Asia Books

I bought this fantastic little guide in a bookstore in Kathmandu. I used it during my trek around Annapurna and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Much better than the LP guide, and small enough that it doesn't get in the way.

This is definitely the best guidebook to carry while trekking in the Annapurna region: loads of maps with most of the teahouses labeled, accurate times for both directions, interesting cultural information, small so as to make it more portable, and fairly up to date. I used it in November 2007, so there are some changes as one would expect, but still is excellent. Highly recommend!

I found the information in the book was great help. The maps together with the estimated timings were particularly helpful in deciding the route to take.

In addition to the treks Bryn Thomas also gives useful information on places to stay.

We used the book when treking from Jomsom to Pokhara and it was invaluable.

This guide is all you need for the Annapurna. Beats the pants off Lonely Planet. Great maps, highlights, places to stay, etc.; small and lightweight; good gear list for preparing, info on when to go; bits on Kathmandu and Pokhara. We hiked the entire circuit and used Bryn several times each day.

I did the Annapurna Circuit trek (Around Annapurna) last September with this book. I was my bible.
The book has very good chapters about Nepal in general, Kathmandu and Pokhara but it's strength lies in the trail maps and text.
The maps are very very detailed (you can't get lost...), they indicate where is the next steep climbing and how much time does it takes to the next village. In the text you can find recommendations for eating and lodging (that never miss...).
The book covers all the popular treks in the Annapurna region but also offer side treks for more adventrous trekkers.

The bottom line : Worth every Penny!

I started learning thai with the AUA series and have gone through the three books. All build on each other in an orderly fashion, you really have the choice of just focusing on speaking or you can incorporate the reading/writing too. The only negative is that the vocabulary is often times not as useful. "A cow is smaller than a water buffalo" I combined this series with the Colliquial Thai course and the combo addressed each others weaknesses.

I've been learning Thai on and off for a while now. When I was in Chiang Mai, I took courses at the AUA there (they were very good), and they roughly followed these books for the classes. From looking around both here and in Thailand, they are really the ONLY comprehensive set of books that teaches english speakers how to speak thai. I also believe that the few college courses in america that teach thai also use these books.

The books were published a long time ago, but they still work fine. We had a laugh in book 2 during one of the exercises where they were arguing between 8 baht and 9 baht for a taxi ride (a.k.a. 18 cents or 20 cents nowadays)

I started with book 2 because I was already partially conversational. The books include vocabular, tone exercises, dialog practices, reading for comprehension, and how to read and write the thai characters. Each book contains perhaps 20 lessons. The lessons are not especially subject oriented (i.e. chapter 8 foods), but rather they are more a progression of words and sentance structures that are used most frequently.

Anyways, buy them, go to thailand and take the classes, have fun.

I studied this couse while in Thailand and can attest to it's effectiveness. As there is only one other review I thought a second might be helpful to an aspiring Thai learner. This course is for serious students though. Expect to spend about 100 hours+ per book and cassette pack. By the way... you must study with the tapes. It starts out with subject matter a little less useful than a guidebook because it presupposes that you are in it for the long haul and will pay your dues in order to REALLY learn Thai! But like I said "you need the tapes!" so here are the addresses if you can't find them on the net:U.S.+CANADA SEAP Publications, East Hill Plaza, Ithaaca, NY 14850 AUSTRALIA+NEW ZEALAND MIP Publications P.O. Box 416 Chatswood N.S.W. 2057 AUSTRALIA and from all other places THAI STUDIES DEPT> AUA Language Center 179 Rajadamri rd Bangkok 10330 Thailand

This book is the first in a 6 book set that starts from very basic Thai right through to upper intermmediate/experienced. The major reasons that make this set of books the best I've seen and used are as follows: 1, very well structured logical progression. 2, Use of IPA phonetics 3, Use of Thai script from page one 4, Use of useful language (you can actually use it!) 5, Use of colloquial Thai (book 4 'Small Talk') 6, Use of many styles of hand written Thai and not only typed script. (very useful!)

If you are looking for a book on Thai language this is definitely the book I would recommend. When I picked up this book I knewonly a couple of words in Thai, now I am quite fluent.

This is a great course. It is as good as "Pimsleur's Thai" but A.U.A. has more substance. This fairly short course teaches basic Thai. But instead of just giving you the vocabulary (like many other courses I have tried), it gives you a lot of practice exercises and drills. Because the chapters are so short, a smart person can master one chapter everyday. For the average person, it might take 2 to 4 days to master a chapter. Though reading and writing Thai is taught, the emphasis of this course is on speaking and understanding spoken Thai.
Which leads me to the major draw back of this "BOOK." If you don't have the Cd's that go with this book, than it is probably not worth using. Without the Cd's or tapes to listen to, it will be extremely hard to learn Thai using this course. What is worse, (as far as I know) Amazon does not sell them.
You can buy the course with Cd's form Cornell University at http://www.lrc.cornell.edu/sales/catalog/thai. But it is very expensive.
If you can afford the whole package, this will be a 5 star course. If not... Then, forget about it. Don't waste your money by buying just the book.

My son loves these books. They are a bit violent for my taste. My older son was interested in this series when he was younger - maybe 12 or so? Now my 11 year old is "addicted". He reads them over and over. It was delivered quickly and was brand new.

Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo" has no shortage of fans, many of whom can do this book greater justice than I, so I'll keep this review brief. I've been a fan since 1998 when I first read "Daisho," and this latest installment just shows how Sakai's skills have improved over the years. I can't recommend this book highly enough, if just for the deeper look into the life of Tomoe.

I have all the previous volumes so i knew what to expect out of it, i love the saga and the charachters. Nevertheless I found it more enjoyable then ever in some aspects and the plot is fantastic. My only suggestion is to start from the beginning of the serie ( I mean volume 1, 2 etc.) because it's a long long long story that developes and continues in every book!

I'm a fan of all the UY books, and this one is no different. However, I wish it was a LITTLE different: this is another "Usagi and friends foil conspiracy" story.

I've read Usagi Yojimbo ever since volume 1 til now, volume 21. They're all an excellent read. I especially liked the story about Jotaro when Usagi finds out he is the father of Jotaro in the previous volumes. But this volume does not talk about Jotaro at all except to say that he still hasn't told Jotaro that he is the father, which is fine, I'm sure Stan Sakai will bring him up again in the future volumes. This volume is all about Usagi and Tomoe. The story is interesting and keeps you going as usual. I do not want to ruin the story so I won't elaborate on it but to say it's a good read and am looking forward to the future volumes.

This is an excellent book, well written. I learned of this book from a close friend who is mentioned and show in a photo depicting The Alamo in Vietnam.

Being a veteran of Operation Pegesus and a former member of the 1st Battalion 2nd Marines, I highly recommend this book. It's very well researched, thoughful, and easy to read. However, I was disappointed that the authors didn't describe or write how the siege was actually continued (contrary to the media) even after the departure of the 1st Air Cav and the 26th Marines. After moving out of Con Thien in early April, my unit (2/1) spend 77 days at Khe Sanh, until we finally destroyed the combat base and moved to the coast. During that time, the NVA did attempt to overrun the combat base on Ho Chi Minh's birthday May 19th, which the authors Prados and Stubbe have failed to mention. It was the pinnacle moment of the siege. If the NVA had overrun the combat base, it would have shocked the politicians in Washington and further the disillusioned the American public. Only by a strange set of circumstances and the enemy mistakes were we able to overcome their plans. Meanwhile, the surrounding hill fights were still continuing and being fought by the 1st Battalion 1st Marines. If a person is interested in reading about these engagements and the continuing siege, he or she can read my book, "Arc Light," by G.V. Short.

Moreover, the authors didn't seem to understand the strategical meaning behind the Tet Offensive or the NVA's battlefield tactics. But what I did find very amusing about their book was that after conducting their thorough research, the authors obviously discovered how flawed the offical accounts have been in describing the campaign.

As a Marine who was in the trenches at Khe Sahn, Mr. Prados and Ray Stubbe have done all of us an immeasurable service. Ray's recollection of places, people and events is phenomenal. As a "grunt" PFC then, I certainly lacked the macro-knowledge provided by Mr. Prados. They have succeeded in helping me,(and many others, I'm sure), construct a better picture of why we were there and what we did. There are a few defects, generally due to information not then available to the authors. However, until something better comes along, this book is, in my opinion, definitive.

In Valley of Decision, The Siege of Khe Sanh, the authors chronicle the trials of both the Marines and the North Vietnamese who fought there. Both sides attempted to turn this remote outpost on the Laotian border into a decisive campaign that would ultimately determine the outcome of the war. Both sides failed in this attempt despite their best efforts.

After reading this book I find Khe Sanh to be the war in Vietnam in microcosm. The problems of differing perceptions held by Westmorland, Marine General Walt, the CIA, Special Forces, Marine Force Recon and the Bru tribesmen who occupied Khe Sanh illustrate the violations of the principles of war of objective and unity of command. Hovering above it all was the President of the United States exercising personal control of a battlefield from his office, 10,000 miles away.

In retrospect, Khe Sanh was a victory in a sense for the U.S. An isolated U.S. garrison that blew reville and raised a tattered American flag each day despite the inevitable mortar/artillery barrage it drew, told the Bru tribesmen and the North and South Vietnamese that he U.S. was still in control despite being outnumbered significantly. Almost unlimited American artillery and air support helped make the point.

Reading this book, one almost feels the fear, frustration, and misery the garrison endured there. Yet the reader senses the fierce pride that only combat soldiers doing a dirty, thankless job can feel. You can also imagine the rage felt when they were told simply that Khe Sanh was no longer important and to simply walk away.

Valley is essentially a foxhole level analysis of this campaign that shows how decisions emenating all the way from Washington and Saigon impacted the lives of the men on the ground. They were indeed the bait that lured thousands of North Vietnamese to their deaths. Like elsewhere in Vietnam, they were left with nothing to show for their heroic efforts.

VALLEY OF DECISION BY PRADOS

Vietnam When the Tanks Were Elephants is one of the rare books written by Americans that genuinely attempt to capture some of Vietnam's realities. In this historical novel Tom Barnes shows his sincere desire to see Vietnamese and a tumultuous period of Vietnamese history from a Vietnamese perspective: the challenge was enormous even for Barnes who lived for five years in Vietnam and who married a Vietnamese lady back in 1977.

Even for a Vietnamese scholar steeped in his/her country's culture and history, writing about the Tay Son period represents a frightful challenge: It was a very short period which saw the final decline of the Le Dynasty, the ruin of the dominating yet vulnerable House of the Trinh Lords in the North, and the rapid decay of the House of the Nguyen Lords in the South, the lightning ascent and collapse of the revolutionary House of the Tay Son, and the unification of the country by Nguyen Anh, the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Like many Vietnamese, Barnes has been mesmerized by the men and women, heroes and villains, braves and cowards, victims and victimizers, winners and losers, kings and bandits of those days, all larger than life, who thrust themselves into the scene, said a few words, made a few gestures, then disappeared in the fumes of generalized bloodshed.

I guess what Barnes wanted to achieve was to bring those men and women to life, mold them individually into less evanescent, more solid and more real figures than those we've received from partial and forgetful chroniclers of that time. Whether he succeeded in his attempt is not as important as the attempt itself. Ultimately one can only admire his courage and his integrity in accepting the challenge.


Andre Van Chau, author of The Miracle of Hope and A Liftime in the Eye of the Storm

This is an excellant scholarly history of events in Vietnam not known to many westerners. It describes the clash of the armies of the southern farmers against the forces of the Imperial government in what is known as the Tay Son Rebellion and took place during the same time period as the American revolution. It is as rich in characterization and detail as Tolstoy' War and Peace, but is infinitely more readable. Barnes makes the story interesting by presenting it in a series of descriptions and commentaries by eight narrators, all Vietnamese except for a Spanish missionary priest and a Chinese general. It is very useful to have capsule biographies of narrators and named characters, a glossary of Vietnamese terms and a chronology of the Tay Son Rebellion.

Those interested in military affairs of the period will find much to learn. Some use of muskets and artillery is mentioned but the principal arms were swords, spears and archery. Frequent use was make of elephants in combat and horses were employed, but infrequently as cavalry. Vietnam then (as now) is terrain suited for infantry warfare and the bulk of the struggle between the opposing forces employed those tactics. Because of the many rivers and long seacoast, however, some use was made of naval forces.

The use of deception, bribery and cruelty as elements to achieve success in the power politics practiced in this atmosphere are not unlike those described by Machiavelli in "The Prince." Realistic depictions of these affairs give this work a sobering air of Asian reality, tempered by the humanity of the narrators.

It is rare to find history presented in this fashion, at once readable and informative. I highly recommend this book and caution that it is best not read at one sitting. Take the time necessary to savor its richness and complexity.

Most of us, the stay-at-homes and world travelers alike, seem to have some inborn fascination with things Oriental. That fascination gets a great feeding in Thomas Barnes' "Vietnam when the Tanks were Elephants".

This is the lively story of real events and people in a 31-year war among rivals for the rule of Vietnam, 1771-1802, told through fictionalized narratives by members of the various sides. The narratives join to make a rich tapestry of the war itself and the personalities who shaped it, their intrigues and betrayals, their acts of cruelty and moments of tenderness, their courage, their folly, their greed - and the sometimes inexplicable consequences.

The story is of the Orient, of minds formed by Oriental thought and traditions; but it is also universal. Here is war-time decision-making as it has been throughout world history, plans shaped by leaders' personal foibles or strengths, campaigns undone by the unforeseen event. Here are men who take power and cannot handle it; here is a great man struck down by no fault of his own. Here are tactics similar to those the U.S. learned in Vietnam. And here the elephants are, like tanks, scary and formidable but vulnerable.

It is useful for Western readers, especially Americans, to be jarred into some sense of the wealth of history in the rest of the world. The struggles depicted here started before the American and French Revolutions and continued after them, but how many in the West would have known about them without Mr. Barnes' book?

The book moves fast; it is not dull history. Nor is it a novel; it is fictionalized non-fiction. Some may object to its many changes of point-of-view characters. But such changes are standard fare in movies; and for that matter, the "Iliad" also shifts its focus frequently and to good effect.

I cannot imagine that anyone other than the unique Mr. Barnes could have written this book. He drew on Vietnamese historical studies that he himself translated. Just as "The Name of the Rose" bespoke Umberto Eco's scholarship, so "Vietnam when the Tanks were Elephants" evinces Mr. Barnes' erudition. He has a profound knowledge of Southeast Asia and is fluent in several of its languages. With that expertise he combines a personal experience of life and war in Vietnam (he is a veteran of many dangerous years there as a U.S. Foreign Service officer) that gives the book its extra insights into how things really happen.

This book could and should be made into a terrific mini-series. Meanwhile, it's a great read.

The Tay Son rebellion in Vietnam in the late 1700's was contemporary with the French and our revolutions and equally traumatic. Anyone interested in learning about Vietnam before our involvement will find this well written historical novel by Mr. Barnes to be fascinating.

Mr. Barnes is a thorough Vietnam hand, truly fluent in the language and with extensive experience in the country. He served there in our Foreign Service a number of assignments, almost all of the time outside of Saigon. He also served in Thailand and Laos, doing well with those languages too. His wife is Vietnamese and an able collaborator in his research.

The Tay Son brothers from Central Vietnam led their rebellion first against the Nguyen rulers of the south, killing off all the family except one prince who fled to Thailand. They then marched north to eliminate the Trinh rulers there. The division between the Nguyen and the Trinh was almost the same line as between South and North Vietnam during our war. Both were supposedly serving the Le Dynasty titular rulers of all of Vietnam. The Tay Son brothers after their victories fell out among themselves, and the dynasty collapsed as the surviving Nguyen prince returned to reconquer using Thai and French support. As King Gia Long he founded a renewed Nguyen Dynasty, which in turn was to fall to the French and then ultimately to the Communists.

It is a tangled bit of history, with many actors, much treachery, and copious amounts of blood. Mr. Barnes has followed the real history closely using the tool of a novel with first person narrations by the principal participants, and with descriptions of gruesome (and real) executions and the sex that comes with kings marrying for political reason and also having fun with winsome concubines.

Enjoy a good read and interesting history. You will know Vietnam much better.

The 18th Century Tay Son Rebellion placed southern peasants on Vietnam's imperial throne. The southerners overthrew Vietnamese dynasties and repulsed a massive Chinese invasion. The Tay Son's influence encompassed the entire Indochina Peninsula and extended into China and Siam. Tay Son is as significant an event in modern (i.e., the last half millennium) Vietnamese history as is the Civil War in the U.S. Surprisingly, despite the intensity of American interest in Vietnam since the war to which Americans refer as the "Vietnam War" and Vietnamese as the "American War," Tay Son has received little attention here.

Thomas J. Barnes, a retired American diplomat who spent five years in Vietnam during the war, here corrects that deficiency. In Vietnam - When the Tanks were Elephants, he has produced a scholarly work -- a historical novel on the period of Tay Son. Tom Barnes carries the reader along with the pace of a Tom Clancy adventure. He employs eight principals in the events to tell his tale: protagonists and antagonists in the rebellion - emperors and a queen, lords, Vietnamese and Chinese generals, scribes and a Spanish Dominican missionary. Evoking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Barnes' narrators present first-person accounts. Each contributes a distinctive and engrossing perspective.

Let the squeamish be forewarned that Barnes' chronicle of deeds and misdeeds, crimes and punishment, is graphic. Votaries of Robert Van Gulik's Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee will recollect his themes in Barnes' similar attention to the full workings of the wheel of justice. Beheadings, drawings and quarterings, and all the grisly like -- barbarisms to modern sensibilities, but commonplace in the context of the age -- are portrayed vividly in all their gruesomeness. Nor are the narrators shy to confess their concupiscence. Episodes of libidinousness are interspersed into accounts of history-making events.

Compressing the epic events of 31 years into eight narratives within the covers of a 321-page book could lead to confusion in the hands of a less attentive author. Barnes, however, assists his readers with appendices comprising casts of characters, a chronology, and glossaries of foreign words and phrases. The last permits the narrators to speak realistically. Vietnamese interlocutors, for example, use exclamations and colloquialisms of their tongue, lending authenticity to their accounts.

Set aside half a day or a long evening for this book because you won't want to put it down. The reading of it is a delight and an education. You will come away from it with an enhanced comprehension of not only a significant slice of history, but an enriched insight into the universality of human nature.

The story really has good descriptions(I know because I've been to the light house in the book)and it really makes a picture in your mind of what it would of been like back then!This is one of my favorite books so I would definitely recommend it!

The story, Walk Across the Sea, by Susan Fletcher, takes place at a town near the ocean. White people thought themselves superior to others, especially the Chinese. Chinese were often looked down upon and shunned, mainly because of their religious beliefs. The lighthouse keeper's daughter, however, was different from other white people. Believing her father's talks about Chinese people in the beginning of the story, the girl, Eliza Jane, meets a Chinese boy around her age. After the Chinese boy saves her goat, Eliza becomes interested in the boy's behavior. Soon, she learns that everyone may not be as they seemed.
This story was rather interesting in a way. The time of the story show how the characters act and think. The story also shows how different some characters are, such as Eliza's father and mother. ("Something moved inside me, like a sudden shift in the wind.") Eliza was also, in a way, different from other white people. She befriended and showed kindness toward the Chinese boy. ("`You'll do him no harm? I have your word on it?'") I was also amazed by the twist of the story when the story reveals that the father truly worries about the Chinese boy.
Of all of the stories I have read, I have never found one that was perfect. This story is no different. When the Chinese people were driven out of the village by angry white people, I could feel the same shock and anger Eliza felt. The story, however, has a few more bad parts. One boy, Amos, accidentally broke Eliza Jane's nose while trying to find the Chinese boy. Afraid that he might get in trouble, the boy lied to his father about breaking Eliza's nose. To make matters worse, Amos blames the fault on the Chinese boy! ("I had a mind to shout at him, to tell him to put her down...") On the other hand, I did not like how Eliza acted toward the Chinese boy when they first met. When the boy yelled a warning, Eliza thought he was trying to scare her off so he could steal her goat. Therefore, when the boy was holding the goat, Eliza thought that he was taking the goat from her, when what really happened was that the boy saved the goat from a wave. Even so, that was not the worst part of the story. ("`Get you from me,' he said. `I can't be near you now. Get out of my sight!'") As a father, Eliza's father was expected by me to listen and talk to Eliza about her Chinese friend, and maybe even understand why she was protecting him. As a result, I was shocked and disappointed in her father when he told her that he did not even want to talk to her! Thankfully, there was nothing worse than this part of the story.
("Terrible things can happen in this world-things you can't explain away. It's not safe here, Andrew John. I can't promise you'll be safe. But there are miracles, too-like you. And love. And glories well beyond our knowing.") The ending, where Eliza talks to her baby brother about life and the Chinese boy was my favorite part. It ties everything together and concludes the story about friendship.

Ever since she was three years old, Eliza Jane McCully has lived in the lighthouse at Crescent City, California, where her father is the keeper. Now thirteen, Eliza has many responsibilities, helping her father to keep the light burning, and eagerly awaiting the birth of her new baby sibling. One day while chasing her stubborn goat across the pathway to the island, she is caught by a wave. A Chinese boy saves her goat and warns her about the wave just in time. Eliza is confused, because her father has taught her that the Chinese are evil heathens. An unexpected tragedy causes Eliza to doubt her own beliefs as well as questioning her father's. When the townspeople run the Chinese out of Crescent City, Eliza watches in horror, unable to do anything. But when the boy who rescued her comes to her for help, Eliza must make the ultimate decision. Is she is brave enough to openly defy her father? I highly reccomend this novel to readers who enjoy historical fiction.

genre: historical fiction
setting: 1886, Crescent City CA and its lighthouse
1st person account of Eliza, 15 yrs, protagonist

Eliza struggles to come to terms with the contrast/mystery between a merciful God and the loss of a prematurely born sibling together with rampant community prejudice toward Chinese immigrants.

Fletcher's description of lighthouse technology and administration and tidal cycles is captivating for someone who has been landlocked most of his life.

What makes the story is the unmasking of fear and loathing toward Chinese immigrant laborers who came to America to bridge our country from Atlantic to Pacific with the building of the railroad and to incur exploitation for the sake of sustaining loved ones back home.

This is the account of the expulsion of Chinese residents from Crescent City, CA due to fears of job loss by white, Christian families. It is part of my own legacy--Chinese residents were massacred and railroaded out of Rock Springs, WY, my own native state, around the same time.

Fletcher makes good use of artifacts and dialogue of the period to firmly ground the story. The one shortcoming--Chinese characters are underdeveloped. It's an engrossing story.

* title of book chapter

18th century California was a time of prejudice. Walk Across the Sea, centers around independent Eliza Jane, a young teenage girl who lives with her parents in a northern California lighthouse. When a mysterious Chinese immigrant boy saves her goat from the California waters, she tries to find him to pay him back. She soon learns that prejudice surrounds the Chinese by the people of her town. Along the way helping her is her brave and helpful friend Sadie, her open minded and kind neighbor, Dr Wilton and her pet goat Parthenia. This story has a mix of friendship, prejudice, religion, compassion, and morality. This out of the ordinary story shows prejudice back then and gives lessons on how we can be rid of prejudice today. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested about life in general. Walk Across the Sea makes you think about things that you normally wouldn't think about in life. You learn you always have to been open minded and very conscious of other people and their beliefs. If you want to read a different story, Walk Across the Sea is for you! I also recommend ALL books in the Dear America, My Name Is America, and Royal Diaries Series.

Don't be shocked of the thickness of the book. I still have my (paperback) copy from '95,and flipped when I saw the price on Amazon.Com. Exellent book,and very deep and thorough information on (Sengoku Jidai era) 16th century Japanese history. This book is for the serious history student,and I mean money no object. Book talks about the military government of Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo Bakufu's.

This book is best suited for readers looking into specific topics of the vast Japanese Medieval history. For those, who is looking for another affordable alternative to the excellent "Cambridge History of Japan" series, I would recommend this book. It devotes a section to the Mongol Invasion and the Decline and Fall of the Kamakura Bakufu. This was culled from the Cambridge History of Japan and is very informative. The book is thorough and it should be among your collection of Sengoku Jidai books.

Warrior rule in Japan is a compilation of essays by well-known authors on history of Japan: Jeffrey P. Mass, Ishii Susumi, John Whitney Hall and Harold Bolitho. This is a serious academic book on history of institutional development of Bakufu (the warrior government, or, as it is widely known, the Shogunate) in Japan from the times of Minamoto Yoritomo through Tokugawa Bakufu). In contrast to books by, for example Steven Turnbull, who wrote extensively on military strategies, tactics, campaigns and concentrated among other things on personalities of samurai leaders, this author goes into the in-depth analysis of the development of Bakufu as an institution and describes governance of Japanese society, gives some insight into economic and judicial powers of its branches.

"Warrior rule" is a serious reading for a serious scholar. Due to abundance of Japanese terms, it is not easy to read. However, without getting an exposure to the subject of this book, it is not possible to understand, what really stood behind many military campaigns and moves famous people of those turbulent times and feel the atmosphere of samurai age. The life of famous daimyo was not 100 per cent war, but also administration, politics, influence, economics, rituals, law and justice.

In addition, Harold Bolitho provides a general outline of the concept of Han, or local government, or the government of a daimyo, his area of administration and source of power and structure of loyalties. One learns here concepts of local samurai, fudai (or hereditary retainers, although this concept is quite described by other authors as well), shugo, jito and other concepts necessary to learn history of this legendary age.

This book is a must buy for those who are interested in medieval Japan, but can not afford the Cambridge History of Japan. This book consists of a articles written by such luminaries as Jeffrey Mass and John Whitney Hall. Taken together, their articles trace the political history of Japan from the Genpei War to the formation of the Bakuhan system under the Tokugawa. Essentially, it traces the political eveolution of medieval Japan.

This is a great alternative for those who wants to get the extensive "The Cambridge History of Japan Vol.3" Most of the contents were culled from the later. I find this book very helpful, and concise. It offers alot of good information of the Kamakura Bakufu and the invasion of the Mongols. Plus it's priced moderately. A must for students of the Sengoku Jidai.

I was completely amazed at this book. Robert Wolff beautifully illustrates the reality that has only been presented as fiction in books like "Mutant Message Down Under" by Marlo Morgan, and idealized for the future in Daniel Quinn's "Ishmael" series. It gives one hope to know that not all humans live out of harmony with their surroundings, and indeed, each other. I was impressed by his candid portrayals of the various adventures he has had, and the honesty with which he presents his misconceptions, mistakes, and cultural blunders. It makes me hope that one day, books from great minds such as his will be included in high-school required reading curriculums, so that maybe a new great thinker will learn from the past, and give us hope for the future.

If you are interested in learning more about primitive societies prior to civilization, thinking outside the box of western or eastern culture, observing civilization from a unique perspective, this book is for you. As an empathetic anthropologist, Robert Wolff was open-minded enough to really observe and listen to the people he was employed to "help" rather than impose his societies' values on them. He tells their story, and in so doing creates a window to a life style and a society that, otherwise, would have vanished without notice. I once posessed 15 copies of this book, all of which have likewise vanished to friends' libraries.

If you are interested in learning more about primitive societies prior to civilization, thinking outside the box of western or eastern culture, observing civilization from a unique perspective, this book is for you. As an empathetic anthropologist, Robert Wolff was open-minded enough to really observe and listen to the people he was employed to "help" rather than impose his societies' values on them. He tells their story, and in so doing creates a window to a life style and a society that, otherwise, would have vanished without notice. I once posessed 15 copies of this book, all of which have since vanished to friends' libraries.

If this book was a drug the FDA would make it Class 3. It is that powerful and will have that strong an effect on your life.

While it is described as account of a Malaysia tribe, it is, more importantly, a window into another way of thinking about WHAT IT IS TO BE HUMAN. That is also the name the book was originally given by it's author. Robert Wolff opens our eyes to see and think about possibilities for being human that our western world's schools and media do not teach, do not suggest.

Every person I know who has read this books says it changes the way they walk through the world, the way they see, the way they know.

It discusses ideas that impinge upon parapsychology, shamanism, Carlos Castaneda's works, intuition, healing...

The book is a precious gift that will make you feel joy and sadness-- joy from knowing the possibilities of being human, and the beauty of the Sng'oi, sadness, because the Sng'oi were reported to be "absorbed" by the Malaysian culture several years ago. They are gone.

Read the book and see if you can find a way to begin seeing as they did, and find a part of them in your heart.

The book has been re-issued under the title Original Wisdom, so it is readily available without a wait.

This book is an autobiographical account of psychologist Robert Wolff's time among indigenous/aboriginal people, mostly in Malaysia. It's rich, exciting, fascinating, insightful, thoughtful, and an incredible exposure for those of us in the "modern" world to what life was like for our ancestors of the past 100,000 years and what life is today for those still-extant tribal people. This book, and Peter Farb's "Man's Rise to Civilization" are *the* two classics in this field.

Impressive impressionistic poetic memoir, powwerful and free, obviously not for everyone especially english instructors.

a very personal look in a rather unusal life of the author.

Borne from nights of insomnia and kaleidascopic memories, The Winged Seed is a beautiful search for answers for the tumultous inner questions of the mind. Part poem, part waking dream, part remembrance, this haunting book will draw you in to the author's nights, where he is surrounded by the seeds of moments the past has left behind.

love it as you would a sleepless nite of rain and poetry one and the same.

leaving a small imprint, claire

the winged seed is probably the most poetic book i have ever read. li-young lee's quiet, condensed writing style is almost sedating. he is one of the most interesting people i've met and one of the best poets i've ever read. he is what many poets strive to be.

Didn't Mr Endo pass away in 1996?

Being a large fan of Shusaku Endo, when I saw this book with an interesting title, I decided to read it. I was very happily surprised. Not only is this excellently written story a very moving tale, but it is often very funny. Endo has used his talent to tell the story of an often foolish man named Gaston Bonaparte, a man with a passion for Japan. He travels to Japan and stays with a small Japanese family. While his old pen pal, the only son of the family, is very supportive of him, the only daughter does not like him at all. Things get even worse when he is abducted by an angry gangster, and eventually forced to make the greatest sacrifice of all. If you like dramatic, moving, and funny stories, make sure you read this one.

I first read Wonderful Fool in a high school English class, it was out of print so my teacher photocopied 60 copies of the entire book, and it was wel worth it. I loved both the story and the way it was told, with vivid colors and moods. Highly recommended

I just finished Wonderful Fool by Shusaku Endo, the fifth novel I have read by him. Like the others, this one was outstanding. He wrote very skillfully and deeply perceptively about human nature. Endo always chooses topics, it seems, which are uncomfortable, which draw up against the reader's "flesh" or that part of them that is worldly and selfish at the expense of others' wellbeing. (As a Japanese too he chooses topics which are particularly unflattering for the Japanese people like the crucifixtions of Portugese missionaries in Silence, the experimentation on POWs in The Sea and Poison, and the pornography industry and sex trade in Scandal. In Wonderful Fool his readers see some of the gangs, spend time with the prostitutes, and go around the slums of Tokyo with a hitman, but all as seen from a holy heart of love, it seems clear to me. Endo is not content to remain on the surface of things- his art is nobler than that and his love more burning than that. He brings his reader with him to touch the nerves that run so deep they cross beyond his cultural moment to the universal heart of mankind.

His characters always act from weakness and sorrow and struggle and failure. Gaston, the socially inept, the ugly, the slow-minded, reaching out to Japan with the most powerful thing in the world, love, but covered in a ball of rags.

Like Scandal this novel contained characters deeply effected by warcrimes that those close to them had participated in. The hitman Endo (Endo likes to make the criminal characters reflect identity with him in some way in some of his novels, naming the hitman Endo or making the main character of Scandal a Christian writer, like Endo, of a Life of Christ.) turns to a life of hatred and coldblooded murder when faced with his brother's having carried out orders to burn the occupants of a village and the brother's subsequent framing by his commanding officers. Gaston persistantly, doggedly, beyond all civil tepid-ity, urges Endo from a position of weakness not to go through with his plot of revenge on the officers. Gaston, despite his outer weakness and failure, is a real man, as the character Takamori discerns, because he takes a stand for the right thing despite his weaknesses that he could have so easily taken as excuses not to do what he should. It is integrity to the gospel that Endo has witnessed, bears witness to, keeps within himself. The "fool" is wonderful for this integrity, this sacred obedience, this longsuffering love, which endures blows and persecutions by the ones he is trieing to help, and which has takes the courage to recognize that he can and must help, that he must, despite all his weakness and absurdity in the eyes of the world, come to Japan for love. Hallelujah!

Endo ends by tieing Gaston's mysterious end into the early Japanese story, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter."

Endo's novel is a marvelously winning and affecting story about the wanderings of a saintly Frenchman (and descendant of Napoleon) through the mean streets of post-war Tokyo.

You have maybe met someone like Gaston Bonaparte? The sort of man who apologizes when you step on his foot; who'd rather be cheated than think someone dishonest. Who is, naturally, held in a sort of weary pity by his family and in complete scorn by almost anyone else.

Endo addresses in this novel what it is that world values and what it does to a man who who is apart from those values. While the rest of the world cannily pursues it's own ends (survival, or better, and reproduction) Gaston is --quite unintentionally--pursuing that proffession which is revered in name but entirely held in contempt in actual practice. Gaston is maybe not a man who is good for much, certainly not in the world's eyes -but sainthood has ever been the most egalitarian of vocations.

There is a powerful case made for man's free will implicitly in this, but also in the novel's character, Endo, who is the opposite and the reflection of Gaston. He too though, is pursuing his end regardless of even himself -to the extent of refusing to take antibiotics for a tuberculosis infected lung.

Perhaps the novel's most poignant theme is it's message that even at our most debased and broken, God has not forgotten or given up on us. Endo's illustration of this is original and startling; Gaston chooses to follow after Endo at a cost and in a way that could only be called insane by anyone the world would call sane.

Endo's writing is simple and elegant and executed in an exciting, almost cinematic manner. It keeps the reader turning the pages through the book's all too short duration. If I had to say something critical about this book, I might mention that the writing is not as smooth as some of Endo's later works -it lacks subtlety at moments and there are plot possibilites which are raised and not pursued. That is just nothing though, to the whole of how wonderful this book really is.