major artists/works from all of the major periods (which in the case of China would mean touching very many things in a very cursory way), the author focuses on the context for which works were produced. Some of them were meant to be "art" from the start, some were not. This offers ample opportunities to examine how some works influenced other later in history. Overall, I think the ideas presented are some of the most gripping I have found in Chinese art history books. The book includes recent discoveries and scholarship and uses Pinyin romanization (two great features - not all recently-published books do).

In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!

Thanks goes to Steve Martin for bringing to light a significant, and nearly forgotten, history. Through artifacts (Steve's impressive and beautiful collection of opium paraphernalia, and period photographs) and down to earth story telling, I found myself transported to opium dens in the East and West, and imagined the lives and circumstances of those who were entranced and enveloped by the narcotic.

The pictures are gorgeous, the writing evocative, and the topic and the objects themselves provide a fascinating portal for history.

When the paraphernalia associated with opiates comes to mind what do you picture? Syringes? Drippy candles? Bent spoons? These are the gear of the heroin user but what about heroin's long dead uncle, opium? The paraphernalia of the two drugs couldn't be more different. This book will take you back in time when drug use was at least practised with style and flair. The opium pipes, lamps and other accouterments illustrated in this book are gem-like works or art made from rare and precious materials such as silver, ivory and jade. It's a world long lost but the author manages to bring it back to life for a brief moment and dazzle us with the promises of chemical bliss that tempted our ancestors. Getting addicted back then was no doubt as painful and ruinous as it is today, but they sure knew how to do it in style!

The Art of Opium Antiques is one of the most artfully illustrated and artistically written books on the subject. Throughout its pages Steven Martin traces the cultural use in China alongside the artistry and astounding craftmanship of the time, from the low and common to the truly decedent. Photos of amazingly ornate apparatus are peppered throughout alongside diagrams depicting the main components of a typical pipe or lamp. Historical photos help put one in the mind frame of the times, allowing one to contemplate how this blissful habit, aided by dedicated artisans progressed up until its zenith during the nineteenth century. Martin's vast collection and grasp of the subject are equally great, allowing one to walk away with a greater appreciation for opium related antiquities. There is no doubt this book will help spawn new collectors as well as reconfirm the addiction of the collector aficionado, for this book is a grand spring board for newbies and opium-porn for the serious collector.

Such a great book! Instead of just relating the well-known disastrous effects of opium, the author of this book brings new insight into the history of the drug by exploring Opium paraphernalia as an art form. It works!

We are brought into the mythical Opium dens of a not so distant past, with the rich illustrations of this text. A rare photo of an 1880 Butte, Montana bunkhouse "opium den" is particularly amusing. However, it is the lush photographs of the drug paraphernalia that make this work so worthwhile. The extensive captions that accompany each photograph have enabled the author to not only inform the reader about the use and artistic achievement of these artifacts, but entertain as well.

The result is a more humanizing view of the addiction itself. Knowing that these beautiful instruments were the tools in which to feed a deadly addiction gives us another vantage point to view this era of history.

Anyone with the an interest in the history of China, the Chinese Diaspora living in the USA in the late 18th/19th century or the history of Southeast Asia will find this book particularly fascinating. The Art of Opium Antiques will be an essential addition to your bookshelf.

This book is really helpful to identify antique opium art. I work for Asia Galleries in San Francisco where we sell a lot of antique opium artifacts. I had hard time to find a book that helps me to study about details of opium art, but in this book I see many dampers, pipes, lamps, and opium scrapers are similar to the ones Asia Galleries have; therefore, I was able to gain some knowledge through this book. Now, I am confident to explain details of our antique opium art to customers. I would like to say thank you to Steven Martin.

Jerry Beisler is in the midst of chronicling his eventful life, decade by decade, in a series of books called "As the Prayer Wheel Turns." The 1970s is covered in "The Bandit of Kabul" ($29.95 in paperback from Regent Press), studded with black and white photographs of the times and the people -- from Rebecca, whom he marries in 1971 in Goa, India, to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, to "Dutch Bob," who "tried to recruit anyone of worth he met in the Kathmandu Valley to assist him in his Hash-to-Amsterdam deals." The author signed up.

An author's note sets the tone: "This book is set in some of the world's most remote and exotic locations, but you will not be reading poetic or minute descriptions of the sights, sounds or smells of those places. & There is no time for dwelling on these things during this era of endless war that produces murderous national leaders, idiotic economic policies and draconian, tyrannical laws. But the historical facts, the action and adventure, the spirit and spirituality of human beings are here; this story beings and ends in love."

It's also the story of Beisler's entrepreneurial spirit. Gravitating away from the "false-bottom suitcase parade" smuggling contraband into Amsterdam, he and Rebecca would return periodically to their ranch in Northern California where Jerry would sell museum-quality Tibetan carpets and tend his marijuana garden (now long gone, of course, replaced by "ecologically perfect nut trees").

He also helped produce music shows "for the local college crowd & about 8,000 party-hungry students." It sounds like the unnamed "state university" was Chico State University, described as somewhere between the Bay Area and Oregon, 157 miles from San Francisco, just outside the radius promoter Bill Graham insisted on when he booked his acts so as not to dilute the potential audience. For Beisler that meant "Fleetwood Mac, Santana and Taj Mahal, came through town on their coastal swings to or from San Francisco."

During a time of estrangement from Rebecca, Jerry had met a woman in San Francisco. Later, once again united with Rebecca, he received a letter from "that 'hot-house flower.'" Almost matter-of-factly she wrote: "I am going to have your baby in a few months & and someday, if the child asks about the father, I'll just say he was the Bandit of Kabul."

Copyright 2007 Chico Enterprise-Record. Used by permission.

If "The Bandit of Kabul" writer/adventurer Jerry Beisler were to revisit Afghanistan and environs today, he would surely perform the appropriate bodily function.
A New York Times travel section piece (1/21/07) by Joshua Hammer provided a timely comparison between the Afghanistan of the early 70s, as described in Beisler's book, and the Afghanistan of 2007.
What was once called the "The Hippie Trail," before that, "The Silk Road," and before that "The House of Genghis Khan," is now undergoing, according to the Times article, "an accelerating nationalistic effort to bring tourists back by `promising them that they won't get killed.'"
Mr. Beisler, using his own inadversedly, unfettered-by-graying-conventions writing style, vividly recounts the kind of wild-eyed, courageous inquisitiveness so prevalent in that early time by travelers, not tourists.
The smells, sights and intrigues of that wilder, yet no less dangerous, era are all in "The Bandit of Kabul."
Using Asia as a home base, the author and an assortment of his here-now-and-possibly-never-again fellow male and female adventurers and entrepreneurs blaze trails similar to Ken Kesey, Jack London and Kerouac. In fact, Kesey's cohorts appear among the many colorful characters in this counter-culture history. All journey by rickety buses, ox carts or horseback to explore the pre-Taliban world of the opiated East. We will begin by running hard and fast from the breakout of war!
To quote:
"Our first train trip was not nearly so posh. We were two of twelve, emitting excessive body odor from nervous fear . . . at Allahabad, we were forced off the train when it was commandeered by soldiers for the war effort."
That took place in India when the 1971 Indo/Pakistan war broke out.
Or, in Kabul:
"The gun slipped out of Billy Batman's hands, dropped to the floor, discharged and shot him in the testicles. He chose to die. Billy's wife said it was a conscious decision."
And have you ever been to a Christmas Day beach party in Goa?
"After piling a half dozen sated and stoned party-goers into boats and clearing the shore break . . . the fishermen set up for themselves several bottles of an illegal, powerful whiskey and launched into a celebration of their own . . . they swilled liquor until they were blind drunk . . . these outriggers were very narrow and no one had any experience in manning such a craft . . . we managed, by hand signals and body language, to get them to row us ashore for a swim at Chapora Beach. After a relaxing, enjoyable dip and a few hits off the chillum, it was then up to us to pile the besotted fishermen, now asleep, back into the boats and launch ourselves and the other fools towards our home beach - in the darkness, through shark-filled waters."
A four-part autobiography, "The Bandit of Kabul" is book two of the series "As the Prayer Wheel Turns." Book one "Hoosiers and Hippies in the Sixties" is due out in January.

Reviewed by Ed Leslie, now retired after 35 years writing for television and print.
Stinson Beach, CA.

The Bandit of Kabul fell into my hands unexpectedly. In other words, I probably would not have picked it up at a bookstore. Like many gifts, this book was a genuine pleasure to have received. These adventures of a wide cast of "characters" are crazy and riveting. Additionally, the descriptions of Afghanistan, at that time in history, are vividly done. Hands down, this author has lived a story wilder than the earlier American beatnicks and counter culture tripsters. He took the road trip to new heights, so to speak. Not wanting to downplay the originality of hitting the American highways as described by Kerouac and Kesey, nevertheless, that is a far cry from riding horses through treacherous mountain passes in Afghanistan. Author Beisler and friends were smart, young and had nerves of steel!

Even if I were not on the scene prior to the time that this book takes place, I would enjoy reading about Jerry's high adventures along the now infamous hashish trail. I'm captivated by his love of adventure, political awareness and romantic vision. The characters and settings come to life in vivid detail punctuated by the wonderful snapshots that add spice to an already tasty book. Historians, politicians, archivists take note - this is the real deal.

I saw this book in my local shop and liked the cover and the title. As one who had done a little traveling in Asia I was intrigued about the adventures Jerry and his intrepid friends had back when some of these countries were still somewhat innocent and open to westerners rather than the dark footnotes to current events they've become today. These guys' (I use the term loosely...) appetite for adventure and exotic travel knew no bounds in the anything goes era of the late sixties and early seventies.
As an old pot-smoking hippie myself I enjoyed their continuing quest for the next hashish haven. The descriptions of the places and the never-ending mad-cap adventures kept me turning the pages till there were none left. It, apparently, wasn't all fun and games as there were several near-death situations and judging by the last chapter, entitled: Where Are They Now? This parapatetic, picaresque life was not for the faint of heart as it seems that about every third person depicted in the book is either in jail or deceased. This 'Kat from Kabul' must be on one of his last lives. I highly reccommend this to anyone who ever wondered what it was like to be a wild and crazy hippie back in the day on the 'hashish trail'.

I stumbled on The Banquet Bug by Geling Yan in my "local independent book store." I just spent two weeks in Hong Kong and two days in Macau, so I am fascinated with anything Chinese right now. I want to better understand this vast culture and how it currently manifests.

I just finished reading the book and I am stung by the hugeness of what Geling Yan reports, of the layers and complexity she exposes, in a book presented as a "comedy" and "entertaining." This book is a brutal commentary on life not only in China but in the United States. What is presented here could be written anywhere that the disparity between rich and poor continues to stretch, anywhere where the politicians and builders are corrupt, anywhere where some people have to sell their own blood to live.

This book ends with strong, gentle acclaim for Motherhood, for Little Plum, in her outspoken wisdom, nonjudgment, and innocence. The last word, "Good" is a knife to the soul. Has he compromised his principles, or does he continue to know that what matters can never be bartered, purchased, or sold?

"The Banquet Bug" by Geling Yan centered around Dan Dong, who was laid off as a factory worker and who accidentally stumbled a lucractive part-time job, as a "banquet bug." Dan was mistaken as a journalist at a conference and he was treated to a banquet and it was the best meal he had eaten. On top of that, at the end of the conference, he along with other journalists were given some money which were "a little something for their trouble." He printed fake business cards and thus, began his journey as a professional banquet bug. Soon, he discovered the world of journalism, corruption, and basically deception. His fake job as a journalist became "real" when he was commissioned by the unfortunate, such as peasants, massage girls, and laborers to expose injustice.

This was a interesting satirical novel. Even though the premise of the novel seemed to center on Dan's job as a banquet bug, but it was actually just a stage for the author to write about more serious issues, such as corruption and poverty. The characters in the novel were memorable; such as Dan's fellow assertive journalist, Happy and his quiet but fiery wife, Little Plum. This was somewhat different from the typical Chinese novels that I have read in the past. Highly recommended.

Dan Dong was laid off by the cannery where he worked, so he and his wife Little Plum are forced to live on only noodles and out of date canned sardines. It's not the best fare in China, but it's better than the tree barky gruel with roasted grasshoppers they'd lived on in the past. Still, it's pretty awful, so when Dan is mistaken for a reporter while he's at a posh Bejing hotel looking for a job and is ushered into a press banquet, he goes with the flow and enjoys a fancy meal.

He quickly learns that with a business card saying he is a reporter, he can crash any number of press banquets, and there are a lot of those, banquets supporting causes and products and the press not only gets to eat haute cuisine for free, but they get paid (a small bribe actually) to write favorable stories. Dan goes on an internet site and gets himself a business card and thus he becomes a banquet bug, someone who pretends to be a reporter for the free meals and the cash.

However, much to Dan's chagrin, this banquet bug business isn't exactly on the up and up and the government has spies posing as, well as banquet bugs, trying to root out the phonies. Also, Dan would like his wife Little Plum to sample some of these very high class meals, and that could lead to his downfall. Plus, he begins to grow a conscious. He starts writing, but alas it's not the kind of stories the press wants.

Dan's deception is going to lead him on a roller coaster ride of corruption, greed, great food, an affair with a reporter and will even get him arrested, but through it all Dan's inner goodness shines through. He is a great character in a great book. It's been a couple years since I read THE LOST DAUGHTERS OF HAPPINESS which I adored and I liked BANQUET BUG even better. Perhaps, because BANQUET was written in English, so there wasn't a translator between me and the author, although Cathy Silbers translation of HAPPINESS flows very well. Actually these are both five star books, just wonderful, both of them.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

I thoroughly enjoyed Banquet Bug. In this novel, we meet Dan Dong, a laid-off factory worker who is mistakenly ushered in to the world of corrupt journalism, decadent foods, and "money for your troubles". Highly observant of protocol and customs, Dan becomes adept at passing. Dan gradually begins to transform into that which he was pretending to be.

Geiling Yan has given us a treat. All of the characters are vividly created - from Dan's wife Little Plum, to the assertive journalist Happy, and the great artist Ocean Chen. Moreover, the descriptions of the food and locations are wonderful. The novel raises many questions - about identity, oppression, happiness, and authenticity - without sacrificing an enjoyable story. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from Geiling Yan.

Russians have long been notorious for their satirical view of life under the Communist Party government and their willingness to invent jokes about it. For example: "After waiting five hours in line to buy meat, in the dead of winter, Igor begins to snap. He starts jumping up and down, yelling, "I can't stand it anymore! This developed socialism sucks! The system is totally corrupt!" After a couple of minutes, a grim-looking type in a black trenchcoat approaches Igor, shakes his head slowly, points his finger to Igor's temple mimicking a pistol, then walks off without saying a word. Igor comes home especially dejected. His wife asks, "What's the matter? Are they out of meat again?" "Worse," Igor says. "They're out of ammo."

The Chinese are not as well known for cynically humorous self-criticism, but Yan Geling's THE BANQUET BUG adds admirably to an emergent wave of such books from Ma Jian (THE NOODLE MAKER), Ha Jin (THE CRAZED, WAITING), Dai Sijie (MR. MUO'S TRAVELING COUCH), and Annie Wong (THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE). Ms. Yan tells the story of Dan Dong, an emigrant from rural China into Beijing, where he has become a married but unemployed factory worker. Dan and his wife, Little Plum, live in an unused part of the factory, subsisting on canned goods that have passed their expiration date, electricity tapped from the nearly defunct factory, and industrial waste water of indeterminate but suspect quality. One day, Dan inadvertently gets invited to a media event that includes a sumptuous banquet of exotic dishes along with an envelope containing "money for your troubles," the Chinese way of buying good press coverage. Thus begins Dan's new career as a "banquet bug," a person who falsely represents himself as a journalist in order to enjoy the banquets and receive the money for his troubles.

The bulk of Ms. Yan's novel follows Dan's misadventures as he gradually evolves into a poor man's journalist, inadequately educated for the role but instinctively honest in his desire to report truth and express outrage at corruption and injustice. No matter what Dan does or how uninformed he is, he miraculously manages to make the right decisions and say the right things, each time gaining more credibility and greater access to important people; in this, his character is reminiscent of Kosinski's Chauncey Gardiner in BEING THERE. Along the way, Dan Dong meets the renowned artist and fellow landsman Ocean Chen, the ruthlessly ambitious reporter Happy Gao, a foot massaging prostitute named Old Ten, and a small collection of oppressed individuals and rapacious businessmen who each want Dan to write news stories that will help them. Even as Dan practices his own form of banquet crashing deceit, he sees that those he meets simply want to use him for their own ends. In Ms. Yan's China, nearly everyone is both a user and a prostitute, living without principles and selling themselves for whatever gain it affords them. Truth is utterly relative, a product of each individual's particular motivations and objectives, further perverted by State censorship and editors' fears of government sanction.

As Dan becomes increasingly worldly from his journalistic experiences, his moral decline is contrasted with that of his oddly childlike wife, Little Plum. Throughout the book, Little Plum offers an almost saintly presence - uneducated, unassuming, undemanding, forbearing, and unwaveringly persevering. When confronted, she demonstrates flashes of anger and instinctive peasant savvy, but otherwise, she seems so devoid of affect and oblivious to her husband's unfaithfulness as to be almost robotic. In the end, however, it is Little Plum to whom Dan Dong will ultimately return after his two years' exposure to the workings of modern Chinese society - the unjust factory manager who has just upgraded to a Lexus even as he claims he is unable to pay his workers, the sleazy property developer Mr. Wu, the suffering peasants looking for justice in the capital city, even the self-serving guards at a car dealership who threaten to rape Little Plum.

Yan Geling's story is filled with trenchant observations about modern Chinese life, presented in a low key, satirical voice. Whether she is riffing on China's penchant for abstruse statistics and its materialistic perceptions about art (Happy Gao chooses as a gift from Ocean Chen one of his largest paintings based on her computations of the market value per square inch of the master's work), spoofing a saleslady's real estate pitch for an as yet unbuilt complex ("She is like an instructor of Marxism, teaching beautiful ideas of communism, helping you see things far beyond the way they appear now, so you can enjoy them in advance while they are still beautiful ideas."), or simply remarking the moral emptiness of modern Chinese life (Just tell him there's no right or wrong in China; it all depends on who you know."), Ms. Yan is an entertaining and spot-on observer. She wraps her commentary in a creative and engaging story line filled with memorable characters. The end result is a delightful read as well as education in the manners and mores of the "new China" - I heartily recommend THE BANQUET BUG to those interested in China and anyone who enjoys a well-told tale from a different culture. I recommend as well Ms. Yan's earlier novel, THE LOST DAUGHTER OF HAPPINESS, a stunning book that made me an instant fan.