5 comments about After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese.

1. As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written.I recommend it to anyone interested in that war, or the role of women in war, or anyone interested in a good book. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.



2. As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Han Noi, Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. Unknown to my friend, I was in Quang Ngai City in 1969 when she was there (I in Air Cavalry, she with Quaker Services) and I knew of (and respected) the work of her organization from that time. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. The reception has always been positive. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written. It covers several extended visits by Ms Borton to various parts of the country over a span of some twenty years. I recommend it to anyone interested in the war, or the role of women in war, or really anyone interested in a good book. The beginning section, a visit to a village in the Mekong delta area, was particularly startling in the discussion of how effective the village women were as guerillas. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.



3. Lady Borton holds some strong opinions as I have noted on a recent trip to Viet Nam. In this wonderful book however she holds them in check and expresses everything in the words, experiences and thoughts of others who presumably were there. Reading this in country and in fact in the exact places cited in the book was a moving experience. Borton does not actually take a view on agent orange here although she has one. In fact emphasising that a woman's statements in the text are annecdotal and without statistical foundation is more than fair to other opinions. Nor does she promote communism but rather separates it from the nationalism which won the war for her friends who only begin to thrive when a market economy arrives. This is a wonderful story reflecting what other war participants think and feel in contrast to our own long held ideas.



4. From her experience living together with the common people, Lady Borton is able to reveal to us the main reason why the Americans failed to win the war in Vietnam. In fact, the war is already lost even before it began. Vietnamese is those special breed of people that's enormously proud of their country & should Americans have learnt about Vietnamese history, then, they would have to think twice before deciding to chip in efforts in assisting the French, & subsequently, to fight against communism. It so happened that after interviewing the common people, they were not fighting the Americans for communism but they simply wanted to win the right to enjoy their lives, to live as a free person with their own people. We also learnt of women's significant contribution towards the cause. Along the way, they lost their loved ones, & many became victims to chemical warfare conducted by the Americans. Surprisingly, many Vietnamese don't have ill-feelings against Americans because they always regarded the American Government differently from the Americans. The book also gives us a glimpse of their cultures (celebration of Tet & New Year), difference beween North & South Vietnam. To make the reading more interesting, there were pictures taken of the author with her new found friends ie. villagers, drawing of villages layouts, map of Vietnam, outline of Vietnam history, description of Vietnamese terms, relevant poems to start every & each chapters written by Vietnamese nationalists & poets. I don't find the book particularly captivating to read as it's quite long winded describing every little details about domestic chores. For those that yearn to feel the essence of villagers' life, perhaps, it's worth the while. Still, this doesn't deter the author's goal of reconciling between the States & Vietnam, & thus, the title of the book, After Sorrow.



5. this is one of the most biased, misleading books I have ever read. it reports all of the bad things that the south and the americans did, but totally ignores the atrocities committed by the north, like the 10,000 civilians killed in Hue during the 1968 VC offensive, including many who were buried alive. if the author is truly a pacifist, why are these not mentioned?

   beyond that, it tends to be repetitive and self-congradulatory.

3 comments about Lonely Planet Road Trip Hudson River Valley (Road Trip Guide).

1. I just returned from a trip to the Hudson River Valley using this book as my primary guide. WIlliams' style was entertaining, and her restaurant advice terrific when it came to The Calico Restaurant in Rhinebeck (we had a fabulous meal) but important details were neglected.
   
   WIlliams' accurately described the town of Hudson, with the town center choc-a-bloc full of antique shops, surrounded by urban decay. With a love of antiques, I planned a trip to Hudson to for an extensive 'tique crawl only to discover 99% of the shops are open ONLY Friday-Sunday. Hudson being far north of my base, the travel time ate much of the day making a last minute change of plans a real challenge.
   
   Likewise, she neglected to mention in any detail the Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, which is a fascinating place with an excellent perennial garden and very pleasant, helpful and knowlegable staff. Fortunately, we stumbled onto this place by accident, but it was a trip highlight.
   
   Short shrift was similarly given to the many wineries in the area, merely mentioning their existence but with few details.
   
   The maps were helpful, and as I mentioned earlier, our lunch in Rhinebeck at the Calico Restaurant was divine so she gets credit for that. Otherwise, think of this book as a basic intro only and plan on doing much more research before you depart for the Hudson River Valley.



2. I am a Lonely Planet enthusiast and usually use them as my main source during trips and collect them for armchair reading. I saw this and picked it up since I live near the area and have not ventured there in a long time.
   
   This book should only be purchased if you already have the Moon Handbook to New York. I just got the Moon after using this and another guide on previous trips and I feel foolish.
   
   First of all, the money you save by buying this little diary may very well be spent anyway since Ms. Williams doesn't seem to have any interest in anything but high end B&Bs, so if you are on a budget and don't mind a clean but boring room there are no listings, that's none: zero. I found places like this but at random, and almost stayed in a dangerous area because I knew of no alternatives. Moon lists all acceptable motels and B&Bs and lets you decide what you want and how much dough you have.
   
   Second, Ms. Williams likes cool coffee shops, eatieries, shops, but doesn't seem too keen on turning out much copy on historical and cultural sights, so there is precious little coverage. Moon's background info is superior and again, they list all the options and let you decide. Moon New York has more overall info on Hudson Valley despite the fact that it covers the rest of the state as well, and if your car can go over 40 mph I'm sure there's something in a neighboring area that suit your tastes.
   
   And I know LP has other regional guides, but would it kill them to throw in more coverage of the Catskills? We're not talking about Miami to Greenland here, just what's within a two hour drive.



3. I bought this book before I read the reviews, and I'm glad I did. The Hudson River Valley is expensive. That's why no cheap lodgings are in the book. We stayed at the Peekskill Inn and found it very affordable as well as charming. The book is small enough for an easy carry - as befits a weekend tripper. It's nicely divided into possible weekend trips so the reader can choose which area fits their mood. Each area gets a thorough review of what it has to offer - not just food, lodging, cultural events, but an understanding of where the area has been and what it has to offer the traveler. The icing on the cake is that the book is fun to read, e.g. "Woodstock feels like an unmade bed - comfortable but disheveled."

No comments about Scrapbook for Chinese Collectors.

No comments about Hong Kong: Here Be Dragons.

No comments about Long March Diary: China Epic.

No comments about Travels in Little-Known Parts of Asia Minor: Volume 2.

5 comments about Walk Beijing: Walking Guide to Beijing.

1. There's just too much filler here to be a complete book. As other reviewers have mentioned, it's only 132 pages, and a lot of those have very little content. It seems like a good idea for a book that's only about 25 percent finished.



2. I'm strangely indifferent towards this book. On one hand, it's not bad with showing various walking tours of Beijing, but on the other, I can't get over how poorly designed this book is. I've been to Beijing before, and walking around is an exercise in masochism. The pollution doesn't make walking around that great. The walks themselves are ok. But if you plan on buying this with the idea that you're going to enjoy walking around and breathe clean air for hours, you're sadly mistaken.
   
   The downside is that the book looks like someone put this together with craptastic maps and Wikipedia and done in Word. It needed someone to lay it out professionally.
   
   In the book's favor, it does have a lot of helpful information about the city itself, but nothing that's new outside of a Lonely Planet/Rough Guide travel book. It's obvious that this is a good attempt to sell some books and profit off of the Olympics. And it does that well - the book also has spaces for notes and is meant as a souvineer keepsake of people's first time in Beijing.
   
   At the end of the day, the book is just average and I'm strangely indifferent towards the book. Would I buy this? Probably not, but I'd flip through it at the store and read it and hope it ends up in the bargain bin.



3. I have traveled quite a bit throughout Asia, but I have not yet spent much time in China. Beijing is definitely one of the cities I plan to visit. I was not familiar with "The Suzy Guides" but checked out "Walk Beijing" by Annie Coburn, Zhu Xiaojian, and Lorin Bruckner. As guide books go, this book was okay. It did provide some interesting things regarding Beijing, but lacked information I was really looking for. This book would be a good addition to books you take on a trip to Beijing, but it would not suffice to be the only book to help you on your journey.
   
   The first few pages have some basic travel information. Nothing outstanding, just general basics. There are then five "walks." These are interesting and it would be fun to take these walks, however I think one might find things of interest that this guide book leaves out. I still believe some of the points of interest on these walks would be fun to see, and the walk guide would be a good starting point for a day's outing.
   
   One thing the book lacked was color. All of the photographs were black and white. I would have enjoyed seeing color photographs. I also thought there was too much blank space in the book. There were four pages for your "contact list." Most people have an address book or electronic device that stores contact information. I don't think people are going to copy twenty some contacts into this guide. There were also a lot of "notes" pages, "journal" pages, and "memories of Beijing" pages where you are supposed to take notes, journal your trip, and collect and save souvenirs to turn the guide into a type of trip scrap book. Some people might enjoy this part of the book, but personally I rather keep my journal entries in my journal and will save my trip memories in a different place. I want a guide book to be a guide book. I don't want more than 30 pages of a 133 page book to contain no information to help me on my trip.
   
   Bottom line, some of the pictures were cool, some of the information was very good and makes me want to visit Beijing and take a couple of the outlined walks, but the book left me wanting more. If you have a good travel/guide book of China/Beijing, this book could be a good additional book to take along if you have the space. As I said, it would not be the ONLY book on Beijing to take on your journey.
   
   Reviewed by Alain Burrese, author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks and the dvds: Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series and articles including a regular column on negotiation for The Montana Lawyer. Alain Also wrote a series of articles called Lessons From The Apprentice.



4. This book does in a sense deliver on its promise as it includes some nice walks in Beijing. The only problem is that if you are not that famiilar with the city already you may not be sure why the sights pointed out are worth seeing. The lack of color photos and the generally grainy typesetting of the book gives it the appearance of being printed from an old mimeograph machine in a computer age. It's good for what it does, but a better presentation and more professional production could have made this a lot better.



5. I'm used to Fodor and Frommer Guides. I've found them invaluable in my travels. They are petite, have sturdy pages, and contain clear color-rich visuals. Name the city, I can toss one in my handbag and hit the street ... knowing that "expertise" is stationed right next to my lip-balm. "Walk Beijing" disregards everything that these reputable, established publishers have created.
   
   The text is HUGE. Clearly, it's not meant to be carried around the city ... even though it contains maps and directions. I'm not talking thick, I'm talking TALL AND WIDE. What were they thinking??! Moreover, this text doesn't have the vibrant glossy pages that entice one to travel to out-of-the way spots ... the paper is thin, matte, and easy-to-tear (think: coarse coloring-book style). The illustrations (of dancing bears!) and the photos are grainy and dull. Such a disappointment.
   
   For a the same price, grab Frommer's Beijing or Fodor's Beijing. They are sturdy and time-tested. Not to mention that this text is specifically focused on the 2008 Summer Olympics ... which are long over. (I don't just mean that it has some references to the Olympics, the THEME is THE OLYMPICS).
   
   Bottom-line: It may be cute (I'll grant them that), but when I'm paying four-grand for a trip, I don't want a cutesy, low-quality guide. I want a serious, time-tested, colorful, high-end guide (which is weirdly the same price as this "cheap" one).

No comments about Travels in Little-Known Parts of Asia Minor: Volume 1.

No comments about Experiencing China.

1 comments about The Sacred Life of Tibet.

1. This fresh look at the actual practice of Tibetan Buddhists is a nice change from the traditional overview dealing with philosophical intricacies. Dowman looks at the practice through and folk lore and traditions that make up the history of the people. Issues such as how Buddhists relate to their environment and how that has effect the unique form of Buddhism that arose from the Tibetan culture are dealt with in such a way to appeal to experts and students alike. The amount of material covered is amazing, as well as the depth.