3 comments about The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang.

1. I picked up Wriggins' book mainly out of interest of the Silk Road itself. The book recounts the journeys of a Chinese Buddhist monk named Xuanzang in the 600's that travels a fantastic distance from China to the deepest corners of India in search of answers to his metaphysical questions.
   
   I would have preferred a little more engaging of an account (such as perhaps Undaunted Courage by Ambrose), as Wriggins tends to describe each location and circumstance only briefly and then moves on with the narrative. On occasion, a few of the accounts are descriptive and moving, but on the whole, it reads more like a lecture in a history course.
   
   This is a detailed book that will help readers interested particularly in the impact Xuanzang made on Imperial China and the world of Chinese Buddhism because of his travels and experiences. For an engaging travel narrative or for a more vivid picture of the Silk Road itself, you'll need to look elsewhere.



2. A criticism of the book (that is relevant to most general readership books today), is that the title does not exactly reflect the content.
   
   This work is primarily about Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang) the man -- what we know about his character from the extant sources, what his motivations were in leaving China, the content of his itinerary, important people he met, his hardships, triumphs, and the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural legacy he left behind. The book is next about Buddhism: it explores Xuanzang's exploration through the various scriptures of the different schools of Buddhist thought, his impressions on the "best" ideas of each, and then comments on the regional forms of Buddhism practiced and the various Buddhist monuments and sites of pilgrimage he visits along his journey.
   
   The sequence of events in Xuanzang's sojourn is of course narrated according to his progress along the Silk Road, but this is not a book about the Silk Road proper or its history; however, within its central, biographical framework, the book offers a brief discussion of the historical geography and regional political history of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
   
   Aurel Stein described Xuanzang as a "Buddhist Pausanias" for the depth, accuracy and quality of his geographical narrative. The primary motivation of this work seems to have been to make an argument for Xuanzang as a scholar and translator (and to show the impact this had on Chinese Buddhism and philosophy), not just as a geographer or a politico-cultural historian, as he is usually remembered. However the book spends only a short time discussing this toward the end, as an epilogue.
   
   Following on the previous review, the author's voice is indeed rarely extant in the text until this epilogue, as she prefers to narrate the substance of Xuanzang's experiences rather than discuss her own. In this sense I would call the writing skillful, engaging, and easy to read, not dry and dull.
   
   The intended audience seems to be those that know something about Buddhism, but are not familiar with Xuanzang or his immense importance to Chinese thought. The work serves as a charming introduction to the man, but it assumes a general knowledge of Silk Road and Buddhist history. The book does a good job of providing brief, but interesting details to the informed reader, but also will not overwhelm a general reader who is unfamiliar with the more important Buddhist sutra or the differences between Buddhist schools.
   
   Copious footnotes to the text, and endnotes that discuss the plates, are accompanied by a topical, selected bibliography that invites the reader to expand into the specialist material. The text does not suffer from undue editorial or grammatical flaws, which is nice to see.
   
   A very tight and thorough manuscript; four stars given for a fine introduction to the history of Xuanzang.



3. This is the revised edition of the Author's previous "Xuanzang: a Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road" of 1996. The book received excellent reviews but a few flaws were picked up. Wriggins has corrected most of these drawbacks in this 2004 edition that has slightly changed name: "The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang" pointing the index more on the travel route than on the character. This change of title was probably an editorial choice since the Silk Road is presently an appealing subject.
   
   Fortunately, this book is really about Xuanzang, the 7th century Buddhist monk, that traveled for 16 years and 10,000 miles from China to India and back to quench his spiritual search for the perfect form of Buddhism (he himself later on founded a rationalist chinese sect that lasted a few years), to acquire and bring back the original buddhist texts to undertake a meticulous and truthful translation of what was to become the principal Chinese religion for years to come.
   
   Xuanzang's journey and adventures are retold and condensed from his original "The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions" that he wrote for the Emperor Taizong and his biography written by his disciple Hui-li and integrated by the Author's travels and studies, that however are never mentioned as such.
   Xuanzang's journey started from Chang-an (Xian) and through the Silk Road carried him to Tashkent, Samarkand, Balk to the Southern deviation to India. Here he stayed for many years visiting Buddha's sacred sites and practically all the Buddhist monasteries then existing. He also traveled down to Southern India, without however reaching Sri Lanka and after 13 years he started back loaded with manuscripts, artifacts and also a white elephant, gift of King Harasha. On the way he met kings and scholars, he entertained courts and monks, he saw all the important monuments and historical and religious sites of medieval India ed he thoroughly explored the various buddhist schools and sects until he gained spiritual and mental satisfaction of his curiosity.
   Describing Xuanzang's progress the book takes the leisure of inserting images (beautiful photographs and art reproductions), maps, legends and connections to other cultural contexts so that every page is a new discovery. Much of the pleasure I experienced reading this book was due to the beautiful figures appropriately inserted in the text and the precise and explicative notes. More than 80 pages are composed of notes, legends of figures, glossary and bibliography.
   
   Another word must be spent for Xuanzang's legacy that is magistrally explained. His adventurous journey gave way to a series of popular tales and legends that were successively written down during the sixteenth century in the "Journey to the West", translated into English by Waverly and known as "Monkey" and one of the best known Chinese novels of all times. The precise description he made of all his sightseeing has represented the scientific basis for archeological exploration in Central Asia and Northern India. His translations of Buddhist texts are still utilized today. He is a part of the collective memory of one nation and in this era of globalization of the whole world.
   
   I read this book right after Schafer's "The Golden Peaches of Samarkand" and it helped me to immagine the Tang times in a wider context. As noted by other reviewers the Author takes for granted a knowledge of Buddhist thought during that period. If you get confused, a good help if you don't have other texts available is "The Religions of the Silk Road" by Foltz that gives a summary excursion of religious thought of those times.
   This book posesses a rare quality and that is the capacity of stimulating curiosity for further reading on the subject. When finished reading we have a complete knowledge of Xuanzang as a man, and we can't but admire his integrity, intelligence and culture but at the same time the small excerpta of his original writing inserted in the book are not enough to really satisfy our curiosity, so further reading is ahead!
   
   P.S. If you like books that narrate old travelers journeys without having to read the whole ancient texts read "The Adventures of Ibn Battuta" by Dunn, that in many ways remembers "The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang".

5 comments about Korea (Country Guide).

1. This is a decent guide book, but not a great one. Where is the old LP tongue-in-cheek humor that helped make it the guidebook it... was? And how about a cultural tidbit or anecdotal morsel that hasn't been airbrushed, hermetically sealed, and filed under PC. Oh, well. I suppose those days are over.
   
   But seriously now folks, this Lonely Planet Korea will enable you to steer your way through the country's primary cities and chief tourist attractions, and, as usual, the recommended places to stay are well chosen and exactly as described. I used this book on a recent trip to Seoul and Incheon and found it to be entirely adequate and even exceptional in places. Some people I ran into were using (I believe it's called) the Moon Handbook, which looked to be much more comprehensive, especially in terms of non-travel related information. Indeed, it had more than 800 pages as I remember. It all depends on what you want: Korea Lite or Korea Loaded. Either way, enjoy your travels in what must be the dried squid capital of the world.
   
   Troy Parfitt, author



2. I've used Lonely Planets for years. I like some more than others, and there's a few issues I have with the series, but they've always been a useful general guide to my travels.
   
   However this book is a new low and I can't recommend people away from it enough. Literally every single time I tried to follow the advice the book gave, the information ended up being incorrect or outdated or amazingly vague.
   
   A quick example is the Sa Rang Chae guest house in Gyeongju - it didn't give an address, and the phone number didn't work, but the description and location on the map indicated a general area to look. When I got to this general area, the guesthouse was nowhere to be found. I later learned that the guesthouse had moved locations four years ago, and had been e-mailing and mailing LP for several editions, trying to get them to update their information. Similarly, the restaurants and cafes they recommended for that city were nowhere to be found - it was worse than useless.
   
   Their maps are terrible, particularly in Seoul. They generally don't list street names on the map. They also tend to skip a large number of smaller streets - but without names, it's hard to guess if the street was skipped or not. So trying to use an LP map involves an awful lot of guesswork. Korean people were often very kind helping confused tourists such as myself, but they also couldn't understand the maps, because even if the street had names on it, there was no Hangul, only Roman characters.
   
   Addresses were very rarely given. So finding their recommendations boiled down to trying to use a small map with no street names. If using this book, make sure to confirm every single destination with a google search.
   
   The KNTO releases very excellent free travel books, they can either be ordered, viewed on the web (unfortunately it requires Active-X), or picked up at the information booth in the Seoul/Incheon airport - google tour2korea and go to "e-books." That and wikitravel (which is sparse and often vague, but at least generally accurate) is definitely a better option than Lonely Planet. Don't waste any money on this.



3. This book was a very comprehensive and honest guide to the country. It also included a section on North Korea and the possibility of travelling there. I found the information useful in order to decide where to go and the cost of living in Korea.



4. Lonely Planet produces some of the best guidebooks available, so it should come as no surprise that their book on Korea is complete, concise, and interesting.
   
   Pros: This guide book has it all, from Korean phrases and vocabulary, to fun getaways, trails off the beaten path and of course, lots of information on hotels and restaurants.
   
   Cons: Can't think of many, although Seoul needs its own book. (Which Lonely Planet makes, actually!) Also, my copy was slightly out-dated, (2004). Unfortunately, many fast-growing areas have completely changed since the book's first printing.



5. Typical of the Lonely Planet series, this book is full of interesting and necessary information. From sightseeing, to restaurants and accomodation, I found it to be a good help. It also gives a great insight into the history and culture of Korea, with a food chapter and a language chapter included. It's not the bible but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone going to Korea. You should also supplement it with stuff from the net or your local Korean tourist office etc.

5 comments about Everest: Mountain without Mercy.

1. I bought this book for the photography alone: this is as close as I am ever likely to get to the Himalayas.
   
   The photographs are spectacular, and I can see why so many people are challenged to want to make the journey to Base Camp if not further. Appearances can be deceptive: beautiful colour photographs portray a seemingly benevolent picture of Everest which is quite at odds with reality.
   
   Recommended for those with an interest in the Himalayas as well as to those who admire beautiful photography.
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith



2. A stunning photo-journal of Everest, focusing on the tragic/heroic month of May 1996. Excellent narrative accompanied by fantastic photographs.



3. As a former climber, I've always been fascinated by Everest. This is a wonderfully written and beautifully photographed account of the ill-fated assault on Everest that took a number of lives.
   Especially sad, since as I was reading it yesterday, we got word of the death of Sir Edmund Hillary.



4. This is another awesome book to show Mount Everest. If you like nice pictures of mountains(especially Mount Everest), this is the best.



5. A very colorful look at Mt. Everest from the Imax Everest expedition. Much better than the Imax movie itself, compelling images interspersed with informative commentary and history from a number of writers.
   
   Compared to Everest: Summit of Achievement this is a lightweight introduction. Yes, you will want to own this and read it more than once. Yes, it's better than the Imax Everest movie (not saying much). Unfortunately this book shares some of the superficial qualities the Imax movie had. The editors would have done well to drive their razor-sharp crampons a bit more forcefully into their subject matter, if you catch my drift...

No comments about The Rough Guide to Cambodia 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

5 comments about Japanese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. I bought this on my first flight back from Japan after taking my first semester in Japanese. I thought that it supplied a ton of useful auxillary vocabulary to run with at the level of grammar I was capable of using. The book also has many slight mistakes, even I, a first year student, was able to pick out. It's got a few cute but dumb, potentially racist but we'll say ignorant drawings included. But so few that it cues one in as to how cheaply produced this probably was. I give it three stars though because I learned it forward and backward and broke it out numerous times to meet my needs in bars and train stations (never in restaurants for some reasons). And, to get me comic leverage in many conversations where I was not privy to the Japanese side of the chatter.



2. I found this very easy to understand, as did my husband who had no prior knowledge of the Japanese language. I read it many times before our trip, in order to remember important basic words.
   We referred to it many times during our trip, and it was very usefull. I would suggest everyone purchase it.
   Its small size is also great, easy to put in a pocket, backpack or handbag.



3. I feel this book is not only usefull for comunication with other people during my travel but also very well prepare to be user friendly. It was exellent in my trip to Japan have it with me.



4. Just like I said. The first part of this phrasebook helps you understand grammar, small phrases, and many words, but after that it just tells you a lot of the things like sentences and more questions and answers.
   
   I recommend this if you are travelling, but if you are just trying to learn the language, I would not recommend it because it's hard to remember all of the questions, answers, and phrases it contains from about the 1/4 to the end of the book.
   
   But it was really good in explaining grammar, pronouns, and many other things. So buy it if you want.



5. This book was invaluable to us in Japan. The size made it easy to carry around and it had all of the basic words and phrases that we needed to communicate. (We did supplement with a English-Japanese dictionary for some words, so that's why I've given it 4 stars instead of 5.)
   
   The English was spelled out to make it easier to pronounce the Japanese words. In cases when I butchered the pronounciation and was not understood, I could show the book to someone who would read the Kanji symbols to see what I was trying to say.
   
   The book was organized in a way that made it easy to find the phrase you were looking for. I bookmarked frequently used pages so I could access them even quicker. This was definitely a great reference for traveling to Japan.

No comments about Bangkok (City Guide).

5 comments about Frommer's Hong Kong (Frommer's Complete).

1. Just got back from a quick jump over to HK and Macau for business and I brought this book along. Contrary to some other readers reviews, I found the book absolutely invaluable! The walking tours were quite insightful and with good directions and time estimates -I never got lost. Some of my most memorable experiences were from the walking tours in HK. The information was accurate and concise. It provided everything I needed to know about getting to the outlying islands on my free day, getting to the airport and getting around town. Nightlife recommendations were great for the foreign visitor on business. I compared the recommendations to that in Lonely Planet and my own experience and I thought the Frommer's was a lot more true to the scene than Lonely Planet. I didn't run into any snags while using the Frommer's book. I also took a side trip to Macau with the book and had a great time. Info was accurate, although the maps a little inadequate, but nothing a quick stop into the tourist office couldn't solve. I'd highly recommend the book and I'd pass it along to any colleagues or friends who might be going to HK since it never failed me once.



2. Just back from Hong Kong and of the three guide books I took, Frommer's was the most helpful. The restaurant suggestions were great. The maps accurate. The walking tours terrific. The only downside is that the design of the book is ugly. Really ugly. Also wish that it included information about the two closest cities in China - Guangzhou and Shenzhen so I could have left one of the guides home.



3. Loved this guide, excellent contents, great walks and suggested itineraries. It's a pitty it doesn't have pictures. It will be the ideal travel guide.



4. I just returned from a March 2008 week-long visit to Hong Kong. I used the 2007 Frommer's Hong Kong and found it worked out just fine. Good descriptions of sites, handy public transit tips (especially of how to purchase/use/return the essential Octopus card), reasonable reviews of hotels and restaurants, and decent Macau information. The book is easy (and enjoyable) to read; I feel it prepared me well for my first trip to Hong Kong. Combined with pamphlets and maps from the Hong Kong and Macau tourists boards I picked up at the airport and ferry terminal, I had all the information I needed for a great trip!



5. One of the reviews below declares that the author of the Frommer's guide to Hong Kong should burn in a hell for guidebook writers. I don't find this funny. In fact, I find this to be a pretty mean thing to say, and I doubt the author of that review would say such a thing to Ms. Reiber in person. The author of that review should be ashamed of himself, and apologize here in a follow-up to his original review.
   
   I am very familiar with the guidebook scene to Hong Kong, though I've never met Ms. Reiber, and I happen to think that her guide is one of the better ones out there. Her book has an honest and thoughtful tone; it also offers some of the more astute observations about Hong Kong to be found in the current crop of guidebooks. If there is a weakness to her guidebook, it is that it does not cover the more far-flung regions of Hong Kong--Tap Mun, Tai Mo Shan, and so on. But in a way this omission reflects well on Reiber and her book. Most guides to Hong Kong cover places like Tap Mun or Tung Lung Chau, but they provide such sketchy information that I doubt the author ever went there. Of course, authors never admit this. Reiber, on the other hand, has the integrity to only include in her guidebooks the places in Hong Kong that she has actually visited. In any case, Reiber's book covers all the locations that 99% of all visitors to Hong Kong go to. If you are that 1% of travelers who want to hike in the more remote areas of the New Territories or explore some of the more hard to get to islands, this is not the book for you. Otherwise, I can certainly recommend this guide.

5 comments about The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto.

1. Any reviewer can find something wrong with a book, if s/he tries hard enough. And many have been quick to do so here. I suppose I could as well (e.g., by picking on Iyer for not going into the implications of the faux-Utopian society Japan has created). But I have absolutely no desire to do so. The book is so beautifully and deftly written, the romance so touching and piquant without falling into bathos, that it would, to me be similar to picking at the lovely haikus interspersed herein, stylistically complementing the lyrical writing.
   
   Yes, as one reviewer has pointed out, it is more memoir than what is called "Travel Literature"-though the boundaries between the two have always seemed blurry to me at best.
   
   This book will be enjoyed most by lovers of poetry, lyrical poetry - such as that of Yeats and Shelley, than by readers of the "hard-boiled" school of travel writing epitomized in V.S. Naipaul's works. If you believe that poetry is the deepest sort of writing, that one can get to "know" a society or people better through a Romantic relationship with a member of that society than by doing a Sociological study of it, if your dream life is as important to you as waking life, in short, if you have a poetic nature: This is the book for you!
   
   "Everyone falls in love with what he cannot begin to understand."--Or, as Pico finds out, thinks he cannot, but through patience and love finds that he can...begin.
   
   PS-Pico and Sachiko are still together, according to wikipedia at any event.



2. In my opinion, Pico Iyer seems to be a very moody writer. He usually writes well, but then there are moments when he comes into his own and writes with an amazing surreal quality. The transition from good to surreal is very smooth: It is like being transported to another (sometimes surreal, but very vivid) realm and you'll lose count of the time. I was particularly impressed by his prose wherein he describes his late night walks amidst all the floating lanterns.
   Pico has an uncanny knack of doing accurate and exhaustive research about the place and cultures he visits. Japan is an intriguing place that is steeped in three religions, immense & immaculate aesthetics, humbling hospitality, spellbinding natural scenery and Zen. Pico's interpretation of Zen is very interesting (though not very complete) and will give you opportunities of reflection, contemplation and fulfillment: In effect, living in the moment, which is quintessential Zen.
   There are some parts that Pico could have done without. These are:
   1. Description of his visits to Kyoto's high-end and nouveau bars. In these chapters, he squanders his high-prose to a reporter's anecdotal write-up.
   2. The hallmark of this book is his interaction and lovely relationship with Sachiko San. However, at time he has made some give-take remarks about Sachiko San (in my opinion). This in some ways taints the beautiful relationship between Pico & Sachiko.
   
   Nevertheless, this is a very good read. I would highly recommend it.



3. First let me just say i liked the book and could almost give it 4 stars. The reasons i decided to only give it 3 was the way it was written and the length.
   
   I feel Pico could have covered what he did in about 30-60 pages less if not more. The story mainly focuses on the way Japanese society is with it's reservations and freeness. Pico quotes old poems and he obviously wants to believe japan embodies these poems, but he finds that japan is more complex than he thought. The main relationship(a somewhat romantic one) is with Sachiko a 30 year-old mother of two, but she is more of a medium to express how japan is. It's somewhat hard to understand what I'm saying unless you've read the book. Some past readers have accused Pico of thinking he knows the Japanese, while this is somewhat true i believe he more presents his opinions for your to analyze.
   
   And for the way the book is written it's a bit jumbled. I think this book is better describe as pages of his thoughts and experiences throughout his time in japan, it's not a travel book. I think there are only a select amount of people who would feel satisfied with this both, or at least appreciate it.
   
   If you can find it at a library pick it up and give it a quick read and if you like it go ahead and buy it.



4. This book is neither hot or cold, just insipid ... it's not really about Japan and not really about Zen Buddhism either. A more apt title would be "Quiet Desperation in Japan" - Iyer flirts with Zen and does not achieve any insight, and his imagined romance with Sachiko lacks fire and ultimately unconvincing.
   
   I'd recommend the following books that are much superior:
   - For Japanese Zen Buddhism, read Peter Matthiessen's extraordinary "Snow Leopard" and "Nine-headed Dragon River".
   - For a well-written and absolutely hilarious recount of an expat's experience in Japan, read "Japanland" by Karin Muller.
   - For a very well written book on Japanese culture and economy, read "Outnation" by Jonathan Rauch.



5. There is no doubt that Pico Iyer is a masterful writer: his descriptions of Kyoto and Japan are breathtakingly gorgeous. He does have a tendency to ramble at times, but the passages that are good are worth slogging through the ones that drag.
   
   However, there are parts of this book that do not seem plausible. Never once does he get frustrated by the language barrier or long for a cheeseburger. (I lived in Japan for three years and can attest its only natural to feel homesick or lonely.) He spends his year in Japan in perfect harmony with everything around him, has no troubles with the shabby guesthouse he lives in or the woman that (he admits) uses him to fulfill her warped idea of romance. He is guilty of his own criticism of how the Japanese seem so innocent, so willing to look at the bright side all of the time.
   
   Furthermore his relationship with "Sachiko" seems almost unbelievable. (PS - why does he even bother to change the name when he dedicated the book to Hiroko on the first page?) How does this Eton, Oxford, and Harvard-educated world traveller (who loves dropping names about all the great authors he reads) manage to fall in love with a woman who hardly speaks his language and who's never been outside of Kyoto? He goes on and on about all the deep conversations they had, when really I don't see how it's possible. He paints Sachiko like the kind of girl people go to Japan for all the time: always agreeing, never arguing, always dressing up and buying presents. He looks down on all the guys who come to Japan to find a girl and yet never admits he did the same thing. Furthermore, their relationship is so painfully selfish and childish that I can't help but hate the guy at times; he talks about his "great" romance but never discusses the subsequent divorce, financial difficulty, toll on the children, etc. As far as I remember, he only played with the kids a handful of times, instead stealing away with his "lady" at all hours of the night. I'm asking myself the whole time I read this book, "Who's watching the children?!" I'm sure these two love each other and all (as they are still living together. Are they married?) but I just think his recollection of their relationship is a bit too melodramatic, too "magical" to be believed. It's too innocent, too, by Iyer's definition, "Japanese".
   
   As a work of fiction this book is stunning, but as a memoir, I feel it's a bit too farfetched. But regardless his prose really is a work of art.

5 comments about Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. This book has almost everything you need, although i think you need some sort of knowledge cause its kinda hard too, but anyways this book its worth it, trust me



2. In my opinion, these are the best phrasebooks out there. The sections are all color coded and organized in an easy to use way, making it easy to locate the phrase you want to use. Much easier than the rest of them out there that are just white page after white page which makes it incredibly hard to dig through. These books will teach you what you need to know.



3. When I started learning Chinese this book was strongly recommended by a friend. What a disappointment; it's not suited for learning Chinese it's to superficial. This book could possibly be of some help on a visit to China, but if you seriously want to learn Mandarin - choose another one. On the positive side: This book has an appealing layout, and is easy to use.



4. I have no idea what most of these reviewers are talking about. This phrasebook absolutely uses pinyin (although it's possible that previous editions did not). This book was without question the most useful thing I had when I lived in China (for six months). Not only does it have excellent sections on grammar, etiquette, and non-verbal communication (which really you will use a lot more than anything else), but it covers basically everything you will need to survive in China. It also has every phrase written in pinyin, for you, and Chinese so if you fail to pronounce it correctly anyway you can always show the book to the person you are trying to talk to. That feature can be used even if you go to Hong Kong or somewhere else where they speak a dialect other than Mandarin.



5. Some of the negative reviews harp on this book for not using pinyin, but they seem to be referring to the 5th ed. The 6th ed. published in Sept. 2006 by A. Garnaut does have pinyin. That shouldn't be an issue.
   
   I have found this book useful, but it does have some basic vocabulary gaps. Also, I have been studying Mandarin for about a year, and I have just now found it really helpful. You could always point at the characters to ask questions, but if you are a new speaker of Mandarin, it won't help you if you have absolutely no background.

1 comments about The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History.

1. This book was included in a Maryland Department of Education lesson plan for teaching the Silk Road. I purchased the book for this purpose and is correlated very well to the lesson plan. Excellent artwork. Valuable content. A good geography storybook