Asia Books

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.

well i was looking Around the library and saw the book...then mah friend kath was all in a hurry so i just grab it..then i read the book i couldn't put it down because it was so good...i love it...this is the first book that i ever love....the book is mix with love story n adventure...hahhahhah

This is my all time favorite book. The very first day i got it, i didn't put it down until i was done with it late that night. The vivid descriptions of a forbidden love was so touching, it kindled a new flame for an obbsession with romance. Even my e-mail was influenced by the rememarkable book. I recommend this book for any girl (or guy) that wears their heart on their sleve and can use a little sweet mushyness in thier life!

I enjoyed "The Year of My Indian Prince" a lot. It is about a girl that is stuck in a TB (Tuberculosis) center where she is receiving treatment. Meanwhile, she meets up with a handsome prince from (where else) India. They become buddies... etc. The plot is interesting but I was a bit skeptical at first. The title reminded me of another story. The Summer Of My German Soldier. Do you see the simularities?

Teen April is ready for a fine year in 1945, but instead is diagnosed with tuberculosis and confined to a long bed rest in a TB hospital. Her friendships with an exotic Indian prince who begins to court her and a seriously ill roommate struggling with health decisions changes her life as much as illness in this poignant story which is hard to put down.

This book was about 16 year old April who is diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB). To get well again, she must live in a TB hospital where she must undergo various treatments. April soon meets Ravi, an Indian prince, and he show interest in her. As April's condition worsens, April and Ravi's love for each other gets stronger.

This was really an amazing book! It is also based on the author's actual life experiences. For me, I could not put the book down, I was hooked. I would reccomend this to everyone, especially those who are in the mood for reading about a truly sweet romance.

This is a brilliant, concise gem of a book that brings certain sights of Kyoto to life unlike any travel guide. When I visited many of the places described here, I'd no idea that any of this remarkable history had occurred.

I think this book is an essential addition to any serious Japan library, and as it is a slim text - I think it'd be a welcome and portable companion on a reader's visit to Kyoto.

Keene's study of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who many historians call the worst shogun in Japanese history, is remarkable for its central theme: that this man was actually one of the greatest Japanese persons ever.

Keene does a decent job of recounting the historical context of Yoshimasa's life: it was an era of unending war and brutality when famine and sickness ravaged the peasantry and rich aristocrats vied for power in the most brutal fashion - beheadings, suicide and betrayal were commonplace. These same aristocrats also lead lives of dissipation - spending their lives drinking and "sporting" while the masses suffered and Kyoto was razed time after time.

But where Keene shows his brilliance is in his interpretation of the life of this failed shogun who embraced religion and the arts as an escape for the 'impure world' and in the process invented many Japanese cultural forms.

When Yoshimasa fumbles the choosing of his successor and a civil war is unleashed, he decides then and there to leave his shogun's life behind and build a mountain retreat - the so called 'silver pavilion' - where he spent his days contemplating the arts.

It is clear that an aesthete such as Yoshimasa was incapable of leading the Japanese nation in war. But Keene shows in this book that Yoshimasa's peculiar taste in art - simple unadorned wood, sliding screen doors, rustic tea utensils, and gardens filled with rare trees and stones, poetry, Chinese calligraphy, flower arrangements, No theatre and so on - served as the template for future Japanese cultural expression.

Yoshimasa's silver pavilion was thus an incubator for 'the soul of Japan,' and a location where visitors can still see the building almost exactly as it looked a half millennium ago. Now I want to visit Kyoto again with newly aware eyes.

This book's only shortcoming is its lack of explanation as to how the culture born at the silver pavilion spread throughout Japan. Yet that might require a lengthy tome, and one of the nice aspects of this history is that it can be read leisurely in a couple of days. It also features some nice color photos. Highly recommended.

This book was given to me by a friend. Frankly, I wouldn't have bought it based on the back flap. Yet, Donald Keene wrote a great book explaining the importance of possibly the worst Shogun in Japanese history, Ashikaga Yoshimasa. He was a terrible military strategist and his government (especially during the Onin war) was one of the weakest in Japan's history. On the other hand, Yoshimasa was of vital importance to the Arts; calligraphy, Waka and other poetry, the cha-no-yu ceremony and painting all were sponsored by Yoshimasa. He also left the beautiful Ginkakuji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion, for posterity. Yoshimasa's impact on Japanese culture and the arts is undeniable, even in modern day Japan.

Donald Keene, who probably has done more to make Japanese literature understandable to Americans now turns his attention to the state of Japan during the days of Yoshimasa, one of the Ashikaga shoguns. Like other families to rule Japan in the name of the emperor, the founder of the family generally tended to be a fairly dynamic figure, followed by persons of varying competance before sinking into dynastic decadance.

This book presents a portrait of one of the least competant persons to ever become shogun, but managed to have a positive influence just the same. Keene argues rather convincingly that Yoshimasa, though a weak ruler, was an influental patron of the arts. It is Yoshimasa's aesthetic which eventually prevailed in the Japanese imagination and that is the lasting contribution of both him and the Silver Pavilion.

I thought the book was consistent with the overall general high level of scholarship that characterizes Keene's works in general. However, while I am willing to give this work my highest possible recommendation, I am not sure if I can totally support all of the claims made for Yoshimasa. My main concern is that even though I am ready to concede that he does have an aesthetic legacy, I am not sure (and for that matter no one ever really can be) that he can claim to have originated all of the artistic innovations (though patronage) that Keene claims. My reason for doubt is that many buildings that date back to Yoshimasa's period were themselves destroyed during the Onin war (a war brought about by Yoshimasa's politic ineptness). Lacking anything really to compare the Silver Pavilion to, makes it difficult to determine just exactly how great an influence this building actually had at the time. The fact that it survives at all probably ensures that it has had and continues to have an impact on other generations. I am just not sure on what influence it might have had at the time that it was built.

The title of the book is "the soul of Japan" which means the Silver Pavilion built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa the 8th shogun of the Muromachi period.

Chapter 1 Ashikaga Yoshinori the 7th shogun, a tyrant killed by one of daimoys
Chapter 2 Childhood of Yoshimasa, his wife Shigeko and his "favorite mistress" Imamairi
Chapter 3 Weakness of the shogunate, preparation of Onin war
Chapter 4 Onin war, the relationship between Japan and Ming dynasty of China
Chapter 5 Japanese Renaissance, Eastern Mountain culture
Chapter 6 Yoshimasa as a patron of Cha-no-yu, his interest in Chinese painting
Chapter 7 Poetry at that time: renga and waka
Chapter 8 The Silver Pavilion, the garden and the architects Zenami and Soami
Chapter 9 Cha-no yu
Chapter 10 Religions of Yoshimasa, art of the no theater

The division of the chapters and the description of their content are very rough because the author usually puts many different topics in one chapter. This informal writing style seems like that the author has no clear plan and he just writes down something when he remembers something. Reading the book from cover to cover may not be the best way to appreciate it. The character I most like is the index of the book. It is complete and interesting. Just choose a word from the index, and read something about the word in the book. For example you can just read the paragraphs about the eccentric Zen monk Ikkyu and his poems. After you finish all the words in the index, you are able to construct a whole story in your mind. It is the post-modern style of V. Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire".

Judging from the book, the author is just a good story-teller not a good historian. Actually he is good at Japanese literature. This book just contains much facts and details which I don't think important. The author does not see the essence of Japanese culture and does not explain why Japanese culture is special. It is not easy to understand the essence of Japanese culture for most Western scholars. Usually they just emphasize bizarre events, strange imaginations or explain things from the Western piont of view. In my opinion, the soul of Japan is the Bushido and Zen. These two topics are not treated deeply in this book. If you are interted in Japanese culture I will recomment to you the other books:
Bushido: the soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe
Zen culture by Thomas Hoover
Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn

By the way, I like this little book. It is beautiful with its poetic language. It is a pleasant experience reading the book on the train passing through Appalachia Mountain in the summer.

Donald Keene's latest contribution to the field of Japan studies is a masterpiece on the development of Japanese aesthetics and kokoro (heart, soul, mind), much of which evolved during the Higashiyama Period at the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) under the leadership of Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Shogun at the time of Onin War (1467-1477), which destroyed nearly all of Kyoto, Yoshimasa was a hapless leader who devoted himself instead to the pursuit of beauty. In this Period, Noh and ink painting flourished, the tea ceremony "originated in a small room at Ginakaku-ji where Yoshimasa offered tea to his friends," and with it the Japanese art of flower arrangement was born. Keene acknowledges the judgment of most historians-that Yoshimasa was weak, extravagant, incompetent in affairs of state, and unable to end a meaningless war and its incumbent famine and suffering-yet posits that he has yet to be recognized for his contribution to Japanese arts and taste. In the midst of wholesale destruction, Yoshimasa precipitated a Japanese renaissance.
Though respecting his grandfather Yoshimitsu, the builder of the Golden Pavilion (kinkakuji), he had no interest in emulating either his life or works. Yoshimasa's Silver Pavilion stands in stark contrast to his grandfather's Golden Pavilion, the later coated in gold leaf, the former the epitome of Kyoto cool wabi sabi understatement. "The simplicity and reliance on suggestion of the buildings and gardens at Higashiyama may indicate that a man who had earlier exhausted the pleasures of extravagance had at last achieved a kind of enlightenment," writes Keene.
This concise work is a complex web of murder, chaos, and endless war that destroys everything in its wake. And, simultaneously-amazingly, ironically, unbelievably-the Period gave birth to some of Japan's best-known art forms. As an insight into medieval Kyoto, there is no better place to begin.

The Ipod of travel guides. Cool, cleverly designed and extremely practical are some of the characteristics that set aside Zhao Cards from other guides. But what makes Zhao truly unique is that it empowers the traveler. This guide will help you move around town with ease, without constantly feeling insecure because you don't speak Chinese. And to my personal delight it's made for people that not only want to discover China, but also its fantastic cuisine. Highly recommended!

We used these cards in Beijing (in August 2008) and found them to be incredibly helpful. Each of the "place" cards (Temple of Heaven, for example) has the name and address of the place in English and Chinese characters. It also has the phone number (which was used by confused taxi drivers on a couple of trips); the subway line and closest stop, and the hours that the site is open. We pulled the cards that were the most useful for us, put them on the included keyring, and carried them with us wherever we went. There are cards for places, hotels, restaurants, shopping....food and beverages - you can just show these cards to the taxi driver, restaurant server, person on the street - they worked like a dream! My best ever impulse buy before heading to China!

I go to China very often for business. Moving around is always problematic if you don't hire a translator with you. Taxi drivers never understand when I try to mumble in Chinese and not even restaurants or bars in big hotels are able to take my order. However, on my recent trip, I bought a fantastic pocket guide in Beijing called Zhao Beijing (I was tremendously pleased to see Zhao Shanghai in Amazon and bought it immediately, my next trip to the city was memorable thanks to this guide). The first thing that attracted me was its sleek and practical design. Unlike other so-called pocket guides, Zhao is a very simple, yet clever idea: a ring bounds 99 cards and a map. This way, you can simply remove the cards you need and put them in your wallet without the need to carry the entire book. Being a businessman this has proven to be an invaluable feature; I'm able to secretly carry my guide to meetings with clients without looking like the biggest dork.

But Zhao's real benefit is that all the information in the cards is listed both in Chinese and English -names of sites, restaurants, streets and even menus! This way you just get on a cab and show the driver a card, he/she will take you to your destination without speaking a word! No need to stress out every time you step outside. In addition, Zhao Cards' restaurant list is absolutely superb, the writers recommend a wide range of both prices and cuisines. And in each place they even make a selection of dishes. I would say that if you enjoy eating, this is a fantastic product.

Furthermore, the cards are written in a witty and funny style. Zhao's insight into the city is deep and you can tell this guide was written not only by people that live in Beijing, but most important that love it. My only criticism? Develop more cities!!! Beijing and Shanghai are not enough.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RQAKMZD5GHKLW My husband and I used these cards first in Shanghai. The first night we ate at some restaurant and ordered everything that it recommended. We don't know how to speak so all we did was show them the card and they brought it out. The food was sooooo good! We would have never known to order these local favorite dishes.

This video is of us using the cards sight seeing in Pudong Shanghai.


We also used the cards in Beijing. While my husband was in business meetings I took the cards and visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China. My favorite Zhao card was the shopping suggestion. When I told a local that I was going to this shopping market, she was surprised and asked me how I find out about it because it's mostly a local's shopping area. The cards suggested it! The cards also warned me about their aggressive sales style and recommended to start negotiating at least 30% below their start price. At first I was overwhelmed, then I totally got the hang of it. I got great items at great prices. I have both sets and am keeping them for my next trip back to Shanghai and Beijing. The language barrier is less daunting with these cards.

If you are going to visit Beijing do not think twice about buying Zhao Beijing for your trip. Finally, we have a guide made by real travelers!! It is small, very useful, practical and so light!!! Its tips are excellent (especially the food suggestions). It fits in your pocket and its map does not get ruined after the second day of use. Highly recommended!!

As a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Armenia, I have found this guide to be extremely useful. I have used the guide on many occasions for myself and to introduce Armenians to the outdoors. It is offers an excellent introduction to the environmental issues currently surrounding Armenia, current and valuable resource list, and the most current topo hiking maps. It is by no means a complete guide but has some of the more popular areas to hike, some focusing around the Tufenkian hotels (Jeffery is the nephew of the famous carpet producer James Tufankian). Future editions will have more hikes, especially in the northwest section. The climbing section is small but offers some of the best areas to climb. If you are coming to Armenia to hike or climb, then you MUST own this guide.

This is one of the most user-friendly hiking guides I've ever used...it's laid out well, provides great resource information, the descriptions are clear and overall it makes what can be a difficult area to access very accessible. It's without a doubt made my time in the country more enjoyable and interesting.

Armenia - land of amazing mountains and plateaus and ancient culture...Are you interested in seeing old monasteries and churches or shepherds moving their flocks across the mountain face that you will be climbing? Come to Armenia and bring this guide-book with you.

Hiking in Armenia is an adventure. Eco-tourism is new and the land and mountains are still untouched. The Adventure Armenia guidebook is a perfect way to explore and experience a way of life that is vanishing in many parts of the world. About the book: I have found both the directions and options (once on the hike) incredibly accurate. I tested the book out five weeks ago on a hike to Mt. Hattis. We found our destination with no difficulty, had an interesting chat with a old woman at the shrine (start of the hike), and found ourselves in good company with shepherds and their flocks of sheep and goats. The shepherds were curious about us and often stopped us to ask what time it was (more for conversation, of course). We had spectacular views of Mt. Ararat and Mt. Aragats and were the only people on the mountain (other than the shepherds). The book itself is light-weight and provides one with plenty of pictures, recommendations, and practical advice about Armenia and getting around in Armenia.

I would highly recommend it to anyone coming to Armenia or living in Armenia that would like to see more of the country and experience first-hand the beauty of the country and its ancient sites.

I have lived in Armenia for over a year, and this is by far the most useful guide book on the market. Not only is it a great hiking guide, but it also provides all sorts of useful information about the country and region in a very accessible format. The authors have done a great job selecting hikes from a variety of regions and with varying skill levels. Unlike most guides about Armenia, the directions are up-to-date and easy to follow - a notable accomplishment given the generally poor signage in the country. Even if you aren't planning to hike, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone planning to venture beyond the city limits of Yerevan. It points you to all the best sights. Another bonus is the size - perfect for slipping in a pack or even a pocket.

Anyone interested in the History,Ethnology and culture of Afghanistan will be immensely satisfied.Dupree's fine-toothed research covers every square inch of this tragic yet fascinating country.From Alexander the great's classic Central Asian campaigns up to the post Soviet invasion era.

Anyone interested in the History,Ethnology and culture of Afghanistan will be immensely satisfied.Dupree's fine-toothed research covers every square inch of this tragic yet fascinating country.From Alexander the great's classic Central Asian campaigns up to the post Soviet invasion era.

Louis Dupree's book is the single best survey of Afghanistan ever written. Indeed, it is the best survey of any country with which I am familiar. In 700 well-written pages, the book introduces the reader to the flora, fauna, geology, geography, folk customs, ethnic groups, literature and history of the country. When I served as the legal advisor to the US Embassy in Kabul for a year, I found it invaluable.

"Afghanistan" gives the reader a complete insight in life in Afghanistan from the Stone-age until the Russian Invasion. Dupee go's in extreme detail about all aspects of Afghanistan's society and "illustrates" them with many stories which makes the book fasinating from the first page to the end. He presents the reader Afghanistan historicly, geographicly and demographicly. The index in the back of the book, makes it to a most complete reference source. After reading this book you know more about Afghanistan than many Afghanies!

(Please feel free to correct my english) Jeroen van Dijk

As a former student of Political Science and a strict follower of the events of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion and most recently, the post-9/11 era, I have tried to read the works written about my country and the agony of its people. I believe no nation in the course of history shed its blood so generously in defense of her identity, liberty, and faith. The book researched and written by Dr. Misdaq throws light on many unseen, dark corners of Afghanistan such as unmasking many of its false war heroes. It is well-written, well-researched, and I would like to add, thoroughly well done. For those scholars who want to know more and find unbiased facts about Afghanistan, I strongly recommend "Political Fraility and Foreign Interference." I wish Dr. Misdaq much success in this endeavor.

-Hafiz Karzai
An Afghan

Dr. Misdaq presents a finely written discourse on a breadth of Afghan history and its current state. A compelling backdrop is set in an effort to describe the formation and continuous reformation of an Afghan identity with each foreign interference and civil uprising. He speaks from a sociological and anthropological perspective, one which allows the reader to understand concepts and traditions, such as the tribal codes and the Pasthunwali code of honor, which are so integral to understanding Afghan people, life, and culture.

There is a thorough narrative of the political history and characters involved, of course, but I feel the most interesting parts of the book are the Appendices which explore particular ideas or events in more depth. From topics such as comparing tribal traditions to Islamic traditions, resisting modernization from the West, to the impetus behind the Durand Agreement and the disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dr. Misdaq gently allows the reader to see just how resilient Afghans have truly been in the past two and a half centuries - almost as if they've had the ability to change without changing.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to know Afghanistan in depth, or wants to understand key events and issues in Afghan culture and history, past and present.

Every so often a book comes along that makes a significant contribution to the corpus of available Afghanistan literature. This is such a book.

Crafted with the skilled eye of a BBC foreign affairs journalist for more than a decade, and with training as an anthropologist and historian, Dr Nabi Misdaq guides and challenges readers through the tumult and mosaic that is Afghanistan. Beginning with a multitude of dynastic invaders, our narrative curiousity is nourished with an encyclopedic treatise on the rich history, culture, tradition and political landscape of Afghanistan.

Our journey culminates with an objective appraisal of the devastating effect that the "war on terror" has had on the people of Afghanistan while dispelling many of the myths that persist.

In this book, the reader will find none of the "file-copy" so prevalent in the media and among many books on Afghanistan. Our eminently qualified author and narrator challenges many of the sterotypical images crafted by those with superficial knowledge and or a political orientation who are often posed as media experts.

With courage and candor, Dr. Misdaq reveals the many untruths surrounding certain Afghan personalities masquerading as patriots, but in truth, were and in some cases are, collaborators. Exhaustively researched with copius end-notes, Dr. Misdaq's book will educate, enlighten and enthrall the reader, be they student, historian or policy maker yet who also harbor a desire to understand the complexity and mosaic of a nation poised at the gates of the fiercely competitive, energy-rich Central Asian and Caspian deposits. Currently the focus of Russia, Iran, China and the United States who seek an alternative to the dwindling, traditional Middle East energy sources. It can be argued therefore that Afghanistan is a victim of its geography as the contentious Trans-Afghan-Pipeline negotiations between The U.S. and Taliban through the Summer of 2001 will attest.

This and much, much more can be found in this remarkable and compelling historical work by Dr. Misdaq. I can therefore recommend without reservation "Afghanistan, Political Fraility and External Interference."

Bruce G. Richardson
Author: "Afghanistan, Ending the Reign of Soviet Terror."

The following academic reviews are offered on the inside cover of the book and should be of interest:

"Nabi Misdaq has a rare blend of skills. As an anthropologist he studied contemporary Afghan society and then worked for many years as a journalist with the BBC's Overseas Service in which capacity he met and interviewed most of Afghanistan's leading politicians. Combining these skills with a profound knowledge of Afghan history, he has produced an enthralling study which reveals the fundamental problems encountered by generations of Afghan rulers in attempting to create a legitimate, centralised Afghan state, problems which, as Misdaq also shows, still confront Afghanistan's present-day leadership."
- Ralph Grillo, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology,
University of Sussex

"'Afghanistan: Political Frailty and External Interference' is a timely book. At a time when the focus of the world is on the region, it is one of the few anthropological commentaries by a well-known native. Nabi Misdaq's book is detailed and insightful. He has established himself as an authority on Afghanistan. I strongly recommend the book."
- Dr Akbar S. Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies,
American University, Washington DC

"Dr Nabi Misdaq has described in this book how the Afghans defended their identity and country, Afghanistan, in odd conditions throughout history, with a special focus on the last 300 years. The publication of this book, considering the current conditions in Afghanistan, is by itself an example of such defense. This is a thoroughly researched and compassionately argued work. I will recommend this book as a must for all those who have an interest in the geo-politics of Afghanistan."
- Dr Farouq Azam, former Afghan Minister of Education

The other reviewers have done a great job of describing this book so I'll keep my review short. I was not prepared for this book. I'm not sure anyone can be prepared. Halfway through I started crying and had to put it away for awhile. Our country is capable of doing some wonderful things. We (and yes I mean we, because the actions of our leaders and military represent all of us) are also capable of doing some truly horrible things. This book shines a light on one of the horrible things we did in Vietnam.

In September, 1976, just back from eight years helping homeless streetchildren in Viet Nam, I wrote an Op/Ed piece for the New York Times ( "Learning From the Vietnamese -- And Giving", 12/04/76) that concluded: "And I'm at a loss how to tell my own people that Vietnam's needs are our remedy - to say that what the Vietnamese people have to offer us - as they did me - is so great that for our own sake we must help them." I was attempting to make a connection between the spiritual strengths the people of Viet Nam had to offer us and the technological assistance we, in turn, could give them. Philip Jones Griffiths, in his book "Agent Orange, 'Collateral Damage' in Viet Nam" has made an even more compelling, if depressing, case for interdependency, i.e., because of the American military's chemical spraying in south VN during the war years there are now thousands of people in both the U.S. and Viet Nam who are dealing with deformities and death because of a ticking "time bomb" planted in Indochina decades ago. Griffiths, author of "VIETNAM, INC.", an award-winning photography book on America's longest war, has included here some unsparing images of humans beings brutally deformed by man's more fiendish dalliance with Weapons of Mass Destruction. Here is a "legacy" that must give all of us pause by a brilliant photographer's tireless effort to bring almost unbearable evidence to us of man's inhumanity to man. Like the Holocaust itself, the full impact of these atrocities took years to come to the fore, but "Agent Orange" makes a compelling case that two countries once at war remain linked in a tragic bond that will not soon go away. This is not an easy book to read or, should I say, to view, but I think we ignore it at our peril. Griffiths knows what of he "speaks", having spent years in Indochina and seen un-speakable carnage firsthand. Here he has placed the evidence before us, as well as a precious opportunity to understand where we have gone wrong and how we may become better human beings in the future. "Agent Orange, 'Collateral Damage'", it almost goes without saying, may be the ultimate brief on America's own WMDs. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------

For those already committed to voting for the so-called 'antiwar' candidate, I recommend putting this book in front of Sen. John Kerry and demanding to know what he will do as president to address American responsibility and pay reparations for the genocidal assault on the people of Vietnam. Such action will constitute a litmus test for this candidate, his "band of brothers" and future warriors about how the USA intends to solve the problem of terrorism. Will they acknowledge international law and prosecute the guilty parties including politicians, bureaucrats, executive military officers and defense contractors? Will they honor, finally, the Paris Accords and repair the ecocide brutally wrought upon the Vietnamese by their chemical weapons? Or will they continue to cover up a deliberate, malefic genocide by honoring war criminals like Kissinger and McNamara who now cries cinematic tears while his Pentagon successors plan the mass destruction of any nation that dares to oppose American hegemony?

Philip Jones Griffiths's AGENT ORANGE, COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN VIETNAM is a complex, dense statement that can be viewed and read several ways. Foremost, it is unquestionably the greatest work of photojournalism ever published. I do not make this statement lightly or without professional judgement. For twenty-five years, I edited the work of distinguished photojournalists -- Capa, Richards, Salgado, Peress, and Nachtwey among many others. Comparable only to W. Eugene Smith's MINIMATA: LIFE -- SACRED AND PROFANE, a passionate chronicle of the devastating effects of post-WW II industrial pollution on a Japanese town, AGENT ORANGE surpasses all previous attempts to synthesize the medium of still photography with historical documentation. Griffiths's masterly images unselfconsciously insert readers into the scene of an historical crime and guide them through the evidence page by excruciating page as a means to elicit direct testimony from the perpetrators and their victims. With the possible exception of Erich Maria Remarque' s ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, no other monograph so successfully confronts citizens with the folly of leaders who commit atrocities in their name. The stares of genetically deformed children struggling to articulate humanity across the threshold of pain and disability give absolute lie to the facile excuses of national security used by politicians to conduct high tech assault-and-battery on unwitting, innocent populations. Then it was Vietnam, today Iraq and Afghanistan.

Beginning with his eloquent book, VIETNAM INC. first published in 1971, Griffiths has pursued an unrelenting inquiry into the truth of violence and war. He reported from the Mekong Delta battlefront and also the brothels of Saigon. Returning years later, he earned the trust of farmers who had rebuilt their devastated villages with the detritus of war. Pushing his inquest further he located and photographed war orphans, now shunned as the miscegenated offspring of foreign invaders (DARK ODYSSEY, 1997). Infrequently supported by the mass media, Griffiths parlayed his skills as a commercial photographer to raise the cash necessary to return periodically to Southeast Asia, as if excavating its pitted landscape for some fragment of reason that might explain the macabre body counts and haunting trans-generational birth defects. Some photographers are celebrated for their commitments in documenting a family coming of age or the rise and fall of a nation. Journalism schools promote the virtues of in-depth or extended coverage (sometime a whole week!) while network and cable news personnel embrace the fame of sticking with a big story only to defer, in the final analysis, to the desire of corporate sponsors. By contrast Griffiths has the determination of a seasoned forensic scientist. Although no maverick, he has paid the price of banishment from the newspapers and magazines "of record" whose editors remain too frightened by management to commission or publish his work. Why would they want to remind subscribers of their own inaccuracies and slavish pandering to the official story?

In this respect, AGENT ORANGE can also be read for its scholarship because it presents new historical research about the manufacture and deployment of chemical weapons during the Vietnam era. It has been almost twenty years since American courts acknowledged the gravity of dioxin poisoning in rulings on lawsuits filed by military veterans. Yet companies who supplied the military with these chemical defoliants continue to falsify experimental data on their products' potential for birth defects. Our government stands mute on the issue of "peace with honor" and refuses to contribute any meaningful economic assistance, nonetheless stipulated in the treaty with Hanoi. The war's apologists and neoliberal ideologues continue to deride Vietnam as a failed socialist experiment. Griffith's photographs and words rip their lies to shreds and dissolve their chauvinism in the cold truth of twisted limbs, hare lips, and hydrocehpalic fetuses preserved in formaldehyde. AGENT ORANGE is the black book of American infamy, its author has given citizens a priceless instrument to test their politicians sincerity and commitment to peace. Buy a copy and ask Kerry for a clear statement of conscience!

Philip Jones Griffiths is among the unsung heroes of our time, photographing the otherwise untold, unsavory aspects of a mean-spirited war completely lacking in human decency. Agent Orange is masterfully conceived, researched, photographed and written in prose that at once is dark, beautiful poetry.

Excellent collection of essays- some repetitive, all comprehensive, accompanied by extremely good illustrations and photographs.

Often scholarly volumes have excellent content but are poorly produced and edited while musem volumes are often well produced and edited but lack serious and contemporary scholarly material--they become catalogues of artifacts without real contextualizing material.

Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People manages to overcome both of these problems. As a scholarly volume it has excellent content (much of which has not been previously available to non-Japanese speakers) and is well-produced and beautifully laid out.

Aside from some small quibbles I have with some other articles seeming truncated for space concerns and others for not presenting enough information (notably the articles dealing with Ainu language/linguistics), I find little to find fault with. Even my concerns about some aspects of the volume are only a request for more, not a complaint with what is in the volume.

Overall this volume does a wonderful job of making contemporary Ainu research accessible to the lay reader while also presenting enough scholarly material to make it worth-while reading for those with a deeper interest in the Ainu. Even though the volume does not deal directly with the area of my research, the amount of knowledge it conveys has foced me to rethink aspects of my own work.

Despite the fact that I have lived in Japan for more than fifteen years, my visit to the Smithsonian's fabulous "Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People" exhibit last year provided my first meaningful look at this long overlooked or misunderstood part of East Asian cultural heritage. I ordered a softcover copy of the (at the time yet to be released) book right away and have since poured through it time and again. Written largely by anthropologists, as a layman I feared that it might well be too scientific to appreciate; happily such is not the case. The book is beautifully written, edited, and illustrated. Anyone with an interest in Japan's northern culture and/or the animist nature of the nation as a whole will find this book profoundly enlightening. I regret that a hardcover edition was not available sooner.

In addition to what the other readers have written I would also add that this book is truly a "must-have" for anyone having an interest either in the Ainu specifically, or native peoples such as the Aleuts, the Inuits, the Polynesians, the Moari, etc. This, in part, because anyone interested in the Ainu will be hard-pressed to find a great deal of books in print regarding this topic, in any case in English. Photographs or Ainu artifacts are perfect and highly details, and there are a great deal of reproductions of "Ainu-e", or paintings done by the Japanese when they were slowly but surely in the process of taking over what is today Hokkaido. These are invaluable because they are rich in detail and depict a way of life that no longer exists, much in the same way that Edward Curtis' photographs of the Native Indians in the US are. I would personally recommend the hard-cover version though more pricy is a much better book to own in one's collection.