3 comments about A Musical Journey: From the Great Wall of China to the Water Towns of Jiangnan.

1. This book has great colorful pictures for kids and is written in a way that kids will find it interesting. It's hard to cram so many years of Chinese history into a short children's book but the author has done a good job of hitting the interesting high points. The accompanying CD has some wonderful original compositions. This is a welcome addition to the library of children's books on China.



2. You and your child will be guided throught this amazing book with Ming & Kim who are also dressed in costumes of minority tribes through out the Peoples' Republic of China. This is how the book breaks down. Each page also has it's very own music track. The music is absolutely beautiful and is unlike any Chinese music cd that we own! The more we listen to this cd we really love it! My daughter actually requests to hear certain songs, our favorite has sounds like running horses!
   
   CD -
   Great Wall of China - The Chinese Dragon
   The book and music speaks of how on Chinese New Year there is a big dragon dance to celebrate the New Year. It talks about how Chinese drums & cymbals give you a feeling of happiness. " This Asian adaptation of music that is played during festive occasions".
   
   Silk Road
   It's music has foot bells and a tambourine in this original composition.
   
   Inner Mongolia
   This track is suppose to make you feel like you are racing across the plains on horseback and uses traditional Mongolain music with a horse head fiddle. ( It's doesn't look like a horse head at all. Imagine a square guitar with a long neck and curved handle like a cane).
   
   XinJiang
   This track has an instrument called a Rawap and is suppose to convay a young Uyghur girl dancing during a festive occasion. there is a small drawing of what a Rawap looks like as well as other instruments in other songs.
   
   Tibet
   This track has banjo, Tibetan drums and a bamboo flute and is supposed to make you think of children celebrating.
   
   Sichuan
   This melody is an updated folk music and it has a Bawu which is a type of Chinese clarinet.
   
   Guizhou
   " Maioa people relay messages, including expressions of friendship and love, to each other through song. These songs echo through the mountain ranges. A Miao girl plays the Lusheng" instrument.
   
   Guilin
   This track features a copper drum in the background and is suppose to take you to a woman who is picking tea leaves in the spring morning sun.
   
   Yunnan
   " The bamboo dance is a popular dance among the minority tribes of Yunnan. Dances move deftly between bamboo poles accompanied by the rhythmic beats of copper and wooden drums".
   
   Dongbei
   The main instrucments in this track are Chinese drums, cymbols, erhu and banhu. This track is known as Yang Ge and is played in parades during festive celebrations where thousands of people line up to watch the parades.
   
   Central Plains
   The bamboo flute in this track imitates a singing bird and also includes an instrument called a Pipa. It is suppose to make you think a grandfather laying under a big shade tree playing his flute while his grandson chases a small bird around the tree.
   
   Jiangnan
   This track is a new version of a 200-year-old Jiangnan folk song called Jasmine Flower. The song uses the Erhu which is kinda like a violin and the Pipa. Jasmine flowers are small and white and have the sweetest scent. You are suppose to imagine sitting in a boat on the canal in Zhouzhuang.
   
   
   The information in this book is unbelieveable and combined with the cd makes this set a must have for anyone who loves China! Defiantely worth adding to your home library!



3. We love this book! Not only was the book thoughtfully written, the painting were beautiful, and the characters in this books were so cute. We really appreciate the CD that accompanies the book. The music that comes with the book makes reading it a joy, and a fun expereince for the children. We learn a lot about China through this book, thank you!

3 comments about Planet Shanghai: Architecture Family Food Fashion and Culture of China's Great Metropolis.

1. I bought this book a month ago and have been looking at the images ever since. This is a great snapshot of Shanghai as it is now (or at least, a couple of years back) and what an interesting tale it tells. If you cannot tell by the cover, this book is (mainly) about Shanghainese who go round their daily business dressed in pajamas. Not just ordinary pajamas - some are really loud and colorful and others just should NOT been seen outside of one's bedroom. But here they are, authentic Chinese nighties worn in broad daylight. The book is also a record of a China that is fast fading away, as the Chinese get more and more sophisticated, and more aware of their place in the world. Is the pajama-wearing Shanghainese a dying breed? Very possibly. All in all, this is a great book with fantastic pictures.



2. This book combines two of my favorite photo subject matters, travel and portraiture. Consider it an insiders tour of traditional Shanghai where the locals go about their business in their pajamas. Not only is the subject matter interesting, but the images are well composed and just full of color and vibrancy. It makes me want to pack my bags, get on the first flight to Shanghai and go on a photo safari.



3. My images of Shanghai are in black and white, being mainly informed by classic 40's flicks like Shanghai Express and Charlie Chan In Shanghai. It seems to me to be a city lost in time, full of steam pouring from train engines and femme fatales and both danger and adventure lurking in every corner. It is certainly not a place where people live, get up, go to work, buy groceries and generally live and die the way people do all over the world.
   
   This is why "Planet Shanghai" was such an eye-opener for me. These are the people in the neighborhood. These are the people that you meet when you're walking down the street. Live and in living color, clad in multi-patterned pajamas, smoking and shopping, this is a record of Shanghai and the people who live there doing what they do, living their lives. I really enjoyed that this was not a "Weird Asia" book where the author tries to shock and amaze Western audiences with all that is "Not-American", but instead endeavors to make an accurate record of a city and lifestyle that may not last much longer.
   
   Photographer Justin Guariglia wants to let the people speak for themselves, and so this is a pure photography book. There are no captions or explanations, and aside from two short essays, one by Guariglia and one by travel writer John Krich, there is no text of any kind other than what you might find on the street. The photographs are categorized in eight sections, such as City, Style, Food, Dogs and Family & Friends. While some of the photographs are spontaneous, most of them are standing portraits, with the people presenting themselves as they are.
   
   And yes, some of it is odd. I didn't know that pajamas were normal streetwear in Shanghai, and a shot of the infamous "split pants" that children wear so that they can go to the toilet in the streets was funny to see. I have heard about them in several articles on China, but it was my first time to see a photograph. But that is about it. The strangeness is not emphasized, and that makes the book all the better.

5 comments about In Secret Tibet (Mystic Traveler Series).

1. I made a BIG mistake getting this book. I've never read such a load of garbage about Tibet in my life. I doubt if the guy has ever even been there. It is full of pseudo-esoteric mysticism of the worst kind and gives no valuavle information on what Tibet was like before the Chinese occupation. It is an insult to Tibet and the intelligence of anyone interested in Tibetan history and the plight of the Tibetan people today. Avoid like the plague and put the money towards buying something more worthwhile and informative on the subject. I had it one star because there was no way of indicating how bad this book really is. Amazon should come up for a symbol that denotes 'crap', or some other negative colloquialism.



2. This book purports to be a true account of the author's adventures in Tibet in the 1930's.Foreigners were not allowed into Tibet, so the author claims he disguised himself as a Tibetan and learnt the rudiments of the language.However, his story is full of holes and just doesn't add up.Tibet is very remote and one man alone would not find it easy to enter.In fact, he gives no details of how he entered the country.The more I read, the more suspicious I became of the truth of this book.The author had blue eyes and always adverted them when he met people.This would raise suspicion.He was German, and going by his picture in the book he looks nothing like a Tibetan.He says he stained his face each day to make it darker, but this would have made him look like some comic actor.It just doesn't add up.He must have stuck out like a sore thumb.He propounds his own religious ideas instead of giving an accurate picture of Tibetan religion.This book cannot be taken seriously.



3. Obviously after reading the negative reviews, this book is not for everone. It does not try to be all things to all people, just one man's spiritual journey through Tibet. His experiences with enlightened "Hermits" as well as the phoney pretenders (majority) is well documented. The companion book "Darkness Over Tibet" even portrays the dark side of spiritual persuits. In some respects, the author's experience is somewhat similar to the Carlos Castenada books.

   Having done extensive reading in the new age and spiritual/channelled material of today, this is a refreshing first person narrative even though it was written in the 1930s. Unfortunately, a lot of the modern written stuff is full of mumbo jumbo [junk] and and outright disinformation. I found this book worthwhile as the author goes through many trials and tribulations in discerning the truth from the lies and fiction of the pretenders who throw just enough truth to hook people and then divert and distort the rest for the purpose of control. The same thing occurs today as it does then. Not all things are "love and light", yet he prevails in his arduous journeys as a spiritual seeker of truth.




4. Well, after reading the book, I have the feeling that it is just another make-believe story; the author really stayed in Tibet??

   A better bet would be to read "A Journey to Lhasa" by Alexander David-Neel (ISBN: 080705903X). There's even a website devoted to her works... Other books by her concerning Tibet are also interesting.




5. To begin, its obvious Mr. Illion never went to Tibet; there are *no* descriptions of specific places in Tibet. In fact, I think actual 'named' locations in Tibet are mentioned once or twice at most.
   
   Most of the descriptions of 'Tibet' are overly generic, and could probably have been culled from National Geographic articles. In addition, Mr. Illion has massive contempt for the Tibetan people, calling them 'gullible', 'stupid', 'unwashed' and so on throughout the book. He also harbors quite a grudge against the Lamas of Tibet, an interesting opinion in light of today's adoration with Tibetian Buddhism. I won't even go into his cover stories of losing his camera & staining his skin... its so much garbage it shouldn't even be dignified with an explanation.
   
   Here's what I think is really going on in this book. Mr. Illion was probably a 'mystic' back in Germany, making money on speeches & teaching other Germans. This book was most likely used to give him some credibility as a real mystic (he claims to meet Tibet's 'Enlightened Masters'), and bring in more money from his audiences.
   
   The book is garbage, and contains no information on Tibet pre Chinese invasion. All you will get out of this is 1930s New Age claptrap.. avoid it.

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."

3 comments about China's Space Program - From Conception to Manned Spaceflight (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration).

1. For those in the West with little overall knowlwdge of the Chinese space effort, this is the primer. The book provides a fun read through the preperations and efforts to launch the first Chinese human to space orbit. Brian Harvey provides very useful insight to those who are looking globally in the human quest for space access. The book provides hope that the third nation to launch humans to space will mature and take serious the rhetoric of building a space station, or better yet, a Chinese program to put humans on the Moon. Harvey's book would have been made better with utilization of color photos splashed about the book.



2. China is still a developing country. But it has the distinction of being only the third country to launch a human into space, after Russia and the US. Harvey tells of the arduous path that China took. There have been the driving forces of international prestige and the building of a credible nuclear deterrent. The latter has required the ability to launch missiles into space in a controlled manner.
   
   Harvey has conducted impressive research into a subject still heavily shrouded in secrecy. He describes many successes made by the Chinese. But also failures. Though the reader should remember that Russia and America have had their share of disasters, including the loss of lives.
   
   The text also shows that in recent years, the Chinese space program has increasingly turned to commercial applications. Notably satellite imaging of the earth and communications. This reflects China's massive growth, with the increased need for such tasks as better analysis of weather patterns for agriculture. Also, the space program has started to perform more scientific research. All of this is a good sign for the future, both for China and the rest of the world.



3. China is clearly one of the space players in this century. Her resources are ample, both regarding technical knowhow and intellectual power, there is an unfailing sense of the ultimate goal - manned presence outside the Earth, and the intermediate goals - using the space for earthly purposes, are well understood. The Chinese space programme dates from the fifties, when the US, to their ultimate regret, evicted one of the fine minds who, at that time, was busy pioneering American astronautics. Political unrest - to say the least - on and off threatened to derail the development of missile technology, launchers and satellite technology. The space leaders come through as steadfast in the turmoil of the times, and as the political leadership in China moved from revolutionary fervour onto controlled economic evolution, so the space programme has moved more steadily tovards orderly development. All this and more are presented in this book, which bears the Harvey hallmark of being well researched, lucidly expositioned and showing deep insight in the subject at hand. I read it as one reads a novel of suspence and mystery, it now occupies a honored place along my other reference litterature on space.
   When, during the coming years, we await new Chinese exploits in space, we need the understanding put forth in this book on the Chinese approach to development. Harvey illustrates how, in face of adversities, the Chinese space leaders, like the proverbial turtle, contrive to move slowly but inexorably towards their goals, when the hares in and of the United States fritters away resources by jumping hither and yon. It may well be that the tortoise yet overtakes the hare, if not in a race to the surface of the Moon, then to the sands of Mars.

No comments about Daoism in China: An Introduction.

5 comments about "China and the New World Order: How Entrepreneurship,Globalization, and Borderless Business Are Reshaping China and the World".

1. George Gu provides a depth of understanding that distinguishes his work from most other business books. His wide network of contacts gives insight into emerging trends. He provides useful context that western authors often lack and Chinese authors frequently take for granted.



2. Base on the number of book in relation to this matter so far I believe that no one has come close to capturing "new China's" spirit and meaning as Gu. After reading his second volume I found it to be hugely insightful on the current events of China and global affairs. It greatly explores the key factors that shape Chinese and global development in the next stages. It gives tremendous info and analysis on the Chinese government, politics, business and economy for any one's interest.
   
   There's a huge amount of info on foreign businesses inside China. You will be able to see about twenty five American and global multinationals inside of China that are studied. In the meantime it gives us a very provocative analysis on China's new role in the world. Gu details this general picture of how China is walking away from a practical society and embracing an open, restless and dynamic society. It claims that an overextended, self-appointed bureaucracy remains the key problem for China. To overcome countless technical barriers, greater openness, entrepreneurship and global involvement is all needed. Again, it's very insightful on the issues between China, Taiwan, Japan, India and West. I will add that his analyses on Japan-China line up are very interesting as well as Taiwan. There' a tremendous amount of info and analysis on China's financial, banking, insurance and stock market.
   
   Author George Zhibin Gu is a very outspoken and a well known Chinese journalist who has generally covered mergers and acquisitions, capital activities, business expansion, and restructuring. He's an insider who gives us scrupulous examination on current China and global affairs which is more than a reason why you should grab hold to this book.



3. This new book from Dr. George Zhibin Gu is a geo-economics and geopolitical masterpiece from an insider, someone that thrives his consulting work and daily life inside China, not writing or comment from a comfortable chair in London or New York paid by a western think tank, or only for academic proposals. His challenge is to write for a broad audience out of China. I must refer his clever suggestions about Taiwan - a political proposal for a a federation - and the way he sees the go global from Chinese emergent multinationals. It is needed a lot of courage for an insider to be so clear in his proposals and to identify the old Chinese problem - bureaucracy, the same that stopped admiral Cheng Ho and the Discoveries in the XV Century, that closed China for so many centuries and gave an opportunity for foreign powers to humiliate China, hyper-bureaucracy that in the Mao period pulled China for chaos and economic and social distress. China and the New World Order is a must reading. Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues, editor of www.gurusonline.tv and translator of Made in China (published in Portuguese language).



4. Part reference, part musing, part insightful and timely analysis, George Zhibin Gu's latest book "China and the New World Order: How Entrepreneurship, Globalization, and Borderless Business are Reshaping China and the World" is a welcome and refreshing read among the endless new titles printed on China today.
   
   Picking up on a focus of his previous book "China's Global Reach...," Gu goes further and identifies the chief impediment to China's latest and perhaps most difficult transition as the Chinese state itself. Gu reveals the seemingly historical inevitability of China's vast government apparatus but explains that Communist Party bureaucracy is unique in Chinese experience in the size and scope of its all-encompassing control.
   
   In topics relative to today's readers Gu ably demonstrates through the book that changes in China come from the revived entrepreneurial instinct of the Chinese. Along with huge foreign investment China's ever-growing private sector is the outside influence that is challenging Chinese bureaucracy as never before. But while the Chinese people struggle to create a law-based society and break the bureaucracy's grip on all aspects of economic life, the Chinese state seeks an equal footing among world national powers.
   
   "China and the New World Order" is nicely segmented into short but highly relevant chapters. As in his earlier works Gu deftly examines the pros and cons of numerous hot-button issues on China. For example he takes on the Taiwan - China knot and proposes an interesting solution, a federation or federal system as a means toward meaningful (and mutually beneficial) reunification although his federal system shares more similarity to a commonwealth in the opinion of this reviewer. Gu's look at delicate state of Japan and China relations reveals that Japan remains as apprehensive over Chinese growth and potential as it was in the past. In examining the India versus China debate Gu shows that there is far less competition (as Western press prefers to portray it) and more similarities between the two giants of Asia.
   
   There is plenty of current information here and the detailed contents and summaries make the book a good quick reference for anyone with an interest in what's happening right now in China. And there are goodies such as a lengthy interview with Mark Mobius and a foreword by Hoover Institute fellow William Ratliff.
   
   At one point in his analysis, Gu intriguingly compares the struggle in China to the old European church-state alliance. With that view in mind, what may be needed next and with luck what Chinese entrepreneurs may succeed in bringing is a Chinese "Glorious Revolution."



5. China has constantly been referred to as the sleeping giant. In the last 30 years or so it has surprised many with its radical economic transformation. Having been a non-capitalist country for many years, the sudden capitalist experiment undertaking was not only the surprise but also a bold step towards economic prosperity. China has formulated a vibrant front to strengthen its manufacturing, trade and finance industries to much success. It is a great example or a good case study for an International Business class.
   
   The impact this has or will create to the rest of the world is huge. With its vast consumption of raw materials e.g. copper, aluminum, cement & oil, other parts of the world would soon start competing for the same raw materials from other nations hence sky rocketing their prices. Just a few years ago, fleets of bicycles were visible in almost every major Chinese city. Now that has become history with many of its residents developing an appetite for automobiles. China therefore has become a marketer's haven for selling automobiles. This is a direct result of its globalization campaign.
   
   This campaign has come with its drawbacks. Environmental degradation has some very concerned. With its massive carbon dioxide and other industrial emissions, China is becoming one of the fastest regions to raise eye brows on issues regarding environmental protection (the US and China will atleast have something in common in that regard). With the economic growth, corruption & cronyism have cropped up. This has also lead to tension between China and the USA especially regarding the large China/USA trade deficit gap.
   
   China is also holding a large cache of dollar reserves which it then uses to purchase US T-Bills and other investment in the US . The US in some ways has come to rely on foreign investment for its own economic growth. Just today ( 3/5/08 ), Federal regulators said that the country needs to open its gates to foreign sovereign wealth funds. They went ahead to state that these funds foster domestic growth and provide financial stability to US financial markets and US companies.
   
   China is also flexing its muscles to other areas like Australia and Africa . Africa has been important to China because of its vast resources of raw material e.g. copper, aluminum, uranium & oil. In the next few years, this economic sleeping giant will be a great economic super-power to recon with.
   
   Hezron Karanja, Los Angeles, CA

No comments about Shangri-La: A Practical Guide to the Himalayan Dream (Bradt Travel Guide).

5 comments about Lonely Planet Taiwan.

1. I never imagined that Lonely Planet Taiwan could be so bad, but it indeed is. For instance, maps in the book are useless, and the Taipei metro direction is unclear and useless. And I cannot understand why the author says " For sth really special you can try Haagen Daz."

   I didn;t belive the previous reviews, and now I learned how bad it is.

   If you need more information, lots of Taiwanese websites provide very useful information. You can just go to Taiwanese consular office website and find the links.




2. I just spent about 6 days in Taipei, and I brought this book with me. Yes, most of the sights mentioned in the book are pretty tourist oriented, but that may be because there is not much else to see (in Taipei, at least). My relatives, who live in Taipei, laughed when I mentioned some of the sights listed in the book. But when I asked them for other recommendations on what to see, they really didn't have any suggestions. Also, I think the section on conduct and behavior is absolutely dead on. The author isn't exaggerating when he says that there is a long sequence of insisting and refusing when exchanging gifts or doing something of that nature. I have witnessed countless times my parents (who are from Taiwan) and my aunt/uncle argue for literally 10 minutes about who should pay for a dinner bill.

   I give the book only four stars, though, because it doesn't really tell you how to get to various places. It wasn't a problem for me, because I had relatives take me to the various sights. But if I had been on my own, then I would have had a lot more difficulty. In addition, it is now 2004, so this book, which was published in 2001, may be starting to get out of date. Looking at older editions of the book, it appears that Lonely Planet Taiwan gets updated only once every 3 years.




3. Taiwan being one of the few Asian countries I have not yet been to, I bought this book for advance planning.
   It has already failed even before leaving home!
   When trying to estimate travel costs by looking for long-distance bus fares, I could hardly believe they were not given! In the "Getting There & Away" section after each town/destination, it was merely mentioned that buses do run there (surprise, surprise!), but no information on how long they take and how much they cost.
   That is exactly the kind of practical information people usually buy Lonely Planet guides for, and I don't think I have ever seen another LP guide that didn't have them...
   The 2 stars were given as it does give information about major sights, but given how poorly-researched the practical information is, I would be surprised if the rest was accurate.
   This may just be the worst LP guide of all.



4. I have to begin by admitting that I love to hate the tone of some Lonely Planet guides--an edition for Japan from the early 1990s distinguished itself by one of author's disdain for touring Japan!
   
   That being said, Robert Storey's take on Taiwan (where I've been living for the past year or so) is remarkable for its general laziness. Many examples have been noted in other online reviews, but it's worth mentioning some of them again: the overwhelming focus on "ex-pat" hangouts, the author's love of foodcourts located next to train stations, and the compulsive need to mention that we can find McDonald's, Starbucks, Subway, and so on in Taiwan's major urban centers.
   
   What's left behind in all this is the astonishing beauty of parts of Taiwan, the compexity of its history and its social formations, and the genuine warmth of its people.
   
   To Lonely Planet: please find someone who actually cares about this place to research and write an edition that Taiwan and its visitors deserve!



5. Although I have been living in Taiwan for nearly 16 months, I still take LP Taiwan Guide along for weekend trips, and even jaunts to nearby cities, regardless of how many times I've visited.
   
   The information is vast, for major urban areas as well as more out of the way locales. Also, the brief Chinese/English dictionary at the end of the book proves an invaluable tool. Even with a rudimentary knowledge of Chinese, simply pointing to Mandrin characters saves time and a lot of headaches.
   
   LP Taiwan is a must for brief vistors as well as long term residents.

5 comments about Culture Smart! China: A Quick Guide to Customs & Etiquette.

1. Folks... this is the most basic of travel books. It skims over the history of China and then offers a few tips at the end of the chapter. The pronounciation guide is worthless at it does not begin to descibe how a person who was not educated in China would attempt the complicated sounds of Mandarin. The place names are spelled with traditional Chinese spelling... which is great unless one is purchasing this book as a guide in the first place. The Culture Shock! series by the same publisher is far more helpful to the Western traveler! Save your money!



2. Love it! Informative, brief and with a sense of humor.



3. Generally this guide will be helpful to any traveller wishing to garner a cultural appreciation of China.
   
   However, two points regarding the language must be made. Page 160 says "A working knowledge of a mere 3,000 [Chinese characters] gives you a mastery of most menus and street signs; if you want to read the newspapers you will need about 7,000." More accurately, with 3,000 Chinese characters you probably know as many as the poorer of the Chinese locals, can read 90% of what you read in the newspaper and will have absolutely no problem with any street sign nor menu.
   
   Also, page 170-170 discusses the dilemma a foreign teacher had when wishing to buy a dice (die, as in a six-sided gambling/gaming cube) the people s/he was with prior to setting out didn't know the character, except for one very old man who wrote the character down. On reaching the shop the shopkeepers didn't understand that character! However, a simple check of a dictionary will reveal that the word for dice is "shaizi", which comprises 2 very simple characters, the first, "shai", just 6 strokes, being the same as "se" (colour), only pronounced differently. The second, zi, is only 3 strokes and is an extremely common character added to many nouns.
   
   When I consider her layperson's purposes, I don't really blame the author for this misinformation. It is only a travel guide, and a reasonable one at that. However, possibly for information about the language of a country we need to speak to a broader cross-section of those in the know.



4. This little book has a lot of necessary information and was useful to me while I prepared to study abroad in China. I wish it had a bit more phrases in the back, but found it was a great starting place if you want to know about China in an introductory or general way.



5. I am disappointed with this book on a variety of levels. First of all, about half of it is devoted to Chinese history, which is not why one would buy such a book. One needs a "quick guide to customs and etiquette" to avoid social faux pas and to keep from accidentally offending people, not to learn about Chairman Mao's Long March. (The historical information is interesting, but sketchy at best, and shouldn't it be found in a different kind of book anyway?) It would seem that a whole bunch of this historical information has been added as filler to double the size of the book.
   
   Secondly, somehow the discussion of how foreigners are viewed by the Chinese made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, and I am not sure why. There was just something awkward there. (Maybe I just don't like stereotyping..?)
   
   Thirdly, while there is discussion of customs there is a dirth of "watch out for this" warnings. For example, we are warned that the Chinese view blowing the nose as being somewhat gross, so if you have to do that, leave the room. This is the kind of information that visitors need - no one likes rude folks, but it's hard sometimes to know what is considered rude in another country.
   
   Fourth, there is lots of other kinds of filler besides the historical information - like spending two whole pages explaining that cell phones have been very quickly and widely embraced in China, and how it was in the bad old days, like ten years ago. (Who cares...)
   
   Finally, the author seems to suddenly switch over in the last quarter of the book from giving advice to the tourist to giving advice to the business person, and goes on and on for pages and pages and pages about how to behave at a business banquet. Then she says that such banquets are becoming increasingly rare. So why did we just waste all that space talking about them??? Sigh....
   
   Save your money, and look up "Chinese customs and etiquette" on Google.