No comments about Korea Travel Map (Periplus Travel Maps) (Periplus Travel Maps).

1 comments about The Asia Book (General Pictorial).

1. In this large-sized pictorial, Lonely Planet takes you for a quick trip through each country in Asia (minus Russia). Each entry contains dazzling photographs, most featuring the people of Asia rather than scenery, and several paragraphs providing basic information about each country and/or a few fun facts.
   
   The book is worth buying, or at least perusing, simply for the fine photography. Lonely Planet does a great job of visually exposing the reader to the diversity of Asia's people without descending too often into the sentimental or cliche. One really does get the sense of having a traveler's-eye view of the countries (albeit without the less scenic elements one would certainly encounter in real life). The writing is, on the other hand, merely adequate. The country descriptions are so brief as to be of little use. The additional commentary provided for each country can be, at times, pithy, but just as often is formulaic or bland. That said, coffee table picture books do not require fine writing when the photography is sufficient to tell the book's story. You'll find this book reminds you of the vacations you should have taken that the photography you wish you could have produced.

5 comments about A Field Guide to the Birds of China.

1. This field guide is a well done book introducing the birds of China to its readers. It is fairly standard as far as field guides goes in content. The book contains 128 color plates depicting the birds of China with the corresponding range maps opposite the plates. Next, the descriptions of the 1329 species are given. Herein lies the major problem with the book, the descriptions are not adjacent to the plates; however, had the book been arranged in this manner, the number of pages would have at least doubled and the book is already a bit cumbersome for use as a field guide at its present size.

   A couple of other bits of useful information in this book include a map detailing vegetation type and an introduction to the region. Also, a list of protected and endangered species is included. For researchers, a nice bibliography is also included. Whether you just want to look at birds from a country you never plan on going to, or if you intend to go birding in China, this book is for you.




2. This book is absolutely essential for any birder who plans to visit any of the regions covered in this guide. The plates are very good and the descriptions are detailed. This is probably the most up-to-date guide for the region. The taxonomy is based on Sibley and Monroe, and nearly all subspecies and their ranges are listed. There is even an edition in simplified Chinese available in China and Hong Kong. However, covering such a broad region has its drawbacks, and at least in Taiwan, I recommend that this book be used more as a reference than field guide. A bird's voice often varies across its range, and the status of a species in one location can be completely different in another. For example, the White-bellied Green Pigeon, described by the book as "very rare," is in fact common in Taiwan. The quality of the plates is sometimes inconsistent (e.g. the geese and swans on plate 7 look very small!). Also, errors I've noticed include where the range map does not correspond with the descriptions (e.g. Eurasian Jay, plate 67), the bird number on the plate does not correspond with that of the range map and descriptions (e.g. Varied Tit, plate 88), and some typos (e.g. Pygmy Wren Babbler subspecies, plate 105). Although Appendix 2 lists the species endemic to the region, it left out at least three species from Taiwan (Yellow Tit, Collared Bush Robin, and Taiwan Whistling Thrush). In general, this book is excellent and highly recommended, but I do hope a new edition will be published in the future that fixes the errors and include new discoveries made since publication (e.g. Chinese Crested Tern, Taiwan Bush Warbler).



3. A Field Guide to the Birds of China is a must for any traveler who wants to identify birds in China. De Schauensee's earlier Birds of China is not really a field guide although it provides useful background reading. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan includes a lot of the species occurring in eastern China, and the Beijing area is included in most of the range maps, so if you don't have the MacKinnon-Phillips new guide, this is second best.

   All species of known regular occurrence somewhere in China are illustrated in excellent drawings by Karen Phillips, all but a few in full color. Colored range maps are on the page facing each of the 128 plates. The text for each species provides a detailed description, voice, distribution and status, habits (useful), and in some cases a note on taxonomy.

   I used this book for more than two weeks in China during October 2001 and confidently identified every bird I got a decent look at. (Regrettably, eastern China is not exactly overrun with exotic birds, but you can find some interesting species even in the cities.)

   The most noticeable problem with this book is its sheer bulk; at 256 pages of plates, 586 pages of text, and some front material, this monster tops out at well over 800 pages and won't fit in most fanny packs, not to mention pockets. So taking a utility knife with a new blade, I sliced the spine following the last plate and taped the last page to the spine, creating a book of front matter, 10 pages of introduction and all the plates and range maps--a tad over a third the thickness of the whole book. A few species are illustrated in black-and-white in the text, so I xeroxed those (with their black-and-white range maps) and pasted them below the range maps of appropriate plates. I left the text home.

   The book is not without minor errors, of course. For example, the range maps on plate 35 mistakenly call the Red Phalarope the Red-necked Phalarope, with the same error in the scientific name (although, curiously, the Chinese name appears to be correct). Both species are illustrated. On plate 56 the illustration of the Red-throated Loon is mistakenly marked with the species number of the Common Loon (which is also illustrated and correctly numbered on the same plate). On plate 72 the female Japanese Paradise-flycatcher is so marked but the symbol for the male is missing. Most users can figure out such slips.

   ...




4. I visit Taiwan at least once a year, and always make it a point to do as much birding as possible. The main problem I have faced in the past has been finding a good English language field guide. I have always used James Wan-Fu Chang's "Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan" (ISBN-13: 978-0917056437), and Wu Sen-Hsiong's "A Field Guide to the Birds of Taiwan" (ISBN 957-9578-00-1). Both books are very good, and highly recommended. However, each has its drawbacks. The main one being that both are written in Chinese, although Chang's guide does have very brief descriptions of range, habitat and status in English. In addition, both books are a bit out-dated.
   
   The MacKinnon & Phillips guide addresses these drawbacks. For starters, it is written entirely in English. The paintings are generally of high quality, and differences between subspecies are indicated. Range maps are also shown on the page facing the paintings. The descriptions of many (but not all) species are fairly well detailed, and the ranges for subspecies is also described.
   
   The guide does have some minor problems, which are probably unavoidable. Because of the large geographical size of the area covered, and the number of species described (over 1300), the guide is quite bulky - and somewhat expensive. In addition, the descriptions are in the back of the guide, rather than on the page adjacent to the paintings, making it somewhat inconvenient to use. As I have alluded above, some of the species descriptions, particularly those of the Taiwan endemics, seemed to have been glossed over (perhaps to save space in an already sizable guide). And although most of the paintings are of high quality, not all were. Overall, I think they are slightly inferior to those of the Wu guide. That being said, no field guide is perfect. Putting a field guide together requires a lot of patience and a great deal of hard work. I, for one, really appreciate the dedication and effort of the authors.
   
   All in all, this is the best field guide to the birds of China available. I would highly recommend this guide.



5. We just completed a nine-day guided tour of the Tibetan plateau. Repeatedly, during this tour which allowed us to identify 165 species new to us, we attempted to use the subject bird guide, which by the way at $92 plus US is the most expensive guide we have EVER encountered anywhere. Repeatedly, we found the guide absolutely no help in either understanding the differentiation among various species or in providing visual representations and even rudamentary field marks. Nomenclature for some species was totally out of wack with locally/historically accepted nomenclature. This is one book that should be banded and burned. Start over, please, someone who really cares. The magnificant birds of this region deserve better.

1 comments about Shanghai: The Architecture of China's Great Urban Center.

1. After my trip to Shanghai I put my photo album together. I searched and searched for names for the many buildings in Pudong that I'd photographed from the Bund and river cruise. I could only find a few. Then I got the great idea to get a book!
   This book is just what I was looking for. I was able to identify virtually all of the skyscrapers I had photographed and was able to include biographical data as well. I am thrilled. This book is exactly what I expected and more.
   Thank you.

No comments about Hong Kong & Macau Travel Map Fourth Edition (Periplus Travel Maps).

1 comments about Groovy CHIANG MAI Map 'N' Guide.

1. I used this new edition of the Chiang Mai Groovy Guide which had a really comprehensive review of the places to go for shopping (its a lovely arts and crafts and handicrafts town so there are lots of places to buy good value and high quality things as gifts). The dining section listed a few fabulous spots (right on the river) that we really enjoyed finding. The whole guide was fun and functional at the same time. Sort of like being guided around by a friend. You feel like he is just telling you where he would want to go, so you follow along. Places are all designated by colored icons and symbols. Easy to use.

5 comments about Night Train to Turkistan: Modern Adventures Along China's Ancient Silk Road (Traveler).

1. Stevens and three friends (including author Mark Salzman) follow the route of Fleming and Maillart, a 1930s adventure couple from Beijing to Kashgar, the capital of Chinese Turkistan. This is a fun little book, at times truly hilarious, as Stevens blithely recounts the squalid horrors of traveling in a Third World country, or is challenged again and again by mendacious, obstinate bureaucracy who will say anything to prevent them from traveling. But there's not much history or anthropology to speak of, other than a few comments about the Tibetans or Uighurs, or passages from Fleming's book. Nor does Stevens come to any novel or shrewd insights about China, other than the Cultural Revolution must have sucked, although no one will talk to him about it, and its bureaucracy is like an army in its cold homogeneity. It even dismisses the Tienanmen Square riots at the end! A lightweight, amusing travel piece; it could have bean more meaningful, such as Salzman's books or Bill Holm's Coming Home Crazy.



2. As I have stated in other reviews, I do not like the author's personality too much(favorite quotation from another review: "Stu's a jerk, but...") But this book takes an unlikely premise and turns it into a very gripping account of a travel through Asia. I also highly recommend the book written by one of the other travellers here, Mark Salzman's Iron and Silk.



3. Stevens provides a humorous recounting of a romp through Western China attempting to follow the trail of 1936 travelers Fleming an Maillart along the ancient Silk Road. Night Train to Turkistan is entertaining for its quirky characters including infuriating bureaucrats, reluctant Chinese interpretor (Mark Salzman, author of Lying Awake and Iron and Silk), a six foot female athlete who draws a crowd of suitors and gawkers everywhere she goes, and proprietors of various roadside establishments.

   The four travelers are just outrageous and creative enough to actually make their way from Beijing to Kashgar and back, despite a multitude of bureaucrats that seems hellbent on prohibiting them from doing just that. The book starts out with the quartet delivering skis to a national ski team in a country with no ski areas, in the hopes of obtaining a vaguely official-looking reference letter that might unlock some door somewhere. It goes on from there.

   This was a fairly quick read, and, as other reviewers have noted, it's not heavy on anthropological or historical insights. But I don't think the intent of the book was to provide these insights. This is a case where getting there is all the fun. The book is all about the journey, and those who have attempted to journey through bureaucratic developing nations are likely to recognize the types of frustrations and seemingly inexplicable events and policies recounted here. The book is all about crammed unheated buses and trains and low-flying planes and various other conveyances. It's about imperfectly built Russian hotels and incomprehensible bus stations and greasy roadside noodle stands and scheduled group pit stops and increasingly implausible explanations from government workers, desk clerks, and pencil pushers. This all sounds like an incredible bore, but Stevens' entertaining descriptions take you there and hold your attention to the end. If you are looking for an anthropological or historical treatise on Western China, you will be happier looking elsewhere. But as a humorous recounting of a journey through Western China, this one fills the bill. It is primarily from the perspective of a traveler, and the insights are limited, but the observations of a traveler are well worth the price of the book.

   As an aside, several of the other reviewers suggest that this book was set in 1989 or around the time of the protests in Tiananmen Square. In fact the book was published in 1988, and the journey occurred in 1986, both prior to the protests in Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989. It is unfair to suggest that the author was minimizing the events of that spring, as they had not yet occurred.




4. 
   Travellers come in many flavors, just like ice cream. Some try to "get in" with the natives of the places they go in order to learn more about foreign ways and perceptions. Others prefer to challenge themselves with tests of strength and endurance, paddling up jungle rivers or scaling giant peaks. There are innumerable variations. However, there is one type of traveller whose tales tire me very quickly. That is the type who likes to regale their readers (or listeners) with the total awfulness of everything, to impress (?) people with what they had to put up with, and to tell how ___________ the people were. (choose from among....greedy, stupid, venal, tricky, persistent, dirty, lying, impossible) Occasionally they meet one or two different individuals who only prove the point about the rest.
   
   Stuart Stevens did not know anything about China. His attitude seems to hover most of the time around the level of "frat boy goes China". He managed to recruit two other babes in the woods, plus Mark Salzman, who did know Chinese, had spent a couple years in China already and had written a decent book about it. It would be interesting to hear Mark's opinion of this trip. That travelling rough in Third World countries tends to be difficult is hardly news. Of course, it all might not have been nearly as bad as Stevens says because he is so securely fastened into the "vomit, spit, and urine everywhere" school of travel writing. Stevens had the idea to contact a famous solo traveller from the 1930s, Ella Maillart, a Swiss lady, who had journeyed with a British man along the southern edge of the Takla Makan desert in Xinjiang province (once known as Chinese Turkestan). He tries to retrace their steps, but fails totally and completely. He is forced by Chinese bureaucracy to take the usual tourist route around the north of the desert, winding up in Kashgar, almost to Pakistan. This is an interesting part of the world, and when Stevens can get away from his lightweight moaning about the primitive conditions, the cold (who told him to go in December ?), the bad food, and duplicitous, intransigent Chinese, he writes a nice description. In fact, I would say that this is a well-written travel book with nice flashes of humor, but focussed mostly on the negative. The author takes a leaf from Carlos Castaneda in his "Conversations with Don Juan". He just repeatedly fails to get the message. If he had only decided early on that Chinese hate to tell others "NO" directly, but prefer to give some excuse which may sound lame to Westerners, but which indirectly tells the recipient that "what you are asking is not possible", we could have been spared all the incredulous, open-mouthed astonishment at the Chinese bureaucrats' "lying ways". What we have here is a failure to communicate. I'm sure this is all part of a non-organized trip to Turkestan, but it is not the major part, nor is it a very interesting part. If you are into the Yuck School of Travel Writing, this work is just up your alley. If you would like some sort of perspective on Xinjiang, its people, history and problems, give this book a miss.



5. A travel memoir from an abrasive guy who convinces three friends to go with him to China in the mid-1980s to re-trace the fabled Silk Road route across the high Chinese desert to India. The friends are David, a fitness nut who looks like a special forces recruit; Mark Saltzman, the acclaimed author of his own memoir of China, Iron And Silk, who is along to translate for them; and Fran, a six-foot tall athlete whose statuesque looks ensure that she is mobbed by amazed, admiring crowds wherever they go.
   
   The Han Chinese especially, and China in general, come off in a very negative light: a backward country filled with lying, slothful officials who despise Westerners. This is no Iron And Silk though I did shoot through it briskly due to its clean-cut writing and unrelenting tension (as they struggle with the nightmarish Chinese bureaucracy that blocks their every step).
   
   There's all sorts of tension in the memoir: building within David, who most cannot stand the pitfalls of bureaucracy; and rising between aggressive Stuart who likes to ask former members of the Red Guard how many grandmothers they slaughtered during the Cultural Revolution, and gentle Mark who seeks a way to translate while saving everyone's face. Stuart comes off as a jerk. The memoir is centered so firmly on him that the others barely come across. I think Fran or Mark would have had way more interesting viewpoints than Stuart does.
   
   Throughout his journey, he enjoys asking probing questions of almost every faltering-English-speaking Chinese he meets: questions that put them on the spot in regards to China's troubled past and current government (neither of which is these individuals' faults). That's fine and well when he's attempting to make some smug Communist party official uncomfortable, but not when he's badgering ordinary little people who are afraid to comment or who are stuck living under bad circumstances and don't need their faces rubbed in it by some arrogant tourist. On the other hand, Stuart's travel difficulties had several laugh-out-loud funny moments, and their airline trip near the end of their journey has to be read to be believed.

3 comments about Arrian: Anabasis of Alexander, Books 5-7. Indica. (Loeb Classical Library No. 269).

1. Arrian's Books, in two volumes, are perhaps the most informative and accurate existing account of the expeditions of Alexander the Great. The accounts are historical and also give insight into the personality of Alexander. Contrary to most histories, the texts are an easy read, with descriptions of places, people, and events giving the reader a good sense of the adventures encountered by Alexander and his men. The tale is told directly. Alexander's sexuality, the love of his troops for their leader, and all the other human qualities intermingled in a real life situation are presented without bias.
   The text is in greek and english, in flanking pages. The footnotes are helpful, providing clarity to definitions of words in their historical context. The second volume contains various Appendixes providing added information on Military Questions, India, Mearchus' Voyage (Alexander's Sea Captain), etc.
   For one wising to learn of Alexander, this is the best source available.



2. This book is one of two volumes written by Arrian on Alexander the Great. So many books have been written about this fascinating and charigmatic young man.Although most of the documents from Alexander's lifetime have vanished,this one is the closest that we can get to him.
   
   In my own opinion I think that the documents that vanished may have been in the Alexandria library,or possibly were the body or remains of Alexander are.
   
   What I liked the most in this book is the fact that the name of the cities and places that Alexander conquered are also named with today's actual names,making it easy for us lovers of history to relate to today's geography.
   
   The Theban battle is very well written with so many details, not only the amount of horses,companions,hypastis and so on but the way that Alexander he himself planned.How Alexander took care of the innocent people,and how he cared for them,example the battle of Agis. What he did to the citizens of Soli, giving their land and money back.Details of Darius' mother,wife and children.
   For instance I did not know that Dairus married his own sister.
   there is so much in this book that it is really worth having if you are a true historian buff of Alexander's time.
   
   The details of the army that conquered which tribe and city.How many horses, carriages, elephants, companions were used for each battle.
   
   The treason fo Philotas and the killing of Parmenio,are also detailed here.The revolt of Agis,India and the Persian Empire, plus detailes of Alexander's army.
   
   I enjoyed reading it very very much.I hope that you will do the same.



3. This is an excellent translation. The book contains a number of appendices which are superb analyses of different issues dealing with Alexander's history.
   As a professional historian I can recommend the book without hesitation.
   
   MJ Olbrycht

No comments about Asian Business Customs & Manners: A Country-by-Country Guide.

No comments about Adventures in Ancient China (Good Times Travel Agency).