Wei Jingsheng is well known as China's leading dissident, but this book also establishes him as one of China's leading intellectuals. He has the courage to see and to say what others in China cannot. His letter to Deng Xiaoping about Tibet is an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing. It is worth buying the book for this alone.

The lack of heroes these days has become a truism. Our political leaders are beset by satyriasis and mendacity. Our sports icons gobble steroids, routinely violate the terms of their parole, and sometimes even behead their wives.

That makes it surprising to encounter a genuine hero, which the author of The Courage To Stand Alone certainly is. It is doubly strange that he should emerge from China, the land of groupthink and hyperconformity. Who would have thought that a child of the Cultural Revolution would become a major force for decency and dignity even as those qualities were being rendered quaint and passe by the rush for market share in the New Global Economy?

When Wei Jingsheng was first put into prison and began writing the letters that make up the bulk of To Stand Alone, Mandela had been in prison for 17 years, Solzhenitsyn had just published Gulag in English, and the concept of dissent was unknown in China. When Wei was released in 1997 and flew to the US after having served 18 years in China's gulag (known there as laogai), Mandela was president of South Africa, Solzhenitsyn had returned to a free Russia, and Deng had transformed China from a socialist police state to a plutocratic police state. With all the stuff in our hardware stores and clothing shops bearing the Made in China tag, you might even think China had been transformed into a free society. You would be mistaken to think that, however. Wei was imprisoned for exercising one of the simplest and most basic rights, that of free speech. He published a magazine. In it, he urged the Chinese Communist Party to honor all the grand promises it made in the constitutions it churned out from time to time, promises like "The People have the right to speak out freely, air views fully, hold great debates, and write dazibao (large character posters posted on walls in public places for all to read)".

Wei had begun his career as a dissident by putting up one such dazibao: his essay "Democracy: The Fifth Modernization". This document (included in To Stand Alone) is a piece of impassioned logic which a Jefferson or Hancock would be proud to sign. He wrote it and posted it the same night on Beijing's Democracy Wall. Unlike the others who posted writings there, Wei left his name and number. That wasn't safe, but Wei believed the Chinese were getting a worldwide reputation for spinelessness, thanks to people like Deng and Lin Biao who, during the reign of Mao Zedong, had taken the craft of brown-nosing and sycophancy to new depths.

In 1979 Deng was just beginning his reign, and many thought he was a new kind of leader, which he was, in some ways. In other ways he was the oldest kind of leader there is: a tyrant. In his magazine, Wei identified him as dictator-in-the-making a full 10 years before Deng ordered the murder of hundreds of students in Tiananmen Square. That prediction put Wei in prison, the special Chinese kind of prison where you are expected to confess your "errors" and "crimes".

There was a certain amount of international pressure on China, so Wei probably could have gotten out early for confessing his "crimes". But he had that thing about backbone, about standing upright for what you believe in. He was, it must be noted, a little stubborn. Actually, more than a little stubborn. Actually, you know nothing about stubborn until you read this book. Picture David Niven going into the oven in Bridge On The River Kwai for insisting on being treated like an officer according to the Geneva Convention. Now picture him doing that every day for 18 years, and you have some idea of what Wei went through. Not an oven, but a box without windows, very little food, very little heat in a region bordering Tibet, no medical care, sleep made impossible, beatings, solitary confinement for months on end...All these measures notwithstanding, Wei would not confess to a crime he had not committed. He wouldn't even get impolite. In his letters from prison, he demands the basic rights he's been stripped of in a tone less harsh than I use on my neighbor's barking dog. Reading these letters one occasionally gets the feeling he's been detained through some silly bureaucratic mix-up. Of course, he wasn't. He was thrown into the largest system of concentration camps that yet exists on the planet, just like millions of his compatriots. He's out now, but the others are still there, doing slave labor, starving, being executed by the score, involuntarily donating their organs to international markets...

When the Chinese Communist Party falls, as all brutal, sadistic regimes inevitably do, this book of letters and one landmark essay will be remembered as one of the chief causes of its demise.

Wei, if you read this, I would urge you to post Democracy: The Fifth Modernization on this site. It's common for authors to put excerpts of their books here, and that essay would be a perfect sample. I doubt the Party will be able to have it removed.

As a Chinese communist party member, I'm supposed to tell a lie as usual, but I have to admit that I really love this book. However, sad stories are always hard to go over again and again, which will make me emotionally unacceptable. If I were a girl, Jingsheng, I would like to be your lover, but never your wife.

This book is a wonderful story&it is especially won-
derful to read in this the 50th anniversary of the achievment of
the summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary&Tenzing Norgay.
Momo showed courage as she made her way out of Tibet&down to In-
dia.I also loved the way it introduced another culture&religion.

I read this book voraciously from start to finish when I was in 7th grade and have never forgotten it. It illustrates how important it is to have faith in a dream and to go after what you want even when everyone tells you it's impossible. And if you've ever dearly loved a pet, this is the story for you.

Momo, a young Tibetian girl, yearns to own a Lhasa Apso, but an expensive pedigree dog like that is beyond her family's meager budget. Undaunted, Momo hopes and prays for one to come her way, certain that it will. Her faith and tenacity pay off when a traveling merchant presents her with an adorable Lhasa puppy, whom Momo promptly names Pempa. All is perfect in Momo's world until the day Pempa is stolen by thieves on their way to India. You will learn a lot about that part of the world as Momo tirelessly treks through Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and finally India to retrieve her beloved pooch.

She stumbles into a lot of interesting characters along the way, making this story an even more enjoyable read.

I Loved this book to death. I fell in love with it. I don't think that it could've been writen any better then it was. I feel into the book, and I didn't want to come out. Even though the ending was upsetting, because I felt he should go back to indians, I realized that that was his home, that was where he needed to be. This book could've been writen about any person changing, and nowing they belonged. Everyone has a place they just need to find it. Jim Keath didn't now who he was, he always felt like somebody else, he needed to belong, and to change. He changed, and he realized he needed to stay for Dan'l. It's an awesome book that'd I recomend to any one.

I just finished reading Dear Alice. I found it extremely helpful in preparing myself mentally for an upcoming trip to China. The letters were quite authentic and honest, often revealing small details about the enigma of life in China. While I can't assume that I'll have a similar experience to that of the writers, I feel comforted to know that others have dealt with China and survived. A great book if you're curious about this foreign culture and an especially illuminating book for those of you from the United States and who are interested in the ways Americans might react to "The land on the other side of the looking glass."

First of all, I would like to mention that I had the opportunity to teach for one year in Xi'an, the ancient capital of China, and now the capital of Shaanxi province. I am thankful to Alice Renouf, the "Alice" of the title "Dear Alice", for making this dream come true. I went in 1992, if I remember correctly. Since I began reading this wonderful book, I have been unable to put it down. So many forgotten memories and subtle emotions came pouring into my consciousness. From the shock of the first weeks in China to standing in front of the classroom to the everday rush of life which I was part of, to eating in the nightmarket. Reading this book is a vivid and emotional experience. Second only to going to China oneself. Though, I feel it is a must read for anyone planning to go; either as teacher, student, tourist, businessman, politician. In fact, I feel it is not only important for those going to China, but also for anyone who intends to immerse themself in another culture. But even if you just want to read a good book, either while sitting on a warm and glistening sandy beach, with the waves lapping against the shore; or while sitting in your living room sipping a cup of coffee or tea; this is certainly a worthwhile, entertaining, and educational book. After all, it is about becoming sensitive to another culture, and discovering one's own, in the process. I highly recommend "Dear Alice". You will certainly enjoy it.

"Dear Alice" is a must read for anyone headed for China. It's a collection of hundreds of letters by English teachers from America, who arrived to discover China was a bit too different. Often in desperation, but usually with great wit and insight, they sought a shoulder to cry on. So they wrote barrel-fulls of letters to the person who sent them there; hence, Dear Alice .... Alice Renouf, the author, began sending teachers to China years ago and now runs a full-fledged human resources firm helping people who want to teach English in a truly different, challenging environment. Even the locals will tell you China is a crazy place -- a soviet-style bureaucracy trying to run a 3,000 year old society on a marathon of change. Some of the 1.2 runners are at 'start' and some in the 20th centruy. The route changes hourly, and the finishline is definitely "mei you." But if you want to know people who suffer awful frustration with courage, you're in the right place. The best part of the book is learning how many Americans overcome their initial shock, and why they don't flee to the nearest airport. The common strategy seems to be (1) Talk about it (2) Make friends with fellow suffers first, i.e. other Americans. This sounds a bit stand-offish considering you've gone all the way to China to meet Chinese, but it isn't, (3) Learn Chinese if you can, but failing that develop a busy schedule. China is truly ugly, but always interesting, so don't allow yourself an idle minute to examine your (usually) wretched physical surroundings, (4) Take enough money, or make enough. China isn't cheap, and a "mental holiday" in a place like China (dinner at a joint venture hotel) is many times costlier than in the US, (5) Travel and see the country. Make the experience count, and (6) Be prepared for the ultimate culture shock -- ending up where you may have started -- wiser and more tolerant perhaps, but believing your own culture makes considerably more sense.

This book is brilliant! It hit me hard on so many different levels that it makes moving on to another book a recipe for disappointment.

The plot, for starters, is impossibly compelling. By page ten I was completely hooked: the dynamics between Jenny (a married woman) and Graham (a mysterious and intriguing stranger she meets late at night on a boat) and Dave (Jenny's husband who sleeps in their cabin below) are rich and complex. You can sense danger ahead but can't help moving towards it, page by page.

Nothing is predictable and yet the events unfold as you fear (hope?) they must. I don't want to ruin anything and so will just say that it's a book that you will wish that you could read more slowly.

The characters are the reason this book stands above so much of contemporary fiction. They are complex and nuanced. And, most importantly, they are real--as real as anyone that I know: flawed, maddening, endearing, and just plain interesting. When Jenny describes the visceral power of her estranged husband's smell she captures the essence of her conflicting feelings for him beautifully:

"I haven't washed his pillowcase since he moved out. Each night I go to bed with his pillow positioned neatly on the left side of the bed, but in the morning I wake with my arms around it, like a grieving widow..." Richmond makes you care about every character; they invade your brain. I find myself referring to them in conversation, months after I finished the book, as if they are real people.

Anyway, I wish that I could give this book more than five stars. I just love it. Buy it. Read it. And then buy copies for your friends so that you can share the experience.

The setting in this book is described so vividly that it almost becomes a character itself. The Yangtze River and the small Gulf Coast town where the main character grew up are so clearly drawn, you feel like you're actually there. The most moving aspect of this novel is the love story between the main character and Amanda Ruth, who is murdered when she's 17. A great book for summer!

While I was on vacation in Florida last month, I came upon a review of this book in some newspaper. The review was so good that it inspired me to go out and buy the book two days later. On my flight back to Germany, I simply could not put it down--I read the entire way! It is such a great book! The woman next to me on the plane said that I looked so completely engrossed in the book that she had to know what it was. This is the best novel that I have read in a long, long time!

Helps push aside the distractions provided by doddering old Chinese officialdom and trade wars waged by the G7, so the reader can grasp the fighting capacity of Chinese workers and peasants. Makes the case that big business and landowning forces were genuinely rousted by popular determination. So, all the faceless, nameless Chinese people who did this are the ones who qualitatively raised the stakes for the imperial war-mongers in their plans for World War III -- now they have to try to get back China, too! Useful and concrete on the bureaucratic stranglehold that the Chinese Communist Party maintained over the workers' movement from the very beginning. But the popular determination to repulse the invasion of Korea, and obtain land and freedom forced even Mao's hand. Also contains an article on challenges in developing China's backward economy that is very apropos today, given China's entry into the World Trade Organization and all the bunk that is being written about that.

China is under attack from both Imperial political parties ( Democrats/Republicans ) , union bureaucrats, and the "anti-globalization"/Dalai Lama combination. Why ?

China shook the world in 1949.The Chinese revolution tore one fourth of humanity out of the orbit of the British and Yanqui imperial domains.The workers took the factories, the peasants took the land, and China stood up in the world'rising from its knees. But this revolution was betrayed from the beginning by its leadership.The documents in this collection, written during the events by leading militants of a revolutionary workers party here in the U.S., explain this mighty revolution and its deformation 'by the opposite of communism : Stalin-ism, represented both by Mao Tse-tung and the ancestors of the present ruling clique.Chinese workers are already beginning to resist the encroachments of Imperial capital, organized by the capitalist wannabes at the head if the Chinese "Communist" Party. As capitalism spirals into its New Depression, the Chinese workers will resist in their hundreds of millions ' billions ! ' and shake the world again, together with the workers and farmers of the world, including here in the U.S.

This short work is an excellent introduction to huge developments in world history: the course of the anti-capitalist revolution that swept China after World War II and the controversial questions of leadership posed by the Maoist forces that headed the Chinese Communist Party at the time.

"The Chinese Revolution and Its Development" reprints a series of resolutions and articles adopted by revolutionary socialists in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, analyzing and assessing the events in China at the time. The specific facts of the struggle for power in China in the late 1940s as part of the anti-colonial revolutions that swept much of the Third World after World War II; The U.S. war in Korea and the response of the Chinese worker and peasants; the twists and turns of the Maoist leadership once in power-- its all covered here. Of particular value are the detailed discussions of what it takes to overthrow capitalist rule and open the way to the possibility of developing a new, socialist society.

I'd strongly recommend following up this work with two longer titles on China published by Pathfinder Press: "Leon Trotsky on China" and "The Chinese Communist Party in Power" by veteran Chinese revolutionary P'eng Shu-tse.

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo is an excellent teacher and I have several of her books, and love them all, but to be real honest, this is not a low-fat low-cal cookbook. This is a tiny portion cookbook.

At first glance her recipes seem to be low-cal, low-fat, but look again. For instance, tonight I made the pepper steak recipe. Delicious yes, but the recipe called for 4 oz. of meat and 3/4 lb. of peppers and this was supposed to feed 6 people! Maybe that would be satisfactory if you were making several dishes and soup, but for a Sunday night one pot dinner it was just enough for two, tripling the calorie and fat content listed.
Yes buy the book and cook from it, just take a real look at portions and how many a dish is supposed to feed and then ask yourself is this really going to feed my family?

A great book. I had been searching for an authentic Chinese cookbook for some time. I took a gamble on this book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, and it was a rewarding pay-off. This book has everything. Some information on the history of Chinese cooking, on buying and seasoning a wok, on steam-proofing dishes, on some of the more hard to find ingredients, and personal stories from her upbringing. Not to mention, some fantastic recipies including one I've wanted to try for some time, fish soup. While prep-work is not one of my favorite parts of cooking, (although somewhat necessary in these recipies)the reward of a fantasic dish is well worth it. Added bonuses are sections on how to properly make rice (harder than you may think), and calorie counting information for every dish. I can't wait to try some of the other books by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. If they're 1/2 as good as this one, they already have my approval.

We can't say enough about this book since we began cooking with it. Although it took a little time to stock our pantry with the ingredients, it was well worth the time. Thankfully we have some local Asian markets. There has yet to be a recipe that we've made that we have not thoroughly enjoyed. Surprisingly our picky 2 year old has also enjoyed the food. The book is extremely well written with straight forward step by step instructions that allow us to make exceptional cuisine. By no means does the food taste low in fat. The tastes are superb. We plan to purchase another recipe book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.

As a Ceramic Teacher I have found this book to be very useful in the studio. There are so many ideas and designs to look at, as the title says over 300 designs, simple and easy to understand. The designs are easy to follow for beginers and give great ideas as to how to lay out design work on ceramic. Advance students have followed some of the ideas, adding their own designs to a more advance level. Anyone who has a studio with beginers this is a must..A great studio tool.

I really enjoy painting ceramics as a hobby and use this book every week for ideas and inspiration. It covers a wide range of subjects, from fruits to flowers to lettering and animals, design specific for your ceramic piece so you can get an idea what might look nice on a teapot, for example. It is a great starting point to see how designs, shapes and colours work together. This book should be available in every ceramics studio!

Excellent instructions for beginners but not so simple that the more advanced painter will be bored. 300 patterns with ideas for many more. I will be using this with Mentally Challenged Adults. I have a copy myself and am ordering this copy for them to use.

I thought I would never read a novel as outstanding as The Good Earth. And then I read Dragon Seed! Thus far, this is the greatest book I have ever read! There are truly no adjectives to satisfactorily describe the depth and poignancy of this novel. My heart filled with sorrow as I turned the pages of this mesmerizing story of the Chinese peasants' condition during World II. I would go back to re-read a paragraph every now and then in order to let the words seep into my very soul. I could not comprehend this unspeakable man's inhumanity to man, but there it was, as only Pearl Buck could write about it. Not to read this book at least once is not to have lived. I will carry the drama and heartbreak of Dragon Seed with me for the rest of my life. Dragon Seed is not just a novel; it is an experience of the heart and soul! It should be a must for everyone who truly loves great literature, and it should be required reading for every public high school student in this country.

At the age of 15 I stumbled upon this book. Who was Pearl Buck? I did not know. As I read it I became spellbound. This strange foreign family did not seem strange or foreign to me. They seemed, well, familiar, comforting. I realized they were my mother, my father, my brothers because although they lived in another place and time--their feelings, their struggles were timeless. This was my first clear introduction to understanding that human beings are the same everywhere. They are good and they are evil. Adversity brings both out in people. Dragon Seed was my first Pearl Buck novel, but now I have an extensive collection, that aside I've also traveled in Asia extensively. Not to mention the fact that my husband and children are Japanese! (Dragon Seed is in China but she's also lived in and written about Japan, India). Pearl Buck opened the windows of the world to me and more importantly, revealed the human soul. By the way, just so whoever wrote the other review knows: Dragon Seed WAS a movie starring Kathryn Hepburn. However, I think a remake starring a Chinese woman would be more appropriate. Also, frankly they distorted the plot horribly in the original movie.

I read this book because I love Pearl S. Buck books! Of all her books this is the best! And even of all other books, this is my favorite! There is just so much to this book that no movie or review such as I am giving could properly give justice to it. The sequel to it, The Promise, is a must-read only because the end of Dragon Seed will not be enough for anyone. I would describe this book as historical fiction. The events are real, the place is real (which we find out in The Promise, is a hamlet outside of Nanking/Nanjing-Pinyin), and the cultural Chinese family as presented is real. Everything else is just magical fiction! The book is humorous in places and serious in others. This is the ONLY book i have ever read twice, and i could read it for a third time! I can tell anyone in the film industry that this book can be made into the next great movie success story! This is the best review i can give for the greatest book ever written. Now the best I can do is wait to see if my review can encourage the entire world to at least give this wonderful book the chance it deserves!

I first read Dragon Sim 13 when I was in junior high. It sparked my young, impressionable imagination. It ingrained images of Special Operations into Red China as directed by a computer program. What was only to some a simulation, was life or death to others. Fighting the Communist cause, no names, no faces, no identities period. For anyone who likes military fiction, this book is one of the best.

The second book in the Dave Riley series about Special Forces operations around the world. A really enjoyable read, plenty of suspense, good character developement, a lot of inside info on Green Beret team spirit and their mission planning and fighting ability. A great plot and the fast pace keep the reader guessing until the end. A special ops into China that suddenly goes awry with some cost to the team involved. I sure hope HBO grabs the Riley series and works on them, a sure fire hit for the action fans. Also highly recommended by Mr Mayer (writing as Bob McGuire) are The Line and The Gate. Terrific books. Keep 'em coming, Bob. In fact, I will be loaning the books I have read to a couple of buddies.

Rates right up there with the Five Fingers, Never So Few, Bravo Two Six. This is excellent military fiction that is very realistic.

Pearl S. Buck's "East Wind: West Wind" tells the life story of a traditional Chinese woman through her inner thoughts and feelings in an interesting manner. The woman, who was betrothed to a Chinese man before birth, later finds herself married the man, who has studied in America to become a doctor. Throughout the book, the woman represents stiff Chinese traditions while the man represents more modern and western beliefs. Relying on her traditional upbringing, the women attempts to please her husband by being his servant. However, he tries to change her view of what marriage should be: an equal partnership and not a servant and master relationship. Throughout the book, the couple strives to overcome various trials and ordeals that deal with changing traditions. In my opinion, "East Wind: West Wind" attempts to tackle the implicit battle between old, established traditions and more modern ideas; it also shows the conflicts between Eastern ideology and Western ideology. Overall, the book is a wonderful insight into the ancient cultural practices of China and how well they do or do not mingle with modern culture. "East Wind: West Wind" is a delightful and easy book to read, and it can be considered on of Pearl S. Buck's best works.

This was a quick and easy read told in the first person through the eyes of a Chinese woman. Also it's clear that the writer's own loyalty to the Western thought of romantic love is all over this story. It is this notion that ultimately drives the narrator to give up her old ways and accept the new.

Buck describes how difficult it is for one to accept change in age-old rituals. Although many of the traditions are seen as unnecessary, foolish or just plain sadistic, it's difficult to question them after growing up in a culture where these traditions have been practiced for thousands of years. The narrator is a good vehicle to show how upsetting, confusing and frustrating it can be to incorporate these changes into one's life. Time and time again the theme of the generation gap is revealed, showing how many people simply cannot be changed.

Although many of the following issues came into strong play in this novel, it wasn't so much a search for better opportunity, nor political freedom, independence, nor education, that was the big catalyst for change, as was the simple concept of romantic love.

This was a lovely, bittersweet story with a seemingly very realistic portrayal of how a family rooted in tradition would react to their children, who want to break from tradition. A classic issue, regardless of what era or culture in which one lives.

East Wind: West Wind Why is there a colon in between? The story is presented like a monologue. The wife in the story, who is a traditional Chinese woman, speaks out her innermost feelings. She is betrothed before her birth to a Chinese man who has gone abroad to study. The woman, representing old Chinese ideas and the man representing Western ideas thus have come together to solve their conflicts. The woman's brother also goes abroad and he intends to marry a western woman, which is strictly forbiden in ancient Chinese culture... After much this ado, it is a battle of East Idea and West Idea. The book ends with the well-mingled culture -- a combination of good East and West culture. The book is printed in very big fonts and are easy to read. It does not take a long time to read, but it tells a wonderful story. In some way, I value this higher than Pearl's most famous work The Good Earth. A book suitable for people who are curious about ancient Chinese culture. (Note, nowadays we Chinese no longer do such things as binding feet or kneeling down before elders and so on) Enjoy your reading!