Asia Books

This remarkable novel was a random discovery; after finishing it I do hope that Han Shaogong finds a larger audience around the world.

A novel structured like a dictionary of a semi-real, semi-fictional town in a rather remote region of southern China, A DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO is a remarkable, dazzling creation - each 'dictionary entry' is a vignette unto itself, each of which gradually coalesce into something greater. Shaogong's Maqiao is a bit like Garcia-Marquez' Macondo or Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, a semi-fictional place upon which one can examine (and also honor and satirize) the varied contradictions and conundrums of a changing nation.

A DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO is set against the backdrop of the cultural revolution, though these political events don't intrude into the center of the story. Shaogong instead emphasizes language, specifically it's mutability and restless, dynamic evolutions, symbolic of life itself, and this tactic (or fascination) does serve to also place external events into some sort of philosophical perspective.

The end result is a novel that is fascinating, inventive and endlessly playful, with a vast cast of intriguing characters, and a captivating, cinematic precision. It didn't seem to get much attention when published in translation, which is highly unfortunate - it's a novel worth going out of your way to read.

-David Alston

Thank you, Han Shaogong, for a wonderful, thought-provoking novel. The fiction you deliver, cloaked in the garb of a regional history, transcends time, place, and language to offer an incredibly precise and well-crafted definition of 'being.' Your point concerning the importance of defining experience and expression on a scale less grand than that of global village is well-delivered and it imbues A Dictionary of Maqiao with a message of hope. As more readers come to this book, may it gain the recognition it deserves. We in Western culture are lucky to have this story available to us in translation.

This book takes me back to my home, a village in Southern Hunan Province, China, and to my childhood. When I was reading, the stories and the people jump out of the book onto my memory. It reminds me of my childhood friends, my relatives, the village doctors, the traveling smith and craftsmen.
When I was 6 or 7 years old, I often grazed water buffalos with my friends in the slops of Wuling (Five Peaks) Mountain. One day we saw a World War II bomb delivered by the Japanese airplane. We were so curious, excited and naïve. We moved it to the grain yard of our agricultural production brigade on the buffalos?back. Fortunately, the explosive was already gone possibly because of aging and weathering. This book forces me to recall the detail of this incident and reassure that nobody was hurt by our ignorance.
During that time our village was often visited by a locksmith, who is the one spoke "xiang qi?accent. He was tall with broad shoulders and white beard. He carried two cabinets covered by glasses on a bamboo pole. Whenever he came, we surrounded his workshop area in the grain yard. He was always accompanied by a young boy of our age. I never figured out why that boy would play with us while the locksmith was making the 5 or 10 cent deals with the adults. The visit was usually about two to three hours. Then they left for other villages. We saw them off in sun and in rain. They did not take away anything from us. But they brought us excitements every time.
In our area, we had village doctors they used to practice Chinese medicine in Jianxi province. They always told us that people from Jianxi province were our relatives. We greeted each other "Lao Biao? I would always have remembered them because I was often sent by my mom to ask for medicine help when our family members felt unease.
Our village also hosted two youngsters from the city. At that time, there were about 16 or 17 years old. They worked hard to learn and to grow up. I didn't know what was their feeling when they lived in our village. But I know the villagers are still talking about them and wishing them well.
I never had the habit to keep a dairy for my past. I have forgot many things about my childhood. The author of this book recorded the language I have used and the stories I have experienced. It reminds me many of my happiness and sadness.
If you want to understand Chinese society, Chinese people, and the rural areas in China, I recommend you read this book. The writing is crisp, the information is practical, and the stories are true. The translation is great.
At this pint, a pop-rice master is walking towards me from the book, with the black, bomb-shaped and air-tight rice cooker, the charcoal stove and the bellow on his shoulder. The black soot covers his face. His smiling reveals only his eyes and teeth. I hear the explosion of the air. Now, I am going to put a bag of popcorn in my microwave so that I will progress with the book and step back to my hometown with my uncle.

This masterful and quite heady novel tackles the history of a fictitious town buried deep in China, a place protected by rivers and mountains. When a a "sent-down" worker from the city joins a group of urbanites to live in the town, they discover a place that's almost a metaphor for Chinese life -- cast in reverse.

Han Shaogong guides the reader through the fictitious author's "dictionary" of Maqiao, which acquaints us with a baffling set of customs, and a people who view themselves as a kind of "Middle Kingdom," in which the outside world is shunned. The novel becomes an inventive expose of Shaogong's sometimes profound insights into the restrictions of culture and language. The book's episodes can be rigorously dry or unexpectedly moving.

The diligent reader will be rewarded. The depth and honesty of Shaogong's insights reach to the present day, and his small town of Maqiao is certain to leave a deep impression. This prize-winning novel is a dictionary that compels your interest and enjoyment..

In 1970 16-year-old Han Shaogong was sent to the Southern Chinese village of Maqiao in Hunan Province to plant rice and tea as a member of the Educated Youth. During his years in Maqiao he carefully made notations of the differences in culture, customs, and language that he observed as a stranger. Later in his life Shaogong became a central member of the Root-Searching Movement that aimed to undermine and reverse the thought-control mechanisms instituted by the Cultural Revolution and rebel against the highly-structured controls on literature, language, and aesthetics. Shaogong returned to his observations of Maqiao and developed this book to further the movement. THE DICTIONARY OF MAQIAO is structured as a dictionary with 110 entries, but it is not a tedious index of words and meanings; rather this book provides small vignettes of how life, both human and natural, is lived in Maqiao. Shaogong's position as an outsider provides him with a unique perspective of the village. He detailed the often-eccentric habitants and their distinctive language that differs from his own. By documenting these cultural and custom differences Shaogong demonstrates how there is great variety and fluency of unlike the teachings of the Maoist doctrines. I loved reading this book and would highly recommend it to others.

I have borrowed this book twice and came here now to buy my own copy that I can write in. My Indonesian vocabulary is mostly nouns and those are mostly names of fruits and food dishes. "Eat Smart" taught me how to ask for lawar without blood in it--that alone is worth the price of the book! In Indonesia, I'll be toting this next to my dictionary at all times. At home, I'll keep it in the kitchen to have the recipes handy.

This little book is essential for travelers to a country where food is riotously varied, delicious and, to most of us, utterly unfamiliar. It begins with a brief historical survey of the cuisine, citing the contributions of successive immigrant or colonial groups, then slices the other way, with sections on Indonesia's major culinary regions and their specialties and characteristics. Recipes, a listing of US sources for ingredients, then phrases in Indonesian all follow. Two alphabetical listings are the heart of the book: One is of menu items, with brief descriptions and notations; the other is of "foods and flavors" (and utensils, cooking methods and so on), in Indonesian, with English translations or explanations. The whole is thorough, information-packed and mouthwatering.

The authors have written a series of Eat Smart books that no traveler to foreign countries should be without. Each book covers a separate country--Eat Smart in Turkey, Eat Smart in Brazil, Eat Smart in Indonesia and Eat Smart in Mexico--and is chock full of information that you won't find elsewhere within the covers of one easy-to-carry paperback. Individual chapters cover such topics as the history of the country's cuisine, regional foods, how to shop in the local markets, mail-order sources for suppliers of ingredients, and a collection of recipes for typical dishes found in that country. Especially useful is each book's extensive menu guide, listing menu terms alphabetically in the language of the foreign country, with a description of the dish in English. That section is followed by a chapter titled "Foods & Flavors"--listing the foreign terms for foods, spices, kitchen utensils and cooking techniques, with an English translation/description. These books are well researched, accurate and very informative. Highly recommended. --Sharon Hudgins, editor, Chile Pepper magazine

Soundly researched, clearly written, artistically illustrated, "Eat Smart in Indonesia" is the most comprehensive and readable survey of the whole scope of Indonesian gastronomy I have ever come across. It is equally valuable as a solid reference work for the scholar and as exotic inspiration for the chef or home entertainer. Bill Dalton, founder, Moon Travel Guides; author, "Indonesian Handbook"

For a country of 17,000 islands and 670 dialects, and complex traditions, religion and culture, no one-including Indonesians-can claim to know more about Indonesia's traditional food tastes than the authors of Eat Smart in Indonesia. Their guide is the first ever published with in-depth information about the unique and diverse food of Indonesia. -William W. Wongso, culinary educator, president of William F & B Management, Jakarta, Java

I don't know why I feel this way, but you'd think there would be a lot of Newbery winning children's authors who'd switch their focus from time to time to picture books. And yet, this is not the case. In fact, it's rather rare for someone of Lunda Sue Park's stature to go about writing for children younger than her usual fare. It's almost as if she's slumming. But Park (who won the Newbery for "A Single Shard") has discovered what most winners fail to realize. That a picture book can be every bit as morally complex and intricate as a 230-some page novel. All it takes is excellent writing and an illustrator who knows their stuff. Which makes, "The Firekeeper's Son" a perfect example of a picture book that does everything right and ends up wowing the reader with its intensity.

Sang-hee lives in a small, unassuming, and peaceful village in Korea. One day, his father informs him that their little space is infinitely important (a fact that Sang-hee has a bit of difficulty believing). But his father is absolutely correct. Located beside the sea and just next to the first of a row of mountains, it understood that in the event of a seaward attack by Korea's enemies, this village is the first line of defense. That is why, every night, Sang-hee's father climbs the nearby mountain and lights a fire that can be seen for miles. Then, someone on the next mountain will see that fire and light their own. This continues all the way to the king's palace where, if the king sees the last mountain lit, he'll know that all is well. Of course, if the fire is not lit, the king would immediately send his soldiers out to battle with the enemy. Now this system has gone on for generations, but Sang-hee is not content. He would love to see the king's glorious soldiers more than anything else in the world. Then, one night, his father hurts his ankle while climbing up the mountain. Sang-hee is given the task of lighting the fire himself, but as he nears the pile of dried twigs he thinks about how much he'd like to see a soldier up close. And the hot coals are slowly burning out...

The book weighs an individual's personal wants and fantasies against the greater good of the whole, and does so beautifully. You completely understand Sang-hee's dilemma. On the one hand, there's the fact that not lighting the fire would be a callous lie. On the other hand, "Maybe there is a soldier who would be glad for a chance to visit the sea". Park's story is based on factual information, as she mentions in her Author's Note. However, the system by which bonfires informed the king of potential attacks was, in real life, far more complex than the one featured here. As Park herself mentions, "additional fires could be lit to convey further information, so the court would know not only which province was facing danger but things like the size of the enemy forces and how well armed they were!". She provides additional resources for further reading.

It was a real stroke of luck that Park was paired with illustrator Julie Downing too. Downing plays with lush watercolors and pastels that perfectly convey not only the cool blue nights Sang-hee must run through, but also the glow of the slowly dying coals and eventual hot orange flames. If you look on the cover of the book, you can see dream soldiers fighting in the fire and the bright orange flickers reflected in the black of Sang-hee's eyes. Downing's images are the perfect compliment to Park's deeply rich story.

As historical fiction picture books go, this one has to be one of the most beautiful on record. If you'd like a picture book that lures those sometimes hard to interest boy readers, but is just as doggone interesting to the girls of the world, this book's a safe bet. It's beautiful to look at and remarkably complex to contemplate. Art in the purest sense.

The book is so interesting, so informative, and so gorgeous. Also, my kids enjoyed comparing the fires on the mountains to their favorite fantasy, LORD OF THE RINGS. The tie-in made it even batter for them.
Well done, Ms. Park, and while I am here, let me say, KEOKO is my other favorite of yours.

Set in Korea, some time in the nineteenth century, a young boy discovers the great responsibility of lighting the bonfires. When Sang Hee and his mother see that his father has not yet lit the bonfire, and see that there is no enemy coming from the sea, the boy takes up a responsibility that has been in the family for generations. He follows the path up the mountain to find his father injured and unable to climb the mountain. His internal conflict is against the temptation of satisfying his curiosity of soldiers versus responsibility. Good judgment outweighs his selfishness and the bonfire is lit. The systematic communication sends the message to the palace that the kingdom is peaceful. Park is an accomplished writer. The narrative is moving and interesting. The radiant colors of Julie Downing are well crafted.

Perhaps for centuries, the royal court of Korea kept infomred of invading forces and problems in it eight provinces through a series of bonfires lit from one hilltop to the next. In this story, a young boy and his father live in a seacoast village on the first line of defense for the bonfires. Each night, the boy's father lights a bonfire which is seen by hilltop after hilltop all the way back to the king. But when he in injured, his son must light the fire. But would it not be better to not light it, so that some excitement and soldiers will come to the village? Or does reponsibility win out?

Linda Sue Park's The Firekeeper's Son is a picture book that tells of life in a Korean village several hundred years ago. At that time fires were lit as signals that all was well. It is an exciting story the pits a young boys dreams for excitement against his duty and responsibility. Julie Downing's illustrations showing traditional Korean village life really bring the past alive.

We started our five week tour of India with Let's Go India Nepal, and found the Footprint guide four weeks into our tour. After looking it over, we quickly realized how much detail, clarity, and completeness we were missing. We didn't open Let's Go again, other than to retrieve our bookmark.

Some of the telephone numbers were slightly off, but that is par for the course in India. The correct numbers were easily located via directory assistance, which the book informed us of.

We stayed at two of the highly recommended hotels between US$5 and US$6 a piece and were delighted by the overall quality and cleanliness we found.

Its descriptions of some of the sights surpassed even that of our tour guide.

We liked this guide so much that we now use Footprint guides for our travels wherever they are available and up to date.

WARNING: The guide warns that the prices for many tourist attractions will go up on Jan 1, 2001. They actually went up on October 18, 2000. Now at most major tourist sites in India, foreigners pay the same number of dollars as Indian's pay rupees.

A comprehensive guidebook to India which proved indispensable during our three month trip. Detailed descriptions of the history and layout of the various tourist sites renders local guides and guidebooks largely unnecessary. A broad based guidebook of nearly 1400 pages, it includes digestible background sections covering history, language, religion and politics which enhanced enormously our appreciation of Indian life and culture. Despite the wealth of information its handy size, hardcover and tough binding stood up well to the rigours of backpacking. The up-to-date hotel and restaurant sections cater for the full spectrum of travellers - from budget back packer to luxury holiday makers. The opinions offered are balanced and fair, providing enough information to plan and enjoy your trip without unfair bias - in contrast to many of the other India guidebooks we consulted. An added advantage of using this little known guide was that we avoided the ubiquitous "Lonely Planet" bores who tramp through India reciting parrot fashion the recommendations and opinions of the LP authors and researchers.

The India Handbook is a thoroughly well-researched and detailed guide. The most informative guide on the market, it provides invaluable information which is useful to both the short and long-term visitor to India, particularly by the inclusion of accurate large and small scale maps. It is also strong and compact. However, perhaps the most appealing feature is it's direct and non-chatty text, packing important and need-to-know facts into a notey yet precise format, leaving the reader to form his/her own opinions on people and places.

I spent one month travelling all over India with the 1999 edition of the India Handbook and what a life saver it was. The book was fantastic with its information and right on the money everytime with hotel rates, ferry schedules, etc. The brief anecdotes were especially helpful and I really appreciated the open mind the book had quick not to judge a country full of many different aspects. The book was enlightening and in my hand all the time, but my mind was still open to new experiences which were not preconceived by the authors. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone who really wants to experience India in a different light!

We hav just completed an excellent three week journey through India. Much of this would simply have not been possible without the help and guidance of this excellent guide. For instance we have just come back by road from Goa to Mumbai through some very varied and interesting countryside including a trip up into the Ghats which was quite hairaising anlong narrow, twisty roads. The road conditions were such that it took us much longer than we anticipated. The Handbook did not let is down but suggested an excellent hotel at Kiplung. In addition, we found that the descriptions of the sites more than compensated for not having guides available at Orccha for instance. The only time we had problems was when we did not consult the guide sufficiently!

This book is meant to be a military analysis of the World War II axis however it comes off as an excellent diplomatic history. It shows that Germany has never been able to grasp the concepts of coalition warfare and its do it alone strategy was always going to be its undoing. The first part of the book looks at the history of German warfare before World War II. The analysis with regards to Operation Barbarossa is deeply flawed. The assertion that Russia was the primary target of Germany's desires is wrong. The evidence shows a greater tendency towards Britain than Russia. Also the analysis of Japan's role in the coalition is something that deserves further looking into. I think the author dismisses it too quickly.
Despite those flaws this really does provide a comprehensive look at how the Axis functioned and especially the role of the minor powers like Romania and Hungary. It is very easy to see that while Germany nominally had control each of these Axis powers was able to contribute in their own way. The end of the Axis comes with the battle of Stalingrad and the demolition of the Axis forces as well as the failures in North Africa. The lack of Axis supplies was a tremendous problem and one that was not going to be overcome without early strategic victories. When these were not made the loss became inevitable. This book is a very clear military analysis and accomplishes a lot in 200 pages. Despite the few flaws mentioned I highly recommend the book.

Having followed the career of this distinquished historian, this work has tremendous value. DiNardo's thought process is quite organized and very cerebral. It is obvious the research balances his writing considering that today's fact-finding is often shortchanged or erroneous from over use of the internet. The author did his homework.

Although I don't have much interest in German history during this period, I found the book engaging. This is certainly a work that should belong on private library shelves of each World War historian. Excellent!!

Germany And The Axis Powers: From Coalition To Collapse by Richard L. Dinaro (Professor for National Security Affairs at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College) is an introductory work of impressive scholarship focused upon the intricate probabilities that the Axis coalition was little more then an ignorant grouping of claimed Hitler followers. Incorporating newly recovered facts of the battles fought from the Eastern Front to the Balkans, Mediterranean, and North Africa, Germany And The Axis Powers unveils an entirely different history than previously perceived by military historians. A seminal work recommended for professional and academic 20th Century Military History reference collections, Germany And The Axis Powers is highly recommended for its profoundly educational and informative content to all World War II historians and students of the era.

"Germany and the Axis Powers" is an in-depth analysis of the ability of the Axis powers to conduct coalition warfare. This book is excellent for anyone wanting to go beyond the "History Channel" level of knowledge on World War II. Using original source material, the author provides rich details to describe his thesis. The quality of the historical research is along the lines of Gerhard L. Weinberg's epic "A World at Arms". While the author uses a chronological framework to scope his thoughts, he avoids telling the entire history of World War II. Instead he remains focused on the key events that framed German attempts at coalition warfare. The work requires a good general knowledge of World War II history, which most readers of this book will already have.

While Germany's alliance with Italy is well known, I found the chapters on Germany's attempts at coalition warfare with Hungary, Finland, and Romania to be the most interesting, since these countries are rarely discussed in most accounts of World War II. DiNardo correctly describes the differences between coalition warfare and parallel warfare, a key component to understanding World War II coalitions. Breaking out the different levels of coalition warfare conducted by the German Army, Navy, and Air Force set the book apart from more basic accounts. Dinardo also avoids "wehrmacht envy" which taints many books on the Germany military. He provides an accurate and balanced view of German military capabilities, without falling in love with the subject.

I recommend this book to any serious student of World War II military history who really wants to get to heart of the German way of war.

This well-written and extremely interesting book breaks new ground in its examination of Nazi Germany's inability to effectively wage coalition warfare with its allies - Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland.

Author Richard L. DiNardo shows that the Third Reich's partners followed Germany because they hoped to benefit from Hitler's New Order, rather than from either a common ideological adherence to Fascism or a common commitment to save Europe from Bolshevism. Hitler and his generals, however, were reluctant to fully incorporate their allies into their wartime command structure or strategy. Dinardo shows that this reluctance was a legacy from the First World War, when, for the most part, Imperial Germany refused to take its allies seriously.

DiNardo discusses Hitler's own attitudes toward his allies (he prefered bilater over multilateral arrangements) and then examines the performances of the Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland in North Africa, the Balkans, and Russia. Some, such as the Italians in North Africa, performed much better than is generally recognized in the west. Most were hampered by a shortage of modern equipment, especially tanks, fighter aircraft, and bombers. All, however, collapsed relatively early in the war. Indeed, according to DiNardo: "The twin German disasters of Stalingrad and North Africa effectively destroyed the Axis as a military alliance."

The ability to wage effective coalition warfare differed among the various services of the Wehrmacht. The German Navy was probably the most successful, although due to differences in doctrine and technology, the cooperation between German and Italian submarines was not as effective as it could have been. Next came the Luftwaffe, although it failed miserably in the sharing of technology, particulary aircraft and aircraft engines, with its allies. Finally, came the army, which, DiNardo notes, cleary took the prize when it came to failure in coalition warfare. The major exception to this was Rommel's conduct of coalition warfare in North Africa.

The German War Ministry too was of little help with its extortive practices, which ensured that the Romanian, Hungarian, Italian and Finnsh armies remained hopelessly outclassed in terms of weapons and equipment against their Soviet opponent.

Foruntately for the Western Allies, the inability of Hitler and his generals to build a functional and effective basis for coalition warfare contributed significantly to the downfall of the Third Reich. Indeed, as the Allies knocked knocked one Axis power after another out of the war, the Germans were forced to come to their rescue, burdening the already debilitated German war industry and armed forces.

"Germany and the Axis Powers" thus contributes to a better understanding of the defeat of Nazi Germany and the valuable contributions of Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland during World War II to the Axis - and the Allies!

This is a cute, easy to read book that discusses the basic elements of Chinese New Year.

This is a simply written and beautifully illustrated book about the Chinese New Year. Through delicate line drawings and jewel like colors the author/illustrator captures the essence of Chinese mythical creatures, flora, fauna, heavenly creatures and mortals. We learn about Chinese zodiac symbols, gods, how Chinese people prepare for the New Year, why they eat special kinds of foods on New Year's Day, the symbolism of specific flowers as gifts, and the meanings of Chinese characters hung on doorways. Demi is the talented author and illustrator of many children's books with Chinese themes. This book is definitely one of my favorites.

Need an excuse to explore ethnic and religious holidays and practices? This is your vehicle. The interesting and exciting practices surrounding Chinese New Year can so easily be compared in writing, drama and story-telling of many other cultures. You cannot go wrong with this book.

I haven't found a book by Demi that isn't terrific. This is a great book for young children, it gives lots of great information on the Chinese New Year and what one does to get ready for the New Year celebration! A must have for anyone with an who wants their child to know about their hertitage!

This is a nice introduction to chinese new year. I will use it as a informational guide and have my Chinese-Vietnamese students look it over to facilitate a discussion about their new year. Thanks.

Once again the Central Asian region is bright on radar screens of international politics. The wave of colorful "velvet" revolutions is sweeping though the former Soviet republics. Rose revolution first followed by orange revolution led to fall Georgia's and Ukraine's corrupt regimes. Now all eyes turn to Central Asia anticipating the same changes to take place in the totalitarian republics of the region.

Unfortunately, there is a looming deficit of current books about the Central Asian region. The revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine came as surprise to many precisely due to lack of information about the region.

The Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan successfully fills this information gap by providing comprehensive information about Central Asia in general and Kyrgyzstan in particular. The book provides superb up-to-date details about the key players and issues in domestic and international politics. The dictionary describes the history and the current situation of Central Asia. It also provides biographies of major politicians and information about most important political parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The bibliography section is very helpful in finding materials and resources in specialized subject areas. This information is particularly important for analyzing and forecasting events in the country and the region. This is an essential book for beginning students and experienced scholars of Central Asian studies.

This book is one of the best reference sources on Kyrgyzstan that was ever published to date.
It is very well organized and objectively covers most aspects of Kyrgyz history, culture and economic development.
The chronology is as complete as it can be. It starts with available facts on early history and gives more detailed list of majour events of the modern time.
The introduction gives a brief but comprehensive background on the country and it is alone could be a good source of information on Kyrgyzstan.
The dictionary is methodologically written and covers key political, cultural, historical, linguistic, economic aspects of Kyrgyz development. One can even find some interesting - hard to find anywhere else - pieces of information on traditional Kyrgyz culture. The author even explains the problems with different transliteration of Kyrgyz geographic and personal names.
The abundance of statistical tables adds to the uniqueness and usefulness of this book.
Finally the bibliography is a real treasure that points you in the right direction for further research on the country and the Central Asian region.
Highly recommend this book.

Very useful book. Even someone like me who has worked in Kyrgyzstan twice and considered myself knowlegeable about Kyrgyz history got a lot about of the book.
I especially enjoyed learning more about key figures in Kyrgyz history and the current key political entities. In addition, the dateline is good as is the bibliography.

This dictionary is the most useful resourse to date that proves to be a quick and thoughtfull guide for twentieth century Kyrgyz history and society. It provides the students of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia with a concise chronology and a comprehensive list of key issues and concepts. The book demonstrates that Rafis Abazov has done a great deal of research on this neglected region. In addition to being a resource for the history of the region, the dictionary teaches the reader about cultural, social, political and economic facts about Kyrgzystan.
I highly recommend this dictionary as an extensive and well-written reference book of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. It would make an excellent reference book for libraries, schools and universities.

The dictionary written on the base of interdisciplinary approach will be useful for specialists, who are seriously and scholarly interested in Kyrgyzstan as well as to students who are going to discover this Central-Asian country. The important feature of author's skill is to present the past and present of the Kyrgyz Republic as persistent and unique process. He carefully examines the quantity and quality of state, non-government and private institutions and leaderships and their influence on power and politics in country. The author's independent and non-tendentious view on the situation in modern Kyrgyzstan will be useful for national archives, which now are working towards to systematization and classification of current data.

First of all, I agree with other reviewer's assertions that this is not a book for beginners. Without a basic understanding of foundational Buddhist thought and Buddhist cosmology, this book wouldn't make much sense. Vimalakirti is one of my favorite characters since he is a great example of how a lay person can achieve Buddhahood. He could enter gambling halls and other dens of iniquity, engage in business and family life, and still remain unsullied as he taught the Dharma. This book is one of the few readable texts about him. Although very well translated, it still retains some of the repetition and obscure references found in any ancient Buddhist work having a basis in an oral tradition. If you have an intermediate knowledge of Buddhism, this is an excellent work.

This and the Flower Ornament Scripture will keep you busy for awhile. Not easy or light reading by any means.

I agree with many of the other reviewers in this space. This sutra is quite simply my favorite Buddhist text, and Prof Thurman's translation is my favorite translation. I travel with this book because it is so compact and precise in describing the way of the Bodhisattva, the great vehicle of the Mahayana path. I have heard Prof Thurman read from his book, and his transmission is no small contribution to the progress of Buddhism in the West.

Several reviewers have mentioned the humor. I have fond memories of reading this text out loud to my fellow dharma students, and having a good laugh each time a disciple sheepishly declines Lord Buddha's invitation to go visit the ailing bodhisattva, Vilmalakirti. The replies of Vimalakirti, on the other hand, are the highest wisdom I know of in Buddhism, and reflecting on them is a great treasure.

The Vimalakirti-nirdesha Sutra, though almost certainly not spoken by Shakyamuni Buddha himself, is nontheless held in the highest esteem by all schools of the Mahayana. It belongs to the category of sutras which are, in all probability, fictional creations of Mahayana scholars, and not expounded by the Buddha. Despite this, the Vimalakirti Scripture is still given the title of a sutra. For the doctrine it expounds is in perfect conformity with the highest teachings of the Buddha, and, more than any other sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra shows the perfection of the bodhisattva ideal for laymen and women. Robert A.F. Thurman's translation of this masterpiece is close to perfect. Working from a Tantric perspective (being himself a Vajrayana Buddhist), Thurman details, in his notes and introduction, the clear relation between Buddhist Tantrism and the Vimalakirti sutra, which can lead one to the conclusion that its composition was largely influenced by the esoteric teachings of the Tantras. Yet, the teachings of the Vimalakirti Sutra are in no way exclusive to students of the Vajrayana, or of Tibetan Buddhism in general. This scripture has historically been of tremendous influence on Chinese Buddhism, and is the subject of some of the greatest works of Chinese Buddhist Art. It is also held in the highest esteem by Zen Buddhism for its emphasis on the practice of the layman amongst the cares of the world. Indeed, it is one of the few canonical scriptures that are of particular value to Zen. The scripture tells the story of the layman Vimalakirti (almost certainly a fictional character), a bodhisattva of the highest order, on par with such figures as Manjushri, who, in order to develop living beings, lives as a layman in the crowded metropolis of Vaishali, participating in business and government and teaching the dharma in accordance with conditions. On this occasion, Vimalakirti manifests himself as being sick, in order to develop beings who come to inquire after his health. The Buddha, desiring to know how Vimalakirti is doing, requests several students and bodhisattvas to go and visit him, all of whom decline, however, saying that their skill in the dharma cannot be matched with Vimalakirti. Finally, Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, goes to the house of Vimalakirti along with a retinue of several hundred disciples. The vast majority of the scripture is composed of the dialogues that occur between Vimalakirti and Manjushri, as well as with the disciples and bodhisattvas. Finally, the entire retinue (Vimalakirti included) return to the Buddha, who delivers a final section to the discourse. Many famous incidents in Buddhist lore occur in this sutra: the exchange between Shariputra and the Goddess, the chapter concerning the Dharma Gate of Nonduality, Vimalakirti's explanation of the cause of his sickness, etc. To any Buddhist practitioner, particularly those of Vajrayana Buddhism and Zen, this sutra is of the utmost importance. The only two major translations available in English are those of Thurman and Burton Watson. Thurman's translation, however, is the better of the two, rendering in clear, poetic English the difficult doctrines of the Mahayana. His notes provide excellent insight into the historical relations of the Sutra, and its importance to Tibetan Buddhism, as well as to Chinese Buddhism. Highly, highly recommended.

This is the Vimilikirtisastra, a Mahayana treatise that deals with nonduality. What this means is that the construct of the Therevada (or Hinayana-- meaning devotional Buddhism) is replaced by something other-- larger-- (from Sanskrit little vehicle to larger vehicle).

What does this mean to you? You have a book here in which all of the paired items (good/bad, monk/layperson, holy/inholy) start to be broken down. Buddhism becomes 'purer' through being less pure, more people are offered the ability to have salvation...

More than that, this is a fun read that can be gone through multiple times-- which will be necessary if you want to fully grasp all that this book says. It will alter your conception of what the Dharma is, or introduce you to one if you're just beginning to learn about it.

I would suggest, though, that you have some background in the Therevada stuff before you start-- otherwise this book would kind of be pointless: excepting that parts of it are amusing. Prof. Thurman has a knack for translation...

With the exception of a few errors this book is a must read for those who want to try to understand something about a very elite unit, the 9th Cavalry. I was in the Blues in 1966. I was a squad leader and the assistant platoon sgt. On occasion I was the platoon sgt. Never have I met a finer bunch of men who endured the trials of their home on the wire at night followed by running through the jungle the following day. I still wonder how we maintained ourselves, that is, staying awake on the wire and running the jungle. It was impossible to do what we did without sleep but we did it anyway. What the book describes between the Blues and the pilots is very true. We were united in a common goal. I think that goal was to destroy the enemy and go home alive. I personally know that when the lift pilots dropped us Blues on the ground they bided their time in agnony waiting for the call to saddle up and retrieve the Blues, and bring us home. This book describes how the pilots protected the Blues as much as humanly possible. Well done, Matt.

This is a great book that chronicals the experiences of an array of Vietnam Vets. My dad's story is in this book!

While not as good as "Brennans War", it's a great book.

Hunter-Killer Squadron stands alone as the finest book written on the helicopter war in Vietnam. Follow the 1st Cav's "Pink" teams as they decimate the NVA while incurring excruciating losses themselves. A "pink" team consisted of a (white) scout helicopter nosing around at treetop level, attempting to draw fire, invariably succeeding, covered by an orbiting (red) Cobra gunship. Once you read this, you'll understand what helicopter warfare was all about and the revolution it brought about in tactics. The book consists of 25 ancedotes from pilots, gunners and crew chiefs, every one a cliff-hanger. Other great Vietnam helo books: Crew Chief, Chickenhawk, Lest We Forget, and "Low Level Hell". And don't miss "Eyes of the Eagle" by Linderer.

I flew with the men of the 1/9 for more than 2 years. Soldiers like Lurch, Lofton, the Saint, Poxon, Jones, Thomas, Burrows, Brennan, ...the list goes on and on. Their integrity was never questioned, their courage was matched only by their determination. I consider even having my name mentioned in a book about these great soldiers my highest decoration. Perhaps Viet Nam was the end of an era where men fought by guts, determination and intelligence, and began the fight by computer (or remote control) era. Each soldier of the 1/9 has my deepest respect, they risked their lives daily and are the essence of the American ideal of soldiering. Wherever they are today, may God bless them. If we are ever involved in a major conflict again, and these kind of men aren't around, God help us all.

A must read for anyone interested in Indonesia. Superb historical accounts, on the ground descriptions and skillful storytelling. A classic on my bookshelf! Students love it.

I consider this book as very interesting and easy to read. The author describe the situation in a way that you can feel the situation in a real way. it is a very interesting historic document of the Suharto dictator fall; very interesting for all the people who want to know what happened in this crucial days in the history of Indonesia.

This is a terrific book. The author was in Indonesia at the end of the 1990's, in what was obviously a very tumultuous time for that country. The book is divided into three sections, each of which deals with a different event. The first section deals with two trips that Parry made to the island of Borneo, which witnessed several episodes of ethnic conflict during the 1990s. The author was specifically drawn to the island because of reports that members of a particular ethnic group were not only being killed, but that they were being slaughtered in brutal, ritualistic fashion. Parry not only manages to find people who confirm these stories, but on his second trip to the island he actually sees more direct evidence of these atrocities. The second section of the book deals with the student protests that led to the downfall of Suharto. This was probably my favorite part of the book, because Parry provides such an outstanding analysis of the ideological underpinnings of Suharto's regime. I only wish that he would have discussed in greater detail the financial crash as well as the ensuing involvement of the IMF, as well as the anti-Chinese riots that took place throughout the country. The final section of the book details the author's stay in East Timor, including his meeting with an elusive pro-independence guerilla fighter and his harrowing stay in the UN compound after the independence referendum, when the pro-Indonesian militias were committing reprisal attacks with the blessing of the Indonesian military. Throughout the book Parry manages to infuse the narrative with an impressive sense of drama, such that it often reads like a novel. Parry realizes that he witnessed history in the making, and he does a good job of conveying to his readers the historical import of the events that he relates.

Excellent book, well-written and gripping for the most part. During the climax, I found myself unable to put it down -- something that doesn't usually happen with non-fiction. Spare prose and light touches of very British humor at certain points added to the reading "pleasure," if that's the right word for a work centering on horrific events.

I deduct a star for a bit of exaggeration over the climax. From the way it was built up, I thought Lloyd Parry had been involved in something truly horrific. Ultimately, I found his reaction very male and a bit irritating, rather overdone.

Overall, though, an excellent book. I hope he plans on writing more.

As an Indonesian that lived through the tumultous period covered in the book, I found Richard Parry's work to be very authoritative. He digs deep, more than just facts and statistics. Though not a picture that I want my homeland to be remembered by, I found this to be a must read.