Asia Books

...with elements of history, military strategy and even a bit of fantasy flavoring (treasure & tropical isles...)sets stage for the present day action/suspense.

This book was sort of different...off the mainstream trail of the usual suspense novels I like. The historical basis of the hidden treasure and its interaction with the present day "hero" businessman made for an interesting meld.

This is not the type of novel I would usually read but it was sent to me by a special friend so I tried it. It was wonderful! It held my interest so much I read it in 3 days! I recommend it to everyone!

This is a terrific adventure story! The story begins much like a Harvard business school case study - an interesting business opportunity is being reviewed. Then, after a few chapters, the reader begins to sense genuine Evil lurking in the intentions and actions of the main character's business partners. The author "leaves you hanging" with a knot in your stomach until the end of the story, when the many sub-plots converge to reveal greed and obsession beyond imagining. Some of the sex scenes are not suitable for people with delicate sensibilities - don't let your kids pick this one up.

this book is funny, real, humble, and grand. as a 30 year old searching for her own place in the world after working in advertising as well, it wholly resonated.

I am currently reading this book, Yoga School Dropout, w/ eat pray love and the Bhavighad Gita (SP). I again, like the last reviewer, just happend to find this book, literally while traveling on the ground and it has brought me back to my practice. It is very funny and educational. No matter what your experience w/ Yoga, this book rocks.

Loved loved loved this hilarious book. There's a lot of wisdom in Lucy's comedic descriptions of the guru culture (and industry), and a great deal of humility in Lucy's quest as she faces up to her own foibles and human frailties. The yoga world could use a good laugh at itself, and this book is a healthy step in that direction.

I have just finished reading this delightful book, `Yoga School Drop Out' by Lucy Edge. I happened upon it `accidentally' (we all know there is no such thing as an accident) at the library when I was looking for something entirely different. I did not manage to find what I was looking for; I did however find exactly what I needed!

Lucy sets out on a Spiritual Quest to India determined to return home a Yoga Goddess. Things do not quite flow as Lucy anticipated and it looked as if she was destined never to return home as the Yoga Goddess she had envisioned. She did, however, gain more inner wisdom and insight than she could have imagined when she first set out.

Along the way it was the "ordinary" people she met, not the yoga she did, or the gurus she listened to, that held the most lessons. Here are a few pearls that were shared along the way:

On Asana: "Today asana has been made into a `photograph,' ... there is no difference between this and gymnastics ... But asana is not a performance, asana is what happens in the posture and afterwards"

On Change: "Change occurs only when we become what we truly are, not when we are trying to be something we are not. Change can't happen when we are trying to escape our true nature"

On Travel: "Unfortunately, when you travel, you take yourself with you"

On Yoga: "... the reason I found them so inspiring was because their yoga practice stretched way beyond their mat. They saw yoga as a state of mind, an attitude to life, and the world as their school. Yoga was, for all of them, `a harmonious way of living', not a one-off physical goal - they knew all they had to do was look within"

On Practice: "It was an unremarkable thing - Pranayama, meditation and perhaps a few simple sun salutations. It was practiced informally, not in a big class on the instructions of a big name teacher, but at home - quietly without fuss"

On Enlightenment: "Enlightenment was not a trophy to be lifted high in one triumphant moment, it was about seeing clearly, and choosing wisely in daily life"

All round just a great book! Thanks for the deLightful and inspiring read Lucy :-)

The Yogurt Man Cometh by Kevin Revolinski is a wonderful travelogue/memoir. Revolinski, an American from Wisconsin, decides to become an English teacher at a private school in Ankara. He spends a year there at Büyük Kolej in the Gaziosmanpaa section of Ankara, quite close to where I used to live. He describes school life which reminded me of my own middle school-high school days at a similar school in Ankara. The Ankara he describes is of the late 90s and while much has changed since the days I was there, many things appear to have remained the same. I enjoyed reading his descriptions of living in Ankara as well as the sightseeing trips he took to various parts of the country. He paints a vivid picture of Turkey, the people, the culture, the food, and the book is full of warmth and humor.

This has got to be one of the most informative books on the adventure of teaching in Turkey -- and the funniest, too. Hopefully the author will write more!

"The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales Of An American Teacher In Turkey" is Kevin Revolinski's memoir of what he saw and did as a faculty member of a private school In Ankara, Turkey, where he taught English to classroom students from 1997 to 1998. Kevin combines and chronicles his many adventures traveling as well as his memorable teaching experiences. Writing with an impressive candor about encountering Turkish culture, having cope with a new language, explorations of seeming timeless and surreal landscapes, making lasting friendships, even his attempts at cross-cultural flirtation and acquiring a taste for 'raki', "The Yogurt Man Cometh" is an entertaining as it is informative - as well as being especially recommended reading for anyone considering embarking upon their own business or recreational trip to Turkey.

Kevin Revolinski's first day in Turkey as an English teacher is spent trying to make two Turkish yogurt salesmen understand that he doesn't really want to buy six kilos of yogurt. Intrigued? The adventures only get more interesting and personal from then on: from trying to teach Turkish children English while simultaneously learning about futbol and Turkish pop stars from them, to traveling in Syria and suffering a rather nasty bout of amoebic dysentery, Revolinski offers a no-holds-barred look at a country that doesn't get nearly enough attention in the travel writing canon. A quick, fun read, and one guaranteed to make you hungry for travel and new experiences.

The title character, Younguncle, is endearing, benevolent and completely, unconventionally brilliant. It is rare to find a book that is truly fascinating to all ages. My five year old devours each word as I delight in reading it again and again. Singh's words dance and entrance as the stories demonstrate that the world can be made to be a better place. A most enchanting book.

Ursula LeGuin said of YOUNGUNCLE COMES TO TOWN, "Anyone who reads this book will be perfectly happy." It's true. It's a glorious children's book that adults can read and enjoy, where the good people win and the bad people get exactly what they deserve, told with a deceptive gentleness and set in an India that perhaps exists nowhere but in the world of Vandana Singh. Also a prizewinning adult writer, Vandana Singh has a storytelling voice that can be compared with T.H. White in its down-to-earth kindness and its respect for the fantastic nature of the world.

There's a second book, so far published only in India, that will come out here if this one does well. So I'm giving it to EVERYONE for the holidays.

This is a very funny book with a wonderful plot. It is actually several short stories that together make a bigger plot! This is a great book!

Young reader books. Bane of my existence. Light of my life. Sometimes I swear that half my life is spent relentlessly tracking down worthy early chapter books for those kids who still need large fonts and plenty of pictures with their stories. In the year 2006 I've managed to locate two worthy early chapter books for the kiddies. One is "Roxie and the Hooligans" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The other is the so far ignored "Younguncle Comes To Town" by Vandana Singh. Now for years I've been complaining to friends, family, and blogosphere alike that there are far too few Indian children's books brought to America. For crying out loud, they're already going to be in English! How hard is it to bring in some literature from another culture? And now it's as if Viking Children's Books has heard my plea. Straight from India (though written by a resident of Massachusetts who was born in Delhi) comes the first adventure of Younguncle. He can't hold down a job. He was kidnapped by monkeys as a child. And he hasn't an American equivalent anywhere that I can find.

Sarita, Ravi, and their little baby sister are just thrilled. Their crazy relative Younguncle (everyone has forgotten his real name) is coming to live with them for the very first time. Younguncle is their father's youngest brother and he's like nobody they've ever met. He's incredibly intelligent, sweet, good with kids, and afraid of settling down in any way. Once he moves in with the family, everyone in the village gets to know and love him. Of course, he can't stay in any one job for any amount of time. It isn't that he doesn't enjoy his work. He enjoys it way too much. He scares off customers with his intense adoration of car repair, sewing, and train timetables. At the same time, he manages to get mixed up in all kinds of trouble. There's his constant battle with the family baby who is intent on devouring one of his shirts. He manages to rescue his uncle's prize-winning horse from rich and powerful schemers. He employs some naughty monkeys in the search for a beloved village cow. By and large, if there's a mystery to be solved or an adventure to be had, Younguncle is on it. This is modern day India as few American kids have ever seen it before (and will ever see it again, for that matter).

The review of this title in Booklist was more than a little harsh, by the way. In it, the reviewer states, "The chief charm of these low-key stories, for American readers, is in their introduction to Indian culture, family life, lore, and legend". I respectfully disagree. Not about how well the book introduces Indian culture, mind you. You are certainly not going to find a book in America that talks about that particular country with a narrative that's half as light-hearted and easy going as this one. And certainly not for this reading level. Keep your "Blue Jasmine"s. I'm sticking with "Younguncle". But for Booklist to say that this is the chief charm of the title is a bit disingenuous. Humor is hard. Drama is simple (see the aforementioned "Blue Jasmine" which is very good but...). So the fact that Singh's book is as honestly amusing as it is no small feat. Singh works in subtle jokes alongside wonderful vocabulary words (as in a sentence about mangoes that reads that they were, "large, golden, luscious, and ambrosial, enough to inspire poetry in the most prosaic soul"). The slapstick scenes are funny without getting gross. The funny stuff is honestly funny.

Actually, you know what book this reminded me for quite some time? "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Richard Atwater. The reading level and the good-natured animal-inspired insanity just struck a similar tone with me. On the other hand, Younguncle himself views the world in a particularly Pippi Longstockingish way. You wouldn't be surprised in the least to find him living with a horse or crashing a tea party (which he essentially does when he wants to break up his sister's arranged marriage). Not every book to hit bookshelves gets a blurb from Ursula Le Guin. This one did. And not every early chapter book is going to talk about a culture outside of America with as much charm, verve, and honest-to-goodness down-to-earth storytelling as, "Younguncle Comes To Town". The second book in this series is already out in India. Let's encourage Viking to bring it stateside as well by giving this first novel a shot. Fine fine reading.

This book should be required reading for all marines and other U.S. military, including officiers. This soldier writes with his gut and what he says is true. He lived it.I am suprised noone has the guts to put this book on film, instead of the milk toast the movies put out. You do not have to be military to respect the man and believe in our country as he does.

In Your War, My War: A Marine In Vietnam, Sergeant Donald Myers shows us the chaos and hysteria that was the hallmark of active combat in the Vietnam War. His memoir begins on October 30, 1967 when he arrives at Gio Linh and spans sixteen months of lethal combat and mind-numbing drudgeries of military life in a combat zone. What makes Your War, My War unique and distinctive from other Vietnam biographies is that each chapter represents a day's journal entry, juxtaposed with American newspapers that coincide with the entries, enabling the reader to envision the contrast of the American political and journalistic structure versus a day at battle. This contrast of the reality of Vietnam with the Never-Never Land perceptions back home is particularly jarring and informative. Your War, My War is a highly recommended and much appreciated contribution to the growing body of literature on the American military experience in Vietnam.

This book took me back to c/1/12, to the very places I had been, I did't know SSgt Meyers, but I think I was there while he was. Super book, thanks for putting our Battery story in print.

Weak kneed, left wing, doves should avoid the reality of the portrayal of the life of Myers and the Marine comrads he so eloquently shares with the reader. This is not a sugar coated documentary of all that is right with our military strategy on the ground , in day-to-day life of combat Marines, but the true story of how these Marines prevailed in spite of the strategy. Anyone who ever hold a position of leadership where conditions are extremely difficult must read this book. Only a few books ever capture the reality of war, this is one of them. A must read.

The Art of War is a most important book. Very few books have survived through the ages as has the Art of War. The principles taught apply equally well in business as they do to armed as conflict.

What I really like is how this printing returns the book to its roots. While an English translation of the text, the print resembles Chinese characters. Yet it is still fun to read. This would make a great gift for a business warrior.

The Art of War, a military treatise written by Sun Tzu around 500 B.C. in ancient China, teaches many good lessons to anyone who will ever have to command a group of people, in the workplace, in school, or on the battlefield. This is the only translation I have read, and it is easy to understand without being boring, so I assume that it is a good translation. A very useful and interesting book.

This was the first worthwhile translation of The art of war into English, and in many ways it remains the best. Certainly it has been the most influential. Even after a dozen other translations had appeared, Dr Joseph Needham still considered this the "standard" version in English. (Science and civilisation in China v.6, 1996.) In fact this translation is so important that the first edition (1910) has reached twelve thousand dollars in the rare-book market. (Jaydillon com, 2003.) If you're serious about Sun Tzu, then this is the version you want.

I truly laughed out loud at the clever, dry wit with which this tale is skillfully told. The author's insightful observations and well crafted narrative were a real joy to read. I confidently recommend it to anyone who appreciates the idiosyncracies of culture and travel or who is a fan of a well-turned phrase. It will make you want to go in search of your own adventures.

If Elvis were alive today he would write a song about Ms Hoilman's way with words. Can't wait for the next installment.

Thankfully bereft of the artificially upbeat gloss of travel guides, Marta Hoilman breezily presents a three dimensional portrait of expatriate life in Jakarta. Hoilman's Adventures flash rapier wit, lending humor and life to the privations and improvisations that life in Indonesia invoked. From indomitable roaches to glorious side trips, Hoilman briskly shares her adventures. If you want the "inside baseball" on expatriate life in Jakarta, then you have found a must read.

Excerpts from Lemar-Aftaab Magazine's Review

PLEASE VISIT: :

The one major difference between the two was that Baihaqi was a historian whose writing served the court of the Ghaznavids kings. Ghobar was imprisoned by the government for writing truths and voicing his opinions. Whereas Baihaqi received golden treasures and prestige for writing history in favor of the royal court, Ghobar's unbiased writings prompted the ruling governing body to marginalize him and his family to live in fear of their lives from day-to-day. Ghobar has become a capstone for most historians who specialized on Afghanistan. Many Afghans came to realize his greatness after his death. Now, thousands of Afghans rely on Ghobar's writing style and content to learn important historical facts. Habibi (1984) puts Ghobar's contribution into perspective: "Ghobar's seal is cast on Afghan movements in the second half of the 20th century."

Since his writings were earth shattering, some envious and intransigents tried defaming and slandering him by mislabeling him into a certain way of thinking. The truth of the matter is that he was neither a right-wing fanatic nor a left-wing revolutionary. He was a progressive intellectual whose primary objective was to peacefully reform the system.

Ghobar had the patriotic ambition of reconciling Afghanistan's past, present, and future. He wrote: "Until the onslaught of Gengiz Khan, Afghanistan was the shining star of the Islamic world. Neither in cultural level nor in the stage of civilization had she any equal among the Muslim countries" (Gregorian, 1969, Page 22). Ghobar was a strong advocate of justice, civil liberties, and reforming the strict censorship policies. Afghanistan dar Masir-e Tarikh has been widely associated with the movement for a free press and none censorship. Just as activist intellectuals such King, Gandhi, Mandela, and even passivist intellectuals were being punished for exercising their civil rights, Ghobar also became a victim during the regime's informal intellectual apartheid, genocide, and exile campaign. Ghobar along with his brothers, his cousins were imprisoned in the jails of Saira-e Mothi in Kabul. Among the 16,000 captives, they were political prisoners from 1933 to 1935. From 1935 to 1942, they were sent to exile in Bala Baluk, Farah.

In 1952-1956, Ghobar again ended up as a political prison of the regime. Because he participated in a peaceful public protest urging democratic parliamentary elections. This time in prison he conceived the idea of writing the epic. Ghobar's book unveiled a whole world of state oppression, corruption, and criticized the extreme and sometimes brutal measures taken by the government.

During P.M. Maiwandwal in 1967, Ghobar's book was approved for publication. Since the monarchy did not permit private publication houses, the book was to be published in the government-publishing house located in Kabul. According to Wala (2000), Deparment Head for, Minister Benawa designated him to publish the book at the government-printing house. Major figures of Afghan literature oversaw his work and approved of it such as Ahmad Ali Kohzad, Ahmad Naimi, and Muhammad Gul-ab Nangahari. When the ruling elite replaced P.M. Maiwandwal, the book was officially announced banned during a meeting. The banning of the book without any legal or court process did not fair well with intellectuals.

Ghobar has been noted to say, "Legally, the history book I have written must be released. The government can then use its power to commission writers who can distort the facts and history of the past in response of my book."

Although initially printed by the government press, the ruling elite banned it. George Bernard Shaw put it best: "Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books nobody reads."

The government's biases against pedagogy resulted from fears that people will become socially literate, heighten their sense of social consciousness, and transform their situation and society. However, the government ignored that positive results cannot be expected from political repression, which fail to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. The rulers made empty promises ensuring justice and democracy, but behind the scene was law breaking and corruption. Conspiracy and plotting became common and innocent intellectuals were sent off to fill prison cells. They were individuals who only exercised their rights to speak and write and had not committed any crime. However, even without a case nor judgment against them, these intellectuals and their relatives spent years in the prison cells where they were subjected to all methods of torture. Ironically, it so happened that the place of patriotic and heroic intellectual was in prison and not in the governing bodies of the country. It was these infringements of civil liberties and censorship that were the main causes of the decay of the regime.

Early in 1978, after unsuccessful treatments resulted in his parting of this world in West Germany on February 18, 1978. Ghobar laid to rest in Shohada-e Saliheen. On his burial tablet it is written: Do not tell me to hold my tongue! Oh fate, there are still 1,000 unsaid passages running through my head.

Unlike other questionable intellectuals who have become entrepreneurs that give a slanted historical interpretation based on their ethnic, religious, regional incentives, Ghobar praises and criticizes all the players of the game.

Ghobar was a very learned person, whose research about the period prior to his lifetime was not only based on his knowledge but on vast archives. His book is first of its kind in that it is the most scholarly and scientific in format and content. After forty years, his book is still a popular reference piece among Afghans no matter wherever they lie along the political spectrum: "Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas," Whitney Griswold.

Although Ghobar had to endure constant struggle and courage in the face of dire situations, today his eternal radiance shines like a heavenly star onto Afghanistan's literary and political society.

Excerpts take from an email letter started by Afghans Solidarity
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MGM Ghobar's first book "Afghanistan dar massir e tarikh" is very informative, and it is widely considered a valuable history book written by an Afghan. His second book, however, is mostly based on his personal views.

As a political activist, he strongly opposed the government of Nadir shah, Hashim khan, Shah Mahmood Khan, and Daud Khan. His intentions, in his 2nd book, was to weaken and possibly topple those governments by generating a mass resentment towards the government. He was imprisoned for few year and sent to exile in southern part of Afghanistan. It is easy to sense throughout his book a feeling of revenge. He continuously concentrates on negative aspects of the government policies and actions.

This is an example of how a government used force to do injustice to its opposition and how an individual make use of pen to take revenge.

It important that we avoid getting caught in the fire and as a result form extreme opinions.

There is a good critique (in Farsi) by Negargar on MGM Ghobar's
second book. Negargar points out major differenced between Ghobar's 1st and 2nd book. He tries to prove that the 2nd book is not 100% Ghobar's writings. He thinks a lot has been added to his original writings.

Khalid Shalizi

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About the MGM Ghobar's book, I urge caution. Ghobar's first book "Afghanistan Daar Maseer'e Tarikh Vol 1", is one of the best history books available on Afghanistan. While I read the second volume with great interest (over a weekend) and found it deeply moving, I would like to point out that this volume is more of a personal journal, rather than a scholarly researched
history book. The story about "Charkhi" family is true, but as far as I know, noone has any stories that either supports or rejects any of the other ones, and since Afghanistan doesn't have many solid historians, this is as good as it will have to get for now. If EC members' disagree, I can take criticism OK, so I would love to hear other members' perspectives on this book. I should point out that Donya jaan Ghobar, MGM's daughter, is a (silent) member of AS. She is a physician, poet, writer, painter and sculptor, a pretty amazing woman. I have met Hashamt, the publisher and MGM's son, on a number of occasions and been to their house in VA. They are fantastic Afghans!

Farhad Ahad

I have read many books about Afghan History, written by notable Afghans and foreign writers, but none have equaled Ghobar's Book. Afghanistan in the Course of History captures the fear, helplessness, and despair that the people of Afghanistan had to endure under the Monarchy system. Ghober's vivid and chilling description of the prison cells, torture chambers, Nadir Shah's and his brother assassination, Execution of Abdul Khaleq, and the elimination of the famed Charkhi family is Spellbinding.

One has to marvel at the thoroughness with which Ghobar discusses not only the brutal Monarchy System, the British involvement, the campaign against the Monarchy and the British from within and abroad but the entire political and economic situation in Afghanistan. Ghobar's vivid descriptions of the brutal regime of Nadir and his brothers', the British interference and the Indian connection offered insights that I have read nowhere else.

This is the one book you need to read if you want to know what it was like to be an Afghan and live under the Monarchy system in Afghanistan. The description scenes are gripping and often heartbreaking. Once you have read this book, you'll understand why Afghanistan is in such a state of chaos today!

Afghanistan in the Course of History is a fascinating portrait of the Afghan History. I have read no other account of the Afghan history equal to this. Ghobar's groundbreaking revelation is a masterpiece. This is literature.

from -Journal of North African Studies
"[A] significant, welcome step forward, not only in the study of African slavery but also more broadly in the history of the African Diaspora. The book is a series of translated primary source documents . . . organised topically and includ[ing] over 80 representative texts addressing the process of enslavement, markets, everyday life, social roles, identity, education, gender issues, status and social mobility, and emancipation. . . . A short historical contextualisation accompanies each major topic, introducing related textual selections.
"Introductory articles by Hunwick and Troutt Powell are among the best available on slavery in Islam and do a good job of orienting readers new to the subject. . . . [This is] the first collection of its kind in any language, and brings together texts from diverse origins. In this, the editors' selective approach matches well with the overarching purposes of the book. . . . Those interested in the origins of slavery in the Sahara and Maghrib will not only find useful primary materials to draw on, but also a broader framework for understanding the nature of the institution and some of its comparative dynamics over time. . . . [The authors] have offered an effective way of enticing the next generation of researchers." -Journal of North African Studies

For all true searchers and researches of the truth about Moslems and Islam and its hidden but still contemporary agenda of harassing, massacring and erasing other's cultures, the "inferior" culture of the infidels, this masterpiece is a must- simply imperative!

Its authors are heroes, no doubt about.

The frequently over looked subject of Islamic slavery is fianlly brought to light in this important new work on the subject. The focus here is on the Africans sent to North Africa via the slave routes stretching acorss the Sahara and those beggining in Zanzibar. Between the 7th century and the present it is estimated that 11 million Africans were taken as Slaves to the muslim world. This book explains how they were captured, transported and most important their new lives in the Muslim world. Usual accounts paint a picture of a paradise where a slave lived as an equal and assimilated into the Muslim soceity. The reality was quite different then the western myth. This book tells of African women chosen only for their sexual attributes then used as sex slaves, any resulting children would be sold or 'pimped' off by the owner rather then living freely as Qu'ranic law sopposedly guaranteed. Here we have a wonderful new account of the Africans deported to North Africa, a story frequently overlooked in western history, which is all to often caught up in self flagulation of describing the Atlantic slave trade.

Seth J. Frantzman

The authors of "After Moruroa - France in the South Pacific" have done a brilliant job in relating France's colonial history in the South Pacific to its global and economic interests in the region today. And it is Maclellan and Chesneaux's ability to weave between past and present which makes this book such an engaging read....After Moruroa is an important book containing a vast amount of material... from review in Race and Class (UK), January-March 2000

"Nic Maclellan and Jean Chesneaux have produced After Moruroa, an enlightening history, analysis and interpretation of French thinking about the Pacific - made all the more valuable by its publication just before the referendum [in New Caledonia] in November" excerpt from review in Islands Business, October 1998

This is an excellent and readable summary of the French presence in the South Pacific, stretching from the days of Bougainville and the "discovery", to present day - and into the future. The situation in French Polynesia and New Caledonia is made understandable, whereas the somewhat forgotten islands of Wallis and Futuna are more briefly treated. This book allows the reader to understand what is specific about French colonialism, from cultural as well as historical and political aspects.