Asia Books

My son read this book at his high school and just had to have it! He loves the author's way of writing and reading about another culture.

Let me start off by saying this is the best book I have read. It is a very exciting book that keeps your attention throughout. It starts off by the Emperer allowing Toyo's Uncle to commit seppuku (suicide) instead of being killed by the government. Samurai Shortstop has a great mix of baseball and culture. You get to read a baseball story but at the sametime learn about their culture and beliefs. Toyo attends Ichiko which is a very big school that consists of only boys.

Ichiko's baseball team is run by the players themselves and when Toyo and a couple other first years want to join the team the have to prove that they are worthy. Toyo's friend Futoshi makes the team as the right fielder but Toyo has a little trouble making the team because Ichiko already has a shortstop. But when their shortstop gets thrown off the team Toyo found himself starting at shortstop. Toyo's father teaches trys to teach him bushido which is code by which Samurai lived but Toyo has trouble understanding it. Not until the end of the book when he has to help with his father's seppuku does he fully understand bushido. This is a wonderful book because it keeps you off balance and never knowing what is going to happen!

Kyle Walmer
Mrs. Bains 3rd block

It's 1890 and you're in Tokyo, Japan. Between classes in the most prestigious high school in town and baseball practice, you learn the old ways--the ways of the samurai. That's Toyo Shimada's life and we get the pleasure of going along for the ride thanks to Alan Gratz's brilliant story telling.


Toyo suffers from familiar teen angst: a parent who doesn't understand him and friends who try to understand him, but often fail. It's the core of most teen stories, but Toyo's world is changing. Old Japan is dying and a new Japan is rising.


His father represents the old Japan. When the emperor reforms their ancient military system and requires all samurai to hang up their swords, Toyo's family is caught in the middle. The opening scene, where Toyo and his father assist Toyo's uncle in seppuku, ritual suicide, is so intense that you'll wonder if Toyo's just having a bad dream.


Even though Toyo's father isn't samurai in the traditional sense, he too decides he can't live in the new Japan. He expects Toyo to assist him in seppuku, when the time comes. First, he must teach Toyo the ways of bushido, the warrior's code.


Between lessons and baseball practice, Toyo learns to meditate and use a sword--and worries about his father. When the time comes, will he have the courage to do what has to be done? Baseball is his passion, and as applies bushido to baseball, he comes to terms with the changing world around him and begins his journey into manhood.


Samurai Shortstop is the story of Toyo's search for his own path in a time of social change and family turmoil. Toyo's personal struggle is one all teens can appreciate. He struggles with peer pressure, studies, and parental control and expectations. Nineteenth century Japan comes alive and provides the color and unexpected tension that every good story needs.

Samurai Shortstop is a wonderful, but underappreciated tale about a boy and his love for baseball. Toyo, a 14 year-old boy is faced to grow up faster than he ever wanted to when his uncle committed seppuku, legal suicide in Japan. Everything has changed since the French Revolution, and now there are no more samurais, but now there is baseball, Toyo's favorite sport.
He has just now started the most prestigious school in Tokyo, which means new friends, bullies, and many more problems. He tries out for baseball and starts learning the way of samurai from his father. Toyo and his father never really understood each other, and now that his uncle has died, Toyo only has his friends to help him.

Toyo is a very smart person, and becomes a very good leader. Throughout the book everything that happens helps him, although it doesn't look like it all the time. Toyo starts to put his skill in the art of bushido, samurai fighting style, into baseball. My favorite part of the book is when he fights the older kid instead of letting them beat him up. I would recommend this book to students from 7th grade and up.
--Malik McKenzie

This is a story of a boy named Toyo Shimada. The time is set in Tokyo, 1890. Toyo is sent to a boarding school of a very high caliber, but after he arrives he sees how the upperclassmen treat the first years. To fit in, he joins the baseball team, a sport he loves. He wants to be shortstop, but until he becomes a "man" to the upperclassmen he is stuck in the outfield. He is enraged, but nevertheless he pushes through the tormenting and refuses to quit the baseball team. The only problem is his father, who is still using the ways of the samurai, or worrier. Toyo's father does not want him to play, unless Toyo can convince him otherwise. Other than that, his father has decided to teach him the ways of the warrior, or bushido. At first Toyo does not understand any of his bushido lessons, or why he has to do them, but over the course of the book he learns to use his bushido skills.
This book reminds me of a book called Dairy Queen. The story was about a girl, and football, not baseball, but in the end she overcomes many obstacles just like Toyo. In both books, the main focus is overcoming anything that comes your way. They are both also about standing up to important figures in there lives. It happens to be that in both books that person is their dad. Alan Gratz has written an enthralling tale.
I enjoyed the book, although it does have some pretty gruesome scenes. I liked reading it because you always want to see what Toyo will do next, what the other characters are going to say, or do. It also tells you a lot about what school was like back then, in Japan. It is a lot different from Americans school, and the year it takes place in really makes a difference. Overall, this is a great book and you should pick it up sometimes if you are looking for a great read.

Fun book that plays off the concept of the 7 Chinese Brothers. My daughter likes it, as she has a close Chinese friend.

I just bought this for my Amerasian granddaughter, while she was visiting. She hardly let the book out of her hands once it was read to her on a lovely parkbench in Northampton, MA

It is a dear story about the love of sisters, and the talents of each one; it also gives a novel twist to the dragon character.
The illustrations are lovely.

Have begun looking at other books by the author, Kathy Tucker,hoping they will be as excellent as this one.

Gigi

my 21 month & 3.5-yr-old daughters love reading this book together & separately, each on her own level - highly recommended; each of the 7 sisters has a special skill, each is valued, each contributes to the good of their family (no parents in this story); my husband was concerned for the dragon, a plot line dropped somewhat abruptly, but the girls just love it!

I read this to my 4 1/2 year old. We started with The Story About Ping, and then looked for other books about China. Before reading The Seven Chinese Sisters, we read Mei Mei Loves the Morning, Dim Sum for Everyone and Good Morning, China.

Although The Seven Chinese Sisters doesn't give a lot of cultural information on China within the text, the pictures do. It's set in a picturesque valley with mountains in the background. A small village with traditional Chinese houses is near the river running through the valley. Across the bridge is a forest, and through the forest and up the mountain is where the dragon lives. Although the dragon takes the youngest sister, he isn't terribly fierce, so he shouldn't scare a young child who is having the story read to her (at the end of the story I mentioned to my daughter that the dragon is pretend, and that dragons are only in books and sometimes on TV, but they are just pretend...since we've talked about the concept of pretend/real in the past, she understood right away).

I like that when the sisters see that the dragon is starving, they say they will bring him noodle soup tomorrow (today they have to get Seventh Sister home because "she's all worn out, and she needs her diaper changed"). Unfortunately, the story never says that they did take the dragon any soup, so I turned the pages back to where they made the promise and explained to my daughter that the sisters brought him some soup the next day. I wish the author had included that in the story.

What a marvelous artistic talent is displayed on the cover of "The Seven Chinese Sisters" book. Each sister has a specific talent (the talents of only two are revealed on the cover). But look at their faces--artistically, they are almost identical, yet after reading the book, I can pick out who is who. Their hairstyles and sizes are the distinct characteristics.

"The Seven Chinese Sisters" concerns the distinct talents used in defeating a dragon. Never mind the improbability of the talents. We know the story is a folktale through the dragon; therefore, we can easily accept the premise of the story.

First, the talents. Sister One can drive her motorcycle faster than the wind. Number Two is just short of her black belt in karate. Sister Three is astonishing with numbers and counting. Number Four is a dog whisperer. Fifth Sister can catch a ball, no matter what. Sixth can cook the most delicious noodle soup, and Seventh, being a baby, has not revealed her special talent.

Once talents are introduced, the problem presents itself in the form of a dragon that comes to eat the noodle soup. However, another eating choice appears: a big baby. Yum! He takes her back to his lair for privacy and full enjoyment of this tasty morsel.

Of course, the six sisters go to her rescue. This is a delightful story, one that will have children cheering and Oh-ing and Ah-ing.

The rest of the story may be found in the book.

Yes, the story is exciting, but more lies within. What does it take to defeat a dragon? Just six talents? No, each alone will not defeat him. However, six sisters (remember the baby?) put their heads together (figuratively) as a unit, a team to obtain a goal. They are courageous and bold and creative.

Please look again at those seven Chinese sisters on the cover and thank the heavens for such talent--no, not the talents of the sisters, but the talent of Kathy Tucker and Grace Lin for giving us this truly beautiful book.

The seventh sister? Yes, we learn her talent and it is best of all!

If you lost a loved one in Vietnam then you'll understand the poingnancy, intimacy, loss, and anguish of the writers of these letters found throughout the book. It brings out the grim and stark realization that behind every name on the Wall is a story as told by the families who suffered a loss. The most important thing though is the book is about remembering those men and women who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Buy this book and change your outlook on Nam forever. If you ever valued the boy next door, your son , or daughter you will want this book as a bed side companion to re-read again and again. Each story is a man lost, a mother in pain, a comrade who mourns . It paints the picture that we will be reliving for the men of Afganistan/Irag times. The book will be relevent for time immortal. At,6'3 and 320 lbs of old warrior ,
this book took me back and immersed me into the turbulent past times of my life. To damn up my tears , it would have been like holding back a hurricane because of the imagery in this book . This book is well worth the price. I bought it and will continue to buy it again and again until all those I know have a copy. America should emerse itself in the books wisdom about ours soldiers and society. We need to learn to drop the idea that all we are told is the truth and scrutinize our leaders more closely. Thanks Ms Palmer for this great and timely book of truth. Herb, I knew you at Lackland, I hope you have found peace.

Do I dare to give this book a less-than-glowing review? I am inclined to do so not because of the power and dignity of the people and the stories in the book--those speak for themselves. It was Palmer (the author) that bothered me. As I was reading the book, I could not help but feel that she was trying to manipulate me, tugging at heartstrings that needed no tug to be moved by these heartfelt stories. I felt a bit patronized by her. A good book (or movie, or whatever), if it moves me, should not make me feel the push; this one did, and it left me feeling the way people usually feel when they were pushed in a direction that they would have gone anyway--irritated.

Shrapnel In the Heart is a book to be read by everyone no matter what generation they were born in. Shrapnel In The Heart is a book that has letters and rememberances left behind at the Vietnam War Memorial. Some of the letters tell the story about the people behind the letter. The stories are sad, but the courage of the men and women is a true inspiration. The people written about in this book were extrememly young (18, 19, 20) and it seems like they died in vain. But through their letters that were left behind it is easy to see that these young men knew their duty and refused to shirk from it. These men and women are true heroes.

I read this book for a college history course and until now have thought very little about war, military, or world politics. Young people today rarely understand or realize what goes with becoming a soldier. This book gives real images of the devastation war brings from the people who lived through the tragedy of losing their loved ones. It opens our eyes to things we just shouldn't close our eyes on.

I first read this book just after it was first published some 50 years ago. It was, I recall, a pleasure to read then and doubly so to re-read the account of Corbett's adventures again today. Jim Corbett's somewhat matter-of fact, understated style is a delight to read and his simple yet vivid descriptions of the Indian locale and the people, who play a part in his story are those of a man that loves and deeply understands this land and its people. Corbett is no wanton destroyer of wildlife but a protector of impoverished and often terrified communities who understands and explains with sympathy, why the prey he hunted were forced to become what they were.

Any book by Jim Corbett is an interesting read. Although, nowadays, big game hunting is a thing of the past (I reckon), yet it is through the eyes of the author that the reader can seamlessly go back to the times when it was not so.

The stories are beautifully detailed in their descriptions of the expeditions, the customs of the hill folks, their traditions, courage, and (some interesting) superstitions. More often than not while reading the book, I have wondered whether whether I would know what happens in the end because of some absolutely incredible situations and circumstances described.

HOW THIS MAN COULD MOVE THROUGH THE JUNGLE SO EASILY I DON'T KNOW..HE MUST HAVE HAD BAZOOMAS LIKE BASKETBALLS...LOL

In a few words Jim Corbett can transport you back 60-100 years & make you feel like you are right there beside him tracking a Tiger in India. There is no bravado, he comes across as very humble. I had read his "Man-Eaters of Kumaon" several years ago & thought it was without a doubt one of the best books I had ever read. Even knowing how good his books were I was still highly impressed with this book as well. It isn't just the tigers he describes but the whole Indian country-side & the people & animals that habitat the place. He takes you there. Don't hesitate to read one of his books.

Once again in this book Jim Corbett has proved it, he was a awesome incredible gentleman. I have never seen anyone who could write like him. Amazing man with amazing courage. His modesty is revealed throughout his book. He goes through so much suffering and pain, but never once writes about it. From his book you can feel how much concern he had for people. People trusted him with with their lives. His book teaches us a lot about jungles. I would recommend this to anyone who likes animals. Once again Jim Corbett you were and still are the best writes of adventures.

Globalization has had a strong, yet subtle, propaganda from both the "liberal" and conservative media in the last years. Just take a look at magazines Newsweek, Time and many others, but above all The Economist. They are always reminding us how important is that companies can freely operate globally. Fareed Zakaria, for example, wrote some weeks ago that while ipods are made abroad, most of the profits go to Apple. Good for Steve and Co. but bad for common people who don't own corporations. Instead, Mr. Zakaria chose to show off the startlingly low American unemployment statistics. As for web sites, go to the ultraconservative [...], which has a single one writer against free trade, Pat Buchanan.

Gabor Steingart is one of the few writers who goes deeper that and exposes what holds the terrific unemployment statistics: part-time jobs (no matter how few hours a week), minimum wages and plain unemployed simply masked. We can even say it is as hard to get in those statistics as getting into an ivy-league college. According to the US Labor statistics, the minimum wage jobs are meant to be the main jobs sources by far and large in the next years. There will be like 600,000 opening for college professors and many others for college graduates, which all in all won't take the whole youth needing jobs. Yet, most of the media (both "liberal" and conservative) remain simplifying the issue and keeping repeating the great unemployment statistics and Wal-Mart prices (which are not so great either), just like a nazi general used to say to keep lying until people believe them.

The news channels don't promote globalization as much, instead they distract us and focus on the oversimplification of the "culture wars" (both excessive liberals or conservatives, who are minorities in USA) , missing people (like 1 in 100,000) and most recently have only paid attention to the political campaigns and the financial crisis. These issues are surely important and still second in importance to the basic need of making a living, which globalization won't let us do. No matter how cheap a product can be as the propaganda always says, if you don't have a job you can't buy much, which is happening to more and more millions of people all over the 1st world, as Gabor well exposes.

I feel almost personally grateful to Steingart because he has written something I have always wanted to say, but couldn't possibly have said so well.

The questions he asks on page 227, for example, have been troubling me for years. I beseech every American to pause and respond to these buring questions.

"Did you really believe that you could live, in the long term, on borrowed money?
"Who actually claimed that such a large nation doesn't need an industrial base?
"Where are the men and women who made us believe that a negative balance of trade is a sigh of strength?
"Why did no one on Wall Street sound the alarm bell when the U.S. dollar became eroded and lost intrinsic value for such a prolonged period of time?
"Is it possible that no one could have noticed a country that was once the world's biggest lender selling off its assets to others?
"How could the entrenchment of economic inequality in a democratic nation have been tolerated for so long?
"What happed to the upward mobility that was once this country's trademark?
"And, last but not least: why did democracy, which is supposed to react more quickly to malfunctions than other forms of government, fail so miserably?"

As someone who genuinely wishes America well, it pains me to see this great country de-industrialized and become the biggest debtor in human history, reduced to begging more loans from foreign powers such as the Chinese Communist regime.

My gut feeling is that it's too late to remedy the dire situation. I pray miracle happens. I wish to be proven wrong.

By the way, Deng Xiaoping was never premier of China, as Steingart told us. His official position, when he did hold one, was vice-premier, though he was the paramount leader of the Chinese Communist Party from the early 80s. Chinese politics was bizare.

Every American should read this book; the author gives a broader view about the world economy, and how we got to this point, where we have been losing jobs to the Asian countries: the causes, the consequences and what we can do to revert it.

Among the fairly simple, but politically difficult recommendations is to eliminate income based taxes and instead tax consumption. The US policy of taxing income of individuals and, especially corporations, effectively makes US products gives importers a free ride and makes US exports uncompetitive internationally. Taxing sales not only levels the playing field for US producers domestically and internationally, but also greatly reduces tax fraud and black market free riders.

Eliminate the tax on savings and capital gains and odds are people would save and invest more.

I love books, and I seem to find a new one to like every week. And yet, I can honestly say, this is the best book I've read in years. Few books have the power to encapsulate the meteoric economic and political changes that face the United States--and the world--right now. Gabor Steingart, a German journalist working in Washington, DC, for "Der Spiegel," has managed to come at just the right time with just the right book, "The War for Wealth."

What makes this book so pertinent? First, it approaches the question of whether globalization truly benefits all. Unlike those who favor the open market who make the assumption that free trade helpa all, Steingart posits that globalization instead is leading to a redistribution of resources. Not all countries benefit equally. In this new world order, Americans are needed largely as consumers, not workers, who are financing their purchases on a mountain of debt.

The expansion of the labor market as a result of globalization, in fact, has led to a decline in the value of workers. This has hurt Western nations the most. In the US industrial base alone, there has been a 50 percent decline in jobs in a single generation. Americans and Europeans are overpriced for the global market, not because of their wages (although this is a factor) but largely because of the cost of their social safety net.

Who are the winners? Those in India and China, obviously. In China, those growth rates are even being understated by the Communist government so that the West does not even see the full extent of this unfettered development. Moreover, China has chosen a different, more insidious tactic in this economic war. As Steingart notes, "the Asians are attacking with economic weapons and avoiding ideological conflict. They do not conduct debates with the West over equality and justice, nor do they level any accusations or issue threats. The rising global powers are not interested in a battle of cultures. They are ignoring issues of religion and ideology. They are quiet adversaries who are placing their bets on economic efficiency. The West, they reason, can be defeated with its own weapons."

Unlike many who see these problems, however, Steingart is not a protectionist, nor does he see globalization as something to be halted in its steps. He is not a fear monger. As an economist and journalist, Steingart knows that this is a trend that is not likely to be reversed. It can, however, be managed by savvy leadership and a willingness on the part of Western nations to work together. Steingart basically lays out three options: global chaos (the shock scenario), the rise of Asia (the Asia-above-all scenario, in which American dreams bite the dust), or remaking history (the American Renaissance scenario).

How America and the West manage globalization, international trade, and the development of rules and regulations to even the playing field are critical to the continuance of the good life. If I could have one wish, it would be that both presidential candidates and their camps would read Steingart's book. This critical overview of the world and economic development today is something that every American should be thinking about as they approach the future.

I recently completed seven days of wreck diving in Truk Lagoon in the Federate States of Micronesia. I went to Chuuk (the main island's current name) knowing vitrually nothing about the island, the people or the wrecks located there, except that it was loaded with Japanese ships from WWII. While there I was loaned this book by the dive operator as a reference for planning my dives. The first night I opened the book to peruse it my immediate reaction was that I wish I would have known this book was out there prior to taking the trip.

The book opens with a bit of history of Chuuk, touches on the culture of the people then immediately dives in (no pun) to the details about "Operations Hailstone" in February 1944 which resulted in the sinking of many of the ships that currently lie in Truk Lagoon. All this background makes for great reading to anyone who is interested in the history of WWII as I am. But if you're a diver, and enjoy wreck diving, the true value of the book lies in it's second half.

It is here where the author dissects each ship with its history, its role during the war, and the circumstances surrounding its sinking. Because Bailey has dived these wrecks numerous times he is intimately familiar with their depth, points of interest for each, and the potential hazards of exploring them. It is this information that anyone planning a dive trip to Truk needs to be familiar with.

His research was meticulous, the photos first rate and the information was spot on. If you are planning to dive Truk for the first time, or you have an interest in this subject matter, this is a must read and worth the price.

I'm currently reading "WWII Wrecks of Palau" by Bailey in preparation for my May 2008 dive trip to Palau. I will be much better informed and ready for the Palau trip than I was for my trip to Truk Lagoon.

What an outstanding written document on what happened and on what is below the surface in that special part of the world. It's a must for history lovers and for scuba diving fans. And it's mandatory for individuals that fit both categories.

Bought this book before diving in Truk Lagoon. A must have and a great book to read before one does the actual dives. The authority on dives in Truk Lagoon

I've been reviewing a lot of documentation regarding Truk, and specially about wreckships all over the world. This book is a complete guide to understand all the details and history of the battle in this Chuck Lagoon, doing it as an amazing guide to penetrate into the paradise of Micronesia. Absolutely recommnended for all the scuba divers with high interest in wrecks and the history of the World War II.

A magnificent and definitive work by Dan Bailey. This is the reference book long-time Truk Lagoon divers and liveaboard operators use as a source document. Dan Bailey made over 40 trips to Chuuk, diving the wrecks multiple times. He enlisted the support of some noted underwater photographers to capture images of the ghost ships of Truk. Better yet, in many cases he researched and listed original photgraphs and specfications for the vessels, giving life to the wrecks that now cover the sea floor.

THIS BOOK RECEIVED THE PEN/OAKLAND JOSEPHINE MILES AWARD FOR BEST BOOK OF POETRY.

ALSO, PACIFIC RIM REVIEW OF BOOKS, SUMMER 2007 WROTE:

"In this beautifully written book, Leza Lowitz seeks to share the inner landscape of her yoga journey and to inspire others to take this same journey from individuation to unity...She accomplishes this by capturing the spirit of yoga with strong images and simple free verse firmly grounded in the experience of practice in mind, body, and spirit...This is not the yoga of the hip and trendy, but the yoga of a true seeker--an ordinary woman who has discovered her Self through movement, and has found acceptance and grace through allowing her body and soul to unfold with yoga. Named after yoga postures and breath work, Lowitz's poems capture the spirit of yoga again and again. In "Sutra Hasta Majoriasana (Threading the Needle)," simple yet powerful metaphor reveals the essence of the pose in body, mind and consciousness.

...untangling a knot
that is my life
the knot becomes my teacher...

the needle that is sharp
at dawn
might be broken by dusk...

The thread that is straight today
doesn't know
it will be knotted tomorrow.

The knot
that is tangled today
could be woven into gold
ten years from now.

That is why
I thread the needle,
honoring the odds
steadying my arms
softening my breath
working the knot,
trusting.

Any reader will recognize the moment when challenges are viewed as an opportunity to learn and grow. A yoga practitioner will recall the pose and know that each moment on the yoga mat is a metaphor for life. Lowitz's words inspire us to embrace each posture as an opportunity to remain mindful of each moment, to learn and grow, and to cultivate faith."

--Christine Morita Clancy, PRR Issue Six, Summer 2007

Yoga Poems- Lines to Unfold By... is a glorious collection.
These poems bring a beautiful perspective to each asana.
At the end of a practice, I select a poem of an asana of focus for the day. I quietly share this with the class during relaxation, as the mind is open and the body calm. It is truely heartening to me to see the soulful, connection it often brings to the receiver.

This book is ideal to sell in your studio as well as a simple and delightful gift for anyone in your spiritual community...

laughter, love and light in Colorado

As someone who came to Yoga after 60, I have found Yoga Poems:Lines to Unfold By from author Leza Lowitz inspiring! Not only has she given a beautiful voice to the asanas but she has given me the desire to go even deeper into the heart of Yoga practice. I can visualize the poses in her poetic imagery. The poems are as serene as Yoga is meant to be. I loved the illustrations and only wish that each pose had its own rather than just those introducing the various sections.
Donna Mendelsohn

This is a delightful, delicious, exquisite book. I could nibble on it all day long! Leza's Yoga Poems are lovely to read while sitting in Upavistha Konasana (Seated Wide Angle Pose) or while eating an icecream sandwich after class. It is wonderful company if you are eating dinner alone. This books structure beautifully reflects the eight "limbs" or stages of yoga. Each inspired poem is named after an asana, (the Sanskrit term for a yoga posture), or a breathing practice. Like the other reviewers who practice yoga, I was amazed by how well Leza Lowitz captured the spirit of each asana. She has successfully united her passion for yoga with her love of poetry. The illustrations by yoga teacher and artist Anja Borgstrom are perfect. This is a magical book that also makes a most romantic present. If you are looking for a gift for the special Yogi or Yogini in your Life, or a perfect present for your teacher, I promise, this book will please them!

Suza Francina, author, "Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause" and "The New Yoga for People Over 50."

Yoga Poems: lines to unfold by
tell the truth about more
than the poses they limn;
they tell about we
who unfold in the poses,
our moods
our aspirations
our whims;
lines to unfold by
are lines to live by;
as we learn to unfold the lines
as we learn to unfold the poses
we unfold ourselves.

This is, without doubt, THE must-have guide to the Angkor area. Dawn Rooney writes with clarity, thoroughness and a balanced view of the monuments without talking down to (or over the head of) the reader. Some books on this area read like travel brochures, others like snobby scholarly textbooks. Ms. Rooney's book strikes the perfect balance between the two.

I'm a research-aholic about my travel, and collect guide books by the dozens. This is one of the best I've read anywhere, about any area.

This revised edition features tons of full-color photographs, good maps and many, many touring tips. I especially liked the fact that she talks about when to visit certain areas, where the best photography opportunities are, along with what makes each temple/monument unique.

The first portion of this book gives a "just-the-right-depth" overview of the history of the area, plus overviews of the artistic styles, royal lineages, construction methods, restoration efforts, etc. Then the second portion goes into detail about each monument - grouped into logical touring sequences.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you've been searching for a guide book to the Angkor area - end your search now. This is the one.

After 6 days in Siem Reap with a licensed guide, this book is 'Cliff Notes' to what the guide tells you. I don't recommend touring the temples without a licensed guide, unless you want a quick, superficial tour. The only book that contains info on the temple Koh Ker (3 hours from Siem Reap, built in 900 AD) & the Preak Toal Bird Sanctuary (2.5 hours by boat across Tonle Sap Lake). If you want to truly enjoy & understand the carvings, the history (Buddhist & Hindu) & culture of what you seeing, read this book before you depart (it's too heavy to take), hire a licensed guide (not a driver who cannot legally take you inside the temples) who is trained to explain how the temples were built (different materials & methods) & what the carvings depict (Hindu mythology, Buddhist kings). Then when you return, reread the sections on the temples you visited... and it will bring back a flood of images & memories. Floor plans are confusing, pictures scant, but her historical descriptions & distances are accurate, lesser known, less touristy temples are included for the adventurous or art lover.

Excellent, up-to-date info. on all sites; very detailed and accurate text on history and culture. Very informative for architects, historians, and other people interested in more profund knowledge/ facts. Far better than the other guides I've read!

One of the best guides that I have read. Very good background, history, religion,and description of the sites. In short, a great book.

This book is an absolute necessity for visiting Angkor, at least if one has an interest in archaeology. In fact, knowing what I know now, I would have skipped hiring a guide and just rented a bicycle with this book as my guide. It is comprehensive, well-illustrated (although the illustrations are not always tied to the adjacent text--my most serious complaint about the book), and has the right balance between academic and popular interest. It is well-worth the extra weight involved in taking it along to Asia (I wish they had used cheaper paper and binding to make it lighter, but then the pictures wouldn't have been so inviting). Maps and organization make it easy to use, although the index sometimes is off by a page or two--perhaps they didn't update it all from the 4th ed. At any rate, it is far superior to all other guides I found on the subject.

Perhaps you'd have to be intersted in flying to fully appreciate this book--There is lots and lots of intersting stuff about flying under adversse conditions. However, I was attracted to this book primarily because of my interst in the history of modern China, and the transition from rule by the Guomindang to the Communist Party.

As history, it is absolutely fascinating and very helpful. The story concerns CAT (Civil Air Transport), a small (at that time) airline started as a civilian business enterprise after World War II by General Claire Chennault, former commander of the Flying Tigers. The company was put together in Mainland China while Chiang Kai-Shek was still in charge. The airline manages to survive the Communist revolution by moving to Taiwan. The author flew for the airline throughout this period, and gives rich insight into the transition.

The book also gives a new insight into the problems of the French in Indochina, and some of the feelings of resentment toward a European country which was clearly intersted in preserving colonialism (with very large amounts of American money) rather than promoting freedom. One of the main characters of the story was killed flying supplies to the French at Dien Bien Phu after CAT became a front for the CIA in the early fifites.

This book would appeal most directly to flying buffs, and to those (like myself) who are intersted in finding alternative sources for the history of this very important period. The book is very readable, and contains a number of pictures, as well as many, many intersting anecdotes, and key historical information that cannot be obtained from other sources.

Felix Smith is a gifted writer, who is able to describe a scene or an incident with carefully selected, compact, beautiful prose. There are plenty of flying stories for the aviation enthusiast in this book, but the writing is never too technical to confuse the uninitiated. His story of China in turmoil, and a shoestring airline staffed with unusual characters, is compelling indeed, and is thoroughly recommended.

My one criticism is the lack of historical thread of the airline after its ejection from China. The book breaks down to a series of interesting anecdotes, but the background on how CAT evolved, how it acquired jets, how Smith himself transitioned to sophisticated jet transports, is missing. I found many of the later anecdotes, though well written and compelling, oddly out of context, and wondered how they fitted into the big picture. This wasn't helped by Smith's technique of sometimes mentioning a character, and only introducing him in later pages, which has you thumbing back through the book seeing if perhaps you'd missed a passage.

But these are small criticisms indeed, and the book is a very enjoyable read of a turbulent and, frankly, romantic era of aviation.

Having spent an appreciable amount of time in Asia myself, and being an admirer of the exploits of the famed Flying Tigers (AVG), I ordered four books at one time. I saved this book for last, since Mr. Smith was not an original member of the Flying Tigers. After reading, and enjoying the others, I began Mr. Smith's CHINA PILOT. I don't know what I thought I would get out of this book, but I loved it! Felix Smith was obviously one of the very best pilots working in an Asia in turmoil at that time. His narration of the many adventures he was involved in draw the reader right into the cockpit with him. I could SEE Earthquake Magoon! I could SMELL the warm night air through the open cockpit window while flying over some jungle in Vietnam or Laos. I wholeheartedly recommend this fine book to those interested in the Far East and the many roles the AVG-CAT-Air America played during those decades of turbulence. Mr. Smith, if you happen to read this: excellent job! Both on the book, and particularly your interesting life.

Mike McCaffrey
Department of State/Foreign Service - Retired

This book is about aviation during the pioneer days in Asia - before the days of navigational beacons and proper runway lighting. More importantly, and misleadingly from the title, it is probably one of the best "on the ground" histories of Air America's operations written from a pilot's point of view. It is written with heart, soul and compassion by a man who cared (and obviously still does) for his companions, both living and deceased, as well as the people in the places where he flew.

The stories, in civil aviation terms, are amazing and while some of them are terribly sad they keep alive the memory of many good men who would otherwise be forgotten. Aside from the narrative, this is a tremendously well written book, and one that if you love aviation and are interested in and care about Asia, you will not want to put down. If the Author, (Felix Smith) writes another book, I sincerely hope that he finds a ready publisher and many readers, as in this day and age this genre of literature and narrative quality of real life experience is truly rare.

Claire Chennault's legend just keeps on growing. Here is a feast for readers who can't get enough of the man who led the Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Force, and the cargo line that became Air America.

Felix Smith isn't a historian. He's a pilot--a good one, since he survived 23 years with Civil Air Transport, organized to carry relief supplies around postwar China, only to become a paramilitary arm of Chiang Kai-shek's campaign against communism.

To our great good fortune, Smith also turns out to be a gifted reporter. Better than anyone else, he evokes the sights, smells, and sounds of China in 1945, along with an economy so weak that U.S. dollars were precious enough to be washed and ironed after use, and a government so depraved that it's a wonder it lasted until 1949.

China Pilot is a a wonderful book. It belongs on the shelf of every admirer of Chennault and his unorthodox air forces.

This book has beautiful pictures and good writing. I got one for my 5th grader, and another as a gift for a friend. Unfortunately, both copies were somewhat damaged (one copy had a crease in the front, and the other copy has a slit in the middle). I think the production/ manufacture of this book is not perfect. What a shame as it is truly a beautiful book to be treasured.

I had been going to China on business for nearly 15 years now and this bewilderingly vast nation has always fascinated me, but I had never really taken the time to really dig into the nation's history and culture - until now. I'm starting out with this handsome book and 'China Road' by Rob Gifford and I'm already getting a good feel for what the country is like in ways that I was never able to during my various visits on business trips. I reckon I had spent over 30 weeks in China on business over the years, but all those trips were for what they were: business - visiting factories, meeting with factory owners and managers, going to nice restaurants, and doing a little sightseeing on the few days I'd have off. I never felt like I ever got to know the people of China. I was always in a hurry to get in, in a hurry to get the work done and then hurry to get out. Now with this book, I can contemplate about what daily life is really like for the people from all walks of life and also get some grasp of the mind-boggling size of China.

The book is neatly divided by subjects covering China's stunningly varied geography, just as diverse groups of people and ethnicity, its fascinatingly rich culture and its long and amazingly tumultuous history. It's a great starting point to understand and absorb the next world superpower that is becoming more and more important in our daily lives in the West and all around the world. It's hard to comprehend or make sense of a nation that has a population much larger than the US and all of Europe combined. I travel around China and I'm just dumbfounded by the sheer size of the land and, of course, the mind-boggling population. It's like, "How do you govern or manage a nation of this size?" But somehow, despite all the myriad problems that are hard to fathom, China goes on and now it's growing at a breakneck pace - on pace to become the world's largest economy in 20 years or so and be twice as large as that of the US by the middle of the century. On the surface of things, it seems this century is for China to make theirs.

This book gives you a good general overview with excellent photos throughout and superb layout with good informative content that gives the reader an insight into the mind of the Chinese people. As an Asian-American of Korean descent, China is not as foreign to me as it'd be to most Westerners, but it still holds what Westerners and even other non-Chinese Asians may consider to be many mysteries and odd or strange cultural practices and traditions. And the diversity of the Chinese people and its geography may be something many people in the West haven't thought about. China can be viewed as a continent in itself - like Europe with many different languages and cultural heritage. But it is united and the nation has gone through many wars to tear itself apart and to re-unite again over the course of its long history. China is indeed much more complex and misunderstood than most Westerners would care to admit. This book goes a long way in helping you understand that complexity of this most fascinating nation and growing world power. If you need only one book about China, this is the one to get.

Stunningly beautiful photos ... well-organized chapters ... plenty of information on many aspects of Chinese culture. I gave this book to my 11-year-old nephew for Christmas, so he will begin to appreciate that China is very much more than a supplier for Wal-Mart!

I visited China earlier this year on business, so I was intrigued when I came across this book. When I opened it, I was not disappointed. This book celebrates China and its variety of culture, art, landscapes and rich history with beautiful photography and educational text.

The beginning section of the book draws you in with page after page of beautiful photographs of different landscapes in China, sprinkled with verses from Chinese poetry (translated to English, of course). It makes the reader aware of the varied landscapes (snow to desert, mountains to plans, forest to fields) that make up the vast country of China. Truly a treasury of photos!

The next section explains Chinese history, complete with a timeline. The information is provided in titled short paragraphs and articles so it is easy for the reader to get a glimpse of the history and read quick pieces for more detail. Small articles include items such as "The Grand Canal" and "The Boxer Uprising". All are sprinkled with old photographs and pictures of paintings and artifacts.

The most delightful section of the book is "A Day in the Life" which is a collection of stories about daily life of particular people in different areas of China. There's the life of a student in Shaanxi, a Chinese herbalist, a Buddist Monk, a Cricket Seller, and a farmer, just to name a few. The photos and text provide a window into the lives of the people of China to let the reader see life from their eyes.

There is also a section on Chinese Culture, which includes articles on philosphy and religion, painting, literature and Chinese opera.

The last segment of the book is entitled "Architecture" and contains pieces on various types of building styles, both old and new. From modern buildings such as the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai to an old Buddist Monastery in Hebei, this chapter contains a wealth of information and beautiful photography. The Jin Mao Tower is truly stunning inside (I wish I had gone to see it while I was there!). The Couple's Garden is typical of the gardens in Suzhou that I visited while there. One of the most beautiful places shown in called the "Temple of Heaven" with colorful painted decor and detailed stonework.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about China and its culture. It is not only informative, but makes a beautiful "coffee table book"!

An absolutely beautiful book. The binding is gorgeous and the photography outstanding. Very interesting to read. Obviously a country and people with 1000s of years of history can only be perceived in a glimpse in just one book, but what a beautiful glimpse this book gives the reader! And more than just beautiful photos it contains very interesting history. A great overview of such a vast and interesting country.