Asia Books

This book is lavish, georgeous, and opens doors to kalidescopes of color that astonish and amaze. Mr. Meola gives us a very personal, thoughtful, lusciously crafted view of India that makes a beautiful gift (even though one will find it hard to give away.)

The photographs are arresting, beautiful and moving. The text is right on and varied in approach and subject. The result is a book that one comes back to time and again. I completely agree with Rob Atkins review.

India is a land of amazing contrasts and exotic imagery. Eric Meola has traveled to India many times for the purpose of photographing the people, landscapes, architecture, celebrations, and art of this vast and diverse land. The result is "India: In Word And Image", a coffee-table art book compendium showcases India's diversity and heritage from the monasteries of the Himalayas, to the tea plantations of Darjeeling, to the stark desert of Jaipur. Spectacular photographic images are enhanced with more than thirty literary passages underscoring the story of India, its people, places, architecture and art. A superbly presented visual travelogue, "India: In Word And Image" is an ideal selection for academic and community library 'Memorial Fund' acquisitions, a welcome addition for personal and library Photography reference collections; and an ideal browse for armchair travelers through the wonders, lands, and people of the Indian subcontinent.

Eric Meola is a master of color photography. This book is a visual trip for the eyes, mind, and heart. Mr. Meola has captured the festivals, but more importantly, the soul of India. Whether or not the reader is interested in India, you can't help being drawn in to the photographs of the people, the landscapes, and the atmosphere that is so richly portrayed.

Beyond the exquisite color photographic compositions in this book, Mr. Meola has that rare photographer's eye to see what most people don't even notice....the glow off a burning cigarette, a gecko that happened to be sitting on a sculpture, a telling expression in the eyes of a young woman.

This book along with its moving text, is a tribute to an India that exists in a Kiplingesque dreamscape that may one day be gone. Enjoy it now and share it with those you love.

Frank Stefanko / photographer

Between the covers of Eric Meola's staggeringly beautiful India in Word and Image is a vision as large and dynamic as India itself. In a similar way to his first book, Last Places on Earth, Meola's peripatetic photography takes us on a journey to reveal the pride and dignity of a culture living in an ever-shrinking world of globalization and instant communication. Yet his new book goes further: through his lens we enter the soul of a country full of color and an unrestrained enthusiasm for life. From the riotously colorful celebration of Holi to a lone, meditating monk under a bodhi tree, the photography of one of the medium's true masters shows us an amazing part of the world.

The immediacy of Meola's photography is breathtaking, whether he's focusing on an expansive vista or some minute detail that he has found and wants to share with us. Viewing the many and varied portraits throughout the book, I feel as if I'm looking not at images printed on a page, but directly into the eyes of the subject.

The inclusion of writings on India by Tagore, Narayan, Rushdie, Kiran Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri and several other great writers of India help make this a very illuminating and moving book.

A Gujarati friend taught me a useful phrase in his language: "Salu che." It is good. But that doesn't begin to describe this astounding book.

Excellent value for the money. Beautiful photos covering a broad range of interiors.

This LUSH book captivates the eye and provides such a visual feast of color, I feel saturated, then satiated, each time I dip into it. Good for hours of fun.

I have to say, I was lucky enough to meet Deidi on her travels in Ladakh and can tell you that she is one intrepid traveler. There was a war going on in Kashmir when she went to take these photos - although you'd never know it from these pictures which paint such a beautiful image of these sumptuous settings.

She is a great photographer, with three Taschen books to her credit (Gardens of France, and Fantasy Worlds). She also makes enormous photos of sacred trees in India which are exhibited in galleries - very dramatic and her best work yet!

This book focuses a great deal on Rajasthan, but also includes regional coverage of key areas.

A first of its kind and a good antidote to the predictable picture books of India. Everyone expects India photo books to show weird babas in Benares and starving people in Calcutta, so it's good for the West to see there's more to India than that.

Glad to see that scenes from the folk and peasant traditions are included alongside the fantastic royal palaces, proving that art has no boundaries.

This is a gorgeous book, beautifully laid out, with good photography and a vast range of type of interiors from palaces to village huts. Having spent significant time traveling throughout India, I frankly opened this book fully expecting to be disappointed and expecting it to be one more example of journalism not being able to do justice to the breadth and scope of India. We see that failure in all manner of books about India, from cook books, design books, culture books, and travel books; any subject that trys to cover the subcontinent in one fell swoop. Remarkably, this book achieves what no others I've seen has. In addition to photography of Deco interiors, British Revival, and Native Cultural Design, INDIAN INTERIORS wisely leaves the commentary to short blocks of text detailing the background of the property and the homeowners but not forming broad judgements or attempting to endlessly characterize and embellish. I have photo books on Village India, India Rail, Indian Design, etc., and they all try to do too much and not let the material speak for itself. This book is different, very different, and from what I've seen from this publisher in other venues, Taschen is one to watch for if you like your material presented succinctly and beautifully without gushing or extraneous filler.

This totally sumptuous book has been beautifully produced and is proof yet again that Taschen are publishing some of the most beautiful books around. Apart from being a visual delight, each picture has accompanying text on the place featured. The book covers a wide range of interiors from palaces and havelis to Rajasthani huts and everything in between. Whether you are interested in Indian style or interiors generally, you will find much to like in this book.

We review a number of books and the first time we saw this one, we were very sure it was going to make to our top selections list. And we were not wrong.

A beautifully laid out book with 500 vivid color photographs is a visual treat. Recipedelights.com gives it a "must-buy" rating for interior designers and style lovers. One of the few books that correct the injustice done by western journalists and gives a positive spin to thousands of years of culture and history. It truly reflects the grandeur of Indian style by weaving a colorful mélange that will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever visited India. This book explores a spectrum of interiors ranging from Palaces to Havelis to Huts. It does not bore with endless text or try to influence the judgment of the reader. Short text (In English, German and French) accompanies each photograph though the pictures speak for themselves.

I was plesantly surprised by this compact book. I didn't know that it was associated with the Discovery Channel. The book has outstanding print/paper quality. It has plenty of maps and lots of pictures. This helps me to find the place. I can also decide, from the pictures, if I would be interested in visiting such an attraction.
The best surprise is that this book is actually listed [$$$] less than the Fodor's compact book.

Published in conjunction with The Discovery Channel, it's information you can trust to be accurate. The history lessons and overview of the modern-day city itself -- it's people, economy, language, currency, culture, artisans and performing arts, markets, and hidden gemstones off the beaten path -- make this guide truly special. However, the glossy pages that are virtually indestructible, up-to-date maps, compact size and plenty of photos are what will make this guide your most valuable travel asset while in Shanghai!

I bought this book and also Fodor's Pocket Shanghai. This book has better print/paper quality. Has more maps. For each attraction, there is a color photo so that you can decide if you would like to go there. The photo also helps to identify the attraction if you do decide to go there.
The Fodor's book has no photos, looks [inexpensive], but is actually [$] more.

I took this and Fodor's Citypack Shanghai (Citypack) guide for a week in Shanghai in 12/00. I found this guide far better than the Fodor guide. I found it to be an excellent general guide, if you want a compact, concise guide. The excursions were pretty good as well.

I live in Shanghai, and usually write guidebooks, not read them. When I do, it's usually to wince at all the things the writers who came here for a mere month or so of research got wrong. Even those without glaring errors tend to be off by angle, such as raving about the rather dull Yu Gardens and failing to notice the incredible living history museum, Shanghai's Old City (aka Chinatown), that it is situated in. They only offer the stupidly obvious destinations, like the Bund, Huaihai Lu, and Nanjing Lu, to the neglect of fascinating, cultural history spots like Sichuan Lu and the Jewish Ghetto.

I was handed the compact guide as a reference for a project I was working on, and it pleasantly surprised me. Amazingly, I found nothing to criticize, nothing to wince at. I was impressed to discover in it city trivia that even I consider obscure, like the history of the Broadway Mansions as the old Foreign Correspondents Club.

But nicest of all is its refusal to patronize. Many guidebooks take the attitude, "You're a stupid Western tourist,doesn't speak any Chinese, so here's what to do!" So, if you pick them up having read anything - anything! - about Shanghai previously, you're likely to feel put off. The Compact Guide refreshingly presents the facts without too much condescending background but also without playing insider baseball. It's very accessible.

Only two quibbles: the maps are confusing, have a number of typos, don't have characters along with the pinyin, and are so small, listing so few streets, to be useless unless you already know where you are/where you're going (and then, why do you need a map?). Also, Shanghai changes so quickly that, being written three years ago, it is rather woefully out of date. Use its listings with caution.

Mexican painter Miguel Covarrubias set sail for Bali in 1931 on an optimistic personal quest to discover, absorb, and chronicle Bali's traditional living culture. Buy into the romance and seduction of Covarrubias-driven by a feverish imagination-- inexorably pulled towards and teased by the lure of Bali, half a world away. Travel back sixty-four years in time to Bali's unspoiled natural vistas-a happy, peaceful. pristine retreat standing apart from a West mired in crippling economic depression and poised on the precipice of World War II. As a fellow artist on an island with three million artists-in-residence (creativity is considered both a religious and a natural activity on Bali), Covarrubias penetrated deeply into the spirit of the dance, theatre, music, decorative arts, and pastimes of Bali.
Embellished by 114 half-tone photos and 90 drawings by the author and other Balinese artists, this essential, still-relevant classic consists of twelve chapters on the Balinese people and their civilization in the 1930s. Accompanied by painter Walter Spies, Bali's most famous expatriate resident, they roamed the countryside together with eyes, ears, and canvasses wide open, observing the local life. Covarrubias's most notable writing describes the organization of the traditional Balinese village: the markets, social order, etiquette, language, caste system, the banjar, law and justice, the courts, the subak, rice culture, and the distribution of labor. This intimate, insider's foray into every nook and cranny of his own paradise produced key chapters on everyday family life in Bali: the house, cooking, costume and adornment, childbirth, childhood, adolescence, sexual customs, and marriage.
Covarrubias explored the place of the artist in Balinese life and the development and evolution of Balinese art, crafts, sculpture, and architecture. Drama and dance are important components of Balinese life: they come alive through the village orchestras, musical instruments, classical Legong, and the ancient shadow plays. Island of Bali unveils material on priests and religion, temples and feasts, offerings and exorcisms, the Balinese calendar, and the original Bali Aga people. Written from a day when primary forests reigned supreme and witch doctors wielded terrifying power, Covarrubias delves into the cult of the Barong and Rangda, black and white magic, folk medicine, the sacrifice of widows, and death and cremation. The Balinese still lead a magical, mystical, harmonious life that is difficult for Westerners to understand unless they read a profound work like Covarrubias's Island of Bali. With an artist's sensibility and a Bali-lover's eye, Covarrubias paints a complex nirvana with words and easel in this great literary achievement.

This book is the essential book about Bali. I read it 26 years ago when I first went to Bali and it still ranks as thee book about Bali. If you wish to learn about the Balinese people, their culture and religion and beliefs I highly recommend this book. jim

If you only read one book on Bali, read this one. Believe me, I'm Balinese.

Miguel Covarrubias, and his wife Rose,who were Mexican, went to Bali twice, once in 1930 for several months and again in 1933 again for several months. The first time they stayed in Denpasar, the capital, and the second time in Ubud, where I live.

They stayed with Walter Spies in Ubud,who was an extraordinary German, who had been living there for years, and who totally absorbed Balinese culture. My mother worked for him. He taught the Covarrubias's a lot.

They then wrote their book. It is regarded as the bible and all subsequent books owe a lot to it. Some things have changed, of course, but only on the surface. We are very traditional, especially in the Ubud area. The book is an excellent introduction to our rich culture.

The book discusses family and village life, rice farming, our Bali-Hindu religion, ceremonies, history, drama, art and dance.

It's very readable and the photographs and line drawings are great.

I must confess this book is thick but hey!!! It's well worth reading about for those who want to understand a little about Balinese culture as well as it's lovely people. I found it very interesting since it covered almost everything about Bali, however the book was written before World War II and well I still think it's great to have a book that is still resourceful. Even though so much has changed with Bali over the decades this book will never die surely. This is a must and is essential for those who want to have a better understanding of Bali back before World War II and they can still relate it to the present. Nothing much has changed but a few things have altered. It was like stepping back in time when I read this book... I hope everyone will enjoy the book as much as I do too... great book to have...

This is by far the best book available if you want to know about the people of Bali - their unique lifestyle, religion, customs and beliefs. Written in the 1930's, it still holds true today. The classic black and white photos are worth the price alone. The Balinese people still live a magical life that is difficult for a westerner to comprehend, unless you read a book like this.

A young female princess is hidden away in the palace. She is taught how to read and write in Chinese because there isn't a written language for Japanese and excels at her studies. She isn't allowed to have friends or go out. Finally in her 12th year, the family permits her a bit more freedom and presents. She meets a young man through a fence and becomes friends with him. The friendship is tolerated though the princess must marry whom the emperor chooses. The ending is a secret. Read the book.

Engaging, well-researched, warm and passionate. Full of compassion and intrigue. Well-loved by my libarian friends and their coming of age children. Also a Must Read choice for a local 5th grade clasroom. Makes a great gift or class assignment.

Art work is also original and enchanting.

"Jingu" is a delightful little story for children.We follow this beautiful, young princess of fourth-century Japan who is being groomed by her parents of the Imperial family, and even by the elderly Emperor himself to be a wise and special leader. Although Jingu feels she is overprotected, she is finally given to understand that the reason for keeping her life so protected was to nurture her innate gifts for absorbing the tenents of wisdom and leadership while safeguarding her from being negatively influenced by the extraneous forces of mediocrity.
As Jingu ages from little girl into a vivacious young lady, very learned from diligently studying with her old Chinese master teacher, she finally becomes aware that "my world is opening-up". And indeed, it does open-up. Jingu is informed that, thanks to her brilliant progress in her studies, she has been appointed to a high office in the Ministry of Education in a Japan that is still feudal. Eventually, she is told by the by now very elderly Emperor that when he dies she is to become the wife of his successor. In other words, the new Empress.
Yet, this is not merely the tale of a hereditarily successful marriage. Long before she becomes Empress, the youthfully wise Jingu tells her young male friend, Ichiro, that she has great plans for Japan whose one-hundred clans have been feuding for many years. She idealistically decides that once she becomes Empress she will convince all these warring clans with her "fresh vision" for the future by helping them to stop their perennial fighting and to unify them into what was to become the Empire of Japan.
Ralph Pray, the book's author (amazingly, this is his first book), writes his fascinating tale with poetically nuanced and precise language. I can't wait for his next book.

Set in 4th century Japan, Jingu: The Hidden Princess by Ralph Pray is the story of Jingu, a young princess who feels isolated and alone within the Imperial Japanese Palace. On her tenth birthday, Jingu receives a gift from the Emperor with a mysterious hidden message, and so her journey and transformation from girl to leader begins. Firmly grounded in history, written with majesty, grace, warmth, and understanding, and enhanced with illustrations by Xiaojun Li, Jingu: The Hidden Princess is an emotional and highly enjoyable coming of age book especially recommended for preteen young adult readers.

"Jingu the Hidden Princess" is a gentle, intelligent tale of the maturing of a young princess in fourth century century Japan. Historically based, it is told in first person without sentimentality. The result is a thoroughly believable journey into a past that most twentieth century children, until now, have had little opportunity to explore.

In one sense, Jingu is a children's coming of age story set in another time and another culture. In another sense it is a statement of the indomitable spirit of children, in this case one particular little girl. And in still another sense it is a pattern for integrity as Jingu makes faithful decisions for the sake of duty to country and heritage. None of these "morals" is militant or in-your-face. They are just quietly there.

Dr. Pray has written an appealing book that children will be fascinated by and parents will be glad to have on their children's shelves.

The illustrations, by Xiaojun Li, are graceful pen and ink drawings that enhance not only the look of the book, but the meaning of the text.

This is part two of one of the four great written masterpieces of China, beautifully translated by Professor Yu. It is, I believe, the closest English speakers will get to the original Chinese text. Occasional awkwardness of wording in the translation is unavoidable as this work has gone from its original to a greatly contrasting culture. Do not let this discourage you as you read, let it instead encourage you to learn to read the Chinese original. Seeing it via one of the many movies / TV productions available is a great help in enjoying this work. I highly recommend the CCTV production from mainland China done in both 1986 and 2000.

This translation of Journey to the West is awesome. I'll admit that I haven't read other translations, but, from people that I know that have read the Chinese version, and also seen the Chinese series, and I have discussed the book with them, they say it is a great translation of the book.

A really great book, I could hardly put it down. The subtle comedy and the continuos action is perfect for anyone above 9 years old. I LOVED it.

This is a great story not just this volume, I really recommend these books to be read by anyone it has everything that a great -great story need.
Prepare yourself for a great journey...read the story.

Yu has done an excellent job in this translation. The book is heavily footnoted with Buddhist and Dao references. It's an older translation so it uses Wade-Giles instead of modern pinyin. It's also the least abridged. If you can't read the original Chinese this comes a close second.

I was amazed at the way this is written. I have been looking for books that my middle years students could read in their lit circles and just happened to stumble on this at my local library. Finding a book that is real literature, shows another culture, is a finger-licking page-racing novel that even reluctant readers will enjoy is close to a miracle.
It is all that! Plus it is a novel about women without being a chick book.
Why didn't this book turn up in all the searches I've done on the amazon site?

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I could not describe it any better than critics did. This is a book set in pre-independence India with its harmful traditions - that may still be there - as one young girl with support of her family leads the way for a change. This will make a nice reading for any young reader who wishes to be carried away in this colorful story mixing history, struggle and enlightenment.

There has been some comparison to the book Climbing the Stairs. While both are set in India during World War II, they are different books. I felt that Keeping Corner had more detail about Indian culture and I came away with a better understanding of a young woman's plight not so very long ago.

In Keeping Corner we have twelve year old Leela who has been married at a very young age. Leela is your typical girl, and that's what I love about her. She isn't bookish and she really doesn't care about politics. She is interested in looking nice and wearing pretty clothes and jewelry. That is the extent of her life, and I think that makes her so much more interesting as a character. I mean what young adult doesn't like those things? Leela's life is turned upside down when her fiancé dies. Now she is a widow at a very young age and must "keep corner." She has to shave her head; lose her pretty clothes and jewelry. The community views her as bad luck. Leela is trapped insider her house for an entire year.

While she is in mourning Leela's schoolteacher comes and helps her with her lessons. Leela doesn't want to be taught anything. She dislikes school. Yet, as time goes on Leela becomes more interested in her studies and she enjoys hearing about Gandhi. She grows as a character and realizes there maybe something out there for her. Maybe she can change how people view women.

Keeping Corner is an excellent story that has a lot of great details about the era and the plight of women. There is also an index in the back (something Climbing the Stairs didn't have).

I think students who are interested in historical fiction will enjoy this novel as well as students who enjoy reading about other cultures. There is no romance in this novel however, so that may turn some teens away from the book. However, I strongly encourage people to read this novel.

This is one of the best books I've read this year! I loved Kashmira's descriptive writing. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens to Leela after her husband's death and keeping corner for a year.

As a member of the Brahman caste, the highest, twelve-year-old Leela doesn't notice the hardships of lower castes.Engaged at two and married at nine, Leela is soon to have her "anu," when she will move into the home of her husband. In the interim, she enjoys the life of a loved, petted member of her household which consists of her parents, her aunt and uncle, her older brother (away at school,)and Lakha, the man who takes care of their animals. Before the much anticipated anu, her husband is bitten by a venomous snake and dies. As a widow, Leela must have her head shaved, wear dull brown saris, and spend an entire year "keeping corner." She can't leave the house for an entire year. Only gradually does formerly light-hearted Leela come to understand the magnitude of the calamity that has befallen her.

Set in India during the time that Gandhi is leading non-violent protests against the caste system and the British colonists, Leela's story exposes enormous gender inequalities as well. This novel follows Leela's inner growth during the year. She is tutored by her former principal, and she begins to read newspapers voraciously, equating the injustices suffered by Indians under British colonial rule with the injustices inflicted on her. Coming to appreciate education as her only hope, Leela endures the year of keeping corner, studying, until she ultimately triumphs. With first-rate prose, this work of fiction, based on the life of the author's great-aunt, is exciting and compelling within unusual confines.

Written by an author who also served in the United States Army in Vietnam, Killed In Action is the biography of draftee, journalist, and anti-war activist Stephen H. Warner. Though staunchly opposed to the war, he refused to avoid service to his country for the sake of principle, and served as an Army journalist until enemy fire slew him. An eloquent, articulate account, that draws heavily upon Warner's own words and testimony from people who knew him, Killed In Action is a singularly vivid portrait and testament of shining ideals and a life brought to its end all too soon.

Mr. Amchan has managed to explore all the contadictions and ambivalence of the Vietnam era through the forgotten story of one complex and courageous young man -- Stephen Warner. Deftly paced and brimming with historical fact and insight, it is of interest not only as great history, but as American drama.

THIS IS A TERRIFIC BOOK ABOUT AN ANTIWAR ACTIVIST DRAFTED OUT OF YALE LAW SCHOOL AND SENT TO VIETNAM LATE IN THE WAR. TOWARD THE END OF HIS ONE YEAR TOUR, STEVE WARNER, WHO DEVELOPED GREAT RESPECT AND AFFECTION FOR THE COMBAT INFANTRYMEN WHO FOUGHT THAT WAR, IS KILLED IN ACTION.

THE AUTHOR, HIMSELF A VIETNAM VET, TELLS THE COMPELLING, TRUE STORY OF STEVEN WARNER. A MUST READ FOR THOSE OF US WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM AND ENJOY READING ABOUT OTHERS WHO SERVED. THE AUTHOR'S DESCRIPTION OF ARMY BASIC TRAINING IS, BY ITSELF, WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK.

Killed in Action is a short, powerful book about SP4 Steve Warner, US Army, who could arguably be called the most intelligent enlisted man to have served in Vietnam. This remarkable story begins with Steve's undergraduate years at Gettysburg College where he became an articulate anti-war spokesman at a time when it was not popular cause. Graduating summa cum laude, he went to Yale Law for one year after which he was drafted. Rather than head for Canada he decided to serve and served admirably. The details of Army basic training in the late 60s are as accurate as any I have read. Anyone who went through at this, or any other time, will appreciate it. The story of Steve in Vietnam is absolutely incredible. He had a nice safe job in Public Information but chose to use this position to go out into the field and get stories from the fighting soldiers first hand. His journal entries from these trips are fascinating as is his metamorphis into a soldier. This book will interest both those for and against the war and shows the power war has to change a person. The black and white photographs (all taken by Steve) are stark and haunting. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the Vietnam War and its related affects.

Drawn from the diaries and letters of a former anti-war activist who chose to serve rather than evade the draft and died in the waning days of the War, this gripping account of life in Nam has special poignancy today. Drafted out of Yale Law School, Steve Warner faces the dilemmas of his generation, but his war experiences change him. The author writes the book that Warner the journalist wanted to write but could not. Reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down.

Both these books "The Knights of Bushido" and "The Scourge of the Swastika" are brilliantly written and from an Englishman with as little emotion as poossbile. I am 62 years old and read both these books when I was 12 years old. My Mother,a forward thinking woman, purchased both books with the idea that her daughters should read and know the facts of both enemies during a recent war. Statistics now say(in 2006) that less than 60% of under sixteen year olds in Britian are aware that the massacre of Jews at various concentration camps took place. Based on that fact and others I have gained from recent media coverage I will purchase again both of these books and circulate them among my children , grand-children and great grandchildren, not for bitterness or to continue hatred, but rather to inform as the saying is " If history is not known it is easy to repeat, as the knowledge of the consequences is unknown"

This book is long overdue. At last, a book that doesn't whitewash Japanese atrocities during WWII. This book tells it like it is.

We've seen the movies, the Hollywood glamour of Japanese POW camps in such movies as "Bridge over the River Kwai" and "Empire of the Sun". I had read hints of Japanese brutality, I knew about the rise of the military culture within the government and I, of course, knew of Bushido and the characteristic, xenophobic racism of the Japanese. But I was not prepared for the reality of the Japanese scourge upon the Orient. This fantastic book chronicles the war crimes of the Japanese soldiers and government from the very beginning of the Sino-Japanese conflict and the Rape of Nanking to the frenzied coverup when defeat became evident and the atomic bombs fell.

The author relies heavily upon what was uncovered during the war crime trials of the Japanese hierarchy, as well as testimony from both Allied and Japanese soldiers. The brutality and inhuman conditions of the POW camps, the horrid transportation by ship, and the long death marches (the most famous of which, Bataan) inflicted upon the Allies, the Chinese, the Pacific Islanders, the Indians, and everyone who crossed the path of the Japanese are detailed so meticulously you can see the human skeletons, feel the agony of the raped and slaughtered Chinese, and weep for those prisoners burned alive or bayoneted only because their care had become a burden.

I adore Japanese culture. Bushido is an honorable path for a warrior and the Samurai who practiced it, honorable men. But you cannot forget an atrocity for an honorable past or an affluent future.

With all the candid and realistic portrayals of WWII in Europe and the Nazi concentration camps we have seen come out of Hollywood in the last decade, I am surprised that there is no accurate screen memorial to the millions fallen under the boot of the Japanese.

This book is great for a WWII buff or student of Japanese or Asian culture.

The first chapter was hard for me to get through. It was the politics...too many different Japanese names...too confusing. But after the first chapter, it is Riveting. Unbelieveable! Should be required reading. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, was the tip of the iceberg.

This is a British lawyer's narrative of Japanese atrocities in WWII and in the years immediately preceding. Baron Russell of Liverpool was a senior legal advisor to the British Army of the Rhine during the nazi war trials, and on the basis that someone who writes history is a historian, he qualifies for that title too. Russell starts his narration in the early 30's with the Japanese concession in Manchuria, the running warfare this involved with the Kuo Min Tang government of Chiang Kai-shek, and the conduct of the Japanese military during that period. His purpose in taking his start-point here is to analyse, to some extent at least, the roots and origins of the mind-sets that led certain human beings to behave in the way they did during WWII.

Russell's analysis takes him and us as far as this - Japanese imperial culture was based on total loyalty to the Emperor. A faction in the army took a fanatical interpretation of this loyalty, not one that was amenable to reason, and saw or purported to see a divine destiny for Japan in dominating the far east and possibly more than just that. So absolute was this mission that no consideration of humanitarian values, and no laws that stood in the way of the mission's fulfilment, could be tolerated. Russell does not try to probe much deeper that this, and I would say rightly not. His book was first published in 1958 following the success of his earlier Scourge of the Swastika. The prime virtue of his writing is precisely that it recounts the events from a lawyer's perspective, not totally detached by any means, but having its focus on facts rather than on expressions of outrage, and steering clear of sensationalism. He does not try to account for the change in Japanese posture from its traditional isolationism to this new spirit of aggression, and he does not try to assess the extent to which the religious or quasi-religious element was genuine and to what extent a garb for something more secular, like the contemporary nationalism in Germany. Still less does he probe the basic question of what `faith' may be said to be in the first place or ask (let alone try to answer) the question that should be asked of any believer in any religion, namely `Why?' Why believe in the divinity of the Emperor rather than in, say, Zeus and Hera? Why indeed.

I support entirely the limitations he has accepted for himself. He had quite enough to do in following his agenda of factual accuracy, his lawyer's perspective is valuable furthermore in assessing matters of legal interpretation, and his unemotional tone helps the reader's focus too. Here and there we catch glimpses of theories that must have crossed his mind, such as in the mention of inferiority complex at one point, but he sticks to his last and does not pursue these. I found that my own interest was less in the grand political scenarios and strategies than in what little the book contains about the mentality of those perpetrating the atrocities. There are excerpts, for instance, from the training manual of the Kempei Tai, a kind of Japanese equivalent of the Gestapo though with some important differences. These leave no doubt that torture was considered legitimate on the basis of `do what you have to do'. There is a statement from no less than Tojo himself at his trial that Japanese foreign commanders had wide latitude in their choice of methods and that questions about these were not asked. There are reported comments from certain local commanders that the prisoners were subhuman, and these, together with the strategic perception that supposed global dominance by the Anglo-Saxon powers had to be fought, seem to me to lend credence to the theory of inferiority complex. In particular there are a few snippets from letters written by the troops. These mainly give plain statements of what was done, but one or two actually evince an access of humanitarian conscience. Rightly, Russell knows better than to draw conclusions from unrepresentative sampling, and I for one was left with a picture common to scenes of undisciplined behaviour by soldiery down the ages, regardless of creed. No doubt it was on a bigger scale, but it was a familiar picture, Emperor or no Emperor. One squaddy puts his and his fellows' excesses down simply to `excitement', and that is hardly new or specific to this divine mission as opposed to other divine missions or their secular counterparts.

Lord Russell's style is dry, clear and economical. As far as it's possible to read such stories without revulsion, it's possible in this book. The final chapter, as we might expect from a lawyer, is a summary of the trials of the major actors and the sentences they received. As usual, Russell permits himself a certain amount of comment but does not become emotive. One interesting detail is that there was a dissenting opinion from the Indian judge, who found that all the prisoners should be exonerated on all charges, on the ground that these trials were, or would be seen as, victors' justice - I'm not quite sure how to read this. There is no mention whatsoever of the fire-bombing of Tokyo, of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or of General LeMay. As these topics are not mentioned, there is no discussion of the difference in principle from atrocities performed hand-to-hand at ground level. Issues at this depth are not explored in this book, so regarding this particular difference the question left with us once again is - what exactly was it?

This is an exceptionally beautiful and interesting book. Even though I had no prior interest in chinese textiles I was quickly drawn in by the stunning photographs and the helpful essays. The book makes a great gift for anyone interested in Asian art or textiles in general!

This is a must read if you are interested in collecting Chinese Rank Badges.

A great reference book to identify the symbols, styles & the various techniques that was used. The color photos are just beautiful showing over 150 different types of Rank Badges.

I love this book! The two different parts of this book really works. In Part One, written by Beverley Jackson is an interesting look at Chinese culture and the journey to the mandarin squares. The fictional story of two boys and their different journeys brings the mandarin squares to life. The studying and sacrifices involved in order to wear the mandarin square are staggering. It heightens the appreciation of the squares themselves in Part Two.

In Part Two, David Hugus does an excellent job in dissecting and then explaining the elements making up the squares. Beyond the intellectual and technical issues, Hugus also discusses mandarin squares in the marketplace.

The two authors obviously have a great love and interest in the mandarin squares and the Chinese culture. I recommend this book highly.

This is the best and most complete book available on Mandarin Squares. A must read for the collector of these badges.

The text is extremely informative and the most comprehensive on the subject. It has well over 100 beautiful pictures of many examples of the nine civil and nine military rank badges.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Chinese Textiles especially in the intricate embroidered Mandarin Squares and learn about their history.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Asian art and, in particular, the Chinese rank system and the textiles associated with it. I expect this book to become THE reference book on the subject. I highly recommend it to all those dealing in antique Chinese objects and museums specializing in Asian art. It is obvious to me that both authors have not only throughly researched their topics but also are impassioned by them.