1 comments about GROOVY PHUKET MAP 'N' GUIDE.

1. 
   The map is a good one, yes. But the "guide" part is so highly opinionated that if you don't "groove" in the same track as the author and his "oh so cutesy" remarks, it's of no use. The guide part is also very poorly edited. There are "comments" made about one restaurant repeated verbatim about another! There is a price guideline missing from another restaurant. There's no excuse for these errors but poor editing as there are only 29 restaurants listed for the whole island! There is also no monetary amount (in any currency) attached to the pricing guide for restaurants (just a number of "$" with silly expressions like "You call this a bill" and "I got the last one"). What's expensive, or cheap, to one traveler might not be to another depending on the meaning of the symbols. The northern part of the island is completely ignored by the "guide". Buy it for the map, but not for the guide!

No comments about Historical Reports on Arab Horse Breeding and the Arabian Horse. Collected Reports from Travellers to Arabia (Documenta Hippologica) (Documenta Hippologica) (Documenta Hippologica).

1 comments about The Warlord's Fish.

1. Chuan makes his third appearance in Virginia Walton Pilegard's The Warlord's Fish, this time as an artist's apprentice for a Chinese warlord in superbly crafted story for young readers about the compass. Chuan's cleverness blends with an artist's talents in putting together a tool which will buy their freedom in this involving story.

No comments about Love Delhi.

4 comments about Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 (Tut Books. H).

1. The Cosimo edition of the Nihongi is only the first half (up to the reign of Buretsu--or Muretsu, according to Aston's rendering of the name). This is probably because the original edition was in two volumes, and the Cosimo edition only reproduces the first volume, while claiming to be the entire Nihongi. The Tuttle editions have both volumes in one book.



2. Mr. Aston outdid himself with this work, which must have been an undertaking of many a year. With more detail on the creation story than the Kojiki, the book runs a similar ground but as Aston will point out on occassion, has a large Chinese influence as well. I have been researching world myth for eight years now, and find this a great ancient source for the subject. The time of the gods lasting just over the first hundred pages, however the remaining literature provides in depth custom and legend that others around the globe can appreciate, and in some cases relate to, reguardless where you dwell.



3. W.G. Aston's Nihongi is the standard translation of one of Japan's greatest works of early literature. For those studying early Japanese history or folklore it is a must read. It describes the creation myths of Japan, the origin of Amaterasu, the sun goddess and the descent of the emperors from the gods (kami). It transitions slowly from myth to history somewhere around 400 AD as it begins to describe the acts of the emperors and Japan's interaction with its neighbours, most notably the kingdoms of Pekche, Silla and Koryo in what is now Korea.
   
   The creation myths are somewhat jumbled in format and, without Aston's copious footnotes, would be almost unintelligible to the uninitiated. While at times the translator's commentary threatens to overwhelm the actual text, for the most part it plays a key role in aiding our understanding. The expert may find the notes annoying (and possibly dated since the book was translated in 1896) but I found them quite helpful. As the book proceeds into the more narrative historical sections, the footnotes decrease accordingly.
   
   It appears that the Nihongi was written to provide the back-story to the role of the emperor as it existed circa 800 AD. Thus genealogical information forms a large part of the book and there are a lot of names in here. Aston also points out, with considerable annoyance, that many of the speeches and acts of the Nihongi are anachronistically cribbed from Chinese material extant at the time of the Nihongi's writing. Poetry, as well, is a large component of the work, often with inscrutable translations but tempered by copious notes. It should also be noted that to avoid corrupting the morals of the youth, passages dealing with sex are translated from Japanese into Latin. The curious and prurient may wish to brush up on their classical studies.
   
   I was completely unaware, as I read the book, that the Cosimo edition of the Nihongi is only the first of two original volumes. Nowhere in the book is it made clear that there is another volume, although if you read the preface closely you will note that Aston refers to the "thirty books" of the Nihongi - in this edition there are only 16. The errata published at the back are for two volumes, one of which is that in hand while the other is clearly not present, and the title indicates the book will take us to 637 AD while the table of contents only goes as far as Muretsu in AD 499. It is difficult to believe you could publish this book without being aware that there was a second volume and almost as difficult to believe the publisher deliberately misled the readers into buying what was effectively only half of a book. Whatever the answer, I am quite disappointed in the lack of a second volume.
   
   The writings themselves are excellent. While I usually enjoy folklore more than history, in this case, the best and most moving tales belong to the "historical" portion of the book. Tales of the evil emperor Yoriaku, the bold empress Okinaga and others are quite entertaining, while obviously not completely factual. I would have to give the Nihongi 5 stars as a great work of literature, Aston's translation 4 stars due to is dated nature and the publisher 1 star for delivering only half of the great tale.



4. William George Aston was one of the three or four major British japanologists of the 19th century, along with Ernest Satow, Basil Hall Chamberlain and Frederick Victor Dickins. As such it is good to see this book, or rather half of it, available here. It is the first ever English translation of the Nihongi and is full (perhaps too full) of copious annotations.
   
   Ernest Satow wrote in a private letter to Dickins on April 26, 1896: "Aston's translation of the Nihongi, Vol. I, reached me the other day. It is a capital piece of work. It is a subject for legitimate pride that this and the Kojiki have been Englished by us, before any other Europeans." It has also stood the test of time quite well.
   
   Ian Ruxton, editor of Sir Ernest Satow's Private Letters to W.G. Aston and F.V. Dickins: The Correspondence of a Pioneer Japanologist from 1870 to 1918 (Paperback), also available on amazon.

No comments about Beijing City Map by Hema.

2 comments about My Mother is a Tractor: A Life in Rural Japan.

1. Before I went to Japan to study in October of 2004, I visited the internet and discovered Nicholas Klar's webpage. He told some really entertaining stories about his times in the JET program (or programme). I was not going to be a JET, but I really wanted to discoved some the "people" side of the Japanese. So I read all I could of his adventures and essays online. Then I emailed him. He was kind enough to reply. In fact, when I inquired about buying his future book he nearly fell all over himself with enthusiasm. This was probably the starving author coming out in him. In any case, I was impressed that he would remember me a year later when the book was published and I was also impressed that the book is a fun read.
   I think Nicholas's JET kids were fortunate to have him in their schools. His book does indeed show the Japanese to be both quirky and fun, which many people might find unexpected. He can tell a story that brings a tear to the eye, as well as one that brings a chuckle to anyone, familiar with Japan or not.
   Buy the book and have a good read.



2. A friend reccomended this book to me before I begin a study abroad in Japan. I had read alot of "memoir of Japan" type of books and was prepared for something similar to "36 Views of Mt. Fuji" or "Learning to Bow". I quickly learned that Klar prefers to push copious amounts of information all into one fun book. I was taken aback at the lack of organization at first. Klar will launch into a brief, but detailed, talk of perverts in Japan and immediately jump into a Memorial Peach Park opening ceremony. However, the book has a ridiculous amount of (semi) useful information and still remains a memoir of sorts. The book will have you laughing out loud and enjoying Klar's writing style.

No comments about Desert Eves: An Indian Paradise.

3 comments about Hey, Joe: A Slice Of The City-An American In Manilla....

1. For any foreigner who wants a primer on Filipino street culture, and especially life in Manila, this book is an excellent read. Lerner provides a sympathetic and insightful, if somewhat superficial, treatment of Filipino culture and Manila's street life. Lerner achieves a level of insight into the lives of the average man-on-the-streets that eludes most foreigners who have lived in Manila for decades.

   The stories are not particularly deep, and contain very little profound insight into Filipino culture or life. But for what it is--an affectionate, honest, no-holds-barred description of life in one of SE Asia's least pleasant capital cities--the book succeeds. For anybody looking for amusing anecdotes about the foibles and ironies of life in the biggest of Filipino cities, this is a very good read. If you're looking for profound cultural insights, you'd best keep looking.




2. Ted Lerner has a wonderful ability to capture into words both the poignant and hilarious contrasts between Filipino and U.S. culture. And he indeed represents the reactions of the "wide-eyed" foreigner. This is not the jet-setting rich of Manila that he is observing - this is the life of the other 97%.. He's a student of the sweet science and the deft turn of phrase. Lerner is just the man to put this into words

   This is a guy who rides "jeepneys" to work and back - something very, very few foreigners do. It is this kind of lifestyle that opens up the culture to him. But it's a culture that is easily recognizable to almost any foreigner that has spent significant time in the Philippines. As a five-year resident of Manila, I thoroughly enjoyed Lerner's writings.

   A reader unexposed to the events described by Lerner will be enlightened; but the reader who recognizes and identifies with his observations will laugh out laud at times or even shed a tear or two.




3. This book , which could also be called Good Morning, Zir(Sir, which is what I heard alot from locals there)tells it all about a city the world has not yet given itself the precious time to know. Manila is filled with gross poverty and stunning wealth, a city where a CEO will make $60,000 a year, not much as CEO's go in the US but is opulent there. A city where a maid makes $600 a year but still has to pay the same price for food and electricity and entertainment as you and I do. I spent time there this year , my first visit, since we were going to meet my inlaws who could not make it to my wedding to their daughter and was slapped in the face by the ghastliness and the elegance that live side by side there. The poverty is bad but what struck me the most was the unbelievable haze that stays in the air & will not move. Surrounded by smog in an Asian capital with as much intense history as this city has stays in your mind as you leave the airport. This city , with perhaps the freest press in the Asian world, millions of English speakers and yet troubled, uprooted traditions will fascinate you and the author relates issues well with brevity and clarity. Read 'America's Boy', about Marcos and also 'Ghosts of Manila' too if you want to get the feel of this awful, wonderful place that God looks upon, not angrily, as men do, but with compassion and patience because His people live there.

No comments about Greetings, Asia! (Our Amazing Continents).