Asia Books

I am not quite sure why I bought this book!

Maybe it was to make sure that the authors (Terry Collins and Derek Bacon) get at least some royalties for their efforts or perhaps the more likely excuse is that I needed to see whether my experiences were the same or similar to others. Then again maybe I bought the book because I just wanted to criticize the characterization or stereotyping of what it is like for us white folk living in Indonesia and particularly Jakarta!

The book set me back some IDR 163,000 from Kinokuniya in Plaza Indonesia. I was in Kinokuniya to buy a cross-stitch magazine for my better half and I happened to see the book and thought, why not? So, I whacked it on the counter and I now have my very own copy!

You might be wondering why a bloke who has spent so long in Jakarta wants to read anything to do with Culture Shock. Well, even after all this time living in Indonesia I am still "hey Mister" and perhaps this is both the beauty and the beast that is Jakarta; no matter how long you might have lived here and no matter how much you have integrated into society, you will never get away from being "Hey Mister!"

The book is well written (at least for my mind) and I found myself smiling and chuckling to myself as I read through it. It is surprising how much of the experience is common and how much we tend to forget of what has happened. It was nice to read and remember some of those long forgotten experiences that were jogged back into the more conscious memory!

I know one of the authors (Terry Collins) and perhaps I should make this as a disclaimer. Nevertheless, those of you that know me would know that I pull no punches. If I thought the book was garbage I would say so in not such an eloquent way! Yet, the book, I have found has been worth the money I outlaid for it, if for no other reason than it reminded me of moments that I have enjoyed during my stay.

Funnily enough most people are reporting that they are not finding this book in the arrival halls to Jakarta but rather in the departure shopping areas. I guess this might afford those on their way out of Jakarta a chance to buy the book for the purposes of answering this question: "what the hell just happened to me?"

I would have thought though that the best spot for this would be in the departure lounges of foreign locales and the arrival lounges of points of entry into Indonesia...but I guess this is why I studied law and not marketing!

But for anyone interested in learning the "ins and outs" of the Jakarta experience then this is perhaps the book for you. The book contains sections on the history and politics of Jakarta, settling in for those of you who might want to be more than tourists, visa and immigration information, business information, food and entertaining, fitting in, and communicating, among a number of others.

I think the most valuable learning tools in the book are the short glossary at the end, the culture quiz, and the "do's and don'ts" section.

So, go out and buy the book as it might just help you understand the experience you are about to have or the experience that you have just had!

I loved the book! I'm going to go live in Indonesia, possibly Jakarta, and the book gives all the tips you would want to know. I would buy this series for any new place that I want to live. It goes over everything from how to pick a house to weather patterns. It give a great description of what the people are like and how they think. A must buy for anyone moving to Indonesia. Priceless information that would take years to learn on your own.

Culture Shock! is the only must-read book on how to survive the confusing "monster" named Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Being born and raised there, Jakarta hasn't stopped surprising me to this very day, especially since I no longer reside there in the last decade.

This revised version is more comprehensive and up-to-date, as the co-author Terry Collins is, undoubtedly, superbly skillful in describing and explaining how Jakarta has evolved and will continue to evolve as one of the most unique places on the planet. Overall, it is a great book to read and keep on your bookshelf. Suitable for those who intend to visit Jakarta for pleasure or business for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.

I have been waiting for this book to come out for a few months!

I wish it was available when we first arrived in Jakarta.

This book is a very comprehensive guide to life in Jakarta, it should be compulsory for all new expatriates as it makes life so much easier when you understand whats going on around you. Even after living here for nearly 12 months I learnt a lot.

The book was originally authored by Derek Bacon nearly 10 years ago and has just been thoroughly revised and updated by a renown Jakarta Blogger, Jakartass.

Some of the topics covered:-

* First impressions
* History, Geography and Politics
* Fitting into society
* Settling in
* Food and entertainment
* Culture and travel
* Communicating in Jakarta
* Doing business
* Fast facts

I was very impressed with this book and hope you will be too.

Viewed from a safe distance, it's easy to assume that these days it's just one bad thing after another in Indonesia. How terrible must this place be to actually live in? How on earth do people manage to live there?

It's easy for the outside world to get a distorted view of life somewhere, when all that seems to come from there is bad news. But these are just events, little blips that get reported along the way. It's in the moments between these events where the real picture lies, where day-to-day life goes on, apparently as normal.

If you want to stand any chance of knowing Indonesia at all, you'll need to be there at ground level, with it whizzing all around you.Towering well over 1.83m tall, my co-authoring friend Terry Collins is definitely at ground level. In this reworked version of CultureShock! Jakarta, Terry brings our picture of Jakarta bang up to date.

With 20 years of Jakarta living under his belt, he is well qualified in shifting the story forward. And, crucially, he still has enthusiaism for the Jakarta life. He may of course completely deny this, but it's this very enthusiasm that has helped paint this much fuller picture of the city, and one too that helps guide us through the often confusing decade of change (or non-change) since President Suharto made his dramatic exit in 1998.

So here then is Jakarta today. It's big. It's frustrating. It really is a monster. Don't say we didn't warn you.

A great book if you are interested in old Japanese ways. Well written, but not hard to understand. Would recomend to anyone

Unfortunately, out of print - but seek it out any way you can. A fascinating, wonderful, and truthful account of the life of a daughter of the Samurai class, which had existed for centuries, just at the time when it was beginning its decline. Much of what you read in this book will explain the behaviour of modern-day Japanese. As an American living in Japan, that has proved invaluable. The book is well-written, focused, imaginative, whimsical, and resourceful, just like the author herself. If you can get your hands on a copy, be prepared to fall in love with Etsu-bo!

I didn't want this book to finish so soon. I loved the style and became involved in the characters. I want to know how her children re-adjusted back to life in the USA - how did she manage as a single Japanese mother alone in the USA.

Nothing tumultuos happens, no sex, no violence - just a peek into the not-so distant past!

Especially interesting for me since I am a Brit who has lived in the USA and now living in Japan.

Can anyone reccomend more books of this calibre?

Unfortunately, out of print - but seek it out any way you can. A fascinating, wonderful, and truthful account of the life of a daughter of the Samurai class, which had existed for centuries, just at the time when it was beginning its decline. Much of what you read in this book will explain the behaviour of modern-day Japanese. As an American living in Japan, that has proved invaluable. The book is well-written, focused, imaginative, whimsical, and resourceful, just like the author herself. If you can get your hands on a copy, be prepared to fall in love with Etsu-bo!

I was completely charmed by this beautifully written autobiography! I couldn't put it down! Not only did I learn some rich social history of Japan, but I was able to see into the Japanese heart for the first time. Although many of the customs mentioned are now outdated, they show the foundation that shaped and molded the Japanese people of today. I can now say that I have a much clearer understanding of the Japanese. Apart from what I learned of Japan, I also got a glimpse of America and how we haven't changed much over the years in our attitudes. I saw into the heart of the immigrant and the adjustments and readjustments they must face. I was awed and inspired!

Badiner, ed., Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology, Berkeley, Parallax Press, 1990.
265 pages, $18.00
ISBN: 0938077309

More a collection of meditations or prose poems than essays, this book contains a wide range of short pieces from prominent writers and practitioners in the fields of Buddhism (Thich Nhat Hanh and Robert Aitken, for example), East Asian philosophy and religion (Padmasiri De Silva and Joanna Macy), and the environmental and ecology movements (Bill Devall and John Seed). There are even selections from the Beat poets who introduced Buddhist ideas into the pop culture of the mid-twentieth century, Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg.

Some titles of a few essays will provide a good indication of the nature of the contents: "Orphism: the Ancient Roots of Green Buddhism;" "The Perceptual Implications of Gaia;" "Rock Body Tree Limb;" "Animal Dharma;" "Women and Ecocentricity;" "Earth Gathas;" "Haiku & the Ecotastrophe."

As a whole the collection is a little dated only in that one might wonder how recent developments such as acts of global terrorism and the now confirmed understanding of the dire effects of human activity on climate are viewed in the Buddhist ecological context. Otherwise, all the readings are superlative. Care of the earth is a long-established precept among Buddhists; Dharma Gaia offers enlightenment not just to Buddhists but also to anyone of any faith interested in the spiritual ground for environmental awareness. Suzanne Head, one of the contributors, prays that "other human beings of this planet would also find the confidence, courage and integrity to honor inner Nature and outer Nature.... Realizing the sacredness of the Earth that supports us and the sky that inspires us,...we would find ways to live that could be sustained by the biosphere. Instead of poisoning and plundering the Earth until all life expires, we could fulfill our Nature by being warriors for the Earth."

Dharma Gaia is a collection of essays offering different perspectives on human/Gaia interaction. These perspectives tie in with Buddhist philosophies to offer readers a sane and well reasoned spiritual approach to ecology. Short introduction by the Dalai Lama, essays and some poetry.

Everyone I've recommended this book to has loved it. It will either be an introduction of new ideas that are pleasant to think about or a conformation of thoughts the reader already has worded in a way that makes them more accessable. The list of writers contains many sparkling souls. Anyone can read this without being offended, and everyone should read it at least once.

The book's premise is that buddhism is the perfect religion for an eco-centric based society & culture. It does very well in proving the compatibility and similarities between buddhism & ecology. The section on shifting views of perception is highly enlightening. The variety in this book is amazing, there are over 30 contributors. Books like this one, in which the book is merely a collection of essays on the same topic are great because you can read it in one sitting, or read an essay at a time. As you finish the last essay of the book, you will never see Smokey the Bear in the same light again, now there's a teaser!. But seriously folks, this book is great.

Overall, this is an easy read which addresses some complex issues. By the end of the book I developed a greater understanding of both environmental conservation and buddhism. Too many books jump on the "buddha-chic" or "eco-cool" bandwagon, but offer little more than a rehash of general facts - this isn't one of them.

Paul Lees has a new book published more recently titled "Globetrotter Dive Guide: Thailand". I have not read either so I can't say definitively that this is an updated version, but it is by the same author. Search in Amazon for ISBN number 1859747043.

Hope this helps.

I just came back from a livaboard dive trip to southern Thailand. The boat I was on had a copy of this book and almost every place I went was well described. I'm ording a copy for myself to better document my past dives, and plan my future ones. I really appreciated having the book with me. The only thing missing was a map of each dive site.

This is the best book about dive sites in Thailand on the market right now. However, it is quite old already because now that new dive sites have been discovered and some old dive sites have been reserved. Still, 90% of this book works just fine!

As a novice diver, I found this guide amazingly easy to read. Sites are rated on a 5 star system for both diving and snorkeling separately. Information on approach and typical conditions are given. Typical things that will be seen are also given. Icons for quick reference on each site such as approach by boat or shore, skill level, and other information make finding suitable dive sites a cinch.

For the diver or tourist who is contemplating a visit to Thailands reefs this book is an absolute gem. Ideal for divers and snorkellers of all standards, it is well presented and extremely informative. The number and quality of the sites reviewed is very good and it must be noted that the information concerning other divers needs ie. accomodation, equipment hire, dive companies, photography and medical arrangements is equally commendable. A reference book that I can guarantee will be well thumbed for a good few years.

This book serves as an excellent guide to those wanting to dive around the many wonderful sites in the Philippines. I just wish the author included a more in-depth write-up on Apo Reef.

On the basis of the information in this book we planned our dive trip to Bohol. It turned out that everything written was accurate and reliable, and we had a great trip. Like the rest of the series, nicely laid out with excellent photos.

Very good. I bought the book after my first dive trip to the Phillipines and found the information regarding those sites to be very accurate. I am now using it to plan my second trip.

This book is an excellent guide to select the best diving spots in the Philippines. The book has great photos and give you detailed descriptions about the best places to dive. The informations match the described spots exactly (like the sites around the island of Cebu). Additional information about the marine environment is helpful. This book is a MUST for everyone interested in diving the Philippines.

The book is a great reference for people who are planning to or thinking about diving in the Philippines. It provides a good description of what to expect with regard to general dive locales, as well as specific dives.

The book works, and works well because of several reasons.

First, it provides (still valid) contact information on dive operators and lodging providers in the different areas, as well as providing general ideas on price range for these operations.

Second, the book gives a good briefing and summary of the different dive locales in the Philippines, providing pros and cons, as well as tips that are useful to the would-be traveller.

Third, the book provides a near-comprehensive listing of specific dive sites in the different locales. While the underwater environment changes, it does so slowly, and practically all assessments and descriptions still hold. It provides info on what to expect in terms of depths, surface conditions, currents, as well as what to see. It also provides a quick rating in the form of stars, as to how good the sites are. These are highly accurate, although some have been under-rated, in my opinion.

Fourth, the photography is great. The book has been designed well, and is quite engaging. Full-color photographs are peppered throughout the book.

The text is getting old, but that doesn't change the fact that it holds its promise well of talking about the dive sites in the Philippines.

I can understand why no one has come up with anything to replace this book. It would be a tough to top or even match. Mr. Jackson has done a really great job of this one.

After diving the Philippine Archipelago, I can only understand and appreciate the book more and more.

taj d.

a philippine divemaster

I was referred to this book by an American Artist whom had lived in Japan for almost 50 years. As a Chinese, I thought I know Chinese history, but after reading through JD's detail account of events with vivid description of the personalities, I can visualize the historical moments through the paper. It is so well written that I have to read very slowly to digest it. Combining this with other readings during the same period, including Ray Huang's lesser known Yellow River Blue Mountain (his autobiography), I am beginning to see history in perspective!

If you wish to understand Sino-American relations in the 20th Century, this book by our most brilliant (and persecuted) Political Officer in the State Department, must be your starting point. It is more than educational. His digressions - descriptions of the voyages of Cheng Ho during the Ming Dynasty; Mukden during the early years of the Japanese occupation of Manchuria; the celebration in Moscow after V-E day; etc., etc. - reveal a literary gift of the highest magnitude. Truly, one of the best books I have ever read. In fact, it irks me that so few people have read it.

While I had previously read Seagrave's Soong Dynasty and Tuchman's Stilwell, it was the bibliographical notes of Ambassador Lilley's China Hands that got me turned on to this book. I ordered it from an Amazon seller and I wasn't disappointed.

Mr. Davies offers vivid, evocative descriptions of events and people he encountered in China from his birth in Sichuan in 1908 until the Communist takeover in 1949. Apparently a religious record keeper, Davies is able to rely on his contemporaneous diary entries and letters to produce colorful details that would have been impossible to to recall 30 or 40 years after the fact. Davies does an exceptional job of mixing macroscopic historical events with his own microscopic personal narrative to create a flowing portrait of early 20th century China.

Though very much loyal member of Stilwell's China detail, Davies offers even-handed analysis of the events that eventually led to the fall of the Nationalist regime in China. Instead of putting the blame for the "loss" of China on any individual, Davies seems to point at the prevalence of sentimentalism over China in the minds of American foreign policy actors as leading to the mishandling of China during the 1940s.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in China, Asian studies, or WWII history.

John Davies has crafted a superb tale of his years in Asia and Moscow. He was a classic Old China Hand, raised by missionary parents in China, a fluent speaker of the language, and a natural to serve in the State Department and as Army liaison during World War II. The book combines period documents with later reflections, dazzling readers with thrilling adventures and portentous encounters with the era's major figures: Generalissimo and Madame Chiang, Stilwell, Mao, Zhou Enlai, Roosevelt, Marshall. The 1948-9 Nationalist debacle sparked an anticommunist hunt for scapegoats blamed for "losing" China (it was never ours to lose), tragically depriving the US of wise counsel from Davies, John Service, Oliver Clubb, John Vincent and others. As J.K. Fairbank noted, neither before nor since has America had such gifted country experts to advise on foreign policy. Davies's view of a defense-minded Soviet Union again was more realistic than the official line which helped provoke the Cold War. His globetrotting is a little hard to follow, and fuller coverage of post-1945 events would be welcome, but these are quibbles. See L. Van Slyke ed, "The China White Paper." E. Sevareid, "Not so Wild a Dream" augments Davies's modest paragraph on their celebrated parachute jump and escape from Burma. E.J. Kahn, "The China Hands" details wartime conflicts and postwar persecutions, while J.S. Service, "Lost Chance in China" contains prophetic field reports by Davies's most astute colleague.

As above, a wonderful description of Chinese history in the 20th century by someone who was there. From the manchu's through early revolution to Chiang and the Communist struggle; one insight follows another.

This is a great book to read if you are planning to visit China, It is easy to read with beatiful pictures, a review about modern Chinese society, the good side and the dark side when the Dragon is rising.

Dragon Rising: An Inside Look at China Today comes from a Beijing-based journalist who examines the major issues around China's transition to a global power. His experiences with a wide range of Chinese residents, from urban to rural - and his observations of the different paths the Chinese are choosing on the road to modernity - lends to a blend of powerful images and social observation key to any understanding of Chinese culture. Both general-interest libraries and high school to college-level holdings strong in intercultural understanding will want to consider this introductory review.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

My father will be traveling to China in May for a 3-week trip, to learn more about this fascinating country. I can think of no better book, to prepare him for his travel to Beijing, Shanghai, and the Yangtze River. So, I will be sending him this book immediately.

Following up his well-researched and detailed 600-page "The Chinese" with "Dragon Rising," Becker has given the "China" shelf in the bookstore a book, which it dearly needed. Instead of reading about the Ming Dynasty or Chairman Mao, business travelers and adventure travelers needed a book, which could be easily read in a day, covering the different regions of China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Yunnan Province, etc.), an explanation of Deng's reforms which were responsible for the China economic miracle, and some hard-hitting truth-telling about the human and environmental impact of China's rush to modernism.

On this point, anyone who has read Becker's "The Chinese" will not be surprised by his honest assessment of this human impact on the Chinese. In the chapter on Beijing, he recounts the developments that led to the Tiananmen Square protests; in the Shanghai chapter, he documents the misery of construction workers building this city of the future and the prostitutes who inhabit it; and in the Pearl River Delta, he puts a face to the cheap labor and goods being sent from China to the rest of the world: the young and petite factory girls recruited from the countryside who live their regulated lives in factory dormitories.

Becker's reportage combines a sense of wonderment and awe about China's rise with a Dickensian sensibility. Becker is terrific at distilling confusing political developments into a language the average reader can understand. But, he is at best when his journalistic instinct kicks in: traveling the country to interview farmers, entrepreneurs, beggars, prostitutes, local party leaders, labor activists, and prostitutes. In a way, the book is a series of fascinating anecdotes strung from one chapter to another.

Finally, I should mention that this is a National Geographic book, so the pictures are tremendously beautiful, even when they focus on the poverty or environmental disasters of the countryside. More of the China books would be much better, if they contained more contemporary pictures!

All in all, this is a well-rounded, very readable book.

China's future impact on world affairs, economies, and raw-material/energy demand is frequently pondered, but with little detail. Becker's "Dragon Rising" brings clear detail and reality to recent accomplishments by China. In addition, the reader also learns interesting tidbits such as China lost Taiwan to Japan in 1895, Tiananmen Square was modeled after Moscow's Red Square, and Deng Xiaoping was the de facto Chinese leader who led China out of Mao's mess and into the modern world (despite being deposed twice, and sentenced to death once for non-conformist actions).

Example of Chinese Urban Renovation: China spent $30 billion from '92 to '99 to rebuild Shanghai's infrastructure. This supported construction of 8,000 high-rises in 15 years (each taller than any building in the area prior to 1980), new steel and car plants, an automated stock exchange, a new airport, and a Maglev train to/from the airport (top speed 269 mph). The bad news is that Shanghai has sunk 8 feet since '21, its population density now exceeds 5,800/square mile (much greater than New York, London, or Paris), many of the new buildings are of poor quality and will require significant repairs in ten years, prices have skyrocketed to as high as $1,250/square foot, many of the buildings are vacant, and the disparity between rich and poor has never been greater.

China has also build underground cities and factories in preparation for nuclear war.

Transitioning the Economy: China had about 300,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with jobs and food originally guaranteed for life; however, with their overheads (about one administrator for every three workers) they were slow-moving, and productivity was poor. Deng began transitioning by changing their focus from military products to civilian, and by the late 1990s, two-thirds were operating in the red.

Glove Company Example: The firm began as a part-time husband/wife activity aimed at adding to their farm income. Success led to adding onto their house, buying a few Japanese machines, and hiring some workers. More success and reinvestment brought new machines made in China (some with computers), and a capacity of a million/year. Large orders were shared with others in the area.

Sales activities took place not only via mobile phones, but at a local market (in this case about a mile long with five floors and 40,000 vendors) - buyers liked it because of the ease in filling a shipping container, even with small purchases from individual vendors. Dongyang focuses on socks (about 9 billion pair/year), and attracts 100,000 buyers at its sock fair.

MBAs are not needed - the average number of employees is 18, and 70% of owners have at best a middle-school education. Profits are reinvested, or put into real-estate or even purchasing jet planes; China has private savings of over $1.4 trillion. Employees work 10-12 hours/day, often for less than minimum wage (many workers are illegal migrants from rural areas - China severely restricts movement to avoid peasants overwhelming cities). The government is trying to crack down on pay violations; other problems include a damaged environment, high-cost healthcare that often is of poor quality, and lack of worker safety standards.

How does this all add up? A Mattel Barbie doll retails for $10 in the U.S., with $1 going for management and shippers in Hong Kong, 65 cents for raw materials, and 35 cents for other factory costs (including labor and equipment). Sophisticated parts are often made outside China and simply assembled; look for this to change soon.

Why do peasants want to move to the cities? Their income has stagnated at low levels (average land farmed is 1.5 acres; title to the land still resides with the government). Regardless, this creates considerable pressure for the government to further increase trade so that they can move off the farm and the land can be consolidated for production efficiencies.

Bottom Line: Becker does not hide the fact that China has a long way to go as far as human rights are concerned. However, it is also clear that the Chinese government is maneuvering carefully, trying to avoid unmeetable expectations and the problems caused by instant transition (eg. Russia, East Germany). Regardless, China's future military, political, economic, and resource impact on the world will be very significant and occur much faster than we probably would have imagined.

Dragon Rising is a very well written book giving the reader an excellent overview of modern China. Its clear from the very beginning (via the introduction) that the author is not a "China cheerleader" and can ask the difficult questions. I think this book balances all the China hype we see and read about it in the economic media with the reality of the the many pressing economic and social problems that are becoming more acute.

This book is very interesting and easy to read and intersperses anecdotes, with history, and facts, as well as colorful photos -all without getting bogged down in minutiae. Probably the best book available for anyone interested in an overview of modern China. I would recommend it for anyone doing business with China or traveling to China, and interested in an overview of modern Chinese society. Not for academic types or someone interested in Chinese history.

The setting is in the Pusan area of South Korea two years after the start of the Korean War. Sookan and her family were residents of Seoul, but some of them fled southward amidst the falling bombs and destruction when the war started. Her brothers and father did not come with them, so Sookan believes that they are in the South Korean army.
Sookan and a few of her family members have now established themselves at a refugee camp and Sookan is working with her classmates and teachers to build a school so that they can continue to learn. Scrounging what they can, they are able to restart the school and Sookan is eager to begin learning again.
The times are of course hard, but they manage to make a life for themselves. Sookan also meets a boy her age named Junho and they develop a relationship considered scandalous in the rigid Korean society. Eventually, the truce is signed and Sookan and her family go back to Seoul and begin rebuilding their lives. They reunite with her brothers and learn that her father is dead.
Sookan is relentless in her studies and is able to pass an examination that allows her to go to the United States for more advanced education. Junho begins attending a University in Seoul and they meet once again. He is bound for the seminary, so although there are still deep feelings between them, they understand that the two of them are destined to go separate ways.
This is an excellent story about perseverance and the value of education for young people. It would have been easy for Sookan to have lost all faith in herself and her future during their flight from Seoul. Yet, the spark burned strongly in her and she was able to pursue her dream of an advanced education in the United States. I strongly recommend this book for group reading and evaluation.

This was a wonderful book. Ms. Choi capatures the essence of Korean culture with the reality which all can say, "I know what you mean." I would recomend this book to everyone.

Echoes of the White Giraffe, by Sook Nyul Choi is a sequel to Year of Impossible Goodbyes. The theme of this book is about refugees and what their lives are like in a different place. This book focuses on the main character Sookan who is again separated from her father and brothers. The book mainly explains about Sookan's refugee life in Pusan and how she adapts and meets new people in a strange and foreign place. I personally liked the other book, Year of Impossible Goodbyes better because it was more adventurous and exciting but this book was pretty fun also. It talked a lot about her first romance and how she lived as a refugee for two years.

It is a touching novel like the ones before and after it. You have to read A Gathering of Pearls to complete the set. The title of the book matches very well with its story. The set of books let you relieve a war and its affect on one family and kid. I recommend it for a reading project or anything for history.

This book is the BEST I've ever read! Well this and the book before it, The Year of Impossible Goodbyes. When you read it, it's like your actually there.. feeling the same thing the main character (Sookan) is. You'll read about everything she wishes and her thoughts and the horrible things she goes through. You might find it hard to believe at how she finds the most simple things, and enjoy it. She does all she can to enjoy life. This is a book I have really really really really enjoyed..

And recommend it to everyone!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Shashi Tharur's well-rounded analysis of various issues in Modern India. A must-read for non-resident as well as resident Indians !!!

I wanted to know a bit more about Indian culture and Indian history and I love this book. It's so well written. You must have some basic knolwedge of Indian history to understand it though. If you don't know who Nehru was and what the "partition" was you need to read some books before this one.
The book helped me to discover many facets of the Indian culture and society: the importance of secularism (and the current threats), the basic tenets of hinduism, the difference between north and south, the passion for cricket, the odd habit of changing cities' names, the use of the sari (or the lack of use), etc.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing more about India.

This book is a must read for Non Resident Indians. Mr. Tharoor has perfectly portrayed India in a way NRIs would manifest their experiences of their home country. Though the book is not targeted only for Indians, it has few historical & personal references that only a true Indian can understand.

The book starts with little bit of Indian history talking about "People who made my India" that includes noted Indians from all sects including politics, cricket & bollywood. The author also provides a glimpse of India's culture (spirituality, traditional family values) & tourism (experiences at Ajanta & Ellora caves, Ayurvedic resort in Kerala) followed by India's progress in this 21st century (call centers, cellphone surge). Since Mr. Tharoor has been associated with the United Nations, the facts about India's growth, outlined in the book, truly suggest that India is the 21st century's emerging power.

I really enjoyed the chapter on India's cricket legend, Sunil Gavaskar, who was my hero too when growing up. It is nostalgic the way Mr. Tharoor has written about the "little master".

This is a must read for all Indians living outside their own home country.

The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone, The: The Emerging 21st-
Century Power, Shashi Tharoor - We Indians are often so starved for some
metric -- any metric, really -- of validation that we blindly embrace
Indians of all stripes residing outside India. What else could explain
our head-long rush to claim Bobby Jindal as one of our own while
demonstrating obvious restraint for Mr. Shashi Tharoor? (For those
readers who may not know Mr. Jindal, he is the Indian-American
governor of the US state of Louisiana.) Unarguably, and just as
unfortunately, present the names of Mr. Jindal and Mr. Tharoor to any
Indian in the US and the chances are better than even that they have
pride in Mr. Jindal while drawing blanks when Mr. Tharoor's name is
mentioned. This is an egregious sin, for Mr. Tharoor revels in being an
Indian as much as Mr. Jindal repudiates it. This revelry in all things
Indian is evident in Mr. Tharoor's latest book.

He staunchly believes and defends the Indian notion of secularism, which
he maintains is not the absence of any religion, but the proliferation
of many religions, all equally protected under the constitution (a point
he makes in other books as well, most notably in India: from midnight
to the millennium). Going further, he makes the point that where
else can you find a political landscape so diverse that in the 2004
Indian elections, a Sikh (Manmohan Singh), representing a Congress party
headed by a Catholic (Sonia Gandhi), was sworn in as prime minister by
a Muslim president (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam)! It is certainly hard to argue
against that now, isn't it?

The book is great reading. Besides the weighty issues of politics,
religion, constitution, and culture, Mr. Tharoor also makes detours to
cover the light-hearted issues of ever-changing city names in India
(Bombay becomes Mumbai, etc.), and the desire to add extra consonants
and vowels in soap operas because the producers believe that this extra
letter will certainly and undoubtedly lend an air of success to the
endeavor! Oh, did I mention the fascination that Indians have with
cricket?

Any student of modern India -- be it in the political arena or cultural
one -- can ill afford to eschew the ruminations of Mr. Tharoor. My
advice: if you are Indian and really want to be proud of it, read Mr.
Tharoor and leave Mr. Jindal to his devices.

I adore Tharoor's erudite and amusing writing. This book feels like home with its loving description of all that matters - cricket, family, community, cinema, history, religion and politics - in that order. The author's pet theme is the ostensibly unwieldy yet absurdly functional pluralism fed by a range of coalition memberships - geographies, cricket solidarities and common political antipathies.

I love that Tharoor describes his India as an individual experience rather than an objective concept. Tharoor subtly endorses the thumping progressive new Indians with his metaphor of an elephant who became a tiger - suggesting provocatively that the vulgarly ostentatious 'five star culture' is more authentic than the discreet opulence of the club culture. However, his intense nostalgia quite clear in the subtext of every syllable - the longing for the old names Madras and Bombay, the self-conscious diginity of Nehruvian democracy and the portrayal of St. Stephens as a modern Nalanda of sorts!

Yet, there is nothing fatalistic or too precious about Tharoor - he denounces superstition and horsocopes and doesn't mind writing that as a man he'd like to see women in elegant saris. It's the sort of nice nationalism that warms one without being too jarring or jingoistic.

Easy reading, good personal story of Operation Babylift. I had previously read "War Cradle", a very wordy, messy retelling of the story. This one is much more elementary and not as detailed, but follows one boy through his life. Fascinating.

I also could not put this book down and had to read it straight through. Andrea Warren does a compelling and balanced job in telling Long's story. Not only do we gain real insight into how the war affected families and children in Vietnam, but we also learn the thoughts and hopes of children living in orphanages. As an adoptive mom, I found this to be a valuable book on many levels.

I read this straight through on an airplane and had to turn away from my seatmates so they wouldn't see me cry. As usual, Warren has written a compelling, evocative story about one child's experience, and in it has distilled an era and a place. The main character, Long, suffers through poverty and loss, then winds up in an orphanage where he vaccilates between grief over the loss of his own family and hope for a new mother. I got tears in my eyes as he said good-bye to his grandmother, who was his last surviving family member, and then again when he learned he had a new home in America. As a reader I felt his excitement and anxiety as the day approached when he would see his new family, and then his fear as the war moved from the countryside to the streets of his city. The drive to the bombed airport and the flight on the transport plane were terrifying, followed immediately by the joy as Long ran into the arms of his new mother. This story will stick with readers, both adults and children, leaving a personalized image of an otherwise hard-to-comprehend world event.

Once you start reading, you probably won't be able to put it down. This is an amazing story, with wonderful photographs. I cried twice and made my husband read it. He loved it too!
Teachers will find this useful in the classroom, for teaching about the war in Vietnam, and Long/Matt is a role model we'd be delighted to see any kid follow.

If you've loved Warren's earlier books about children surviving in difficult new circumstances (the two Orphan trains books, Surviving Hitler, and the one about the girl growing up on the prairie) you'll love this one, too. In this one, Long, the young hero, is half Vietnamese, half American. His survival depends on a pivotal airlift of Vietnamese orphans "tainted by the blood of the enemy" as the North Vietnamese are about to take over Saigon. But even before that the reader is caught up in the story of Long's mother and grandmother struggling to survive in a wartorn country.

The story works on one level for children and on another for adults -conveying how America's withdrawal from Vietnam affects the family of a boy whose young life is shaped by war. It has all the virtues of nonfiction wrapped up in a charming, moving, and compelling story. Adults and children may want to read this one together. It's a tribute to parenting, in whatever form it comes, and to the resilience of children.