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.

5 comments about Coming Home Crazy: An Alphabet of China Essays.

1. Bill brings back memories of life in China and the amazing difficulties people deal with daily.
   My time in Guangzhou in the south only varied by climate with Bill's Xian existence, and his wish to return to these education-loving students is familiar as I observe the attitudes of American students falter. I could smell the baoudze and see the Overseas Chinese tai chi in the parks just from enveloping myself in the book on my Metro train. Missed a few stops, too. Thank you Bill for your caring rendition of the life and I wish you continued travel to China.



2. If you are looking for the "definitive China book," this is not it. Read something else. But if you are interested in how Americans cope with a year or two's posting as a teacher in a Chinese university -- or if you have been, or will be, on such a posting yourself -- you may well enjoy this book.
   
   It's organized as a series of vignettes which average five to ten pages. The vignettes are kind of like diary entries. They describe daily life, bureaucracy, teaching, food, travel, friends, housing, and so forth. This kind of information can be hard to find. Of course the author went to China in the late 1980s, and a lot has changed since then.
   
   This is not a book that was buffed and polished, edited, re-edited, and beautifully designed by a big publishing house looking to make it into a best seller, like Peter Hessler's "River Town." The up side is that it is very genuine and lacks the slightly annoying preciousness of "River Town." It's more like going to a slide presentation at the house of your neighbor who just came back from China, and being handed a photocopy of the journal they kept.



3. Travel stories of teaching English in Japan have almost become cliche. This story of a Minnesota native visiting China was an interesting twist on the old tale. It was enjoyable reading Mr. Holm's adventures (and misadventures - those always seem to be more enjoyable) as he visited China, before it became the trendy Giant. Another variance on similar works is that Mr. Holm is a legitamite college teacher, not a wanderer using education as a visa. As such, his writing is of a higher quality than usual in the genre, and he is more qualified to speak of the educational environment.
   
   The observations are very interesting, especially as the experience is pre-Tienneman. What's it like when the communists are watching your every move? How do is teaching in China different than Minnesota? What's Mickey Mouse mean over there? The story meanders in alphabetic manner, perhaps also suggesting that our trip memories don't always follow a linear logic.
   
   As the title would suggest, the strongest pieces of the book are the chapters of the return. It is hard to identify personal tranformation in the midst of the journey. You notice it when you come home crazy.



4. I have three, soon to be four adopted kids from China so I read as many books as I can about China. I was really looking forward to this book as some fellow adoptive parents had given it good reviews. I did enjoy the book and there were certain sections that were more entertaining than others but the main problem I had with it was parts of it were too literary and intellectual for my taste. I was looking more for a good fun read but unfortunately I don't share the same enthusiasm for literature and was lost of some of the references. China has also changed quite a bit since his visits in the 80s but it was interesting to see his perspective as an English teacher when access was certainly not what it is today. My favorite chapter was the Swiss Army Knife chapter and I got some real chuckles out of it and I am now seriously considering a new Swiss Army knife for my husbands birthday so he will have one for our next trip to China. I think Peter Hesslers book River Town overall is an easier read but the nice thing about Mr. Holm's book is you can just pick it up and read any chapter since its not sequential. Its a good book to read when you only have a few minutes at a time and you won't feel lost when you get a chance to come back to it.



5. As an expat currently living in China, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I find myself hoping to read other books by him as well.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Europe On A Shoestring.

1. it's really a great book!
   
   if you are planning to take sometime off backpacking in Europe, or even if you live somewhere there and want some tips for a place to visit, this is the travel bible!
   
   it's worth every penny!



2. Very interesting to read, will be living in europe for 3 yrs and will take advantage of all the good tips!



3. the lonely planet books are THE best as far as i'm concerned, and the updates.



4. many of the places recommended weren't open anymore. maps were pretty terrible. information regarding subways and rails was pretty poor too.



5. This book is awesome, only if you need some basic tips of each country, if not get the Western and Eastern europe guide, but is really good for the traveller and lots of good tips and advice, so if you're going to differents parts of Europe this is the book to get, enjoy, I'm doing it!
   Claudio

5 comments about Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau.

1. This was the first time I bought a travel book from Lonely Planet. I loved it because it provides a historical as well as a modern background on the cities being visited. The recommendations for dinner, site-seeting, etc were great! The only thing I would've added is a rating of the top sites to see if you are only in the city for a short time.



2. I found this book to be extremely helpful in covering all the bases of transport, taxes, tipping, typical business hours, history, background, and a good overview of what's where, and how to get there. Often times, we'd have questions about things like poverty level, health coverage, average income, quality of water -- and found that the guide pretty much answered all of those, and more.
   
   The maps aren't super, and because of the size of the book, it made it difficult to carry. Besides, if you're asking a local for directions, you'd want a bilingual map, as the English names of cities/stations drive them crazy. (ie, Mandarin romanizations in a Cantonese city) I do give it credit for accurately pointing out the numerous obscure markets in Tsim Sha Tsui, as well as the various shops in Hong Kong City. The walking guides were surprisingly useful.
   
   The reason why I give it 4 stars is because HK is all about food and shopping, and the book came up seriously short on the food portion. (no pun intended) Despite it being only 3 months since publication (12th edition, Jan 2006) literally *every* restaurant this book recommended (of which we attempted to find) turned out to be non-existent, had changed ownership and had turned into some other shop. I attribute some of this to bad luck, but I seriously doubt the restaurants didn't *all* go out of business in the last 3 months, but rather that the information on the guide was a little outdated.
   
   The section on food is one part I really relied upon to book to help me out, and was pretty disappointed when it didn't come through for me, as the alternatives to an English guidebook aren't great. The alternatives are to ask the hotel clerk (who will recommend the hotel restaurant), or a random stranger (who will recommend his friend/family's restaurant), or read a weekly magazine about which eateries are good (which require Chinese reading skills).
   
   Despite my frugal 4 stars, this guide is considerably better than most, and is worth the small change to purchase, especially when compared to the amount of money you spent to book your vacation.



3. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting HK and Macau.



4. If you're looking for a book with good background information and history lessons this is the one for you. It is not the book to take to walk around the city with. It is simply too heavy. Your best bet is to just cut out the walking maps to take with you before leaving your hotel room. I liked the little walking tour of the bird market, flower market and fish market in Kowloon. As far as the restaurant recommendations are concerned...don't bother looking at the book. Most of the listings are somewhat expensive by local standard and don't offer the best food. All you have to do to find a good meal is to walk around and go to one that's packed with locals. Restaurants are everywhere and most of them open until the wee hours of the morning. There's no fear of not getting good food in Hong Kong. Go ahead, try something you can't find at home.



5. I returned from HK/Macau less than a week ago where my traveling companion had this book. It is full of useful and accurate information on Hong Kong. We found a number of restaurants listed in this book and were pleasantly surprised, however, the Macau sections were next to worthless. I'm convinced that there doesn't exist **anywhere** an accurate map of Macau.
   
   We planned to follow the walking tour of Macau AND tried to, but were unable to follow the instructions - we are both engineers (MIT and former Rocket Scientist) so following directions isn't usually a problem for us.
   
   Bottom line - good for HK, not so much for Macau.
   
   I had Fodor's Hong Kong's 25 Best, 5th Edition (25 Best) and found it less useful for our 13 day trip. It would be fine for 2-3 days however. The Fodor's included a pull out map that was much better than LP provided.

4 comments about Zhao Beijing China Travel Guide - Olympics 2008 Special Edition (Zhao Cards).

1. 
   If you are going to visit Beijing do not think twice about buying Zhao Beijing for your trip. Finally, we have a guide made by real travelers!! It is small, very useful, practical and so light!!! Its tips are excellent (especially the food suggestions). It fits in your pocket and its map does not get ruined after the second day of use. Highly recommended!!



2. I go to China very often for business. Moving around is always problematic if you don't hire a translator with you. Taxi drivers never understand when I try to mumble in Chinese and not even restaurants or bars in big hotels are able to take my order. However, on my recent trip, I bought a fantastic pocket guide in Beijing called Zhao Beijing (I was tremendously pleased to see Zhao Shanghai in Amazon and bought it immediately, my next trip to the city was memorable thanks to this guide). The first thing that attracted me was its sleek and practical design. Unlike other so-called pocket guides, Zhao is a very simple, yet clever idea: a ring bounds 99 cards and a map. This way, you can simply remove the cards you need and put them in your wallet without the need to carry the entire book. Being a businessman this has proven to be an invaluable feature; I'm able to secretly carry my guide to meetings with clients without looking like the biggest dork.
   
   But Zhao's real benefit is that all the information in the cards is listed both in Chinese and English -names of sites, restaurants, streets and even menus! This way you just get on a cab and show the driver a card, he/she will take you to your destination without speaking a word! No need to stress out every time you step outside. In addition, Zhao Cards' restaurant list is absolutely superb, the writers recommend a wide range of both prices and cuisines. And in each place they even make a selection of dishes. I would say that if you enjoy eating, this is a fantastic product.
   
   Furthermore, the cards are written in a witty and funny style. Zhao's insight into the city is deep and you can tell this guide was written not only by people that live in Beijing, but most important that love it. My only criticism? Develop more cities!!! Beijing and Shanghai are not enough.



3. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RQAKMZD5GHKLW My husband and I used these cards first in Shanghai. The first night we ate at some restaurant and ordered everything that it recommended. We don't know how to speak so all we did was show them the card and they brought it out. The food was sooooo good! We would have never known to order these local favorite dishes.
   
   This video is of us using the cards sight seeing in Pudong Shanghai.
   
   
   We also used the cards in Beijing. While my husband was in business meetings I took the cards and visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China. My favorite Zhao card was the shopping suggestion. When I told a local that I was going to this shopping market, she was surprised and asked me how I find out about it because it's mostly a local's shopping area. The cards suggested it! The cards also warned me about their aggressive sales style and recommended to start negotiating at least 30% below their start price. At first I was overwhelmed, then I totally got the hang of it. I got great items at great prices. I have both sets and am keeping them for my next trip back to Shanghai and Beijing. The language barrier is less daunting with these cards.



4. We used these cards in Beijing (in August 2008) and found them to be incredibly helpful. Each of the "place" cards (Temple of Heaven, for example) has the name and address of the place in English and Chinese characters. It also has the phone number (which was used by confused taxi drivers on a couple of trips); the subway line and closest stop, and the hours that the site is open. We pulled the cards that were the most useful for us, put them on the included keyring, and carried them with us wherever we went. There are cards for places, hotels, restaurants, shopping....food and beverages - you can just show these cards to the taxi driver, restaurant server, person on the street - they worked like a dream! My best ever impulse buy before heading to China!

5 comments about The River's Tale: A Year on the Mekong.

1. From Tibet to the South China Sea, Edward Gargan follows the Mekong while opining upon the people who call the watershed home. As travelogues go, this book is neither fantastic nor particularly poor. What heights it could have hit are limited by the imposition of his political views, yet Gargan's powers of description save it from becoming an ideological screed. Gargan deftly intertwines his geographical position with complaints about the oppressor most responsible for the local malaise. Some of these complaints are beyond doubt, such as Tibetan treatment at the hands of the Chinese and the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, but others seem a bit overwrought. Indeed, one is tempted to remind Mr. Gargan that, had he one positive observation about the U.S., he would not stand convicted of jingoism.
   
   Edward Gargan makes a telling statement near the end of the book where he summarily announces that he'd rather live abroad than in any city in the United States. A reader of travelogues should expect an honest attempt to address the cultural issues, flora, fauna, geography, architecture, etc., of the locality advertised. Gargan's The River's Tale doesn't quite get there for the need to repeatedly identify an entirely different part of the world as worthy of his disdain.
   
   Unquestionably biased, bereft of humor, at times shockingly myopic, (Gargan just can't wrap his mind around why many Vietnamese hold America in high esteem), The River's Tale somehow remains an entertaining read. I picked it up hoping for a riverine excursion through leafy asian jungles. Gargan doesn't deliver this, but something else: political travel. It deserves 4 stars for overcoming my disappointment. But, then, I love travel so much, I was willing to go along for the ride.



2. Patronizing and incredibly ignorant. What a shame some people will learn about the River and the region for the first time from this book.



3. I first read THE RIVER'S TALE in hardcover, and found it interesting enough - I was at the time more engrossed with the details of travel in a part of the world I would very much like to see.
   
   On my second pass through the book, a year or so later, certain weakneses did become apparent - Gargan's own politics and background might be in line with some of my own values, but the book seemed to slip into condescension and a touch of self-mythologizing in places, which is unforgivable. Gargan is a very strong writer, and crafts some extremely evocative prose, though his technical skills are at times the only thing that pulls one through.
   
   Similarly, Gargan's occasional complaining is puzzling, as he allegedly has enough experience in this part of the world to know what he's getting into on a trek like this. Oh well.
   
   There are brilliant bits however, especially as he travels downriver into Cambodia and Vietnam. Approaching the finale, THE RIVER'S TALE manages to rise above it's many flaws and express something of the wonder of the place that I wish had been present in other sections of the book.
   
   -David Alston



4. Once upon a time, a former New York Times South Asia bureau chief who now serves as Newsday's Asia Bureau Chief concluded he was too caught up in the rat race that makes up the life of a publication writer and manager. So he took a break... and got almost as geographically and culturally far from his usual life as possible. Edward A. Gargan courageously set out to navigate the entire length of the Mekong river, from its source in Tibet to its end in Vietnam. Far from being another book resulting from "journalist looks for a way to chuck his/her regular job for a year" disease, Gargan's book makes a respectable contribution to Asian-related travel literature.
   
   Gargan's mission occurs on a deeper level than the usual travelogue, and his objective is a challenge that few would undertake. Fewer still would have the patience to actually complete the task. Gargan's trip took him through Tibet, China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Unlike in Polly Evans' Fried Eggs with Chopstix, scheduled transportation exists only for very small portions of this journey. For the most part, he had to negotiate with local folk to help him navigate onwards. The trip involves all types of transportation, and he patiently deals with the frustrations involved in actually getting the various rides he has necessarily overpaid for. The negotiations themselves would have done me in, never mind the primitive, and sometimes downright difficult, conditions he usually found himself in. Having been a long-time resident of Asia, Gargan can be both comfortable and patient in situations where most tourists could not be.
   
   Through all this, the author approaches his goal with a cultural historian's eye. He seeks to place the river within the context of a particular country's culture and politics as he journeys southward. He spends more time in each place than the casual traveler might, and he has specific sights he wants to see and questions he aims to answers in most of the towns he passes through. As he speaks several languages, he often had the opportunity to talk with the local people. By the story's end, he discovered that there are more similarities among the Mekong's people than differences. The most significant parallel is the various hardships many river denizens have faced or currently withstand.
   
   It was easy to draw parallels between the various countries' past and present political and cultural situations; however, Gargan sometimes does not make the connections one might expect. Perhaps it is to protect his ability to operate as a journalist that he does he not offer more political commentary and perspective. One also wonders how he kept from being robbed. There are, it seems, some secrets he just doesn't share.
   
   Without a doubt, Gargan's journey is a remarkable achievement. Travelers to these regions will enjoy this story and appreciate his adventures, as will anyone interested in Asian culture.



5. Great book! I've travelled the Mekong but not as far as the author. I feel as if I'm there with him on every step of the journey.

5 comments about In Xanadu: A Quest.

1. I really enjoyed this book! Each little observation is spiced with whit, and brilliant inuendo. Each story line intrigued me more and more and to each amateur adventurer out there, I say you'll love it!



2. Even if you did not know that this was one of Dalrymple's earlier works, there is quite a bit in the narrative to suggest this. That is not to say that book is not really worth your time - it definitely is - but what is even more interesting is to see & observe the elements of erudition & wonder, & story-telling, that have always been so compelling about WD.
   
   But this is also personal story of a twenty-two year old - complete with a heartbreak - dashing across two continents. WD has certainly tried to talk about many personal episodes - & some of these are as hilarious as they're self-deprecating - but there are definitely pieces, thoughts, & events that probably would not be part of a more mature WD work.
   
   This book is the story of WD & his companions chasing down of Xanadu in Mongolia with a phial of oil from the Holy Sepulcher & all that happens in between.
   
   Informed, eccentric, & never dull.



3. 
   Well not quite, but sort of.
   
   At least this is what I kept thinking of as the author (referred to as Fatso by Mick, an expatriate hippie in Kashgar) and his travel companion Laura (she's the one clad in black) head out across Iran.
   
   They are on a madcap quest, ostensibly to retrace the tracks of Marco Polo in his journey from Jerusalem to the seat of power of Kublai Khan in Xanadu, bearing oil from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
   
   Dalrymple, a student at Cambridge, came up with this idea to kill time between college terms. Presumably the quasi academic cover was in some way necessary, and the intermittent references to Polo and his voyage are mildly interesting. But really this is a chronicle of a road trip plain and simple - a 1980's kind of On the Road.
   
   The Silk Road, that is.
   
   Anyway, all this makes for idle but entertaining reading, filled with intelligent observations and humorous snippets.
   
   Here, for example, is the English menu from a restaurant in Turkey:
   
   Kujuk Ayas Family Restrant
   
   Ingliz Menuyu
   
   Soap
   
   Ayas soap
   Turkish tripte soap
   Sheeps foot
   Macaront
   Water pies
   
   Eats From Meat
   
   Deuner kepab with pi
   Kebap with green pe
   Kebap in paper
   Meat pide
   Kebap with mas patato
   Samall bits of meat grilled
   Almb chops
   
   Vegetables
   
   Meat in eathernware stev pot
   Stfue goreen pepper
   Stuffed squash
   Stuffed tomatoes z
   Stuffed cabbages lea
   Leek with finced meat
   Clery
   
   Salad
   
   Brain salad
   Cacik - a drink made ay ay
   And cucumber
   
   Frying Pans
   
   Fried aggs
   Scram fried aggs
   Scurum fried omlat
   Omlat with brain
   
   Sweets and Rfuits
   
   Stewed atrawberry
   Nightingales nests
   Virgin lips
   A sweet dish of thinish batter with butter
   Banane
   Meon
   Leeches
   
   Recommended reading if ever you find yourself on an over civilized vacation.



4. I read this book on an airplane journey, and laughed so hard at some entries that I cried.
   And then I got depressed, because I realized that at the author's age, I would have been incapable of the deft writing and erudition he displayed.



5. In the mid 1980s, William Dalrymple (then in his early 20s) made a journey retracing the steps of Marco Polo's famous journey during the 1200s, from the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to the site of Shangdu (or Xanadu, as is better known in literature), the summer palace of Kublai Khan, in Outer Mongolia, China. In reality, though, since Soviet Central Asia was then barred to western travel, he deviated in part from Marco Polo's route, going through the Baluchi desert, in southern Iran and Pakistan, and then up the Indus river, and through the then newly opened Karakoram highway to western China, instead of traveling to China through Samarkand and other cities in Central Asia. The book itself is a mixed bag, there is some interesting things in it (at least he did some homework in terms of research) but there are far too many of the sort of banal, smug and self-centered comments and experiences you see in much of the travel writing of westerners as they go through the third world.

5 comments about The Chinese Have a Word for It : The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture.

1. But I'm going to give it four because the fort collins reviewer who points out the author's "bitter, judgemental, and condescending interpretation" is actually correct. I wouldn't characterize De Mente so harshly, but as much as the author loves and understands Chinese culture, it's clear that De Mente just doesn't get it. He points out, for example, a quotation from Mao Zedung who said that the Chinese are like grass. If you mow them over, more will grow to replace them.

   De Mente uses this example to shock western sensibilities and show how far "behind" the Chinese are in individual rights. Yet this is what makes China China: the focus on society and not the individual.

   For what it's worth, though, individual rights are coming to China because the Chinese want them. And so De Mente's judgements while perhaps inappropriate are not irrelevant.

   Personally, my biggest criticism of this book is that every Chinese word he presents is accompanied with his own transcription that I found worthless. I would've preferred that he used pinyin with tonal markers. But that's a small criticism considering the focus of the book is the exposition of each word, a collection of maybe a 100 essays, that give wonderfully concise -- and ignoring the subjective judgements, accurate -- summaries of Chinese culture.




2. The author paints China as this complex system of mannerisms and beliefs, when people are just people here in China. If you want a truly real perspective on China, I suggest you buy another book. If you are going to be on a plane for 14 hours, then it might be worthwhile to flip around in it, as it touches on a few interesting topics.
   
   Although the book tends to get it right on the larger scale of things, I thought the author must have been a person who collaborated the book from previous texts while on a "study vacation" of no more than 2 years in China. As soon as I read the first section on love, I hastily flipped to the front of the book to see when this book was published; horrificially I discovered it was first published in 2000 and furthermore would like to note was horrified as I was sure the book must have been published in the late 80s.
   
   There are so many language errors in this book, even of the Chinese characters written on the top of each section, that this author lost all credability with me immediately. The author attempts to portray that he is an expert on the subject of China, but I kept wondering the entire time: "Who edited this book? They should have caught these language errors." For example on page 26 entitled "Engaging in Melancholy", the correct romanization of the character should be qiu, not chou; and the first thing I thought of was "stinky" (which is one of the translations for the word chou).
   
   Another culturally insensitive, completely erroneous, and embarassing mistake is that the author contends that the word 'haole' (a Hawaiian word) translate to "white pig", while discribing other cultural ways of terming foreigners (see page 145). Having absolutely nothing to do with the subject of the book and being completely in error, I wish the editor or the author would have removed the unnecessary comment.
   
   Furthermore on page 145 the author asserts the term yang gui zi means "ocean ghosts", when in fact the character yang was used specifically to describe foreign things or items during the Opium War (things coming from beyond the ocean), during which this specific use of the language came out. The term should be corrected to mean "foreign devil".
   
   Again, page 404 title "A Chinese Nooner", the correct romanization should be wu xiu, not wu xin, or more colloquially refered to as zhong xiu.
   
   Anyway, maybe I am being picky...but this book does not represent China. If I could take the subjects in this book and write my own paragraph on them, I think it would be a lot different. That's the beauty of China, everyone takes away something different. I just have a lot more positive view than the author.
   
   
   



3. not a good book to form the basis of your understanding of Chinese culture, by a long shot. While other reviews have gone into detail about the author's lack of understanding of Chinese culture, or rather his bias, it's the two critical aspects of Chinese written language Mr. De Mente neglects that is even more important - namely the lack of emphasis on calligraphy and the radicals (sub-characters) that make up each character.
   
   This complexity is what gives Chinese so many more dimensions and to have him continually delve into the same theme of a subservient and troubled non-individual culture takes so much away from that.
   
   Now for the good. The author does give you a lot of information, but only in passing. The remaining legwork remains yours, which is what an author should do in the first place - inspire you to want to learn on your own. This is a decent source to refer to for research or if you are simply curious about Chinese. While his bias is inherent, it is not altogether off the mark given the standard of living in China even in this day and age. Refusing to embellish and feed the Western reader ambiguous Eastern mysticism easily distinguish the writer from the typical writings about Chinese culture and language.
   
   With all that said, this is only a work you should buy AFTER you have already formed an informed and detailed opinion about Chinese culture and thought. If not, you will definitely get an inaccurate impression that will only harm your ability to learn. Great tidbits and trivia all along the way, but skip this incomplete guide if you don't have time to burn.



4. I am a student of Mandarin Chinese, and that is why this book looked so appealing.
   
   This book is nothing more than the opinions of an amateur anthropologist. As others have said, it is full of value judgments and is condescending. It contains no references or citations. It could have been written 100 years ago. Its only value is as a study of what arrogant authors will churn out to make a buck. The suggested pronunciations are of limited value because they are incomplete and without tones. There are some interesting parts and it is a very easy read, but I wouldn't trust any of it to be 100% accurate.



5. The lack of pinyin is a serious flaw for Chinese learners; with pinyin you could look up the characters in the Wenlin dictionary.
   
   Most of what I read rings true even though the author's perspective appears tainted. If you can read through that bias it can help you better understand the Chinese when you are on the ground there.

No comments about Shanghai Style (Icons).

No comments about Wild China: Natural Wonders of the World's Most Enigmatic Land.