Asia Books

Not only an excellent read for all AFV fans, but should serve as a guide on how commanders should treat their men ( especially read the part about the visiting engineer unit that worked on their defences )

Great book. Fun read as well, not dark, not brooding, these guys fought hard, and had some fun as well.

Some highlights will have you rolling, like when a brand new M-48A3 is delivered the LST, puts the ramp down on a sand bar and the whole tank sinks as it drives in. Total loss.

Another interesting part is the story of the M-48 that runs of a 1000 pound bomb turned into a mine. They get it running and drive it home.

This is one of the better books about armor in Vietnam. If you want to know what it was like to ride one of these steel beasts in the heat of Vietnam, driving into the teeth of the enemy fire and destroy the enemy face to face, this is the book. He tells it like he saw it, with little or no embellishment. If you are a tanker, then this is a great book for you.

I would give it a 5 if it were better written, but some places his editor should have taken a hand in the final product.

Tank Sergeant is a very readable account of what it was like to be a tanker in Vietnam. If you are familiar with tank operations in previous wars, you'll be surprised by their use in Vietnam. Good coverage of AFV use as well. Highly recommended.

As a Japanese language teacher in a Primary school, I have always shared the story of Momotaro with my students who are really fascinated with the oni (demons) and Momotaro's bravery and kindness. I was thrilled to find this new reworking of the traditional story with a female "hero" who was born from a large melon rather than a peach, and sets off to Onigashima to rescue the babies from the oni, accompanied by the dog, pheasant and the monkey, all sustained of course by the famous kibidango. A really enjoyable and fun read-aloud and a good teaching tool for comparing traditional stories with reworkings.

The story of the cute, spunky heroine Uriko-hime who was born from a melon will surely delight children of all ages. It is actually a retelling of the Japanese folktale Momotaro. Judy Sierra's narration is lovely. Tontoko-tontoko--I could hear Uriko-hime's wooden sandals. And Meilo So's illustrations are a real eye-candy.

As a fourth grade teacher, I plan to use this book as an introduction to folklore. It is especially appealing to find a book with an Asian heroine.

My 3-year old loved this book after the first reading. If your child likes belly buttons, he or she will love this book and will soon be running around the house chanting: "Belly Button, Belly Buttons, Tasty Baby Belly Buttons."

As we begin to see this earth suffer the effects of our presence here, these poems -with roots in every continent- speak together of this planet as a sacred place. One perhaps we might still come to treat well. Read a few aloud, sit in your garden this spring and read a Navajo corn song, stir, stir ... This is well researched, carefully and lovingly translated; it should accompany any studies of native cultures worldwide.

Back in the 1970s I discovered this book. It became my companion. Its rich poetry, its multitudes of rituals and images have inspired my batiks and paintings for the past thirty years. What variety and life!

I was introduced to this book by a fiction writing teacher to whom I'll always be grateful. It's a fresh, ingenious selection of ritual and sacred poetry from around the world, translated with irreverence and raw attitude. If you're used to the vague New Age-isms of what usually gets thought of as "ritual" and "sacred," pick this up and get a jolt--Rothenberg finds incredibly powerful language in places where it wouldn't occur to most people to look, and he's not afraid of crudeness and hilarity. Amazing stuff. A friend of mine has worn out copies of both the first edition and this one, and I don't blame her.

Technicians of the Sacred was compiled by Rothenberg after attending two 1964 readings of "Primitive and Archaic Poetry" at The Poet's Hardware Theater and the Café Metro in New York city. Intrigued with the deep intuition of these works, Rothenberg decided to collect poetry, songs, and chants from around the world.

Rothenberg's intention was not to focus on any one particular aspect of the sacred but merely to compile material that was available in English and the book's organization directly reflects this lack of apparent direction. Works are subdivided into nine sections: Origins & Namings; Visions & Spells; Death & Defeat; The Book of Events (I); The Book of Events (II); Africa; America; Asia; Europe & The Ancient Near East; and Oceana. Having material from the first five sections more or less focused around a specific theme while the remaining five sections reflect a geographic focus the work feeling a little thrown together and disorganized.

This disorganization is further reflected within each section, where there is everything from modern poetry and prose through traditional songs and chants to ancient pictographs and artwork. Moreover works from individual cultural groups are not placed together but dispersed throughout each section.

That the work only reflects English translations is also somewhat problematic. A Commentary section at the back of the book explains how Rothenberg came across each work offering explanations about the themes and topics within a particular piece. However, more often than not, these notes did not describe how the piece was translated. This lack of information would be particularly useful as Rothenberg states that the translations vary from literal to very free. This book does contain a number of interesting and useful pieces. Rothenberg has chosen a good mixture of poetry from a variety of different sources, not just the most accessible and he illustrates poems from the Paleolithic through to modern times. Moreover, this book contains some very interesting and intriguing transitional pieces reflecting Christian religious teaching modified into traditional forms. Thus, despite some very irritating and distracting organizational problems, this book contains some very valuable information. This information will likely be of use to those wishing to gain insight into aspects of the sacred in general or those wanting insight into the belief systems of particular cultures. Nonetheless, the apparent lack of organization of these pieces make this book an unlikely candidate as a classroom text.

I borrowed this book from the library first and then I had to buy it after trying some of the recipes. Most thai cookbooks are so complicated and tedious. This one was so easy with very clear instructions and it even shows pictures of each exotic ingredient (and how to clean and prepare them) so you'll know what to look for in the asian food store. Buy this; it's worth it!

My husband and I have spent several months in Thailand and have been looking for a way to replicate authentic Thai dishes...this book is it! The pictures are just stunning...we were paging through and found a dish my husband had had many times for lunch in Thailand(Phad krapow neua); he knew how to say the dish (phonetically) but we didn't know how to spell it so we had no way of looking it up...but a picture is worth a thousand words! It came out perfectly, just like in Thailand.

The section for ingredients was extremely helpful, too. I just took the book with me to the asian grocery store, and pointed out what we needed (I can't believe we found Thai basil!)

Can't wait to try more dishes!

I wrote this book, and I can say unequivocally, it is authentically easy. With recipes supplied from the Chiang Mai Thai Cooking School in northern Thailand, proving true to Thai cooking became my labor of love. Tips for time saving are regularly added, as are substitutions for those without an ethnic market in their vicinity. Chili afficionadoes will relish that capsicum quantities have not been decreased, but not all dishes are hot. And when the real Thai foods are very hot, variable quantities are recommended. Northern-non-coconut based curry are included, and as befits Thai cooking, numerous vegetarian variations also provided. But most of all, this book begins with curry pastes -- either store bought or home prepared -- and then shows myriad dishes using these delicious pastes. These are recipes as Thais cook them at home -- but written with a Western understanding. As with any home made meal, these recipes are variably easy -- not etched in stone. People around the world -- whether in Anchorage or Australia, Minnesotta or England, will be able to cook from this book. And the vibrant, authentic flavors will be the final test.

The recipes in this book are wonderful. I have cooked the green and red curries, the pad thai, and the tom kha gai. I'm going to cook the Chang Mai noodles next. I was looking for a good approximation of the wonderful Thai food I had in D.C., and with some tweaking, was able to match it. A couple tips: If you're new to cooking thai food, DON'T SKIP ANYTHING UNLESS THE DIRECTIONS SPECIFICALLY SAY YOU MAY! There is a section devoted to ingredients that you should read carefully. In my opinion, a thai curry is NO GOOD without genuine kaffir lime leaves, which are hard to come by. I found them in the frozen section of an asian grocery store. Also, if you fry the curry pastes, they stay for up to 2 months. Last, a note on flavor. The curries needed a little more sweentess for me to be perfect. Try adding 1/2 tablespoon more palm sugar to the red or green SUACES if you have the same problem. Also, don't be afraid to reduce the number of chilies in the SAUCES (don't know about the pastes themselves though). Lastly, a food processor makes any of these dishes relatively easy. Besides that, once you get the basic ingredients, you can make many of these dishes, over and over again, making it cost efficient. This book is a wonderful intro to tasty thai food.

An extraordinary story told with well controlled language and subtle understatements. The book chronicles the lives in a previledged, but also marginalized, world where everyone is deeply enshrouded in his or her own loneliness : the western expatriates in China, the mixed-blood children like the author himself, the western women married to Chinese men but unable to summon any love for the country or its people, the well-cultured mem ostracized by the society for their marriages to western women. Each of them, making good-intentioned efforts to connect, failed miserably because of their own deep-rooted prejudice, social barriars imposed by other people, or simply the uncontrollable historical whirlwinds. Outside this walled-in existence, a war is raging on with unimaginable callousness. The wall would eventually crumble down and the fineness of the Legation Quarter be swallowed by the brutal and rancid humanities of that era. Reminding us at times of Proust and Graham Greene, this remembrance of things past documents, in a hushed voice, an extraordinary age and all the human efforts to stay emerged in the midst of sweeping torrents. Warmth and friendship flicker from time to time in this vast emotional void : the author's attachment to his down-to-earth and understanding nanny Shu Ma, his natural bonding with the reticent peasant Xiao Hu, and the unusual and quiet friendship between the boy and the Japanese Admiral. Language in the last couple chapters slips a little bit and becomes less disciplined. But overall this is a wonderfully written memoir. Saddened by the news of the author's death couple weeks ago, I was especially grateful for the gift he left with us in the form of this book.

I was sent a copy of this book by my mum from Australia last year and only recently had the chance to finally read the book.

It's no wonder that this book is an award winner (2000 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize). Kwan keeps you rivetted to his story, told through eyes of a young boy growing up in very turbulent times. In spite of coming from a wealthy family, it cannot save him from the terrors and turmoil brought to Northern China in the 1930s and 1940s, nor from the racial judgement passed on him for being half-Chinese and half-White.

How Kwan manages to survive is quite amazing. He is abandoned by his own mother and faces major abuses at school. Then, war begins and he begins to witness the atrocities committed by the Japanese in China. Finally, after the Japanese are defeated, he nearly loses his father to the KMT government that his father has faithfuly served through the resistance movement. He is not even safe from his own family, who try to use him as a means to extort his father for money that no longer exists.

An absolute must read for anyone interested in China, the Japanese invasion of China, and a boy's coming of age.

I read a review and an excerpt of this book in Toronto last summer, and waited anxiously for it to be published here in the States. I read it in two days, gulping it down excitedly; then I re-read it slowly, informed of the story but savoring the beautiful prose. I wrote Mr. Kwan a "fan letter," only to learn today in this forum that he passed away. I was hoping for a sequel.

I bought Michael David Kwan's "Things That Must Not Be Forgotten" after reading a glowing review in the Washington Post. I was not disappointed. It is a moving, understated memoir about Mr. Kwan's childhood years starting shortly before the outbreak of World War II and ending as the Kuomintang was breathing its last in mainland China. Although young David was fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family as a "half-caste" child of a Chinese father and a Swiss mother (who abandoned the family very early in David's life), he was never considered to be a true part of either the white and Chinese communities. The editorial reviews give a good overview of the content of the book and the increasing difficulties that David and his family endured under the Japanese and even more so under the corrupt Nationalist Chinese government. The narrative is brisk and engaging; it is probably the best work of non-fiction that I have read in quite some time.

Sadly, on May 20th of this year Mr. Kwan suffered a fatal heart attack just two weeks before the official U.S.-publication of this book. We are all very fortunate that he was able to give us such a memorable farewell gift.

"Things That Must Not Be Forgotten" won the 2000 Kirayama Prize for non-fiction, beating out such well-received books as Herbert Bix's "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan," Helen Zia's "Asian American Dreams" and Chanrithy Him's "When Broken Glass Floats."

It's a very interesting book that the author uses a unique argument to discuss current Asian affair and related issues. I like it because it provides a framework to decribe US-China relation, but not writting a micor-history along the time lines. Great book and reasonable assumptions of powers, "Might", "Money" and "Mind."

What I especially liked about D. Lampton's approach to this very popular subject is how he structured the book and the terminology that he used because it is done in a way that reflects Chinese thought and vocabulary on these issues. Moreover, his analysis and understanding of the issue is top-notch!

KW

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am enjoying it. It is a difficult read, smaller print and a very interesting choice of words. I often find myself re-reading a sentance to make sure I understood the authors intent. I think the material is relevant to those who are interested in the ever growing China and how the US will be challenged by them in the future. Reads very much like a text book, which was OK because I bought this book to learn something.

I gave this book to a friend, Henry Sailer, who was raised in China and very knowledgeable. This is his review.

This is a remarable book.It will enlighten the most advanced specialist and, at the same time, teach the new beginner.

There are new facts to be absorbed in virtually every sentence and Mr. Lampton's writing and organizational skills are such that the reader approachs each chapter with mounting fascination.

Mr. Lampton obviously has entree to leaders of most of the Asian states of which he writes - an entree which he has employed with commendable discretion and which brings to light facts and ideas which would otherwise not be available to the most zealot scholar, student or layman.

I have never said of any book of this kind that I intended to read it again. I do now.

As a shipmate of the Author I found Ray Kopp's book Thunder in the Night, A Sailor's Perspective on Vietnam to be absolutley riviting. It brought back vivid memories of my Vietnam experiences. Kudos to Ray for telling our story. He writes with an obvious passion for the subject and his accounts of his personal emotions and experiences are heart warming and brutally honest. This book is a must read for all sailors that are members of the Tonkin Golf Yacht Club!

Author Raymond Kopp shares the story of his combat experiences as a crew member of the USS Newport News during the Vietnam War. In his wonderfully written and sensitive book "Thunder in the Night - A Sailor's Perspective on Vietnam" he tells us about the little known Naval operations in 1972 when the over-all war was supposed to be winding down.

I had to laugh at the truth of what Kopp points out in the Preface of the book about how most veterans and the public seem to discount the combat experiences of those who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Most non-Naval Vietnam veterans have assumed that sitting off the coast with clean sheets, hot showers and no VC sneaking up on you, meant that the duty was carefree and safe. It was never really thought of as being "combat duty"; how wrong most of us were about that. Reading his story about his ship's war operations off the coast of North Vietnam, it also becomes evident that these battles took a toll on sailors both emotionally and physically as well.

Raymond writes in the third person and tells his story as if it were a novel. It makes for very entertaining reading as the author uses a full pallet of colorful expressions and wording to paint his story. His emotions are not hidden nor are his many flaws and fears; he gives the reader a full uncensored vision of what is going on within him.

This book is a very honest attempt by the author to examine his life at time of the war and why he is who he is today. Although he does not expound away at it, this story is all about redemption and reflection as a way to find self-healing within. Although Raymond was not physically injured that night when an explosion killed a couple of dozen of his shipmates and wounded many more--that night still haunts the soul of this man! He survived physically but he is still dealing with the emotional and spiritual wounds from the experience.

I have read many books from Navy veterans but most have been about SEALS and the "Brown Water Navy" operations or about fighter pilots--this is the first book out there that gives an insider view on what life was like for the sailors who were on heavy cruisers. It is an eye-opener and a real education for veterans like me. This book is about history and people and about dying for your country but it is also about fear and courage and guilt and friendship. Years from now people will realize that this book is an important link to a piece of our history.

2005 Distinguished Honor Award!

The following will serve as my review. It is taken from my written communication with the author, Raymond S. Kopp:

"As Second Division Officer so many years ago (1967), one of my responsibilities aboard Thunder included the 8" guns and ammo as well as the men who manned the turrets and magazines. Your description in Chapter 20, "Chaos and Calm" and in Chapter 21, "The Dead and the Demoralized" which describes in detail your personal memories of the explosion in Turret No. 2 which killed 20 shipmates shook me to the bone. Although I had left NN 4 years prior to the accident, I knew only in brief terms what had transpired. Your well written account gave me, for the first time in all these years, the opportunity to read in detail about what actually happened. What a horrible experience you lived through but were able to write about!

As a result of that accident, the names of the NN dead are now engraved on the Vietnam memorial wall (dedicated to USN and USCG killed) which was recently completed and is located next to COMNAVSURFPAC HQs, U.S. Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, CA. Due to my present San Diego navy ship repair related work, I have visited the memorial on several occasions and have read the names of the Newport News souls who died aboard our ship on that fateful day in 1972.

I have recommended your book to both ex-navy and civilian friends as well as to members of my family. I realize your writing the book was mentally tough and I can personally ID with the nightmares you experienced after leaving Newport News and the navy. You have written a fine book which, I believe, will be remembered as an important historical account of the naval battles in which the Newport News was engaged. I state with sincerity.......well done!"

Until I read this book, I had no idea that Vietnam era sailors participated in this type up up close action with the enemy. Great book, well written, entertaining and informative. I would recomend this book to anyone who wants to know more about naval operations in Vietnam and the emotions of the sailors who experienced these battles.

Holt once again brings invaluable information about Bactria. In this book he uses mumismatics extensively. The first two chapters are very interesting. The end of the book is mostly about technical details of the coins and what they can tell us. Thundering Zeus is the figure of Zeus on coins issued by Macedonian kings in Bactria. Holt shows us the importance of the details for placing a date on the coins and for knowing who issued them. For those who are intrigued by Diodotus, I and II, this is a great book. If it is the first book you read by Holt and if you are intested in the history of Bactria, which now covers most part of Afghanistan, you can form for yourself a good idea of what other books by Holt can hold as surprises for you. It could be the gate opened to a new horizon, or just a very enjoyable way to learn about the subject. Holt writes in a simple manner so as to be accessible to all readers and I do appreciate that. Even scholars sometimes need simplicity. In any case, his simple and clear way is still carrying a lot of serious information with notes, bibliography, index, all items History students need. I would recommend this book for research as well as for readers who like to learn more.

A full effort employing a variety of source materials, good methodology, and inviting prose.

Holt does an excellent job of updating the Beginnings of the Hellenistic Bactrian kingdom. His book is a much needed repair of the misinformation spread in the beginning of Tarn's otherwise enjoyable book The Greeks in Bactria and India. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Frank Holt continues his assault on the deity of Alexander in this well-researched followup to "Alexander the Great and Bactria." Holt looks at the foundation and early history of Hellenistic Bactria, starting with the Diadochi. His analysis of the data - including a careful reappraisal of the oft misleading numistics - is fairly convincing. A good book for anyone interested in Central Asia in antiquity, ancient India, and modern historiography of Alexander of Macedon.

This book was recommended by my spiritual coach. I found it easy to read, informative - previously I wasn't familiar with the story of Milarepa, and interesting. I recommend it for those who are studying the mysteries of the Far East, the great Yogi's, and Masters.

This is the second book in the Tibetan series from W.Y.Evans-Wentz. If you really want to begin at the start then you should first of all read - The Tibetan Book of the Dead by the same author. Milarepa is essentially the 800 year old story of Tibets greatist yogi told through the eyes of his students Jetsun and Rechung. The story is about a poor wicked boy who eventually turns into a wise old yogi to be held in the highest esteem. It is a wonderful story that can be read as a standalone book or as part of the series.

The most important aspect of this book is that it Milarepa, as a student of Buddhism, needs to practice and cover much of the topics that are explained in The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This is really what is at the heart of the book. So those of you who may want to learn more about The Tibetan Book of the Dead (and you should because it is one of the most important works ever obtained by occident man), can see it put into practice in the story of Milarepa.

There are many footnotes and references for you to read through. Again the story is a wonderful, uplifting one with lots of joy and sorrow to experience. You will certainly gain much metaphysical insight and the morals in this story when put into practice will certainly make you a better person. It is a wonderful journey and I have read the story many times and will read it many more. It really is that spiritually enlightening and certainly a very important text to be translated in English for the occident. This book is a treasure-house of spiritual information.

The other two works in the series are - Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines and The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation in that order.

I have read few books, believing it to be more important to incorporate the ideas into daily living than be widely read. This book is one of those few. I always found it to be inspirational. Though Milarepa exhibits superhuman strength in his Sadhana, spiritual practice, it is nevertheless a lofty ideal to sustain spiritual aspirants. It is a truism, often neglected at great peril, that one is happiest when trying to live according to one's ideals. Ignoring the negative opinions and hidebound thoughts of the worldly environment one must forge ahead to manifest the ideals presented by the Great Yogis! It may be a terrific struggle, full of many setbacks, but Victory awaits those who never give up. For me Milarepa has been a beacon of a true example. may all who seek liberation from the dualities of this world find brotherhood with the Great Yogi Milarepa!

This book is translated from the original Tibetan biography of Milarepa. It is easy to read, and contains some wonderful explanatory notes. These go a long way in clearing up some of the more difficult statements found in the book, especially for those unfamiliar with Tibetan Buddhism. All round a wonderful book, one which you can read time and time again and every time get more out of it. And don't forget, the story itself is also pretty good!

I read the book in Spanish, and even though i am English, the real Pema came through. Kindness itself and far too modest. I count myself proud to have known and count her a friend.

Jetsun Pema is the younger sister of the Dalai Lama, and has played a major part in the care and education of refugee Tibetan children.
This book tells the story of Jetsun Pema's childhood in Tibet before the ruthless Chinese Communist invasion of 1949, and her subsequent flight and education in India, Switzerland and England.
It also tells of the oppression by the Chinese Communist occupation of Tibet and the genocide and cultural destruction of the Tibetan people in which 1 200 000
Tibetan men, women and children have been ruthlessly exterminated by the
Chinese Communists.
Children were forced to kill their parents and parents forced to applaud the execution of their children on pain of death, during thamzing (Chinese Communist public punishment sessions). Very young children were forced to see their parents being dragged through the streets of the village or town and then beaten, stoned and finally executed, simply because they had worked for the previous government or were heirs to landed property.Millions of Chinese who have been brought into Tibet to demographically swamp the indigenous Tibetans. Nuns were raped and monasteries and landmarks destroyed.
Millions of Tibetan children have starved to death in the Chinese created famine and food taken from the Tibetans and transferred to the Chinese or exported to Arab countries.
This is all told in this book by Jetsun Pema.
Pema also tells of her love for and education and care of the thousands of Tibetan children who have passed through SOS children's villages in India.
What results is a compassionate and passionate account by a great woman, and a cry for action on behalf of the Tibetan people before they are completely destroyed.
The world is clearly not listening, the international media and universities preferring to condemn Israel for self-defence and the USA for the war against terrorism, while real atrocities and genocide go on without a single word of protest.
Hard-core Communists in fact applaud these atrocities as they do atrocities and murde the world over.
Nice people, Communists, aren't they?

This book is more than a story of one life. It is the story of a whole nation and the struggles that it endured at the hands of the Chinese, which continue today. Jetsun Pema paints a wonderful picture of a complex people, in simple terms. I recommend highly!

An interesting yet easy-to-read account by the sister of the Dalai Lama about life growing up in Tibet and eventually relocating due to the Chinese invasion. Wonderful insights and stories, and a different perspective on His Holiness the Dalai Lama.