Asia Books

Which path should you take when faced with the choice between your own dreams and the needs of the people you love most?

That is precisely the dilemma facing Amjed Qamar's fourteen-year-old protagonist, Nazia, in her debut novel, BENEATH MY MOTHER'S FEET. When her father is injured on the job, Nazia's world is thrown into chaos when she must quit school to help her mother clean houses in order to earn a living for her family. Nazia is forced to deal with ever-increasing burdens, leading her to question beliefs she once accepted as absolute and confront an unknown future that previously seemed so certain.

The best stories are those with universal themes to which anyone can relate, with enough unique details and fresh perspectives to keep the reader's interest, and Qamar does this with an expert's grace. Her writing is spare and elegant, giving readers an insider's view into daily life in modern-day Pakistan. The characters are like any flesh and blood human being -- loving, devoted, but not without their flaws, and anyone looking for a young female lead boasting a driving force beyond boys, designer labels, or social status will be thrilled with Qamar's central character.

BENEATH MY MOTHER'S FEET is a spectacular, thought-provoking work of fiction that will stay with the reader long after the story's end.

Reviewed by: Cat

I will most definitely be saving this book for my daughter when she is a little older. I loved this book, and I loved Nazia -- the 14 year old girl who is forced to grow up way too early! I realize that this book is geared for twelve year olds and up; however, I think it a great read for grownups too (especially mothers.) BENEATH MY MOTHER'S FEET deals with issues that each and every mother must face -- wanting what you think is best for your child while also giving them the opportunity to make their own choices.

I am just so impressed with Ms. Qamar as a writer. I can't believe this is her first book. BENEATH MY MOTHER'S FEET was so easy to read (I actually couldn't put it down and read it in one afternoon) and so well written. I was captivated by Nazia's story from the first few pages, and I was sad to see her story end. I would love to know what happens to her past the pages of the book. Not only was the story very intriguing, but the descriptions of Pakistan were incredible -- I could picture each and every scene.

I found this book to be a beautiful coming-of-age story! At the beginning of the story, we see Nazia as a 14 year old girl with her life mapped out for her. She attends school with her friends and is expected to marry her cousin in the near future -- she leads a relatively normal, carefree life for a young Pakistani girl. One day her father is in a devastating accident, and her life is totally turned upside down. Her family is broke and hungry, and Nazia is forced to work as a maid to support her family. To make matters worse, the dowry that her mother has been saving for many years is stolen. Her entire future (and especially her arranged marriage) is now at-stake because her uncle finds this work completely unacceptable for his future daughter-in-law.

At times, this story just broke my heart. I hated how quickly Nazia was forced to grow up and lose her youthful innocence. I also felt so much sympathy for Nazia's mother because she had to do anything and everything to take care of her young children. She too was forced into an awful situation as a maid, while also having to accept that her husband and son were of no help (and actually ending up doing more harm than good.) What I did love about this book was what Nazia ultimately learns about herself -- she finds that she is a strong, honorable girl who really does have some choices. She realizes that she has to be true to herself, no matter how difficult that choice proves to be.

If you have a mother-daughter book club of 12 year olds and up, I can't recommend BENEATH MY MOTHER'S FEET enough. It has so many wonderful issues to discuss, especially the relationship between a mother and her children. There is already a great reading guide available to jump-start your discussion. In addition, there are some ideas for activities and research which will also enhance your child's reading experience. I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to read this book and discuss it with me!

Although this book is for young adult readers, I (an adult) read this book in almost one sitting and was completely carried away by the story. Ms Qamar writes in such a way that draws you in and gives you a snapshot of life in a Pakistani town. You gain a better understanding of their culture, their deep loyalty to family and their everyday ways of life. You'll instantly fall in love with the main charachter, Nazia, who is just a young girl enjoying school, friends, her family and the every day perils and adventures of growing up. That is until her mother takes her out of school so she can help earn money for the family. What Nazia experiences teaches her many things, tests her own loyalty to her family and teaches her how to deal with personal struggles. Days after reading this book, I was still thinking about Nazia and all that she experienced. This is definitely a must read for all age groups!

Nazia is a strong young woman who is teetering between loyalty to her family and loyalty to herself. Everyone disappoints her except her best-friend and, with much struggle, her mother.
I hope Sherzad escaped to dadi's. Maybe his mom is to tight with her money to go after him. At least he knows that one person believes in him, Nazia.
I hope there are more stories about the characters in this book.

This is a beautifully written tale of a young girl's struggle to help her family and find her own place in male and mother dominated Pakistan. While many of us will never actually know the hardships Nazia endured, Amjed Qamar's vivid descriptions and exquisite story telling bring us as close as possible. This is a truly touching story that all daughters should read.

This is a nice book (and a good value) but the only real connection between Bombay and Miami Beach is that the author lived in both places. Sure, both cities have Art Deco but as I looked through this I was startled that the authors tried to make a Miami Beach connection, when the buildings in Bombay appear to be "separated at birth" from places you see in London or Sydney. Have a look at the Victoria Coach Station in London and you'll see what I mean.

Of course this makes sense since India, Australia and New Zealand were all outposts of the British empire.

Bombay Art Deco is a beautiful book in many ways. The colorful photos of the Art Deco buildings complement the well-written prose. Navin Ramani is the perfect person to write such a book. He grew up in a Bombay Art Deco building as a child and now lives in South Florida and has immersed himself Miami Beach Art Deco. He truly loves and respects the architecture and is an advocate for its preservation. He takes beautiful photos, too.

As a Miami Beach Art Deco guide myself, I loved the chapter on BoMi(BOmbay-MIami Beach), A Tale of Two subtropical Deco Cities. The chapter compares the similar climate, seaside geography, optimism and Hollywood ties of Bombay and Miami Beach. On one page is a Miami Beach landmark and on the facing page is a comparable Bombay landmark. The similarities are truly amazing and one could easily be interchanged with the other. For example, the Indian Merchants Chamber (1935-40) is juxtaposed to what is now Jerry's Famous Deli (1940). The caption is "Curves folding in on curves."

I recommend this book to anyone who likes Art Deco. AFter reading this book, you will want to travel to Bombay to see these buildings for yourself.

Myself and my wife have just bought an art deco apartment in Sydney's inner western suburbs where there was a proliferation of small (generally 4-8 residence) deco style blocks built through the 20's, 30's and early 40's. When we were searching out books to learn more about the style elsewhere in the world this book on Bombay Art Deco really stood out, partly because my wife is an early career South Asian historian (with a specialization on modern Delhi) and neither or us had any idea that there was this collection of buildings in Mumbai. Dehli has its own Art Deco architecture exemplified by buildings like the Imperial Hotel which is a mix of Art Deco luxory and imperial Raj projection of power. However the style in Bombay exemplified in this book looks like it's something different again; sub-tropical and closer to holly-bolly-wood glam in parts than imperial grandeur. We'll be traveling to Mumbai next October for the first time to see these buildings first hand and to take some photos - we reckon this book has given us some great ideas on where to go and what to look for.

A superb tribute to the whole art deco movement, this book is also a loving tribute to one evocative facet of Bombay,her art deco glory.

Excellent job Navin, brings back memories of those beautiful cinema halls where we would take in morning shows bunking off from college, walks along the Oval maidan (hearing Wilson Pickett at your place) and up Phirozeshah Mehta road and across Fountain to Rhythm House...past Dhanraj Mahal and into the Sea Lounge for endless refills of coffee patiently poured by Mr D'Souza until closing time.

One of those rare books that makes one say WHAT a city!!

Who would have thought that Bombay would have the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings outside of Miami Beach. There is a photo on pages 272-273 of Marine Drive, Bombay and you could be forgiven for thinking, at a quick glance, that this might be Ocean Drive, Miami. Navin Ramani reveals the background to this remarkable architectural heritage in the front of his book: the opening of the Suez Canal, a merchant class settling in Bombay, the city becomes the center of the Indian architectural profession and extensive land reclamation from 1929 all helped to create a unique Far Eastern Deco habitat.

The book's many photos show plenty of apartments and commercial buildings with their concrete curved lines, geometric floor patterns and streamlined appearance. It's unfortunate though that the photos also show plenty pipe-work and aircon units spoiling the external look of so many of them. It is the movie palaces that really show off the Deco style. The interiors of the five featured bubble over with streamline curves, recessed lighting and flamboyant marble floor patterns.

Ramani's book will surely be the definitive one about Bombay deco but I was rather disappointed with many of the author's photos. They lack a sharpness and the color is rather muted and dull. I became aware of this when I compared them with Arnold Schwartzman's clean, focused photos of Deco LAndmarks: Art Deco Gems of Los Angeles and in fact there is a good example of the photographic difference in Ramani's book on pages 256-257, on the left is a dull, flat photo of 63 Marine Drive, Bombay and the right a similar looking Hotel Victor in Miami but the photo is sharp, clean and colorful. Still, despite this Bombay Art Deco is certainly worth having if you love this exuberant architecture.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

As a modern day "River Rat," I started reading this book, while waiting to kick off that little invasion down in Panama, affectionately known as "Operation Just Cause" in Dec 1989, and managed to finish reading it in between "Brown Water & coastal Patrols." It's hard to put down once you start reading, and CDR Cutler does this small, sub-community of Navy Special Warfare Sailors justice (pretty unique thing to do for an officer). It's the roots & history of the U.S.N.'s "Brown Water Navy", the combat tactics and actions that are still in use to this date. I highly recommend this literature work to any person(s) that's interested in the Navy, and the and the personnel that forged the Brown Water Navy's history in the volatile rivers, canals and coast line of Viet Nam. A true reflection of courage, human spirit and dedication in the most adverse conditions. PBR= Proud, Brave & Reliable! Keep the Faith

This is a great introduction to the US Navy's river war in Vietnam. Well written, informative, excellently researched, and very fair, it really is a must have for Vietnam history buffs. Plenty of black & white photos. I wish the Cutler had included more maps to go along with the firefights he describes so well, but this is about my only complaint.

In an interesting plot twist, the 2004 Presidential Election has brought a little known arena of the Vietnam War to light. Because Senator John F. Kerry, the Democratic nominee, made his valorous service in Vietnam a central component of his primary run and the centerpiece of his nomination speech at the Democratic Convention, a group of fellow veterans has challenged his version of events that occurred in Vietnam and ran a series of commercials attacking his credibility and calling him to account for the accusations that the young lieutenant had directed at his fellow veterans after coming home. The angry rhetoric that these two groups of veterans have exchanged has been the impetus for the press to write and speak about warfare on the coffee-brown waters of Mekong Delta back in 1968. Unfortunately, it seems like many members of the press haven't done their homework and thus the stories lack the valuable background and contextual information that would have made them more accurate.
"Brown Water, Black Berets" (which is still available) is one of the few books that have been written about the fresh water and coastal navy in Vietnam and I wish it were in wider circulation. It mainly covers the southernmost part of Vietnam, which the military cut into four tactical zones, so the bottom of the country was IV Corps. If we look at a map of Vietnam, we can see that there is a wide river, the Mekong, which empties into a vast delta, just south of Saigon. Because the Mekong ran right into the heartland of South Vietnam, it became a conduit for the North Vietnamese to smuggle arms and supplies into the south in order to equip their allies, the Vietcong guerillas. To interdict these vital supplies, the United States Navy and the Vietnamese Navy had to equip a force of boats that was small enough to navigate the rivers and yet strong enough to fight off attacks from well armed guerillas. Additionally, the Vietcong brought supplies down the coast using sampans and other small boats, requiring offshore Navy and Coast Guard patrols to chase and intercept them.
To fight this new type of war, the United States Navy created a new force of light including the little "Skimmer" a tiny "Boston whaler" used for offshore use, equipped with an outboard engine, the PBR (Patrol Boat River) which was a purpose built 31 ft. long, fiberglass hulled, diesel engined boat with a jet drive (it was made by Jacuzzi - a name familiar to many suburban homeowners) which enabled it able to turn on a dime. Then, there was the Louisiana built "Swift Boat" or in the Navy parlance, the Patrol Craft, Fast (PCF). The now famous Swift was built on the hull of a transport boat that ran crews on and off the oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. These Swifts were a bit larger craft, fifty feet long, with an aluminum hull, powered by twin diesels, with screws, not the jet drive of the PBR. The boats were fast - about 28 knots - and powerfully armed with a pair of twin .50 caliber machine guns mounted over the pilothouse, with another mount on the fantail, this one an over/under arrangement of a single .50 over a 81mm mortar. Despite their weight and the firepower that allowed them to put a great deal of lead on target, the Swift Boats had a shallow 3 ½ foot draft, making it possible to get up small rivers and canals.
In addition to these craft, the Navy had larger boats designed to transport ships upriver and even constructed "Monitors" which were powerfully armed with a 40mm cannon in a rotating turret, hence the name. All these craft were necessary because in the vast delta, there were few roads and the waterways were the easiest way to get around for friend and foe alike. The men of the United States and Vietnamese navies used all of these craft to interdict the enemy's supplies and to transport ground troops and Navy Seals up river. Confronting the small boats of the Vietnamese was a perilous activity because in South Vietnam, every sampan could carry innocent peasants or a Vietcong guerilla with the machine gun or grenade. Additionally, the enemy would lie in wait along the canals, ready to seize the opportunity to ambush the patrol boats with heavy machine guns, mortars and small arms fire.
As the war went on, the Navy came up with some innovative programs in order to take the fight to the enemy, so about the time John Kerry volunteered for them, the Swift Boats and PBR began to operate more aggressively, operating in small flotillas to provide cover to each other. So, up until the later years of the Nixon administration when the United States Navy began winding down its operations, the men of the "Brown Water Navy" performed a difficult task and by all accounts, did it well. As a result, a large percentage of Navy losses in Vietnam - extremely light for offshore sailors - were on the small boats of the inland navy.
"Brown Water, Black Berets" is an award-winning book that interweaves personal stories of heroic fresh water sailors with the "big picture" of the strategic decisions. It also includes information about the design and deployment of the boats. The author, Thomas Cutler, was a veteran of the "Brown Water Navy" and his service in the last year of the war gives him the authority and experience to tell his fellow veteran's story well. Solidly written and well researched, this book will please anyone interested in military history, the Vietnam War or someone who is just curious about the type of boats Senator John F. Kerry commanded as a young lieutenant some thirty-five years ago.

An excellent and highly informative narrative of the nearly unknown world of the United States Navy's small craft fleet in Vietnam. A fine reminder to the sailors of today that individual heroism in a war fought with the machine gun and not missles is part of the recent naval tradition. If anyone can say they followed the path of John Paul Jones and went into harm's way, these sailors can, and LCDR Cutler has told their story well.

I was in the Naval Advisory Group at the same time as LCDR Cutler and I know where he's coming from. He did a great job of research. I'm really surprised at the volume of good factual info he managed to scrape up! BRAVO ZULU from an ex advisor at Rach Soi, Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Bay.

Now in a new edition edited for young readers in elementary grades and older, Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl is the true-life autobiography of a Japanese girl's life during the Depression, World War II, and the Occupation. Young Yaeko Sugama Weldon's memories of a poor but content childhood were torn apart by the crushing impact of war. "At noon time on August 15, Emperor Hirohito spoke to the people. For the first time in history a Japanese emperor spoke to his people!... He announced on the radio that the war was over - not whether we won or lost, just that the war was over and an agreement was made. I was so happy! Most people in our town were excited and relieved. They cheered and hugged each other. Many people were just glad the war was over. We were all tired of the war." Cherry Blossoms in Twilight tells of the jobs she took to earn a living after the war, her marriage to an American serviceman and move to America, motherhood, and the difficulties involved in adjusting to American culture. A handful of black-and-white photographs, a glossary of Japanese terms, and a couple of Japanese children's songs round out this memoir, highly recommended for children's library collections and personal reading shelves.

Cherry Blossoms in Twilight was a delightful read and I recommend everyone to purchase a copy. I am 60 and read it in the first sitting, but it is very appropriate for a school age child. This book tells a true story, includes an index of Japanese words, several songs and the illustrations - drawn by Yaeko - add visual images for the story.

Who wanted war anyway ? is a message we can share with children (and adults) throughout the world. Purchase several copies to give as Holiday gifts, full of memories from Japan, for everyone, no matter what age on your list. You will not be disappointed...

This book is a touching, engaging read. I read it from start to finish in one sitting, not wanting to put it down. It teaches us how important it is to have loved ones document their lives and share their experiences with others, not just family. You feel transported to another time, and laugh and cry with the authors. It gave me a greater understanding of another time and place, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This would be great recommended reading for any age.

"Cherry Blossons in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl," by Yaeko Sugama Weldon, with her daughter, Linda E. Austin, is the charming life story of a Japanese-born senior citizen. It is a book for readers of all ages, from young people learning about history and other cultures to older people who lived through World War II.

Yaeko Sugama was born in 1925 in the small town of Tokorozawa, Japan, where she could see Mt. Fuji and the Chichibu mountain range in the distance. The family was poor, and lived in a typical one-story wooden house with a tin roof. Her father's shoemaking shop was in the front. Yaeko adored her father, but somewhat resented her mother's preference for her brother. "Girls are not so good to have because they marry and leave home, but when a son gets married, he stays to take care of his parents." That was the Japanese custom.

The author describes other customs of the time: the nature celebrations, the making of origami birds and kirigami from colorul paper, Yaeko's pet owl, stories from Japanese folklore. The author's charmingly drawn illustrations from a child's life in Japan are an added bonus.

After "Childhood" comes a section on "School," and then "World War II," "After the War," and "A New Life." The book ends with an appendix of Japanese children's songs, photographs of Japan in the 1950's, and a useful glossary and index of Japanese terms.

World War II disrupted peaceful life in Tokorozawa and brought air raids, bomb shelters, and rationing, leading the children to ask, "Who wants war anyway?" While the war took away the young Japanese men she might have married, it gave Yaeko a view of the outside world. She worked for American military families, eventually married an American soldier, and moved to the Chicago area.

Yaeko Sugama Weldon now lives in St.Louis, Missouri, near her daughter Linda, who helped her put her stories together. This book is a good example of the family memories and experiences we all need to share. While Yaeko expresses her regret that she didn't learn English better, her simple, direct prose is charming. That, as well as the story itself, should make this book especially interesting to young readers. However, I couldn't put it down myself.

Reprinted from "Write Your Life!" at http://www.seniormemoirs.blogspot.com

Since many of my Japanese friends married American servicemen, I looked forward to reading Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl by Yaeko Sugama Weldon and her daughter, Linda E. Austin. To my delight, it reminded me of the "Little House" books except that rather than being written about nineteenth century rural America, this book was written about twentieth century Japan, set in a small town near Tokyo with Mt. Fuji in the distance.

This gentle book shows how children entertained themselves before the advent of mass media--playing outside, catching snails and tadpoles, using flowers and seeds for pretend play, daring each other to take scary adventures such as fetching something from the graveyard or icehouse where others hid in order to scare them. Illustrations and photographs by the authors add to the interest, as Weldon and Austin describe holidays and festivals such as Boys' Day, Girls' Day and Tsukimi (Full Moon Viewing in September).

Not all of Yaeko's life was happy. She describes sibling rivalry, hunger during the Depression, and hiding in air-raid shelters during the war, although these events inspire the reader by showing how these struggles helped Yaeko become stronger. After reading this book, I now understand why many Japanese women married American men during the U.S. occupation, since many of the Japanese men had died in the war.

Children studying other cultures could identify with Yaeko as they read about her life and adventures, while the glossary of Japanese terms might motivate them to learn some Japanese conversational language. Also in the appendices are some delightful children's songs in both Japanese and English and photographs of Japan during the 1950s. This is a well-designed and edited little book that will educate and entertain both elementary and middle school students.

by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

China Marine Gene Sledge is an old friend although I've never met him. Any book by him is more than worth the few dollars it would take to own it. Most Americans have no knowledge of the fact that immediately following WW II 60,000 U. S. Marines were sent into North China. Their real purpose was to keep that area from falling into the hands of Mao Tse Tsung's 8th Route Army when the Japanese withdrew. We Marines were to fill the gap, and then turn this critical ground that contained much of the coal available in China. The Russians raised hell in the UN about the US not repatriating the Jap troops to their mainland. The US objective was to maintain them in place as additional insurance in order to keep Mao's ChiComs in Manchuria the caves of Yemen where they had been kept in check by the Japs during WW II. With pressure from the UN, the last of the Japs and Koreans were sent home by about June of 1946, leaving a dwindling number of Marines to literally "hold the fort." Essentially, this is what Sledge writes about. Imagine to have survived the battles for Peleliu and Okinawa only to be sent to North China where too many Marines were to be killed. Sledge, because of his time overseas, was able to leave China early in '46, as I recall. Those of us who had arrived late to the Pacific Theater during WW II would remain guarding the railroads and bridges that moved the coal. And so, you say: "How come I haven't read anything about this? It was not mentioned in my History classes in high school or college."
I have a story on my web site that may interest you: http://www.sullyusmc.com/Hsin%20Ho/Hsin%20Ho.htm This story concerns one incident that occurred in April, 1947, shortly before the Marines were withdrawn from that area by our State Department. In my case I ended up in Tsingtao on the Shantung Peninsula, until 25Sep48 when I was commissioned a 2dLt and ordered stateside. Within a few months of my leaving China Chiang Kai Shek and his Kuomingtao withdrew to Formosa (Taiwan). My old regiment, the 5th Marines, oversaw the withdrawal of US and other civilians from Shanghai in early '49, and China was from that time under the control of Mao and the Chicoms. I and many other Marines saw a great deal of the latter when they intervened in the Korean War in November/December '50. We Marines were in and around the Chosin Reservoir. The US public knows little of the Korean War, but most at least connect the term Chosin Reservoir to that conflict.
http://www.sullyusmc.com

A fine book on a marine in the process of occupation duty clearly a true standout to the thousands of marine corps memoirs, and on a personal note E.B. Sledge isn't dead I am watching him on the t.v., on the show 'D-day's in the South Pacific'. This is a fine book and really worth reading, even though i personally felt he should have made sergeant and at least received a bronze star though he felt being there was enough. I personally thank all the men who fought and died for our freedom in any war, for any cause.

E. B. Sledge's "With the Old Breed" is by common consent one of the finest -- if not the finest -- account of the life of a combat infantryman in World War II. At Pelieu and Okinawa, Sledge was one of only 10 men in his Marine company of 240 to escape being wounded or killed. "China Marine" is the follow-up to "With the Old Breed," a lesser work but one that tells of what happened to Sledge after the war.

With Sledge's experience, one would have thought that he would have been among the first among the military to be demobilized after the end of the war with Japan -- but no, he and his colleagues were sent to China to disarm the Japanese soldiers there and to maintain order in several northern Chinese cities. This is Sledge's account of the six months he spent in China. His view is that of a Private First Class -- but an educated and sophisticated PFC, the son of a medical doctor from Mobile, Alabama, and an outstanding writer. He delighted in Peking, fresh food, a clean bunk, light duties, and friendship with the sophisticated Soong family -- but the danger from attack by communist armies was always there.

Sledge goes on to tell of the trauma of his discharge from the Marines and homecoming to Mobile and, briefly, his long years of struggle with what we call today Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's a small book, only 160 pages, and an interesting, beautifully written, account of the decompression of a combat soldier and his return home.

Sledge died in 2001 but he was often quoted in Ken Burn's recent PBS series on World War II. Sledge is a true American hero.

Smallchief

After WWII and the follow-on duty in China, the author decided to enroll at Auburn University. The female from the Registrar's Office "slammed her pencil on the table and said in a loud, exasperated voice, 'Didn't the Marine Corps teach you anything?' A gasp ran through the crowd, and you could have heard a pin drop."

Veteran Marine Sledge said in a loud, calm voice: "Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing -- and most of my buddies got killed or wounded."

On the last page, the author writes a powerful, thought-provoking message for the great mass of spoiled Americans (94% today are not vets) who never served. He reminds them that the Japanese soldier was "imbued with the Code of Bushido (Code of the Warrier) and yamata damashii (the fighting power of Japan). If we had not defeated an army that thought it was unbeatable, who knows how many American cities might have shared the horrid Rape of Nanking."

When "With the Old Breed" ends you do not know the entire story. This volume fills that gap and does so very well. It is written in the same style that is direct and concise. I think many civilians thought that when WWII was over the troops just came home and all was well. It was not so. Many had further duty and had a rough time of it on return to the States. Almost all became exemplary citizens again despite their hardships. This book puts that all in perspective.
Larry Martin
Gainesville, FL

When I was a kid I though that the Chinese written language was impossible to learn (unless you were born there) and that the signs were just a bunch of arbitrary strokes impossible to remember.

All this changed when I picked up this book in the 1990s. I then discovered the connection between the Chinese culture and history, and the written Chinese language. It is thick with carefully chosen and categorized stories, often experienced by the author herself, about how a Chinese character reveals something about Chinese history, thinking, or everyday life in ancient times. The Chinese themselves are often strangely unaware about the etymology of their Hànzi characters, since the school system encourages rote learning. Its richly illustrated by drawings and photographs that shows similarities between something and the character representing it. E.g. how the character for "well" resembles the ancient Chinese way of constructing wells, quite different from western ones.

What this book is not:
- Its very, far from anything like a textbook in Chinese writing. But it may be the best soft introduction to such a topic. Its well suited for people that want to know something about the Chinese language, but don't want to spend time studying it.
- Its not a dictionary. It covers 500 characters in 350 pages. The characters are not selected because of word frequency, or usefulness in everyday life etc. Many characters covered are really rare.
- It doesn't say anything about how the signs are pronounced. It is strictly about how the Chinese culture embedded in the written language.
- If you stop reading before the last chapter you will believe that the Chinese language are mostly made up of ideographs or pictograms (a picture of something in the real world). In fact more than 90% of Characters are made up of Radical-Phonetic signs (explained in the final chapter) and character do not resemble anything "in real life". To "unlearn" this misunderstanding I will recommend J. DeFrancis: "The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy"

Because of this book, I moved to China and studied there in 2005. Without getting inspiration from this book a few years ago, I would never have thought it was worth even trying to understand the Chinese language.

CHINA : Empire of Living Symbols. By Cecilia Lindqvist. Translated from the Swedish by Joan Tate. 424 pp. New York : Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1991 (1989). ISBN 0-201-57009-2 (hbk.)

Although Cecilia Lindqvist is a professional scholar of Chinese and was in fact a pupil of Bernhard Karlgren, one of the greatest sinologists of the 20th century, she is one of those rare scholars who, instead of devoting herself exclusively to academic publications, has not been afraid to produce a book designed for the general reader.

Her book, though founded in a specialist knowledge of both Chinese and China, where she lived for many years, is written with a light and engaging touch, is magnificently illustrated with numerous photographs, both black-and-white and color, line drawings, maps, Chinese characters, etc., and is so beautifully produced that it could be read or browsed with interest by anyone.

Her book attempts so many things, and succeeds so well in them all, that it would be difficult to overpraise it. It introduces us to the pictorial element of the Chinese script in a more engaging way than has ever been done before, and becomes in fact a painless way of acquiring a vocabulary of the basic building blocks which go to make up Chinese characters.

It relates these basic pictograms to a wide range of topics in Chinese cultural history in a sumptuously illustrated series of chapters dealing with - Oracle Bones and Bronzes; Man, Mankind; Water and Mountains ; Wild Animals; Domestic Animals; Carts, Roads, and Boats; Farming; Wine and Jars; Hemp and Silk; Bamboo and Tree; Tools and Weapons; Roofs and Houses; Books and Musical Instruments; Numbers and Other Abstract Characters. It also includes a chapter on Meaning and Sound which traces the development of Chinese writing from the early pictographs through to phonetic compounds.

The book is rounded out with a gallery of superb color photographs; a section on Character Stroke Order; a really excellent Bibliography of both Western and Chinese books (which unfortunately gives only the pinyin and lacks the sinographs for the latter); a table of Dynasties and Periods; and a full Index.

The book is a curious size, having been made 8.5 by 8.5 inches to accomodate its many photographs, is bound in full linen, stitched, and beautifully printed on a very strong smooth ivory-tinted paper.

Anyone who, after reading the book, would like to learn more about China's culture or writing system, will find that the fully annotated Bibliography with its extensive list of interesting works for further reading will provide many leads. These range from general books on the science and civilization of China up to such things as specialist Chinese dictionaries of the ancient bone and bronze forms of the characters.

Lindqvist's love of China, its people, language, and culture shines through on every page, and her book is clearly a labor of love. It can be recommended without reservation as a marvelous introduction to one of the richest and most fascinating cultures on earth.

This is a fabulous book on Chinese, though it's not a textbook on learning Chinese. It tells the history of the development of many characters, and is fascinating. The main part of the book goes back to the oracle bones and ancient bronzes and shows quite a few of the characters and how they developed. A chapter in the back of the book (where I started) tells how the characters were invented. It tells of the various strategies for creating characters. Every strategy devised for creating characters ended up being exhausted, and new strategies had to be created. One of the last strategies was the `radical' concept, where they would take an existing character that sounded like a word that didn't have a character, and they would add a `radical' to it to create a new character. This concept allowed for almost a limitless number of characters and was one of the final strategies. It's interesting to note that in ancient China, most of the words for daily life had no written equivalent. Writing for the most part was reserved for administrative tasks, record-keeping, etc. Words that were used for daily life for thousands of years had no written equivalent and posed great challenges to create characters.
The author is Swedish and the book was translated from Swedish to English recently.
It would be a great book for anyone studying Chinese, but it would also be a great book for Chinese children to learn more about the history of China. It really is a fascinating book that I can hardly put down...
This book also helps with learning (& remembering!) Chinese characters, but a reader does not have to be learning to read and write Chinese characters in order to gain a lot of insight not only into the language, but the Chinese culture itself.
By the way, did you know that the character for `self' Zì, originally meant `small nose'? In western society, when people refer to themselves, they may point at their own chest, whereas in China, traditionally, people pointed to their nose. That's how the character Zì, [which originally meant `nose'] came also to mean `myself', or `self']. It's also interesting to note that the radical for Bí [nose] is the same character for Zì [nose]. In fact, Zì means `small nose' and Bí means `big nose'.
The book is filled with all sorts of fascinating things...

I cannot believe how beautifully this book was written. Even as a Chinese educated in China, I was fascinated by this little book. It is not only about Chinese language but also about a people, a nation, and a civilization. This book made me re-think about my cultural heritage that I am extremely pround of already. I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in China and humanity in general.
Thank you Cecilia Lindqvist. Your professional expertise inspired me and your lovely sense of humor made my days.

Glad to see it was translated from Swedish. It is quite good, I have seen other interpretations of some characters than the ones she gives. Also I was hoping she would cover more characters. Still a very interesting book.

Tom Anderson
Anderson Analytics, LLC
http://www.andersonanalytics.com

This book is excellent! But, I am biased. Col Tom Yarborough was my Professor of Aerospace Studies at Indiana University and a major reason why I joined the Air Force. He a great and inspiring man. I highly recommend this book by a true hero.

This is by far the best book I have read on Vietnam. It takes you to the air with the pilot like you are in the back seat. It's hard hitting and lots of action. I highly recommend it.

Anyone who is an armchair flyboy or military aviation buff will find this book to be one of the best. Col. Yarborough's writing style keeps you on the edge of your chair as you follow his incredible hair raising missions in Veitnam and Laos. Best on all this is not fiction but the real item.

I read a lot of Vietnam pilot's memoires but these are definitely the best. Here I found absolutly the most hair rising combat sorties in treetop level under enemy fire written with such speed, that I could not stop reading. I don't know Tom Yarborough personally, but I really started to like that guy when reading his book. If I should ever be in such a stressy enviroment like Nam, having a guy like him as squadron mate should make things a lot more bearable.

Excellent first hand story of flying the OV-10 as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam. Especially exciting because of the nature of the mission: supporting the infil and exfil of long range patrols. This story has only recently been declassified and is now told in a vivid and thrilling first hand account by one of the most decorated Forward Air Controllers from the Vietnam war. If you like flying and fighting you'll love this story.

This book provides great insights into female archetypes of the Ming Dynasty. The depth of research along with a humanizing attention to story and detail make it a worthwhile read. I've recommended it to friends, to my women's book club, and to family members.

I loved this book, and now use it in my university teaching.
It changed my thinking about women in China, in particular, and about late imperial Chinese history in general.
Beautiful writing complements meticulous, penetrating research.
Six stars.

Victoria Cass has found them -- the heroes of the Yin smothered by centuries of stereotypes. In chapter after chapter, she helps these courageous women come to life again and inform us what it took to escape the constraints of Yang conformity. With the rush of these brave souls from the pages of this book comes a breath of fresh air to help us escape the stuffy pomposity of past and present generations of Confucian and Marxist ideologues.

With topics ranging from cult of qing, dramatis personae, Taoist eccentrics, Ming loyalists, Medicine women, matchmakers, to alme literati, etc, etc, Dangerous Women is unequivocally an indispensable resource for those who have an interest in Ming culture. I think it is one of the most rare inquisitions ever done in English on Chinese women.

Dr. Cass has written a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book about women during the Ming Dynasty in China. Most important, she demonstrates with a wide range of historical examples that there is much more to Chinese history and culture than its Confucian legacy. Aside from eliminating the China doll myth, Dr. Cass shows that there is a facet to Chinese civilization that is still connected to the earth, magic, and more feminine worldview. Moreover, Dr. Cass makes the case that you can not truly understand Chinese society without appreciating the crucial role that Chinese women, who found genuine means of self-empowerment (including shamanism), played in the world of the Ming.

I read this book voraciously from start to finish when I was in 7th grade and have never forgotten it. It illustrates how important it is to have faith in a dream and to go after what you want even when everyone tells you it's impossible. And if you've ever dearly loved a pet, this is the story for you.

Momo, a young Tibetian girl, yearns to own a Lhasa Apso, but an expensive pedigree dog like that is beyond her family's meager budget. Undaunted, Momo hopes and prays for one to come her way, certain that it will. Her faith and tenacity pay off when a traveling merchant presents her with an adorable Lhasa puppy, whom Momo promptly names Pempa. All is perfect in Momo's world until the day Pempa is stolen by thieves on their way to India. You will learn a lot about that part of the world as Momo tirelessly treks through Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and finally India to retrieve her beloved pooch.

She stumbles into a lot of interesting characters along the way, making this story an even more enjoyable read.

Like another reviewer, I read this book in junior high and never forgot it. I remember trying to make hot buttered tea, as the heroine drinks it all the time; I found it undrinkable. My granddaughter has a Lhasa Apso now and I've been trying to find the book - 7th grade was 45 years ago and I'd forgotten the title. Thanks to many online searches using: dog, Tibet, girl, childrens' book etc. here it is and I'm ordering it for her today.

I thought that this book was great because it shows what an amazing relationship a child and a dog can have. It also is so very detailed and descriptive, that at some parts I almost thought I was reading a book of poetry. Momo stands up for herself and proves she can.
Beautifully written. Great Characters.

This book is a wonderful story&it is especially won-
derful to read in this the 50th anniversary of the achievment of
the summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary&Tenzing Norgay.
Momo showed courage as she made her way out of Tibet&down to In-
dia.I also loved the way it introduced another culture&religion.

I Loved this book to death. I fell in love with it. I don't think that it could've been writen any better then it was. I feel into the book, and I didn't want to come out. Even though the ending was upsetting, because I felt he should go back to indians, I realized that that was his home, that was where he needed to be. This book could've been writen about any person changing, and nowing they belonged. Everyone has a place they just need to find it. Jim Keath didn't now who he was, he always felt like somebody else, he needed to belong, and to change. He changed, and he realized he needed to stay for Dan'l. It's an awesome book that'd I recomend to any one.

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.