Asia Books

Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, puts forth his philosophy on success in business and life in this book. One thing that you'll notice is that he takes an almost religious approach to work, and believes that one can find true happiness through work. At the same time, he realizes that work can be a real struggle, so he gives good advice for pulling through those difficult times at work. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to look at success in business through other means than money. It will help you see how you can gain self fulfillment through your work.

I've never written one of these reviews, but this is one of the treasured books in my library. I've owned it since it came out and continually refer to it for advice and council. I have also given it to many customers. Kyocera's website is also an inspiring to place to see how Mr. Inamori put his philosophy to work to bring a legacy of business success worldwide. His people-practices would change the world if practiced.

This is a great book! Whether you read it straight through for the inspiration or read a section a day (usually only a page in length) as a meditation guide, just read it and absorb it. Give it to your boss, give it to your customers, give it to your peers, give it to your team members, even give it to your family. All will be better for it.

I bought this book back in 1995, and after much reflection and numerous business/leadership books, I must say Mr. Inamori is still in a class of his own. Though he teaches seemingly oversimplified concepts, it is indeed the correct concepts--if there is such a thing. Correct, for example, in that you can leave the world knowing your grandchildren will be proud that you existed. If you're familiar with Maslow hierarchy of needs: when you're reading this book, you will have no doubt that the author is at or above the self actualization stage, which I must say 90% of all the so called gurus of business don't seem to be in. The concept that you should speak from your heart, not implementing certain "techniques" in public speaking rings true for me personally. I'm grateful for such a gift from Mr. Inamori.

Kazuo Inamori's book is highly inspirational in its evocation of "passion" as the underpinning driver of success in life. In all fields of social endeavour, it is the most passionate individuals who stand out, and ultimately achieve success. We see this in the sporting arena (Muhammad Ali, Leyton Hewitt), in business (Richard Branson, Jack Welsh), and in politics.

Inamori's book is divided up into two parts. Part one provides a series of insights on "How to Succeed in Life", covering the following key areas: ability, effort, attitude, and success. His central thesis is that success = effort x ability x attitude. Most of us tend to see success as the result of effort and ability, but overlook the power of maintaining a positive attitude. Inamori urges the reader not to overlook the immense power that a positive attitude can have, both in terms of attracting support for our goals, and in terms of building and maintaining our own self esteem.

The second part of this book focuses on "How to Succeed in Business" and covers the following eight areas; passion, profit, ambition, sincerity, strength, innovation, optimism, and 'never give up'.

Above all else, this book contains genuine bursts of insight that will enrich the perspective of most readers. Unlike so many self-help products that promise the earth and deliver disappointment, this book is as close as the thinking person will get to "the real deal".

I would put this book on the same shelf with "The Witch Doctors" by Micklethwait & Wooldridge, and "Dangerous Company" by O'Shea & Madigan - all of these are excellent business books, and stand out as unique and valuable contributions to our understanding of the meaning of success in today's modern world of work.

Andrew Lam has been writing about the Vietnamese diaspora longer than anyone I know. Since the early 1990s his works have appeared in national publications. "Perfume Dreams" is the amalgamation of his perspectives, ones that many of us former refugees can relate in our own lives. I had the pleasure of taking part in book events in NYC and LA with Andrew. In a way we've come full circle since our last elementary school day in Saigon when a defecting South Vietnamese jet bombed the Presidential Palace a few hundred meters across the street. Pick up this must-have book to better understand the Vietnamese identity in America.

Perfume Dreams is a must read book for all Vietnamese Americans. Andrew is a gifted writer, a gate keeper / history teller for Vietnamese American who are living in America. He has never lost his touch with his root.

The Perfum Dreams touches all sides of experiences the Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. The "haves and not haves, the fortunate and unfortunate" lives of Vietnamese-Americans.

I am looking forward for more of his future books. We should all feel proud to have someone like Andrew to keep us in touch with ourselves and remind us of the challenges in living in America.

As I read this collection of essays, I almost felt as if it were my own memoir. Lam's feelings of growing up in two different cultures struck a cord in me and made me realize that someone else out there felt the same way I did growing up in America.

This is an important piece of literature because it truly captures the sentiment of the Vietnamese-American torn between two cultures, betweeen the contemporary and the traditional, between two separate generations, between war and peace.

For anyone who grew up feeling not really accepted by either your heritage culture or the current one, this is the book for you. Lam truly captures the Vietnamese-American experience and I highly recommend this book.

The telling of this most personal journey avoids any and all hyperbole or belittling. Boldly Andrew Lam presents the opportunities found by the exile who chooses to leave his homeland as well as the demanding adjustments he must undergo if he is to succeed in his adopted country.

Back in Vietnam he is viewed as one who is exceptional, a person who has achieved the highest level of sucess. Those opportunites, he finds, do not exist in fact or spirit in his native land.

Andrew Lam writes with such great passion and sensitivity that one becomes totally absorbed in his essays that are in his award winning book "Perfume Dreams". Truly a gifted effort that delivers a literary image of what it feels like to be a Vietnamese-American immigrant. His essays are like a coming of age story with so much more depth than most you read today. This book is amazing and inspiring--it will leave you in an emotional state long after you put the book down.

The author writes about his culture and his struggles for identity. He has roots in two countries not only physically but also spiritually and emotionally as well. His observations, along with his reactions, thoughts and his musings about life and other people are both insightful and entertaining; his essays are important chronicles. The book can be read in an afternoon but it may take a lifetime to fully appreciate what the author has lived and written about.

The book is worthy of your time to its read. I give this book my fullest personal recommendation. This book is a FIVE STAR BOOK!

Well researched and written book. Got to know JR McKinney rather well and understood his character and attitude. A rather common, uncommon man. It is hard to believe he came out without a wound in his one man stand. Yet I do accept it did happen as written. I was also amazed how much training and how long it took his unit to become engaged in combat. I would have liked to read a little more about the early occupation of Japan. He was indeed the "Phantom Warrior."

Forrest Johnson tells the story of an American who rose to the occasion when faced with overwhelming enemy forces. But his book is more than a biography. Besides J.R. McKinney's incredible story, Johnson explains the World War II campaign in the Philipine Islands in a detailed and informative manner. The book gave me a much better understanding of the operational and political realities that affected the War in the Pacific. In this and his other books, Johnson demonstrates an ability of explaining dynamic and complex history from the perspective of individual soldiers thousands of miles from home, in a very unfamiliar and alien locations. I look forward to more from this author. Very nicely done, Mr. Johnson.

"Battle is composed of individual sagas of men, who may have once had high ideals, like love of family and country. Combat reduces all of that to one instinct - destroy and survive."

The above quotation, is from this amazing book, and should be kept in mind as you read it. This is the life story of "CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR" recipient, John R. McKinney. (J.R.). His life story is broken down into basically four segments:

The first segment is his life, from birth to enlistment in the Army for World War II. Some people might have described J.R. as a common man, but I don't think that would be accurate. To me, a common man, is average in education, financial standing, and living environment. I think it would be more precise, to describe J.R. as a poor, rural country boy, with a 3rd grade education. He was the son of a "one-horse" sharecropper. J.R.'s Father's, plan, to have sons, that could help with the farming, hit a bump in the road, when J.R. became sickly, and could not perform the strenuous tasks on the farm. Because of this, J.R. was taught to fish and hunt, for the sole purpose, of feeding his family. A very telling statement made to J.R. by his Father said it all: "Fishing and hunting, is only a sport for rich people " J.R. spent most of his time alone out in the swamps, barefoot, fishing, and hunting with a homemade sling shot. About the only time he wore shoes, is when he went to church. He became so proficient with his sling shot, that he had enough fish, squirrels, and rabbits, so that he could sell some to the local general store. The shop owner, then made a deal with J.R. wherein, he would lend him a rifle for a year, to use, in return for any food, that was over and above, what the family needed. And so, started, J.R.'s remarkable relationship with rifles.

The second segment, is all the time, between J.R.'s enlistment in the Army, and his actual, historical, award -winning battle, at Dingalan Bay in the Philippines. This is the one part of the book that slows down a little, because it includes, literally, a step by step, history lesson, of our battles with Japan in the Pacific, that J.R. was not involved in.

The third segment, is the battle, (I am purposely not revealing a lot of detail here ) in which J.R., in one, thirty- odd minute battle, singlehandedly, utilizing M1 rifles, machine guns, rifle stock, bayonet's, trench knives, fists, and feet, killed over one hundred Japanese soldiers. This is, while being shot at, at point blank range, attacked with sabers, had hand grenades, thrown at him, mortars, launched at him, and bayonets thrust at him.( NOTE: There is no way, on God's green earth, that any Hollywood movie, could be made ,of this scene, that anyone would believe, unless they read this book.)

The fourth segment, is his life after his release from the Army, as a national hero, up through his death. I know of no better way, to end this review, but to quote, what President Truman, said to J.R., at the White House on , January 23, 1946, as the President, placed the blue ribbon and medal over the head of J.R.: "This is a wonderful citation. There is no greater honor in the world " Then, as he held the medal up, from J.R.'s chest for photographers, President Truman stated: "To tell you the truth, I'd rather have earned one of these than be President "

Mr. Johnson's book, his writing, is in step with the master, Hampton Sides. Get it, read it, tell your friends. And while you're at it, thank a veteran.

On May 11, 1945, at a remote outpost in the Phillipine Islands, approximately 100 Japanese infantrymen attacked a machine gun position. At the time Pvt. John McKinney was comfortably resting. One of the soldiers in the first wave of attackers struck Pvt. McKinney on the head with a saber. The glancing blow served only to awaken McKinney. As McKinney fought off his assailant, his two comrades manning the machinegun left (one soldier dragging off the other who had been wounded).

Left alone, McKinney took on the company of Japanese soldiers in a battle of wills, courage, and heroics that almost defies description, including jumping into the machinegun emplacement to recapture the position (and gun), shooting over half a dozen Japanese at pointblank range, and killing several more with the butt of his rifle.

What ensued next, a running battle by McKinney with the remainder of the squadron of Japanese attackers -- who tried to root him out or kill him with repeated assaults by rifle, machine gun, grenades, mortars, and hand to hand combat -- until he was relieved is almost too amazing to believe.

Indeed, McKinney is thought to have killed over 100 Japanese in less than an hour but, because his story was just too incredible, the actual kills were reduced and his Medal of Honor citation only credits him with killing 40 Japanese soldiers singlehandedly in repulsing this attack.

This book tells the life story of this amazing man. It is excellent reading for anyone interested in World War II, especially the battles in the Pacific.

Great reference book. Not quite as complete as Kent's Repertory, but it does have a Materia Medica, which Kent's does not. One of the books I always refer to. Has interesting section of Indian remedies, not normally seen. Pretty good index.

It is a exellent book for the Physicians practising Homoeopathy. It gives wonderful guidelines about using the repertory to all people. I have used this book during my Homoeopathic eduation all through the five years, for Materia Medica and Repertory. I would highly recommend this book to those studying Homoeopathy and also to those are Practising .It has a very precise way of explaining the drugs, and also the relation of that drog to other drugs. At the end of every drug the author has given the doseage of that drug in which it would best acts,the remedies that are best followed after that and lastly also the antidotes to a few drugs.

I have had this for a number of years. It was the first homeopathic book I bought. My copy is slowly disintegrating from hard use and its weak Indian binding.
This is the best (and was the first) single-volume reference for beginning homeopaths and home practitioners. It includes both a repertory and materia medica, plus relationships of remedies and other reference material. More advanced prescribers will want something more extensive, but nothing beats this for compactness.
It does have its drawbacks: it uses turn-of-the-century medical language (get Yasgur's homeopathic dictionary), it does not include new remedies, and it is of limited depth.
By the way, it includes nothing about HOW TO USE IT, so get another book on prescribing (can't remember a good title).

This is a great book and indispensable for the lay and professional practitioner alike. Note that Amazon is selling the Indian edition. The American edition has better binding, clearer print, is not as thick and costs more--a forewarning to those of you who expect the Amer. version, which is most common in health stores. Nonetheless, a great reference.

An excellent complete reference book. Materia Medica section lists symptoms by body part including respiratory, circulatory, mind and sleep descriptions. Corresponding Repretory is divided into physical sections, including genralities, and modalities. This is the first and foremost book I reach for when researching any case. Easy to use and well organized, unlike many of the other classic and contempoary manuals on homeopathy. This is my homeopathy bible!

I first read this book 2 years ago and keep reading it again. Its a book about the Punjab that the British built ("without any hangovers from the Company") but it is also a book of Indian life of that period, and its the *best* such narration. India does not have a deep tradition of such narrations put to paper --not such superb stuff anyways. Earlier I'd read two "sequels" to this book about post-1947 India, and while they're very good, this one is really fascinating. Mr. Tandon *writes* !!

This book is a rare gem, a mix of Russel Bakers 'Growing Up' and Ahmed Ali's 'Twilight in Delhi'. Prakash Tandon, founder of IIM A, was born in 1911. He traces the history of his family from 1847, about the time the rule of the Sikhs (Sikha Shahi)ended, to 1947. Unlike the rest of India (apart from Hyderabad),Punjab was never ruled by the East India company. When the British took over, many welcomed the change and stability. The Khatris amongst the Punjabis were the first to embrace formal British education. By 1911,as Tandon notes, the engineering services in some districts were managed entirely by Indian staff.

As a child Mr. Tandon grows up in small towns and villages, moving with his father who works as an engineer managing the canal system. He describes a Baisakhi festival on the banks of a river in one such village in photographic detail. Later, he completes his education in a small town called Gujrat, at the foothills of what today would be Pakistani occupied Kashmir. Vividly described, the way of life of this small town, and the ups and downs of Mr. Tandon's family during those years form the core of this book. Pran Nevile attempts a copy of this with his poorly written 'Lahore' but fails to get that emotional touch.

Much of this books success is precisely that- a story of a whole community told through the life of one family with a personal touch. The book ends with the parition and the family's crossing over to India at the wagah border.

Mr. Tandon wrote the book that surprisingly no one ever thought of writing. The book is sort of a biography of a family .. in it he has masterfully woven the whole society around it, though the reader never would realize his till you finish the book. He describes the society, the cultre and traditions from the past with great care love and nostalgia. His command of the subject is complete, I didn't find a single thing he wrote that I had known to be otherwise!!!

It is one of the best books I have read. The author takes us on a wonderful trip of the punjabi century. A delight to read. A must-read for all punjabis.

This is an absolutely superb account of a Punjabi family in transition, during a century of massive change that takes in the fading Mughal Empire in the 19th century and goes through the period of British colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries and finally to India's Independence in 1947. This is all seen though the eyes of a family in Punjab, which successfully makes the transition from old traditions to modernity, as seen through the thoughtful eyes of the author, who eventually becomes the first Indian Chairman of a renowned British multinational company in India and finally a leading senior manager in India's public sector. The author was also the first Chairman of the famous Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, set up together with the Harvard Business School and financial support from the Ford Foundation. Written with a verve and a keen and observant eye, it is socio-economic history at its very best. A must read for all Punjabis from India and Pakistan and for all general readers interested in the sub-continent plus all scholars of South Asia..It is a shame that this book it is out of print.The publisher should be encouraged to bring it back into print again!

Modern poetry tends to run in a spectrum ranging from pure, sublime material to cheesy imitations of the real thing. Some very good work may also be tainted by the night soil that nurtured it, infected by the environment it strives to describe. It's very difficult to escape the influence of a culture in which one is immersed, and this is often reflected in the art of an ephemeral, throw-away society. It is an almost inescapable effect, where as a part of the measurable landscape, the observer is also part of the equation. For a poet to step outside one's self, and share with us a true distillation of the spirit, triple filtered by a questioning mind, is the most we can ask for. Ed Bok Lee does it. He convinces us, not only through his complete avoidance of sugarcoating, but through his natural talent as a wordsmith. He is doing what he was meant to do. This is good writing, written by an Asian-American poet from an Asian-American perspective, in a way that resonates with readers universally. If Ed had been of Norwegian, Brazilian or Sudanese birth, we would still receive the same insight on human nature, the same heartbreak, and the same imaginative metaphors. If you're a person who likes poetry, or just good writing, who wants to be moved by artfully conveyed images of real humans, who craves something fresh and completely original, then buy this book and read it.

An Asian Allen Ginsberg? A Minnesotan Walt Whitman? Ed Bok Lee's first book of poetry weaves a plethora of polyphonic voices into a symphony of the city. As brash as a porn king, as silent and suffering as a mail order bride, as beautiful as a lotus, as ugly as vomit in the back seat of a speeding car, this book creates an urgent, honest portrait of America. In these lovely lyric poems, this young poet is urgently speaking the unspoken. Listen.

Real Karaoke People is a collection of poetry and prose that is meant to be read aloud, alone or to your friend and family. It is a book that speaks out for those people -- immigrants, refugees, biracial children, and others -- who feel silenced in a country that is their own but which does not always receive them as such. Hearing him perform, reading his words in print, each time I am left feeling the yearning and heartache of Asian America. Ed Bok Lee has a gift with words which evoke images, tastes, and smells of immigrant families like my own. Finally, someone who can give them a voice.

Real Karaoke People adds deeply to the great body of Asian American poetry in a way that remains socially conscious and artistically relevant.

Epic and humane, Ed Bok Lee's poetry shines through with poems that feel personal and universal, without reducing itself to expected stereotypes or the tired tropes we've received from other poets.

Many of the pieces reveal his experience as a spoken word artist and performing poet, but they make the transition to page easily and resonate with a thoughtful energy crouching, ready to pounce at your throat like a rare wildcat.

Only a few of the poems feel shoe-horned into the text, and when you step away, you can still feel them lingering, and if they feel isolated, perhaps that too, is a more deliberate decision than one might expect.

Real Karaoke People has tremendous soul and it is worth bringing his work to classrooms and other textbooks as a great example of what contemporary Asian American poets are doing today.

Real Karaoke People is nostalgic in the best way; full of longing, homesickness, grief, as well as love, humor, eroticism, and grit. If you are interested in the heart and guts of Asian American masculinity, the mettle of Korean Americans, and poetry with a theatrical/fictional sensibility, read this book!

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It is set at the turn of the 20th century when Westerners were exploring and mapping Tibet without the Tibetan government's permission. Thunder's adventures revolve around his meeting of a foreigner, then his life in a "gompa" or monastery, after he has been banished there for meeting the foreigner. Also involved is an ancient (real life) prophecy implying that when foreigners invade Tibet, Tibetans will be "scattered like ants" around the earth. Sadly, that's happening to Tibetans today, prompting my interest in Tibet.

Lots of complex ideas are subtly introduced, such as the Buddhist concepts of karma and reincarnation. We even meet a yong "Tulku"--a child being raised to become a high lama. All in all, the book offers adventure for the kids, and easy access to a vision of Tibet for them and adults, too!

I think everyone should read this book. It was great. I learned new words. I loved how there is a glossary at the back. It is also very exciting. Everything about Tibet seems different from America.

Tibet has always been very difficult to understand, so different from Western culture. "Rebel" lets a reader see Tibet from the inside, through the eyes of Tibetans at home there, not through the eyes of Western visitors. It gave me a feel for what it might be like to actually be Tibetan, and helped me to see how people from other non-Western cultures might think and feel. Definitely not just for teenagers.

It has your not so typical bad guy in it. It's thrilling. It's fiction, yet you learn about Tibet! It's action filled. It relates to every day life but with a twist of exoticness. The main character is pretty daring and brave.

I got a lot out of Rebel: A Tibetan Odyssey and my kids really enjoyed it too! Not only is it filled with adventure and excitement but we learned so much about Tibetan culture. We couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to Thunder, the main character. This is a great story to read out loud and a wonderful first book by Ms. Whitesel. Hope she writes more!

I really enjoyed the book and felt it was a worthwhile read. Told from the perspective of an insider,(Yuan-tsung Chen) it expanded my views and knowledge of China and how it became what it is today.
I highly recommend the book for both the entertainment and education value. If you have or hope to have business or investments in China, the book could be of great value.
Thanks for your work Ms Chen,
Brad Linder

The drama of RETURN TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM unfolds like an adventure film, such as INDIANA JONES, filled with exciting actions, one leading to another and each becoming more gripping than the previous one. I just follow the narrator and feel compelled to explore farther and deeper into the strange, mysterious, intriguing Middle Kingdom.

This book provides an in-depth account of how events in the past 100 years have shaped the modern China and the involvement of one family during this period. A must read for anyone who is interested in China and likes good story telling!!

Opening the book, I see a map marked with the three routes which the three revolutionaries of the Chen family take, from places inside the Great Wall to the Gobi Desert. The next page is the Cast of Characters which hints at what I'll see if I follow along the three routes. The first character is the Republican Senator from Idaho, William E. Borah, who helped Eugene Chen (the second revolutionary) expose President Wilson's secret pact with Japan, double-crossing China. Right under his name is Mikhail Borodin, a Communist International agent who was sent by Lenin and who helped Eugene implement the "Russia-oriented" policy. What sharp and dramatic contrast! I can't help being lured into the story.

The book has great characters as well as a great story line. It opens with the appearance of Ah Chen, the first revolutionary of the Chen family. He was born nearly 180 years ago in a totally alien land. I saw such a creature in old, yellowing photos, who looks to me like a different species from another planet. But after reading a page or so, the boy Ah Chen springs to life. He is just like the little boy next door, mischievous, playful and friendly. As he grows up, he has a dream of pursuing success and happiness just my friends and I have.

British brothers Lawrence and Lorne Blair set out in the 1960s on a marvelous, thought-provoking, ten-year adventure through the 3,000-mile length of the remote Indonesian archipelago. Inspired by a dog-eared copy of Alfred Russell Wallace's The Malay Archipelago -and his nineteenth century voyage of scientific exploration and discovery--their unforgettable odyssey set sail out of the Celebes (Sulawesi) for the Spice Islands on a perilous schooner crossing with the seafaring Bugis. Tossed to and fro from home port Makassar to isolated Aru Island-stalked all the way by rotting ship beams and the specter of pirates-they were rewarded with one of the rarest sights on earth-the fluffy white plumage of the elusive Bird of Paradise.
Metaphysical, anthropological, and intellectual in tone-with a healthy dose of dry wit and humor-the Blairs take you along as they confront komodo dragons, chew betel nut in Sumba, witness a traditional Pasola battle, and herald the annual arrival on shore of the sacred nyale sea worms. Full of naive courage and boundless curiosity, they sought out Asmat headhunters/cannibals in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Undaunted, these dream wanderers went eye to eye with the fiery blast furnace of simmering Krakatoa. They commandeered a longboat upriver and trekked through the leech-ridden jungles of Borneo with native guides on an arduous land search for the secretive, traditional Punan hunter-gatherers. Ring of Fire chronicles their cultural encounters on Java as they visited the sultan's court (and sacred "kris" knife) and an acupuncturist who harnessed yin/yang energy to heal the sick with self-generated electric charges. Open-minded and non-judgmental about the diverse religions and customs they encountered, the Blairs became deeply enchanted by trance, and by the shadow screen nether world of the wayang kulit. Their travels took them back to Sulawesi for the funeral of the last king of Tanah Torajah-into a unique architectural-animist pocket where boat-shaped roofs rise out of the cool forest floor representing ancestral sky ships on their descent from heaven to earth.
The thrill-seeking, nomadic Blairs unexpectedly found themselves permanently landlocked and suspended-mind, soul, and body-in the island Shangrila that they discovered in Bali. An artist friend in Pengosekan-a vibrantly creative community of farmers and painters-invited them to build a new house on his land. In true, cooperative Balinese style, the brothers had only to pay for the necessary raw materials (bamboo, coconut wood, and elephant grass) and the religious celebration at the completion of the structure. The people of Pengosekan freely contributed their skilled labor and artistic expertise; this shared investment in and commitment to each other's dwellings works to further bind the village together. Sleeping and learning in their open-air platform obervatory perched high above the sculpted jade rice terraces, the Blair brothers came to call Bali their very own, lifelong island of the gods. They would return time and again-in between sometimes dangerous, always enlightening meetings with natural peoples along the equatorial frontier-to their permanent home base in Bali. It is here that they fell in love with one culture and one island out of the hundreds that they visited. Lawrence and Lorne fully explored their adopted pied à terre-from startling footage of the eruption of Mt. Agung in 1963, to the cremation of famous 116-year-old Balinese artist Lempoad, to the opulent funeral procession of the last rajah of Gianyar. (When Lorne died on his beloved Bali in 1996, he was cremated and his remains returned to the sea in accordance with Bali-Hindu religious rites.) Their amazing adventures (available in book or video format) are the stuff of storybook legends-from the hidden rainforest peoples of Borneo, to islands where magicians still hold sway, to the sun-speckled spiritual haven of heart-shaped Bali.

Goes beyond your usual "travel tale", it is a marvelous adventure and thought provoking regarding the natural peoples of the earth. The chapter on the Dream Wanderers of Borneo will open doors of perception for an alternative world view. The author writes with clarity and quite a lot of humor. The entire book is very personal in its tone and gives the feeling of actually having shared the experience of the amazing journey.

This book and the companion videos are near and dear to my heart. It kept my dreams of returning to Indonesia alive through a long a crippling illness. Lawrence and Lorne Blair were the adventurers I wanted to be. Openminded, good humored, and willing to try new things. This book kept me good company through some baaaad times. But there is far more to recommend this book than armchair travel lust. The writing is excellent, photography spectacular, and all in all a great story. I highly recommend it to anyone curious about Indonesia. I did finally get to go back and even explore a little. I'm forever grateful to the Blair brothers for this gift of a book!

An incredibly interesting tale and at times quite deep account of a 10-year joureny through the remotest islands in Indonesia. I wonder if the author is aware of how couragous he and his brother were to go to the places they went and meet such people as cannibals and headhunters and come back to tell the story! Not to mention the more subtle metaphysical comments here and there about the various religions they encountered and all of it presented with a very dry wit.

I was blown away by this book, as much by how spiritually aware it is and how well it was written. Wow! What an adventure!

This book is a great resource for anyone with an interest in what MACV-SOG was doing during the war in Vietnam. In addition to a plethora of never before seen pictures, the book follows the story of a young man (the author) from Basic Training to Airborne and SF training, deployment to Vietnam, and, ultimately, assignment to MACV-SOG.

Fascinating, just fascinating.

thank goodness for an interprising soldier who saved the photos and info
from a lab fire and has now shared his secret world with the masses. It
gives another and more in depth view of cross border RECON in the Nam war.
Coupled with Plaster's SOG and Harris' Break Contact-Continue Mission, we
can mentally imbed with these soldiers as they risked all to interdict the workings of a cruel and voracious enemy. The book tells the story.
Great work Frank..

Greco described this book best by calling it the "scrapbook of a covert organization never meant to see the light of day." (Acknowledgements, X) This is exactly what this work is. Not only does it reflect his experiences while serving in SOG, but it reflects the overall experience of running highly classified missions into enemy controlled territory.

Before I bought this book, I was somewhat apprehensive because I had already bought John L. Plaster's book "SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars" and I was afraid that they'd be very similar in photos and content. While some photos appear in both books, they are each their own separate works and both compliment the other very well.

I am truly thankful to Greco and Plaster and the others alike who served in SOG and performed a job against such incredible and sometimes suicidal odds. Furthermore, thank you for taking the time to compile your experiences into something that can be read and held by those who were never there.

This book is right up there with MAJ (R) Plaster's earlier works. Predominantly consisting of a well-written narrative and unique, previously unpublished photographs, Mr. Greco's contribution to the history of SOG is incredible. As a historian and currently serving Soldier, this is a fantastic look into a world that the bureaucrats tried to forget or suppress, at least until the next war where they needed something like it again. Great work!

This was a very informative book.These men saved many lives by doing the things that they secretly did, the recognition is well deserved.

Steve Stacy