5 comments about 365 Days in China Calendar 2008 (Picture-A-Day Wall Calendars).

1. For anyone who has been in China or for anyone who wants to go, this calendar is a marvelous display of nature and daily life in China. Lisa See's texts are as lovely as the photographs by Keren Su.



2. I purchased this calendar last year and was pleased with the photos, and this years calendar is just as good if not better. Each month features a province in China and then each day has a smaller photo which would also be perfect for photos for your child's lifebook because the photos of temples, objects, countrysides and people. The provinces featured in this year's calendar are: Guangxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanghai, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shandong & Shanxi, Zhejiang, Beijing which is for the month of August to celebate the 29th Olympic Games and it's slogan - One World One Dream. There is only 1 photo in this month that is of the Millennium Monument and is a small photo. Guizhiu, Anhui, Xinjiang,Yunnan finish out the year.
   
   Lisa See write information on each province and there is also a small black outline of China that shows you where this province is located in China. Keren Su who is the photographer for all of the photos did a fantastic job! I am planning on using the photos of the calendar for photos for my daughter's lifebook. And if your child is from one of the provinces mentioned about you have a nice write up on that province.



3. We got this calendar to get us excited for our trip to China next year to adopt our daughter. There are tons of beautiful pictures of all different regions. Very nice.



4. This is the second year I've bought this calendar. Likely, I will buy it every year. It's gorgeous with great tid-bits about China. As a mother with 2 children from China, it is a nice addition to the play area.



5. I love this calendar. Every day that I look at my calendar by my desk, I long to be back in China again. The photos are gorgeous and the text is quite informative, especially because the calendar doesn't just focus on the most famous places in China. In fact, when I took the calendar down temporarily, I got complaints from my office mates that they missed the China calendar--and not one of them is a sinophile like me. Don't buy it if you don't want your wanderlust awakened. It will make you discontent sitting in your cubicle when you could be out exploring the Chinese countryside.
   
   Reviewed by Barbara Strother, author of Moon Living Abroad in China (Living Abroad).

No comments about Travel and Sex: The Title Says it All.

1 comments about Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China.

1. The editorial review is quite complete as to the contents of "Inscribed Landscapes", but I'd like to give future readers a more general impression that I was left with:
   I throughly enjoyed Richard E. Strassberg's book as an introduction to the combined arts of chinese travel writing, calligraphy, painting, and woodcut print making. Many of China's greatest writers are represented in cronological order, sometimes yielding interesting results when the same place is described centuries apart. I am not an expert in chinese literature, so I compared impressions with my chinese friends. Their only reservations were the translations of the poetry, which is always problematical. The translations in this book are good for description but one might want to compare other translations for different perspectives. (See "Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres" by Wai-Lim Yip to gain a broader appreciation of chinese literature and the difficulties of its translation).
   This book, unexpectedly, piqued my interest in the art of calligraphy, as well as that of landscape art, too. Richard Strassberg judiciously uses examples of some of China's best art work to illustrate many of the described landscapes.
   Finally, I now find myself harboring a deep desire to vist, in person, many of the inscribed landscapes and picture them anew. This is a book that will encourage you to vist both a long lost China, and that which you can still find.

No comments about McGraw-Hill's Chinese Illustrated Dictionary.

No comments about Cambodia: The Background, the Issues, the People (Oxfam Country Profiles Series).

1 comments about The Olympic Tour of China: Seeing Sports, Venues, Cities and Parks All Together.

1. I plan to go to see the Olympics Games in China this August. As far as I know, this is the first book ever about 2008 Summer Olympics and related travel in all of the Olympic co-hosting cities in mainland China. The book not only talks about Beijing, Shanghai, but also includes other cities such as Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin and Shenyang. Full of practical information about scenic spots in these cities, where to eat and shopping, etc.
   
   Besides Beijing, I would like to explore other cities including Qingdao and Qinhuangdao. I am very glad to find that this book has useful information about these cities.
   
   It is a great travel guide book about China!

4 comments about The Marching Wind (Equestrian Travel Classics).

1. Although The Marching Wind was written in the late 40's, this non-fiction story is still very intriguing in today's world. It relates the story of traveler/explorer Leonard Clark and his yak caravan journey through Tibet. Clark convinced the Chinese Nationalist leaders that he could find them an escape route through Tibet as the communists approached. At the same time, Clark plans to measure a mountain in Tibet that is reputably higher than Everest.
   The book is written as a detailed travel log of the expedition through the wilds of forbidding Tibet during incredibly cold weather for which none of the modern equipment used for extreme weather is available. The caravan is constantly on watch for the fierce Ngolog tribe members reputed to be highly aggressive and murderous. It is a well written and exciting story.



2. I noticed this book on my parent's book shelf when I was growing up. My 5th grade class had studied Tibet and I always meant to read it. Well, many years later, I finally got around to it and it turned out to be a rather interesting book. What makes it interesting is this glimpse at the many different people who make up the vast area of Tibet.

   The author, Leonard Clark, is a rather archaic type of fellow to read in the 21st century. It's somewhat akin to reading about a 19th Century explorer 50 years ago. The man, fresh out of World War II intrigue in this general area of China, decides that he wants to explore the area of a sacred mountain. The name of the mountain is Amne Machin and it is located deep in the thinly explored areas of Tibet. Mr. Clark briefly explains the background to his quest and, before we know it, he is on his way to Tibet with a mere $1200 to finance his travels. He is an odd sort of fellow who reminds you of a middle-aged bachelor British nobleman who explores for a living. His rare reflections on life indicate a rather detached point of view.

   We sense his quest to find and measure the height of Amne Machin although I didn't feel particularly excited about this aspect of his travels. I was most interested in the many different tribes of peoples and their remoteness from the rest of the world. Many of these different tribesmen are Mongols who date back to the original Horde. Mr. Clark has convinced the local military leader of the need to find an escape route from the unstoppable advance of the Red Chinese. Thus he is able to explore this lawless area accompanied by a small army. Mr. Clark is an astute observer of the many different tribes, flora, fauna, customs, topography and travails of the area. I found myself shivering with him in the many blizzards he seemed to encounter. I also found myself wondering if I, too, could survive on the various forms of food and drink that he subsisted on.

   This book didn't exactly grab me once I started reading it. In fact I kept it at the office and would read a bit of it several times a week during my lunch break. It left me wondering about whatever happened to these many tribes of people rather than wondering whatever happened to the author.




3. This is truly a well-written, great adventure. Although I think that Clark embellishes the dangers of his trip, you definitely get a good feeling of the difficulties and potential threats.
   (Immediate post WW-II period, during Chinese Civil War). Basically, it details Clark's expedition to explore Amne Machin, which he suspected to be higher than Mt. Everest. The probable real mission was however to map the region and prepare for a retreat of the defeated Chinese Moslem/Nationalist Army through Tibet. In any case, it makes for exciting reading, and Clark is a fine writer, with a good sense of humour and insightful comments. He's not a scholar, but a true adventurer; nevertheless, he seems to exhibit detailed knowledge over many subjects and appears to be an astute observor.
   I first read this book (hardback edition from the 1950s) some 30 years ago, and was quite pleased when I discovered that LongRiders has re-issued in paperback form. The paper and binding seems pretty decent, and the only real negative is the poor quality of the photographs, which are not reproduced on glossy paper. The other minor quibble is the fact that since this is a reprint, an introduction/retrospective would have been useful. This could have included some info on the fate of the author (he died under somewhat mysterious circumstances in the late fifties in South America) or Amne Machin (it's not higher than Everest) or even some info on the Qinghai region today. But again, these are minor points that shouldn't detract from a great story...



4. The formal reasons for Clark's 1949 journey in Qinghai (surveying uncharted mountains; archeological excavations; and aiding escape of Nationalist Chinese) may be mere rationales for his archaic 19th century-style expeditions. But the former OSS major certainly found adventure, with arduous conditions, bandit raids and political machinations recounted in melodramatic but serviceable prose. "Marching Wind" has useful ethnographic and scientific data from eastern Greater Tibet, though some critics doubt its accuracy. Clark briefly enjoyed fame because his flawed calculations suggested that the Anye Machin range had peaks higher than Everest, but the bulk of the book holds up better. Its main value may lie in detailing the tensions between the end of "old" China (already vastly transformed, as the presence of foreign devils like Clark confirms) and Chinese efforts to avoid or adapt to the impending Communist new order. The story often alternates between the anxieties of officials and communities loyal to the Guomindang, and the routine--not timeless--activities of people for whom epochal changes in China proper seemingly had little relevance. Despite use of a station wagon (no kidding) in the early stages, this Equestrian Classic will find readers among the growing number of trekkers to these remote regions. Owen Lattimore's slightly earlier travels and writings offer a substantive contrast to Clark's rather self-absorbed, but still worthwhile, account. G. Rowell, "Mountains of the Middle Kingdom" assesses Clark and other explorers of China's Far West, with many stunning photos.

2 comments about In Secret Mongolia (Mystic Traveller).

1. This book is comparable to the stories told by explorers of the Americas of how hard it was to survive outside of one's own culture in a time without our modern amenities like a phone, a translation dictionary, or a guide to local customs. I read it while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia in 1996 and it helped me understand how much life had changed there in the past ninety years.



2. This book is one mans recollections of his time spent in Mongolia during the 1920s. Haslund was part of a group of Danes who set out to Mongolia in order to set up a farm in remote Mongolia. During this time period it was similar to the wild west with tribal warlords of various ethnicities as well as communist Russians on one side, and the Chinese on the other.
   
   Haslund recounts his various adventures and interactions with warlords, Shamans, his short stay in a Siberian prison after a case of mistaken identity, dealing with the harsh climate and environment of that part of the world, the setting up of the farm. Lots of great observances of the culture, customs and the nature in Mongolia.
   
   This book reads like a Jack London story except its for real. It really is amazing how tough and self sufficent these guys had to be to pound out an existence in that part of the world. Haslund doesn't slip into any corny tough guy semantics though. He is very matter of fact about the dangers and hardships that he dealt with. To me this book is one of the great unknown books. I currently live in Denmark and I've yet to meet a Dane who has even heard of Haslund or this book.

No comments about Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India: Being a Revised and Enlarged Edition of 'Indian Life, Religious and Social'.

No comments about Travel Through: China.