2 comments about We're Riding on a Caravan (Travel the World).

1. This is a lovely, lyrical book that tells the story of a family's journey along the silk road, to buy and sell and trade goods along the way. The illustrations are gorgeous, the story satisfying. Each time my children and I read this book, we find something new that we like about it.



2. This book tells the story of a Chinese family of traders who travel the Silk Road from Xian in the East to Kashgar and back again. The illustrations are watercolours with rich colour and extra detail is added to the goods bought along the way. The background although usually simple and serene shows changes in the countryside travelled through. I feel the book conveys the romance, excitement and history of the Silk Road to children and adults. I have read it to my class at school and have accompanied it by excerpts from Yo-yo Ma's "Silk Road Journeys."

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.

1 comments about It's All Chinese to Me: An Illustrated Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China.

1. It's All Chinese to Me: An Illustrated Overview of Culture and Etiquette in China is a straight-talk, no-nonsense introduction to basic Chinese culture and rules for politeness. The simple, cartoony, black-and-white illustrations help drive home these absolute "must-know" lessons for tourists and business travelers - especially anyone responsible for business negotiations! The advice ranges from common faux pas to avoid (never give clocks or cut flowers as a gift - they symbolize approaching mortal death), to the titanic importance of allowing others to "save face" (never rebuke a Chinese person in public!), to how one should behave when invited to another's house (guests should always leave a little food on their plates - too much left suggests that the food was bad, and a clean plate suggests that the hosts have not fed the guest properly) and much more. It's All Chinese to Me offers a balanced view of China's cultural strengths and weaknesses, and should be required reading for international travelers. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West.

1. If you want to travel the high himmalayas, find samadhic bliss in a freezing cave, and meet an unimaginable cast of characters rendered in their full-robed glory and unabashed humanity, read this book. If you want to follow the careful hand of a smiling scholar and come to understand the diaspora of Tibetan Buddhism to the west in the last century, likewise.



2. At the beginning of "Re-Enchantment", (2004) a study of Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Jeffery Paine describes Thomas Merton's journey to Dharamsala, the home of the Tibetan government in exile, in 1968. Paine describes how Merton's initial skepticism towards the Tibetan form of Buddhism quickly vanished and how Merton came to think that this then-obscure sect of Buddhism might "spiritually reanimate" (p.8) the West.
   
   Following his exploration of Tibetan Buddhism's reception in the West, Paine discusses (pp. 257-259) three factors that he believes have influenced many people in the West in their search for spiritual renewal: 1. universality and nonpartisanship, by which Paine means that this esoteric Buddhist sect has been transformed in the West to a religion accessible to people of all backgrounds, races, and creeds; 2. individual responsibility, by which Paine means the emphasis given in all schools of Buddhism to individuals working towards their own enlightenment; and 3.heightened capabilities, or the hope Tibetan Buddhism holds out of deepening one's understanding of oneself and reaching new spiritual depths. Paine concludes that "even if Tibetan Buddhism disappeared tomorrow, it would have meanwhile enriched numerous lives and renewed appreciation for what spirituality is." (p. 260)
   
   This is an inspiring vision indeed, and there is much in Paine's study and to teach. Paine introduces the reader to a mixed group of seekers who helped bring Tibetan Buddhism to westerners searching for a revitalized form of spirituality. The prominent characters include Alexandra David-Neel, a woman who made a hazardous journey to Lhasa in the 1920s, while in her mid-50s, overcame her own skepticism, and helped spread early knowledge of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, Diane Perry, an English woman raised in the slums who became a Tibetan Buddhist nun named Tenzin Palmo and spent 12 years meditating in a cave in Tibet, Lama Thubten Yeshe, one of the first Tibetan lamas to attempt to teach Westerners, the American Harold Talbot, one of the first Americans to study in Tibet and the founder of a publishing house, and, of course primarily, the Dalai Lama himself. The book also discusses other important figures with a mixed influence including Chogyam Trungpa, a former Tibetan monk who became highly influential in the United States but whose life and particularly that of his successor was tainted by sexual, alcoholic, and financial scandal, and Catherine Burroughs, the founder of a large Tibetan center outside Washington, D.C. who has been described in Martha Sherrill's highly critical book, "The Buddha from Brooklyn" (2000)
   
   There is much to be learned from this account, and Paine does not hesitate to point out the scandals that have plagued Tibetan Buddhism in the West, or its adoption by a host of Hollywood and media types. But he also points out that there is something fresh and alive in the movement and that, transplanted and Westernized, Tibetan Buddhism, has brought awakened many people of differing backgrounds -- including secularists -- to possibilities of spiritual growth within themselves.
   
   Paine's book lacks the detail and breadth of a scholarly study. His decision not to include at least a basic bibliography was unfortunate. More importantly, the book does not give much of an account of the teachings of Buddhism and of the specific teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Such an account, of course, is essential to understanding how this form of Buddhism has itself been transformed by its contact with the West. There is also some tendency, common to many writers on this subject, towards idealization of Tibetan Buddhism -- a too quick attempt to project some of the needs and values of Western secularism onto a religious teaching from a much different source.
   
   Paine's study, I think, is too quick and too heady, but still valuable. I recommend that those readers wanting a more scholarly and sober account of the doctrinal bases of Tibetan Buddhism, as transferred to the West, see the many books of Professor David Lopez. His "Prisoners of Shangri-La" is a good place to start.
   
   Robin Friedman



3. The goal of this book is to relate the stories of people who brought Tibetan Buddhsm or who received it from Tibet and carried it further into the West. There are chapters on Tenzin Palmo, Dalai Lama, Chogyam Trungpa, Lama Yeshe, and others. One especially interesting chapter for me focused on Jarvis Jay Masters, a prisoner on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary because he killed a prison guard.
   
   Jarvis discovered Tibetan Buddhism through an article in a magazine that had been given him. Eventually he received initiation from a Tibetan Lama within prison. According to the book, a prisoner known as a Buddhist is in more in jeopardy than others.
   
   The author's style is quick moving and interesting. Probably non-Buddhists who are interested in Buddhism or this particular aspect of it would enjoy this book. Buddhists might feel it worth reading and intriguing --despite its popular presentation.



4. In the beginning, Westerners went East,with such Victorian voyagers as Alexandra David-Neel (who gets a brief bio in this book) and Sir Richard Francis Burton,who penned the first English translation of the Kama Sutra. "Re-enchantment" studies Westerners' fascination with Tibetan Buddhism in particular, and why Buddhism grows in the West.
   
   "Re-enchantment" is a series of portraits, from Lama Yeshe,one of the first Tibetan monks to teach Westerners to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the alcoholic and promiscuous founder of Shambhala Buddhism. Jeffery Paine doesn't gloss over the controversial aspects of people's lives. He sees it as essential to telling their stories. He interviews Richard Gere, and meditates on Tenzin Palmo,the English woman who lived as a hermit in the Himalayas in "The Land of Living Dakinis (Sky Goddesses)." He wrestles with whether or not Jetsunma Akhon Lhamo (nee Alyce Zolli) is a living reincarnation of a 17th century Tibetan female teacher,despite her living a lavish lifestyle and enjoining her former lovers-both male and female-to live celibate lives in her monastery.
   
   Paine understands Tibetan Buddhism's enchantment. It promises peace, compassion, a life free of illusions. He connects monotheism with the 9/11 attacks as well as the current war in Iraq. For Paine, Buddhism is about happiness-for one's self and others-without the disquieting aspects of God and dogma. It is no wonder,then,Buddhism continues to grow in the US, and even in Germany, the home of the current Pope, the Dalai Lama is the more favored spiritual leader.



5. Even those who already know the story will enjoy spending time between the pages of Jeffrey Paine's engaging narrative. Through profiles of four well-known teachers, plus a few lesser lights, he recounts Tibetan Buddhism's arrival in North America after being driven in mid-20th century from its native environment, a tale of cynical and world-weary westerners becoming re-enchanted with the world.
   
   A regular contributor to national publications, Paine knows how to keep a reader's attention. The book never lags and I would guess that most readers will be unwilling to put it down at the end of the evening. When the occasion warrants, Paine also lets his sense of humor shine, as in his discussion of actor Steven Segal, the world's most unlikely reincarnated lama and the only one, Paine observes, capable of uttering _Dalai Lama_ and _motherf......_ in the same sentence.
   
   The book's most interesting insights are found in the chapter on Hollywood, a place where many are infatuated with the Dalai Lama and where you can even find a few practicing Buddhists, most prominently Richard Gere. Paine argues that actors already share a world view consistent with Buddhism, that thoughts and actions create reality. This dovetails nicely with the American ethos of being able to reinvent oneself, to start a new life. Paine sees a correlation in the growth of Buddhism in a society raised on film. Where the Buddha declined to discuss the soul and instead focused on our moment-to-moment experience of life, so too does the cinema ignore the metaphysical in building reality from sound, motion, and feeling.
   
   The first of the book's five sections covers what little was known about Tibet in the west before the Chinese invasion of 1951 through the story of Alexander David-Neel (1868-1969), one of the first westerners (and the first western woman) to spend years in Tibet and to return home to write about it. This is followed by chapters on two lamas who had a lasting influence on North American Buddhism: Thubten Yeshe, whose teaching tours sprouted more than a hundred study and mediation centers across the United States and Canada; and Chogyam Trungpa, who started what is today the only accredited Buddhist university in North America. From the exiles Paine moves on to profile two homegrown lamas, the first generation of western teachers: Tenzin Palmo (Diane Perry), who spent 12 years in retreat and was only the second woman to be ordained in a Tibetan tradition; and Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo (Alyce Zeoli), the world's first female western-born reincarnated lama. The fourth section traces Hollywood's infatuation with Buddhism, and the last features sketches of three work-a-day North American converts.
   
   Except for those in the last section, the figures profiled here are quite well known and for many of those already familiar with Tibetan Buddhism in North America, Paine has little new to offer to the story. What he brings is a deft sense of narrative, as well as a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of people and Buddhism. It's not clear from the text nor from online references whether Paine is a practicing Buddhist. But his balanced treatment of some of Tibetan Buddhism's more controversial characters, ones that often invite polarized reactions, suggest more than a need to live up to journalistic standards, more than a desire to protect these figures (and by implication Buddhism) from ridicule, but a genuine Buddhist-like concern for the welfare of others and an ability to see that none of us are perfect beings.
   
   #

No comments about Hong Kong Complete Residents' Guide.

4 comments about The Oxford Chinese Minidictionary (Dictionary).

1. I liked this "big-little" dictionary well enough to want a bigger version of it and tried to find it at Amazon.com. I may not have used the correct search technique, because its bigger brother book did not seem to be there for me to buy. The review by Jeffrey Chapman expressed my own feelings and frustations very well. This is a very good dictionary for serious beginners like me that appreciate the integrated blend of Pinyin romanization for the sounds of Mandarin with the real Chinese characters there to be seen and with English words and helpful examples of expressions and sentences.
   A "Big-little" book is a special kind of book I remember as a child. And this memory hints at my age. A "big-little" book was made for kids and had print size consistent with book size (and shape); but the "Oxford Chinese Minidictionary" tried to put adult-size content into child-sized volume!



2. BEWARE! This dictionary looks good. It is compact and neatly presented. The English-Chinese section includes some essentials not always found in other dictionaries: (1) it gives Chinese words in Chinese characters and in Pinyin complete with tones; and (2) it distinguishes, in English, between different senses of English words.

   But the dictionary is a disgrace, totally unprofessional and nearly useless.

   I took a leading article in the Melbourne Age newspaper - the kind of article in straightforward English, without fancy words, that I would give to a mid-level student of English. Its short first paragraph contained the following words, not one of which is in the English-Chinese section of the dictionary: security, endure, terrorism, establish, prompt, territory, constant, covert, action, suggest, seizure, cargo, weapon, numerous, revive, struggle, invasion, negotiate, settlement, image, cling, and detriment. In the same paragraph, common usages not in the dictionary included bound for, and along with. The dictionary does not contain grain, radical, philosophy, biography, motive, lung, darling or despair.

   Words that DO appear include: decaffeinated, evacuate, slot machine, beet root, hockey, showjumping, kangaroo, eggcup, hostage, hoover, and coconut.

   If looking for words reminds you of children looking for "naughty" words in a dictionary at school, there is no need to bother; this book will not help you to talk about penises, vaginas, urine, nipples or puberty, let alone anything more adventurous.

   Many words specifically important in China are missing, at least from the English-Chinese section, including: dynasty, pagoda, province, prefecture, county - even (unbelievably) communist and Marxist.

   Even some words in the Chinese-English section fail to appear in the English-Chinese section, including: dynasty, province, county and pagoda.

   In these days when computers are obtainable in Djibouti, let alone Great Clarendon Street Oxford, it is difficult to understand how a dictionary could get words out of alphabetical order; but obtain comes before observe.




3. I purchased this dictionary prior to a two-week stay in Taiwan. I used it 10 to 30 times a day in a wide variety of situations - mostly to look up vocabulary words in the English-Chinese section, but also on several occasions to decipher what people were saying to me in the Chinese-English section. The pinyin is clear and the examples were great.

   As one of the reviewers above noted, some of the words I looked up were absent, but this only happened a few times and in most cases I was able to find a suitable synonym. I spent over an hour comparing dictionaries in the bookstore, and found this to be true of ALL of the pocket dictionaries I looked at.

   On several occastions people I was speaking with were so impressed with my ability to 'unstick' conversations (and look up words alphabetically by pinyin) with this dictionarry that they would invariably ask to take a look at it and spend some time browsing and discussing it themselves.

   It is also the only one of the pocket dictionaries which I was able to actually get into my pocket, or hold unobtrusively in one hand while I walked around the city.

   The dictionary also includes a simple character/radical lookup chart, which I was actually able to use to look up some written characters I encountered (though this can take several minutes per character).

   The dictionary is intentionally non-symmetrical; the Chinese-English side contains words and concepts you are likely to encounter, and the English-Chinese side contains words and concepts you are likely to want to express. For example, whereas the Chinese side has more words to express things like politeness and family relationships, the English side has more words for more Western things like skydiving and mowing the lawn.

   This might not be the right dictionary for someone translating a Chinese newspaper, but for a 1st-year Mandarin student trying to survive in Taiwan this dictionary was invaluable.




4. This dictionary has its niche ... and it fits me perfectly. I've worked in China for the past two and a half years and this dictionary has been my constant companion. I use it for daily activities (store, post office, bike repair) and it has never let me down. It is also far more compact than any of the other dictionaries belonging to my friends.
   
   The reason I gave this dictionary 5 stars is because it possesses something which no other dictionary has (even others in the Oxford series) : whole phrases that are written in english, pinyin, and characters. When you look up an English word in most other pocket dictionaries they may provide you with a one word chinese equivalent in characters and pinyin. Some of the better ones will even give you an example phrases which shows how the word is used correctly. But here's the problem ... that example phrase is almost always given in Chinese characters. This dictionary gives you an example phrase in pinyin and characters!
   
   Of course this is not the dictionary for you if you want to translate an official paper or engage in advanced chinese studies, but if you are going to live in-country and begin picking up the language on your own then this dictionary is an invaluable resource because it provides you with beautiful examples of word-usage without requiring you to read 100's of characters. It's like a mini-textbook. Nothing else touches it.
   
   As a testament to how helpful this mini-dictionary really is: after seeing how amazing my dictionary was, three separate co-workers of mine gave up using their previous dictionaries and ordered their own copies of the Oxford Chinese mini-dictionary.

1 comments about Frank Kingdon Ward's Riddle Of The Tsangpo Gorges.

1. The story of Frank Kingdon Ward and his exploration of this remote unexplored part of Tibet is marvelous. His writing flows, he takes hardship and danger placidly, and his descriptions are wonderful. The photos and maps make you feel as if you are there with him, knowing his porters, the village people and friends. This is a great book to add to your collection of favorites.

1 comments about National Geographic Traveler: Hong Kong, 2d Ed. (National Geographic Traveler).

1. This travel book is fantastic....I have several National Geographic Traveler Guides and wish they made them for everywhere. I have always used Lonely Planet exclusively but have been switching over to these guides instead in places that are covered by National Geographic. I work for an airline so I travel a lot, and these really are the best. They sometimes miss a few little details that Lonely Planet has, but the problem with Lonely Planet is there is often too much information and not enough photos/descriptions. The National Geographic books have tons of photos so you know what you want to see, and give great route and detailed itinerary descriptions so you don't miss anything along the way. You must have this book if you are going to Hong Kong! If you are backpacking you might still need the Lonely Planet, but if you are just traveling through or are visiting on business or pleasure buy this book.

No comments about Frommer's Beijing Day by Day, Official U.S.O.C. Edition (Frommer's Day by Day).

5 comments about Behind the Wall: A Journey Through China.

1. The book is just wonderful, and it is written expetionally well. I've been to China and I can see that his descriptions are very true (I don't mean geography here).



2. This is a rather dated book about Thubron's journey through the Red China of the 1980s. The Wall he is referring to is the Great Wall and he visits both ends of it and meanders around this vast country. As a travel experience, Thubron treats his travel experiences by jumping around. First he tries to describe the countryside, with some flourishing descriptions and this tends to confuse the reader. Perhaps he is writing this for a British audience, but those of us on the other side of the Atlantic have a hard time digesting some of his wordings. He jumps from one experience to the next, so the flow of his writing is rather jolting. Some of his experiences make for good stories, but for the reader to mine this, he is in for an uneven read.
   This is an average read because of the flow of the book. For those interested in Red China, this may be of interest. For those interested in travel, there are better travel books out there.



3. this book uber awesome. there is absolutely nothing bad i can say about it. i think every one should have a copy of this book. I have one negative thing to say about it though. it sucked, thats why i gave it one star. I hate the world!!!!



4. Very informative adventure/travel book about what life in China was like in the mid 1980s. Rare in the sense that the author can actually speak Chinese (Mandarin), so he's not as limited as to who he can speak with as some other travel writers. We get a pretty good cross-section of Chinese people--farmers, businessmen, city dwellers, homemakers, university students. Also of interest is the author's exploration of the generation that came of age during the Cultural Revolution, and that missed out on the usual educational opportunities. I like the details, like how eating an owl, feathers and all, is supposed to cure epilepsy. This is a great read if you are interested in learning more about such an important place.



5. This book is a record of a long journey the author took through China in the mid-1980s. Before embarking, Thubron took an intensive course in Mandarin back in his native England. This enabled him to converse with the people he met he met on his trip without having to resort to translators or guesswork. Thubron met people from all walks of life--professors, students, doctors, bureaucrats, and peasants. His trip took him from one side of the country to the other.
   
   Thubron enjoys language, and seems to go out of his way to find specific descriptive terms for all he sees. Sometimes he goes a little too far out of his way, like when he describes some Beijing apartment blocks as "tundra-like", leaving the reader wondering what in the world he had in mind, or whether this was just a random choice of words. But for the most part, his use of vocabulary makes his descriptions come to life. Thubron was not greatly enamored with China; he is ready to find the bad along with the good, and his attitude at times can come across as a bit too negative. Nevertheless, the book provides an interesting glimpse of what a British traveler found in China some 10 years after Mao's passing.