3 comments about Over Hong Kong (Pacific Century).

1. This book is made following the same style of Cameron's "Above" Series. Lots of old pictures compared to new ones, where you can see how much has HK changed in a short time. Amazing pictures of the skyscraper architecture of this outstanding city, aerial views of Central HK, Kowloon, the new airport, New Territories. This is a MUST HAVE book. One of the BEST aerial pictures book I have ever bought.



2. This is THE book on Hong Kong. The pictures are amazing and show how enormus the city actually. The style is very much like the "Above" books by Robert Cameron, though this one has a map to show where the pictures were taken as well.



3. Excellent book. Has exceedingly great pictures of modern HK, invaluable, really invaluable. That's about all I can say.

3 comments about China's Global Reach: Markets, Multinationals, and Globalization (Revised and Updated Edition).

1. This book is for all readers. Not to mention other things, it contains several dozen case studies on global multinationals doing business in China, like Wal-Mart, P&G, Intel, HSBC, Bank of America, Ford, Siemens, BP, Unilever, Sony, GE, GM, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. (Amazingly, this revised and updated volume gives most current info on China -- even events happened in May 2006 are contained here.)
   
   It also gives huge info on emerging Chinese multinationals. All the leading Chinese companies such as Haier, Huawei, TCL, Lenovo, China Telecom, Baosteel, China Oil, Sinopec, CNOOC, and Ping An are studied here. Furthermore, comparisons are made between the Chinese companies and their international counterparts. These discussions are straightforward, covering both strengths and weaknesses.
   
   Its scope is rather wide: the author aims to identify key factors behind global development: causes, effects, and consequences. He offers vast info and analysis on a changing global production, investment and trade map, which involves all nations, rich or poor. Interesting comparative studies involve US, Canada, Europe, India, Japan and China. Above all, he pinpoints opportunities and challenges under globalization.
   
   Also it is highly critical of the abusive Chinese bureaucratic power. Gu claims that China's fundamental weakness is with this overextended, self-appointed bureaucratic power. Vast info and facts are presented to support his statement.
   
   He is a high-profile newspaper commentator/consultant that adds much color to his discussions. The book's key strengths come from the fact that the author has vast first-hand experiences, so that he gives countless insider's stories. Its style and presentation is very reader friendly and straightforward, but its analysis is overpowering.



2. Author George Zhibin Gu is a high-profile Chinese journalist whose powerful newspaper pieces are widely read. This book is a must read. The reason for my recommendation is simple: This book summarises the key lessons from a fast-changing China under globalization and capitalism.
   
   These lessons are powerful. First, an open society is a must in order to gain true development. Second, having foreign involvement is a key driving force for China's quick development in this era. Third, a truly meaningful development must depend on individual private initiatives other than government bureaucracy.
   
   This book gives rather straightforward analysis on what is behind China's new development. It gives tremendous information on foreign multinationals and investors doing biz inside. Furthermore, it gives huge info on how this foreign involvement affects China's society, government and economy. In particular, it is extremely open about the ills of the Chinese bureaucracy. To overcome bureaucratic barriers, it emphasizes the need for greater private initiative as well as openness, among other things.
   
   Also, the book talks about the ever-increasing influences of China's surge on global development. It gives very insightful analysis on a changing global production, investment, and trade map, as well as manufacturing and job transfers, among other issues.
   
   The book also offers much practical advice on doing biz in China. Numerous case studies are presented, including both successes and failures.



3. Author Gu is a brave fellow. He offers straightfoward info and analysis on what is really inside Chinese business and political world. He is highly critical of the Communist ills that continue to cause hellish problems for China and foreign operations inside. Other than this abusive bureaucratic power, Chinese people are very diligent and creative. But the key is to get rid of the overextended bureaucratic power, as so claims by Gu.
   
   This book is a must read -- it is a rare book that reveals the inner workings of the Chinese bureaucratic system. This new edition is very nice, which is sharply revised and expanded. (Five stars for his new edition)

2 comments about Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet (Expanded Edition).

1. This is one book you can judge by it's cover. It is fabulous. The photos of Tibetan paintings and statuary are simply beautiful. In some cases, such as a Tibetan thangka painting of Shakyamuni buddha's life, the whole painting is shown first, then close-up shots of other parts of the painting are shown for a more detailed view. Scenes from the painting are then explained. Anyone who has tried to decipher the meaning in a thangka, knows that without the help of experts, it is nearly impossible to capture the true story. Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman help unlock the mysteries in a book with stunning photography, history and artful explanations. If you are interested in Tibetan iconography, a collector, buddhist or an art student--BUY IT, you'll love it!



2. I wish I had seen the exhibition of which this beautiful book is the catalogue. It must have been breathtaking. This is more than a catalogue, it is a reference book, beginning with an overview and four informative introductory essays. The Catalogue itself is divided into twelve specific areas/types of Tibetan Sacred Art. These cover not only the different representations of the Shakyamuni Buddha, Arhats, Boddhisattvas and others, but also the four Tibetan Buddhist Orders. The Illustations are very clear and many detailed illusrtrations and graphs help to explain the Thangaks and Mandalas. The text is very informative, and the book is also printed and bound well.... A truly wonderful gift.

No comments about Down the Yangtze.

No comments about Pocket China Atlas: Maps and Facts at Your Fingertips.

4 comments about The 1421 Heresy: An Investigation into The Ming Chinese Maritime Survey of the World.

1. Repaces Eurocentrism by Sinophilia largely by study of maps (many here produced but too small to be much use). Uses highly speculative linguistic clues. Biggest problem is ignorance of Indian, Indonesian, and even Arab navigation and technology - thereby lacking perspective and claiming too much for Ming fleets. With Menzies (but less extreme) he claims Chinese rounded Africa to Atlantic. He is unaware of Ajanta caves that have boat carving in early 7th century rather like a few on maps used speculating about Chinese from which broad conclusions are drawn. A very few new points are worth consideration. Minimal notes and limited familiary with the considerable academic literature on Indian Ocean. Not recommended.



2. A fascinating read. Despite some strident and self-serving objections from the establishment of so-called historians, I found the book to be an eye-opener that is deserving of critical consideration. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the European Renaissance. Also, a must-have book for map lovers.



3. In searching for the truth of our history, I found Anatole's way of analyzing the data is objective, sincere and persuasive. Anatole is truely an historian.



4. I am disappointed with the writing. It rambles and is had to figure out what points the author is trying to make. I don't know if I will be able to maintain my interest in the subject enough to figure out if there is something of value here.

1 comments about China: Kingdom of the Dragon (The Wanderer).

1. I purchased this book as a gift for a friend that will be my traveling companion to China in the spring. Phenomenial photography! This is an exquisite "coffee table" pictorial guide of China protraying the vast county in its diversity and the book intensified our excitement for our upcoming trip.

5 comments about The Travels of Marco Polo : The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition (Vol 1).

1. Imagine a very boring person went through something fascinating. This person came up to you, started to talk about this incredible journey of theirs, but talking in this monotonous voice without changing pitch or showing excitement at any moment.
   
   That's essentially what "Travels of Marco Polo" is. It's an INCREDIBLY interesting book and a fascinating tale, but can it possible be said in a more dry and flat way? There is no energetic spark that makes this adventure jump off the page. Perhaps this is due to the times, but I suspect the translation is a bit literal and bland as well. The writing never changes tone, even in parts that are clearly exciting and amazing. All the facts are there, but the reader is forced to put too much energy just to make it interesting.
   
   Marco Polo had a most fascinating journey. Any history buff should snatch this book off the shelves (unless they decide to read the even longer, more annoying records that I'm sure can be found floating around), and anyone interesting in Marco Polo should as well. It may be dull at times, but it's still incredible, fascinating, and a riveting tale.
   
   Recommended to heavier, more able readers.



2. It has been a pleasure to revisit the travels of Marco Polo. I was transfixed by these stories of travel and adventure when I was a child, and never questioned the veracity of the narrative. I know today that the narrative has been corrupted over the centuries, that "The Travels" can scarcely be used as an historical reference, and that a more tantalizing and complete manuscript has probably been lost to the ages. Still, there are glimpses and insights within the narrative that could only have come from first-hand experience, and these describe an enormous, exotic world that titillates even today, while readers in the 13th and 14th centuries must have been enthralled.
   
   I was most keen this time around to Polo's descriptions of the cultures and wildlife he encountered, of the whales and lions and leopards and bears--he even describes a white bear, and the people who hunted it were surely of the group often called Eskimos. He describes dog-sledding in the far north and the cannibalistic practices of the people of Java far to the south, both of which are extant in our current era. There are also the fascinating observations of the Mongol Empire, of that group of nomadic people who somehow rose up, like an event in an Isaac Asimov novel, to conquer much of the known world.
   
   Somewhat depressingly, though, are Polo's observations of the tensions that existed between the Islamic and Christian worlds, tensions rooted in the competition for hegemony over trade in the Far East. Seven hundred years later, these tensions are still acting themselves out.
   
   This translation by Ronald Latham from 1958 includes an introduction that puts Marco Polo's life in context with events and includes footnotes to help the reader make sense of the myriad manuscripts that make up the travels of Marco Polo. This is a somewhat dry read; even Latham comments on the paucity of skill employed by Polo's chronicler. Once I put my mind in context with the narrative, however, I was able to roll with the repetition and sycophancy and enjoy the text.



3. I believe I got what I paid for. There were much better books of great detail, but they cost much more. I would suggest saving your money until you can buy a much more comprehensive book. The reading and information provided in the book was light and was gone over very fast. I question some of the facts contained there in.



4. Marco Polo purportedly spent 17 years travelling to the courts of Kublai Khan and, as an emissary for Kublai Khan, then throughout the Far East. Whether it actually happened or not is up for debate. I went into this text with an open mindset and have accepted that Marco Polo did indeed go on this trip with his father and uncle, but not to the extent as surmised. Instead he travelled and added stories he collected from traders and others to fill in gaps or points of interest to him. The book is broken into four sections now. Part One is his trip to the Great Khan's courts in Cathay (China). Part Two is his travels throughout the provinces of Cathay. Part Three concerns going to Japan, Southern India, and the Islands of the Indian Sea (Java, etc). Part Four is travelling into the 'northern countries' (Russia, etc).
   
   In general, Polo gives very brief descriptions of most regions, accounting for their religious beliefs, money used, fealty to the Great Khan Kublai. There's some intriguing customs (visitors will be taken into a home and the man of the house leaves until they are gone but the visitor has full access to the household including the wives, daughters, sisters, nieces), talks of cannibalism, dress, unfamiliar animals they encountered, and contributes to the whole messy history of Prestor John. It does get repetitive and dry after a while. Polo's talk of Kublai Khan is almost obsessive and he was obviously completely enamoured of this new culture. Overall, it was fascinating to read although I had to push myself through some parts due to repetitive descriptions. Any history buff should read this story about one of the purported most well-travelled explorers ever, not to mention he was possibly the biggest best-selling authors before the printing press was invented.



5. A very remarkable book written in the 13th century. Many secrets were reviled when Marco returned. And may interesting explanations of things like the origin of cinnamon.
   
   Marco writes well enough of his travels and you feel that you are there. You can actually follow the trail if you have a map. He describes the flora and fauna of each region and describes the economics and industry of the region.
   
   Example: "The women of the superior class are in like manner free from superfluous hairs; their skins are fare, and they are well formed."
   
   It is interesting to see how little has changed from Marco Polo's 13th century and now.

No comments about Map of the People's Republic of China (Chinese-English).

5 comments about Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own.

1. While the catchy title of this latest China travel book should make you want to grab it off a shelf for a quick browse, the concept behind the book should make you want to buy it and keep on reading.
   
   Polly Evans established herself as a new breed of travel writer with her first book, It's Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels. In Spain she experienced more than her share of humorous happenings by attempting to cover one thousand miles in just six weeks, as a lone woman on a bicycle. In her second book, Fried Eggs with Chopsticks, Evans comes up with an equally wacky idea: capture for herself this unique moment in China's history, viewing the country's key sites, using only public transportation. Are you laughing already? Or gasping in shock at her naiveté?
   
   The book's title itself sums up a universal foreigner-in-China experience: things that should be simple and easy are often complicated, difficult, and surprisingly time consuming. And sometimes even impossible. The premise of Evans' Chinese adventure seems very simple: travel through China like the locals do. Like her attempt to gracefully eat fried eggs with chopsticks, the author discovered what a challenge seemingly easy things can become here, especially if you come to the journey ill prepared. Naturally, she finds herself in many situations we expats will recognize and appreciate.
   
   Though the ride was wild, as Evans reached her targets by plane, boat, taxi, train, and even by mule, she was still able to find the humor in many frustrating situations as she attempted to absorb the country's history and culture. "Eating a fried egg with chopsticks, I thought as I sat on the bus to Nanjing some hours later, bears small-scale similarities to the greater trials of traveling around China as a foreigner. It is frustrating and frequently ludicrous. Sometimes it is funny. Small tasks take infinitely longer than they should. You look ridiculous, often. But in the end, pride shattered, patience tried, and seemingly against all odds, you do in fact arrive. And then somebody comes along, smiling, and points out the easier route you should have taken." China is fascinating and wonderful, but hard work, she concludes. Given all of the wacky things that happened to her, I sometimes wondered if the only thing keeping her going was knowing that she would get a book out of the trip, if she survived!
   
   This book offers a fast frolic through some Chinese history and culture, one woman's travel experiences in the Middle Kingdom, and a healthy dose of with humor. It makes good airplane or beach reading.



2. I bought this book because I am planning a trip to China and like to read anything I can get my hands on about the country I'm planning to visit. I was so excited to find a travel account by a woman traveling alone in China. I looked forward to funny anecdotes, ideas about what to see and a general sense of life in China.
   
   Instead I found a 300 page rant about anything and everything Chinese. Frankly I'm confused as to why the author went to China in the first place and even more confused as to how she managed to get the book published. She complained about everything. She didn't like the food (unless it was McDonalds), the people, the transportation, the accomodations (unless it was the Grand Hyatt), or the sites/entertainment (unless it was the HBO in her room at the Grand Hyatt). She seemed not to understand that she was a guest in the places she visited or that the most valuable trait of a traveler is open-mindedness. She took almost every situation personally, as in when she described a bus journey to Kunming, "The road surface was unspeakably bad....we hurtled over holds and leapt from the crests of little jumps that seemed to have been laid out solely to test the resiliance of our bones." Page 237. Moreover she was almost insulted that few people could speak English and, ever unprepared, seemed to expect others to go out of their way to help her. At the same time, she complained each time anyone tried to speak with her. Evans would do better to stay put in her native England and spare the inhabitants of any other country from having to put up with her.
   
   This book is frustrating mainly because it has the potential to deter readers from a trip to China. I will be looking for a more open-minded and curious account of the country and it's people.



3. Like another poster, I really wanted to enjoy this book. It wasn't even remotely funny. I found the author to be sarcastic, and very arrogant. She painted a very bad picture of China (its culture and its people). The author is so narrow minded, that I'm afraid to read any more of her work. For someone who is supposed to be funny...I found the book to be offensive.
   
   If I could give this book ZERO stars, I would. Don't waste your time reading this piece of trash.



4. There's many a fool who would criticize this book for TELLING THE TRUTH! If ever a book rang true, it's this woman's account of trying to get around China independently, without prior planning. I know it all to be true because I foolishly tried it myself. Yes, I and a Finn bumbled our rocky way through China in October 1990, as so-called "backpack travellers", using the same guidebook as all the other silly unprepared and unaccompanied foreigners. LONELY PLANET guidebook is the Bible this author used, and refers to, in choosing accommodations, restaurants, and transport. We also relied exclusively on our well-thumbed 1990 Lonely Planet, just like this determined young Englishwoman, but she in 2002.
   
   Our author is good-hearted in her goodwill efforts to do China herself. She is flexible, has experience from other countries and adventures, and doesn't give up when discouraged. These are the most important qualities of any visitor to China, even those with professional, pre-paid upscale itineraries. The official tourist traps are well arranged and therefore, theoretically, presenting no worries. The Chinese are a proud people, wishing to show you their best. It is in their own stubborn determination to keep a foreigner out of trouble, and out of ugly and dirty situations, that visitors find themselves irritated by the pushing and pulling, the MeH-YO's! (NO's) that surround them when they propose anything spontaneous. The Chinese are willing to show you anything for a price, but they feel a lot better about it if some authority has sanctioned your presence in a muddy village, on a decrepid bus, etc. Their fear of "getting into trouble" is not as bad as in the Cultural Revolution, but it's still latent and serious.
   
   So, she proceeds to tell us exactly what a person can expect: strange foods that can only be identified by pointing (that's what we did!!!); filthy toilet systems outside of Western hotels and restaurants; greedy taxidrivers, confusion and loneliness when surrounded by a language and culture so different from the Westerner's. She is disgusted by the hygiene, amazed that the population rate could be so high in such a soup of dirty places and toilets, male spitting and unclean public places. I often commented on this myself back in 1990! The rates of TB are about 1 in 5, while the spitting (male habit) never stops. The current preparations for the Olympics are full of beseeching propaganda to STOP SPITTING and STOP LITTERING (No toss). Well, such injunctions were in place in 1990, too! Didn't seem to make an impact!
   
   However, why a person goes to China makes the book. Apparently, our author went out of a mild curiosity, a sense of adventure, and the intent to write about her experiences. All in all, a quite honest endeavor - not a travel guide to historical places, not a deep analysis of the Chinese mentality, just observations of what happens around her. Her straightforward accounts of discouragement, followed by good-luck sunshine, amused me. I, too, had fallen into lethargy and indifference by the second week, wondering if I were insane to attempt my journey, yet I didn't want to give up after so much effort to get there. I gave it four weeks total, had some good times, a lot of dubious times, and some very bad experiences.
   
   What any reader can get out of this book is a no-punches-pulled reality trip through modern China, WITHOUT PRE-TRIP PLANNING and WITHOUT THE LANGUAGE. That people will stare at you, at first a novelty, becomes a monstrous aggravation, as she does write, yet it is good that she writes it. Wouldn't you WANT to know in advance that these things will happen to you, too, rather than becoming disconcerted on the first day, the hard way?
   
   This author admits that she was foolish not to have prepared for her journey, that she didn't even learn the word for RICE, that she was out of her depth as soon as she left her acquaintances in Beijing. But in the depths of her loneliness, on top of a holy mountain soaked in fog, she did the smart thing - which we two also did: she simply approached any WEsterners and joined them. We did this habitually and enlivened our trip enormously, because they knew more than us and could help us, or even let them join in on their little side trips, etc.
   
   So this is a great travel book because it DOES whine! Telling the truth is a dying art in PC-America! One has to dig up old travel books sometimes to get the real sense of life somewhere. For armchair travellers, this book is also great - it saves you all the unsavory parts of Chinese encounters (e.g. toilets), while keeping an amused tone. She plays jokes on the female callers looking for business (yes, that kind of business) on her hotel telephone, changing her voice to a man's! There's plenty of Chinese girls "selling hot water" everywhere, once you look around! What would Mao say? Can't they work in sweatshops as he said?
   
   [...]
   
   I hope all of you thinking of going there read this book & my epinion! Plus get to the library and START STUDYING everything about China. YOu may even decide not to go, more's the pity, but it's an informed choice, at least. Finally, if you get back in one piece, not too sick, then you can really begin the plunge into Sinology. In spite of your almost inevitable disgust with some primitive parts there, and male customs, you will slowly read more, see more films, and take an interest in China because of the trip. Easy way - don't go; or pay a fortune and be guided.



5. This is an odd travel book. At the bottom of it, the author doesn't seem to like the Chinese very much. Page after page, she complains about the food, accommodations, the transportation, the people. She brings to mind the outdated attitudes of the colonial British, holding their noses as they looked down upon the natives, confident in their smug superiority. In addition, her sense of humor is rather tiresome, always at another's expense, arch and acerbic. I would expect a bumpy trip if I didn't speak the language, and had done zero advance planning to a country as large and diverse as China. Seems like an opportunistic book, superficial, and wholly at the expense of the Chinese.