No comments about Displacing Desire: Travel and Poplar Culture in China.

5 comments about Driving and Discovering Hawaii: Oahu, Honolulu and Waikiki (Driving and Discovering Books).

1. This book seemed like a really good guide at the book store. It has lots of pictures to accompany travel recommendations. It also lists the best beaches, waterfalls, islands, and hikes on Oahu which I thought was a nice touch. However, trying to use the guidebook to visit these places left my husband and I confused and frustrated. The information is not organized well... important data that you'd like placed within one paragraph - for example about a particular hike - is strewed throughout a chapter. Information about length of trails is inconsistent and sometimes wrong! (Ended up taking my old parents on a six mile hike that was listed as 2.5 mi.) The names of places on maps do not match the way they are listed in their respective chapters. Parks that have been long closed (Sacred Falls) are listed as recommended places to go.
   
   This book is a good concept and has the potential to be a superb guide book if the information was reorganized AND updated. My husband and I use it to get suggestions on places to go, and then use the Internet to back up our facts about directions, distances, and general information. Don't use this book alone!
   
   Aloha!



2. We live in Hawaii and love Driving & Discovering Oahu by
   Richard Sullivan, and his Maui-Molokai book as well. We have bought a number of copies for our visiting friends since 1993, and these books keep getting better with every new edition. We own an oceanfront vacation rental and in our literature to guests visiting Oahu and/or Maui, we highly recommend Mr. Sullivan's books not only for content but because they make excellent gifts even for people who are fascinated by but may never be able to travel to Hawaii. The pictures are incredible and give the reader a very realistic feel for these beautiful islands.
   
   The only thing worse than misinformation in a guidebook is
   misinformation in a customer review of a guidebook, as in the case of
   TDPM. My husband and I love Amazon's review pages, but sometimes feel people are unfairly venting or have ulterior motives for their reviews.
   
   TDPM, whose review was dated May 29, 2007, must have been using an old
   edition. Our book, copyrighted and purchased in early 2006, states
   that Sacred Falls Park is closed.
   
   Mr. Sullivan also urges readers at least a dozen times throughout the book to consult hiking guides, obtain free hiking maps from the State
   Division of Forestry or other listed agencies, or to join an organized
   hike. For TDPM to take her aged parents on any hike though terrain
   completely unknown to her, without any research or hiking map, is
   unconscionable and inexplicable.
   
   Every guidebook is outdated the moment it rolls off the presses, if not before. Phone numbers change, restaurants move, businesses close. However, we have found that 99.9% of Mr. Sullivan's information is absolutely right on and has been very useful and informative, as well as having kept us out of trouble a few times. And unlike any other guidebook we've ever bought for our travels, this one has earned a place on our coffee table.



3. If you want to see Oahu, don't go without this book! It's amazingly innovative, informative and useful!! It's the best guide book I've ever experienced! We paid $18.95 for it in January 2008 near Waikiki. It was worth way more than that to us.



4. Great book. Preparing ahead of time for our trip at end of month and this book has come in handy prior to going.



5. Whether you're a visitor or a resident of Oahu, you absolutely must have this guide. All you need to know is at your fingertips if you want to really see the island beyond Waikiki. I cannot say enough about this book, it is truly the most informative and organized, easy to use.

No comments about Reference Maps of the Islands of Hawaii: O'ahu (Reference Maps of the Islands of Hawai'i).

5 comments about Six Months in the Sandwich Islands: Among Hawaii's Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes.

1. The steamer Nevada left Auckland New Zealand in January of 1873. Onboard are a number of travelers including Isabella Bird, who is traveling for her health. When another passenger takes ill, his Mother asks Isabella to disembark with them at Honolulu so they are not in a foreign land all alone. Thinking she will be there a short while, she actually begins a six-month journey, which she chronicles in a series of unabridged letters to her Sister back home. For those who have visited Hawaii or those who wonder what the islands were like before being annexed to the United States, these writings are pure joy.

   Isabella arrives as a foreigner, but in a short time learns of the beauty of the various islands and begins to understand the diverse culture of the people.

   She travels as an unescorted woman in a country, which has recently converted from aboriginal customs and inter-island wars, to the relatively peaceful paradise known in modern times. From simple observations of looking down at clouds on Maui at sunrise, to the unexpected earthquakes while standing next to a bubbling caldron of creation itself, you follow her adventures in well-written communications, which inform and entertain.

   As she stood in snow, gazing down at the crater 800 feet below her, she wrote "The mystery was solved, for at one end of the crater, in a deep gorge of its own, above the level of the rest of the area, there was the lonely fire, the reflection of which, for six weeks, has been seen for 100 miles."

   What she witnessed upon King Lunalilo's arrival in Hilo, brought tears to my eyes. Although they were beginning life under a form of government, the natives treated their king to a touching procession unlike anywhere else in the world. Many of the citizens had little or no money for clothes and wore what they had to meet him.

   Some also brought gifts as Isabella writes: "One woman, sorely afflicted with quaking palsy, dragged herself slowly along. One hand hung by her side helpless, and the other grasped a live fowl so tightly that she could not loosen it to shake hands, whereupon the king raised the helpless arm, which called forth much cheering." A poor cripple who had only the use of his arms, drug himself two miles to lie for a moment at his kings feet. He too carried a gift.

   Reading Isabella Birds' letters allows you to see first hand the magic the islands has on a visitor's soul and how easy it is to fall under the spell of the Hawaiian people.

   I highly recommend the book with only one useful hint. That is to find a detailed map and refer to it during the travels. Unfortunately, the maps in the book are not clear enough to use for this purpose.




2. Every book by Isabella is an adventure. This book is wonderful to read during and after a trip to the islands. It makes great bedtime reading and is a book that you can stretch out for a long time and read again and again.



3. Isabella Lucy Bird won fame in her own time as th most remarkable woman traveler of the nineteenth century, and Six Months in the Sandwich Islands, in which she describes her sojourn in Hawaii in 1873, is one of the gems of Pacific literature. It is safe to say that no other book about Hawaii surpasses it in fascination. Much of the charm of Isabella Bird's writing is due to her use of personal letters for conveying her experiences and her impressions. The thirty-one letters that compose the book were written to her beloved sister Henrietta, who dutifully stayed at home in Edinburgh to take care of the household while Isabella was away on her travels.
   --- from summary inside book's cover



4. The 5 star reviews are correct. This book is interesting from several perspectives:
   
   Women's History; she was quite a gal. Single, traveling alone, great adventures on every page. "Rollicking good time!" is the cliche. She is quickly bored by Honolulu "society" and itches to get moving.
   
   Mores of 19th Century Western (European, British, American) culture in respect to women. The changes Isabella makes as she adapts to new lifestyles.
   
   Personal accounts and insight of historical figures, White and Hawai'ian, and her instincts and frustrations with self-serving individuals of all races. She meets history-altering people mentioned in Shoal of Time.
   
   Detailed account of sugar production.
   
   Detailed accounts of the landscape, especially of the Island of Hawai'i, before nearly everything valuable was obliterated. Sense of place.
   
   Detailed accounts of flora and fauna.
   
   Horse riding styles, quality and treatment of horses. Discussion of a variety of methods of post contact Hawaiian transportation. Foot, horse, ship.
   
   Details of a variety of Hawaiian life styles.
   
   Accounts of mission schools and second generation missionaries.
   
   Enjoy and learn!



5. I like the biography on Isabella Bird, "Amazing Traveler, by Evelyn Kaye" much better. Anything by Isabella is amazing, but the detailed way in which she writes her sister can be a bit hard to read at times.

2 comments about Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan (Revised) (National Foreign Language Center Technical Reports).

1. This formidable volume has become a classic of sorts for those interested in Asian/Buddhist Studies. It was written in the mid-1940s by Nakamura, who is a Japanese scholar of Indian Buddhism, and was revised in 1962-3 through a series of conferences with the assistance of Western scholars. The volume is a comparative
   work attempting to outline differences between `ways of thinking` (an ambiguous term throughout the book) in India, China, Tibet and Japan. His means for accomplishing this dubious task mainly rely on linguistic analysis, and the development of Buddhism in each country, as well as an `assessment` of their cultural products. Nakamura`s goal is to debunk the notion of a homogenous `Oriental` or Eastern cultural set of values in opposition to `Occidental` or Western ones. Nakamura feels that this is a misleading dichotomy which needs to be dissolved or problematized, however, his work contains many idiosyncracies and outdated assumptions derived in part from the author`s own historical/intellectual context. It is definitely a more enriching read if one bears in mind that the book was written in Japan during and after the war, and was affected later by the largely Orientalist discourse still prevalent in Western scholarship. Furthermore, with half of the book devoted to Japan, one wonders what Nakamura`s justification or motivation for this might be, as he does not make it explicit in the text. With these considerations taken into account, the book stands on its own as a historical document in its own right. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this volume is recommendable mostly for those interested in the history of Asian studies, being indicative of some of the currents and trends that shaped the development of this area of study in the 20th century.



2. Professor Hajime NAKAMURA (1912-99) of Tokyo University, one of the leading and most productive scholars of Buddhism in post-war Japan, in 1947 completed the first draft of this study, an English translation of which was which was printed under UNESCO auspices in 1960. It was subsequently revised and expanded as a result of Nakamura's interaction with a number of prominent Western scholars such as Yale's Arthur F. Wright (Buddhism in Chinese History, 1959), and Hawaii's Philip O. Wiener, who edited the revised English translation published by the University of Hawaii Press in 1964.
   
   In his preface to the 1960 edition Wright describes Nakamura's project: ". . . No people in the world today is isolated from those world-wide movements of thought and belief which are tending to transform the lives of all peoples. But each people accepts or rejects, adapts and modifies the universal ideologies which reach them. What governs this process, and what is it which produces within each culture an amalgam which is at once part of a world-wide movement and distinctively its own? Mr. Nakamura considers the spread of the universal religion of Buddhism; and in Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan responses to Buddhism -- as well as in the history of Buddhism in India -- Mr. Nakamura finds clues to certain fundamental and persisting characteristics of their differing modes of thought. These characteristics in turn help to explain their fundamental historical and cultural differences one from another and their variant responses to Western culture in our time."
   
   Ways of Thinking is subdivided into four major parts: INDIA, CHINA, TIBET, and JAPAN; and it may be helpful to point out that Professor Nakamura's wide range of interests and study qualified him to attempt such an ambitious project -- as indicated by the fact that early in his career he was awarded a special prize for his four volume history of early (Indian) Vedanta philosophy.
   
   Perhaps some sense of the issues and problems involved in Ways of Thinking can be gleaned from the table of contents for the section on Japan. It must be noted, however, that these not sound-bites to conjure up a social stereotype. Rather, they are serious topics which Professor Nakamura addresses at length with many examples and notes. And we are free to agree or disagree with his conclusions only after we have carefully read what he has to say.
   
   PART IV: JAPAN
   
   34. The Acceptance of Phenomenalism
   The Phenomenal World As Absolute -- This-Worldliness -- The Acceptance of Man's Natural Dispositions -- Emphasis on the Love of Human Beings -- The Spirit of Tolerance -- Cultural Multiplicity (Consisting of Several Strata Still Preserved) and Weakness of the Spirit of Criticism
   
   35. The Tendency to Emphasize a Limited Social Nexus Overstressing of Social Relations -- Social Relationships Take Precedence over the Individual -- Unconditional Belief in a Limited Social Nexus -- Observance of Family Morals -- Emphasis on Rank and Social Position -- Problems of Ultra-Nationalism -- Absolute Devotion to Specific Individual Symbolic of the Social Nexus -- Emperor Worship -- Sectarian and Factional Closedness -- Defense of a Human Nexus by Force -- Emphasis upon Human Activities -- Acuteness of Moral Self-Reflection -- Weak Awareness of Religious Values
   
   36. Non-Rationalistic Tendencies
   Indifference to Logical Rules -- Lack of Interest in Formal Consistency -- Slow Development of Exact Logic in Japan -- Hopes for Development of Exact Logical Thinking in Japan -- Intuitive and Emotional Tendencies -- Tendency to Avoid Complex Ideas -- Fondness for Simple Symbolic Expressions -- The Lack of Knowledge Concerning the Objective Order
   
   37- Problem of Shamanism
   
   For me Ways of Thinking easily deserves five stars: it is a great work by a great scholar. How does it compare with that well-known work on a similar theme, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture by Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)? Check it out.
   
   Professor Nakamura has long since dropped off the best-seller lists, along George Sansom (the great historian of Japan), Edwin O. Reischauer and John K. Fairbank (authors of the solid 2-volume set, East Asia: The Great Tradition), T.R.V. Murti (The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika system), and many others who wrote just a few decades ago. Have their ideas and books been superseded and replaced by something better? No, they have just been blown away by the winds of fashion, just as the fashions of today will be replaced in turn. But if you are looking for a good read, they are names to keep in mind.

No comments about Hawaii (America Series).

4 comments about The Backpackers Guide to Hawai'i.

1. Stuarts description of trails is to the tee. I am an avid hiker amongst the islands and have looked and used several books on hiking Hawaii, and none compare to Stuart's. I hiked Ko'olau Summit Trail in early September, I had Stuart's book to guide me. The book starts the trail off on the La'ie Trail which intersects with the summit trail. In his notes he states that one can hike the trail from Pupukea, but it is very overgrown and muddy. Haa, I thought . I have hiked some overgrown trails in my day, how bad can this be. Let me tell how bad it is! It was just about the worst hike I have ever been on. From Pupukea to the La'ie Trail junction was some of the worst trail conditions I have ever encountered. What little trail there was, was overgrown so badly that it took us two full days (16 hours) to hike approximately 15 miles. Needless to say once we got past the La'ie Trail junction, his book led us effortlessly to the Schofield-Waikane Trail. I actually thougt about going to Kipapa Ridge. whew! If Stuart says its overgrown it is, if he says it is beautiful it is. His book is easy to read, follow, and understand. I would highly recommend both his hiking books over all books covering trails on the Hawaiin Islands



2. Anyone thinking of overnight stays in the Hawaii backcountry should have this book. In it is info about getting to the trailhead, negotiating the trail itself, and more. I've used it for trips across Haleakala, to Halape, and up Mauna Loa. Don't leave home without it. [g]



3. I tried to like this book. But the more I tried, the more disappointed I was.

   I've gone back and forth with myself over whether this book ought to describe more trails. After all, ten backpacking trips, four of which are in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, seems a bit spare. I decided not to give this book a lower rating since I did buy it because it says "backpackers" in the title, and looking at other guide books and maps has convinced me that there are probably a limited number of multi-day trips available on the islands. Nonetheless, you should keep in mind that it's a bit thin for its price tag. Looking at similarly priced titles on my bookshelf, I would expect twice as many trips and more descriptions of branch trails and day hikes beyond the destination campsites.

   The trail descriptions themselves are good. The overviews are enjoyable and include major landmarks along the way. The overviews are then followed by overly detailed route descriptions. They go so far as to tell you to "Pass a mango tree on the right," and they count the number of switchbacks you ascend or descend. This is useful for unmarked or unmaintained trails, such as the dayhike to Pu'u 'O'o, but unnecessary filler for many of the other trails.

   Most disappointing were the maps. The book has island-level locator maps that show you the general area each trip can be found. But there are no overview maps to give you a feel for what each trip looks like from start to finish. And the detail maps are themselves problematic. They have no color coding, so the reader is left to decipher a map showing gray text on top of gray topographical features on top of gray contour lines. And like a AAA trip planner, the maps are oriented so that the trail runs up-and-down the page without regard for the cardinal directions. For the Mauna Loa trip, North rotates over four maps from the bottom left of the page to the top of the page.

   The book's one saving grace is it's photography. 16 pages of beautiful pictures will help you decide which trails appeal to you. Halape, on the beach in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, looks like heaven on earth. And after looking at the pictures, I'm pretty sure that I'd like to dayhike the barren Mauna Loa or Haleakala, but I don't want to camp there.




4. I have taken this book (or photocopies of relavant information) on all my backpackings throughout the Hawaiian islands. This includes hikes and backpackings on Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii and have hiked in parks such as Kokee, Kalalau, Haleakala, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks. Fabulous information regarding trail routes, how to get to the trailheads, and what permit and important information any experienced backpacker needs to know. I've led backpacking groups, too, with this information. Stuart Ball has been there and knows his stuff. Highly recommended by the Backyard Oahu website!!

4 comments about Hidden Maui: Including Lahaina, Kaanapali, Haleakala, and the Hana Highway (Hidden Travel).

1. Despite the title, there's nothing especially "hidden" in this book. It is a tolerably-good guide to Maui, but nothing special. Most everything in it can be found in any decent guide to the island.



2. It should be titled "Things other books talk about when describing Maui". There was not much that I found new in this book that I have not read in other Maui tour books. It had some decent descriptions and pictures, but not much more then that. I was looking for some real "hidden" places and finds, but was really disappointed.



3. I am not sure why the previous reviewers gave so much flak to the author for this book, because it really is an excellent guide to the island. Most people like to compare each guide for Maui to the Wizard book, but if you consider the relationship between that "other" book and the locals, then Hidden Maui by far comes out on top.
   
   A nice guide for the island, one I'd recommend along with Maui Mile by mile and Driving Maui.



4. When you know you're going to Maui, this is a much better option than a book that addresses all the islands at once, like its sister book, Hidden Hawaii.
   
   There's a lot of information in here, although some of it I could have done without; if I wanted information about the culture, flora & fauna, geology, history and language, I would get a book about those things. This is supposed to be a vacation guidebook. That other stuff is extraneous, to my mind, and doesn't belong in this book.
   
   I did find that the "hidden" places they listed were ones I had not heard of in many other places. I don't know that much of anything is actually "hidden" out there any more; it's been developed so much in the last 30 years, you won't find many places that are really and truly unknown to at least some of the tourist traffic, especially if it's published in a book that will be read by thousands of vacationers. So, taking that into consideration, I guess the book lived up to its promise there, somewhat.
   
   I could have used some photos. There were none. But the maps were pretty good.
   
   I got a copy of this from the library for our trip to Maui in a couple of months; I may purchase this one to take along, as I found it more user-friendly and overall more useful than many other books I checked out.

No comments about Hawaii: The Big Island: A Visit to a Realm of Beauty, History and Fire.

5 comments about Hawaiian Lomilomi: Big Island Massage.

1. This book is ideal for the professional therapist or for anyone desiring to learn more about loving touch and the spiritual ideas of the Hawaiian culture. Merging therapeutic touch with the essence of Hawaii, reading this book can bring the feeling of aloha into anyone's world, wherever you are. I highly recommend this book for both its practical application value as well as its fascinating look at the kupuna (respected elders) who practice lomilomi and traditional Hawaiian healing.



2. Hawaiian Lomilomi, Big Island Massage, by Nancy S. Kahalewai

   This book is currently the only book about Lomilomi (Lomi Lomi) based on Hawaiian sources. Lomilomi is one of the methods the traditional Hawaiian healers use for restoring health. What makes this book especially valuable is that the author acts as mediator between Hawaiian tradition and modern bodywork.

   The reader gets a chance to understand how this bodywork is a part of the sacred Hawaiian healing arts and not just a massage which tries to deal with muscle tension from the outside. The author includes chapters on Hawaiian herbal medicine and on the role the Kahunas (experts / priests of healing arts) still play in Hawai'i.

   Healing is very closely connected with life and Nancy Kahalewai helps understand the most important Hawaiian concepts of life. Understanding the love and respect, the Aloha Spirit, which is such a wonderful experience when visiting the Hawaiian islands, and how Ho'oponopono (right thought / forgiveness) has been part of daily life in the Hawaiian nation enables us to understand how it must be to receive a lomilomi massage.

   Important for masseurs are the chapters on strokes and techniques give some insight on how Aloha Spirit translates into massage movements and the "hands on" chapter gives a good idea of a basic routine, opening up to the great variation of massage techniques and routines used in Hawai'i. Of course it is advisable to learn the art of Hawaiian healing from a qualified teacher.

   The author's great respect towards the Hawaiian people and their rich culture makes it possible to include modern medical information, which is so important for modern massage therapists and clients in a world full of regulations.

   However, I personally rate what is in "additions" of the physiology chapter as the greatest value of Lomilomi: clients come back because they feel totally nurtured and supported. After the two hours massage many express that they feel like being born again.

   This bodywork enables clients to regain their Self as an entity of body, mind and spirit, giving them strength and the focus to act from within in this crazy world. I hope this book will reach many massage therapists and theat they will learn to touch people the Hawaiian way and spread unconditional love and respect all over the world.

   Christian Herold, Lomilomi practitioner, Zurich, Switzerland []




3. The book was as described, and securely packaged. Quick delivery as well.



4. Nancy's book is the only "how-to" book on lomilomi. It contains pictures and a step-by-step protocol to follow for a complete treatment. The book is also valuable in providing pictures and biographies of many of the kupuna (elders) active in the latter part of the 20th century. There is a lot of information about lomilomi in the larger context of Hawaiian healing. As the editor of Na Mo'olelo Lomilomi: The Traditions of Hawaiian Massage and Healing, I quoted from Nancy's book extensively and found it an invaluable guide to lomilomi as practiced today.



5. The main part is well written and helpful to understand the Hawaiian culture. But what the author should have done is just to leave it solely on what she knows. Writing about other teachers or Kahuna and judging them in her very narrow perspective is definetly not what aloha spirit is about. It significes that she apparently do not understand true meaning of aloha or the universal law and therefore what she rights on this book about other people is critical. Hawaiian tradition has been not to write but only passed on through the voice. Now I really know how dangerous books could be to mislead people with wrong ideas.
   
   I am a student of Abraham Kahu who taught so called temple style lomi which she put into New Age. If this kahuna work is New Agew work most of Kahuna work should be on New Age becasue Kahunas are always most advanced . It is more likey that she had not even met him and just wrote through rumors she had heard from people and did not have any respect to go to meet him to see and hear for herself. Kahu is the most highly trained Kahuna and his awareness and understanding of universal laws and knowledge is no doubt a true Hawaiian Kahuna. At his level "Hawaiian" doesnt really mean so much since we are all one. So not that he cares but hate to see people beleive this book.
   All I can say is that she does not understand what a really great Kahuna can do.