1 comments about Cosmos and Hearth: A CosmopoliteÕs Viewpoint.

1. Tuan is one of the most insightful writers working in the area of place and space. All of his books are worth a read, and this one makes his thought even more relevant to the current political situation.

5 comments about My Son, Yo-Yo.

1. this was a great biography! it was written so that it flows; it's packed with information, but really interesting and intriguing to read. i recommend it for anyone, especially music lovers :) it's an influentially beautiful piece.



2. This is a bad book! As much as I am a fan of Yo-Yo's music, and with the wish to learn more about this great person, I really felt disappointed after reading this book. The writer, John Rallo, don't seem to know enough about Yo Yo Ma; his writing style was very deattached, it was written like from the 'fourth-person' or maybe the 'nth-person' perspective. Marina Ma, Yo Yo's mother, had her name as the co-author of this book; but she didn't done any of the actual penning. And whatever little information she had related to Mr. Rallo, was common facts that could be found from old newspaper and magazine articles.



3. It is an absolutely fantastic book. The 'making' of Yo-Yo Ma a great cellist is unveiledto the audience. Mr Ma's unrivalled achievements since his youth are beyond doubt. I find it most touching and enjoyable in the mother's memories of events surrounding the parental families in difficult times; and the conversations amongst the Mas, old and young throughout the period. It is a book of love, care and understanding that has been manifested and shared by these fine people in a tri-cultural background.



4. the idea for ma's mother to right the book was great and it is the only book about him that i have found! i was doing my research paper on him and there just werent any books. i liked the way it explained were his family originated from, lots of people have wondered that!!! best book i've read in years



5. ''A wonderful book telling you step by step about Yo-Yo- Ma's life ,quote's from his adventorous mother.A book for cello and music lover to read.'' stars age 10

4 comments about A Woman Soldier's Own Story.

1. Xie Bingying was many things. Unfortunately, her autobiography does not convey this well, reading like a nationalist propaganda piece. She also did not write much about the political context of the times in which she lived, although I suspect that was deliberate. Her story is still fascinating, however, because of how she navigated the shifting social intersections of China in the turmoil of the early twentieth century. To understand what women went through during this period, this is a valuable resource. I wouldn't recommend it for casual reading though.



2. I have just read this book for a Chinese Women's history class, and I have found that it is nothing more than a hagiography that oversimplifies many complicated facets of Chinese culture. These days, it seems to be the vogue in literature to publish books by Asian women portraying them as hobbling, footbound victims of patriarchy and oppression. While it is true that Asian culture is definitely patriarchal and something that needs to be reformed, this book is another hackneyed account of a young woman trying to escape "feudal" social structures.
   I have no love for this book or any book like it because its message has been written and rewritten in various books by authors such as Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston. The translators say in the introduction that Xie is the symbol of transition from "old" to "new" China. By not clearly defining what these interpretations are, they leave it to their audience to define what "old" and "new" are based on individual interpretaion. Moreover, Xie Bingying's black-and-white, old-and-new, feudal-and progressive viewpoint oversimplifies many complexities that face women in confronting modern gender ideals. If you have read Amy Tan or any other hackneyed works, I recommend skipping this book because it is another example of the oversimplification of cultural identity today.



3. Few people in the West realize how extraordinary this book is and how much it has influenced generations of young Chinese. I used to own the original (Chinese) version of this book while growing up as a boy in South America in the 60s. I used to read it for guidance and strength in the darkest days of my youth. I must have read and reread it a dozen times before I had to reluctantly part ways with it. This is a true modern classic that is often ignored by contemporary historians of Chinese literature, who prefer the shallowness of the likes of Sanmo. The War Diaries, which were praised by none other than Lin Yutang, are also worth reading; the translators should make them the subject of their next project.
   Fine as the edition is, I wish the cover had been different. I have never seen a likeness of Xie xiansheng before and almost overlook the book because I was misled by the photograph of the woman in uniform to think it was a book about the Cultural Revolution. But I am glad the editors have included the photographs contained in the insert. I have always matched the feistiness of the woman soldier with a rather robust physique: I am surprised how fragile and delicate Xie xiansheng actually was.
   This book is correctly listed as an autobiography but it reads like a fine novel, with memorable scenes and episodes. Without opening this translation and reading a single line, I can name a half dozen right off the top of my head: the foot-binding, the escapes, the dying brother, the impoverished former army girlfriend, the love triangle, etc. This book is to the Chinese literature what the Ann Frank diaries are to the European; it definitely should not be missed.



4. It is a great book! this book portrayed how women were mistreated in the early 20th century in China. In that old days, girls were not allowed to be educated. They only learned how to spin cotton and embroider,, how to be an obedient daughter, and later a dutiful daughter-in-law. The reading materials for them were highly restricted to certain books such as Teach Your Daughter Traditional Rules. The worst thing was that girls had bound feet! However, there were still a few "lucky one" be able to escape from these old customs. Of course, it wasn't easy. This autobiography described an extraordinary woman, Xie Bingying who struggled to free herself from the traaditional Chinese society--received education, freed from an arranged marriage, became a soldier in the National Revolutionary Army, etc. Her experience was extraordinary!! I like this book because it is not only a truth story, it also pertains very rich information about the old Chinese customs.

2 comments about I.M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism.

1. You know the work of I.M Pei even if you don't know that he was the architect behind them. You have seen the glass Pyramid at the Lourvre (although there was much more to his design than that visible and memorable landmark), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the East Wing of the National Gallery in Washington D. C. , the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Hancock Place in Boston, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and many others.
   
   Like a great many important architects, he caused strenuous debate, derisive rejection by some, loud praise from others. Many link him as a disciple of Walter Gropious and others reject the very idea that such an original thinker would be derivative of another.
   
   This very fine book will help you understand more about his work, how the projects were selected, the requirements and desires behind the designs, and what the vision was that resulted in all those buildings with the sharp geometric lines. The man himself is also quite interesting. The firm he founded continues (though he retired from it in 1990), however, in an interview in 2004 he said that he stopped taking new projects in 2001. He was born in 1917, so he has had a very active and long career.
   
   If you think you hate his work, I encourage you to step back and read this book. It will help you better understand his designs. They do make a great deal of sense and I think they are beautiful. Certainly, while they still challenge some, they do seem less outrageous compared to the designs one sees going up around the world today.



2. A brilliant and well-thought out look at one of this centuries most prolific architects. All of the stories behind his greatest achievements are here, including the scandal the erupted around the building of the Louvre pyramid. Pei is shown to be an practical innovator with his own particular philosophy; his elegant lines and deceptively simple ideas set him apart from the complicated ideology of the Bauhaus movement and architects like Le Corbusier. A very good read.

4 comments about They Called Us White Chinese: The Story of a Lifetime of Service to God Mankind.

1. They Called Us White Chinese is an autobiography of the late Robert N. Tharp, missionary to China in the early 1900's. I read the book cover to cover. It is extraordinarily well written, detailed, and full of interesting stories. It covers his boyhood which details Chinese construction techniques, social/cultural aspects of village life, provincial wars and his life and adventures in general. His capture during WWII and take over of the Communists follows. The trials of him and his wife in escaping the country are almost incredible. Mr. Tharp had a long career in linguistics in the U.S. working for military and intelligence services, which he describes in the latter third of the book. The book is anything but overedited and Mr. Tharp may carefully describe a particular adventure in vivid detail so that it becomes a short story in itself. I also appreciate the almost complete lack of "self-analysis" or abstract social commentary etc... This book is also a great aid to understanding Chinese history and culture. Highly recommended.



2. As a former student of Robert Tharp, I was interested in his new book, "They Called Us White Chinese". The title seems a little bit funny until I learned that due to the fact that he and his wife, Eva, were interned by the Japanese during WWII they lost all their identity papers, and when they came to the US, immigration officials stamped on their visa that they were, "White Chinese". Thus brings to an end their saga that comprises of almost 900 pages of the most beautiful coffee-table book I have ever seen. This book should cost three times as much. Contemporary Chinese history has never been explained as well as through the eyes of a "Westerner" born and raised in China. A Must Buy!



3. I should note that in 1994 when I first bought this book I was amazed and delighted to find myself mentioned in it (on page 751.) I was one of Bob Tharp's USAF Chinese students, recruited out of basic training in the summer of 1955. Years later, after finishing my Air Force tour (in Korea, using everything I'd been taught at Yale's Institute of Far Eastern Languages by Bob Tharp and his colleagues)and finishing college and law school, I found myself back at Yale, assisting Bob in the same USAF program while I took a correspondence course for the Michigan bar exam.

   I wish that I had known just a portion of the information that's in this great work of a book about Bob's early life when I first met him - I would have held him in even higher regard, if that's possible.

   This book paints an amazing picture of a tumultuous time in Chinese (and American) history, and the latter portions show clearly the contributions that Bob and Eva Tharp and their colleagues made to US security. He trained hundreds of air intelligence specialists, and many of them, like myself, found our lives forever changed and enhanced by our exposure to Chinese language and culture.




4. This book takes you through a journey of a man's life in his service to God. From the first page, you're introduced to Robert Tharp, son of a missionary in China. Slowly, you're taken through a concise narrative of the daily routine in Manchuria, detailing events as broad as the various warlords who entered the city to as detailed as how the local mastrigate ate plumbs.

   The pictures in the book add to the book by showing what people did. Rarely are there books with such quantity of pictures.

   There are wonderful anecdotes of everyday life and experiences Bob had. He has an entire section devoted to chinese humor, which are incredibally difficult to translate, but he does it with style.

   Anyone with interest in what life in China was like, this book is a must read.

No comments about The Spy Within: Larry Chin and China's Penetration of the CIA.

1 comments about Sweet Bamboo: A Memoir of a Chinese American Family.

1. OUTSTANDING BOOK, SINCE I AM A AMERICAN CHINESE...I CAN FEEL ALOT FOR
   THIS STORY...PLUS I GREW UP IN CENTRAL LOS ANGELES...KNOWING WHERE
   ALL THE LOCAL LOCATIONS WERE. MY FATHER AND MOTHER WERE BORN HERE IN
   THE US...SO PART OF THE STORY WAS VERY INTERESTING TO ME.

No comments about Robert Morrison and the Birth of Chinese Protestantism (T&T Clark Theology).

No comments about Ancient Melodies.

4 comments about Women Poets of China (New Directions Paperbook, 528).

1. The editors made a good try to translate the poems, but the result makes me laugh!
   
   They can translate the meanings but they can't keep the feelings, formats, sounds, favors, and metaphors.
   
   This book can fool people who can't read Chinese. Chinese is my first language, this book can't fool me!
   
   If you are a professor or teacher, please stop showing off your "good taste" by forcing your student to read this piece of stupid translation. You need to learn Chinese to read real Chinese poem.



2. Probably my favorite of the asian poetry books that I've read. Thanks for the compilation, Kenneth.



3. This collection was a huge surprise. Unlike the steryo type of what women in China was like, subservient to husbands they are forced to marry, with little thoughts and feelings for themselves.

   These women poets starting from 1644-1911, shout out thier love of thier partners, discuss drinking, sex, lust, romance, infactutation and even loving other women.

   The metaphors are soft and light at the first reading, yet if you look deeper you realise some of the subjects are far from the softness the poetry is conveyed in.

   A good histrical text on Chinese Women and a good read. As the previous reviewer said, buy two and give one to a friend.




4. An exciting selection of poems by known and previously unknown women poets. Ling Chung's scholarship and sensitivity gave the late great Kenneth Rexroth the insight and inspiration to outdo himself here. Buy two copies and give one to a friend.