I have an MA in Taoism, and I'm considering going after my PhD. I've spent lots and lots of time reading through dusty books on Taoism, and I can assure everyone that I think this is one of the best. In an area where translations of the Tao Te Ching abound, this is one of the few works that provides real detail regarding Taoist practice. Instead of philosophy and spiritual fluff, this book really relates what it is like to be a Taoist in the world of dust. Only after reading and re-reading this wonderful book could I really begin to see how Master Chuang captures the heart of Taoism in concrete actions, and how he does this on behalf of his community. Everyone interested in Taoism should read this book!

I had almost given up hope. I've seen enough translations of the Tao Te Ching to last a lifetime. I'm not interested in learning how to apply Taoist philosophy to my career. What I want is to learn more about actual Taoism, about how Taoists practice and live. Just when I was about to give up any hope of ever finding the information I wanted, along comes Taoist Master Chuang. It's an excellent book, clearly written and filled with detailed practical examples of Taoist practices, ritual, worship, and magic. I especially enjoyed the author's vivid depictions of a slew of modern Taoists. Some of the images conformed to my preconceptions, and some did not. But all were fascinating. I also think the "history of Taoism" section is fabulous. This seems to be an insider's view, something that we don't normally see in typical academic works. All in all, this was a great surprise and a great book.

Can I just get in line behind everyone else here? This is a unqiely excellent book. I highly recommend it. There are soooo many books about Daoism, except that almost none have any real relevance to Daoism whatsoever. Here we have a scholar who seems to have a deep understanding of Taoist practice. But this is a book about his training at the hands of a true Daoist Master, so I guess that's to be expected. Nonetheless, this is a real, authentic, detailed view of Taoist practice. Not highflying philosophy or navel-gazing, but real descriptions of real practices. Some of the activities described in this excellent book are astoundingly complex. It's as if someone realized the concept of yin-yang, and kept developing it without cessation for a long, long time. Eventually, detailed practices regarding ritual, spirits, magic, personal transmutation and more arose. This is basically the history of Taoism itself, as reflected in the knowledge of one intensely experienced Master, as told by his spiritual disciple. My only complaint with this book? I wish it were twice as long.

One wouldn't think of a book like this to be the life-changing kind. But it can be. I read this books a few years ago, getting a copy in the strangest of ways. I read the first book and loved it. But this one is something else. Little I would know that I'd find myself on a trip to India and learning japanese fencing and solving Zen koans inspired partly by it. A very impressive close to the story, and I certainly regret there is no third installment on the series, for it would make a hell of a story. Historic timeline is sharply set aside, but it takes a history freak to check all the details out, so most people won't notice. Even better than the first, and the emphasis on spiritual experiences and growth is more marked in this book. The end is majestic and adequate to a marvelous saga. I almost hope to find a reference to a wandering japanese monk in Shea's next series: Saracen. It wouldn't be too hard.

This is a story that takes us through the lives of two young people. One is a fearsome warrior from a secretive monk caste who is born from a Mongolian father and a Japanese mother. His growth throughout the story, with having to deal with the struggles of not fitting into a discriminating Japanese culture, allows us to readily identify with him. The other character is a very young girl who is to be sent away from home to meet her husband, prior to her prearranged marriage. From there on it is a tale of Combat, Love, and Friendship against the backdrop of Feudal Japan during a war of the clans. The tides of war and betrayal then take our subjects to China during the invasion of the Mongols, and then back to Japan under the newly proclaimed Shogun, preparing to face the Mongol Hordes. If you are considering reading this series, stop considering and get it. You will want to reread them over and over. Monks, Samurai, and Mongols ... what else is there to say.

This is definitely one of the best books I have ever read, a story about love, war, tragedy, honour, courage - you name it this book has it. The book is so interwoven, a truly marvelous tale, the characters will always be with me (I know that sounds kinda sad but read the book and you will see what I mean). Beware however this is only book 1, and you do need both books to complete the story. Buy book 1 and you will be desperate to get your hands on book 2.

This novel is a wondeful read and it is by far one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The book is so well written and detailed that you can almost see and hear the sites and sounds of Shanghai as you read. Bo Caldwell does a fantastic job of portraying life in Shanghai prior to the invasion of the Japanese and also in presenting historical facts about the changes and hardships which this invasion brought upon the people living there. She does this in such a way, that you are able to learn a great deal about Shanghai and it's past and at the same time enjoy a well written and intricate story. Not only does this book deal with Japan's invasion of Shanghai, but it is also examines the relationship between a father and the daughter whom he abandons. I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in Shanghai or anybody who simply wants to read a very interesting and well-written book.

This is the best novel I have read in years. It explores the themes of betrayal and forgiveness, commitment and impulse, and most importantly, the enduring love that exists between a parent and child.
The early part of this book is set in Shanghai in the 1930's. Anna lives there with her parents--Joseph, the son of missionaries, now a smuggler and millionaire, and Genivieve, the composed and graceful beauty. When Shanghai is taken over by the Japanese at the beginning of the Second World War, Anna and Genevieve escape to California, while Joseph cannot bear to part with the city he loves. Again and again he choses Shanghai over his family, and Anna resolves never to let him into her life again. But when Anna is an adult, he reappears and she reevaluates her resolution to shut her father out.
This book was magical. Anna's relationship with her mother is every bit as compelling and complex as her relationship with her father. What I really felt this novel stood for is the proposition that your parents' love guides your life from the cradle to the grave, long after they are gone. To me, one passage in the book stands out more than all others. Anna says, "My parents have been gone for more than 20 years, and every year I feel their love more strongly." I can't even write about it now without tears coming to my eyes.
The writing is so beautiful and the imagery of Shanghai is so rich. Also particularly beautiful is Caldwell's description of the various gardens that play a role in her story. This is a book to be read slowly, savored, and then passed on to your mother, father or child.

Having read many memoirs and biographies of persons who have lived in China or who have come to terms with an estranged parent, this book seemed too real to be fiction. Regrettably, the author's bio in the paperback did not provide sufficient information to determine how Caldwell gained her insight into the subject matter. This insight combined with her wonderful, descriptive prose produced a book I could not put down. It left me crying through the last chapter.

This book tells of Anne Schoene?s relationship with her speculator father. It tells how his love for the city of Shanghai made Anne feel enchanted when he showed to her as a young child, disillusioned when he could not protect her from its wartime horrors, and abandoned when he chose it over life with Anne and her mother. It tells how he wormed his way back into her after being forced to leave Shanghai for good.

The authors father, Brookes Bargainier, lives two doors down from me. I was having coffee with him one morning when he bragged to me, "This is the book my son wrote". I borrowed it from him and read it in four hours. While I didn't find it particularly well written, and even less well edited, the story it told swept my mind up into a maelstrom and flung it far and wide. The events portrayed, while horrible enough as fiction, are made even moreso with the knowledge that they're based on fact. It is indeed a sad commentary on the state of affairs in America today, and the road down which we are headed.

I wanted to read this book because I know the author personally and enjoy local "talent." I am usually a slow reader but could not put this book down once I started! The Slash Brokers is very fast paced and powerfully enlightening. The author has a very keen eye and is very much in touch with the current state of the world. Excellent read and one I highly recommend to everyone! It was especially refreshing not to have to read profanity!

Who in the world is this Jeff S. Barganier, the author of The Slash Brokers? If you don't know him now you will soon. His writing style, content and conviction grab you. He is destined to be a "Best Seller" author. I thought, I would just read for a few minutes and put the book away to read later. But, Jeff had other plans for those fortunate enough to find his book on some obscure Amazon cyber shelf. Slash Brokers is the best read I have had in years. Treat your self this Saturday to ice cold tea, a porch swing and Jeff Barganier's The Slash Brokers.

I read this book after first reading Pema Chodron's more recent dharma book, WHEN THINGS FALL APART (1997). In both of her books, Chodron explains that life's obstacles are actually fine opportunities for wakefulness. I recommend both books, despite their overlap in subject matter.

Working with numerous lojong "slogans," this book is about awakening one's heart through tonglen meditation practice. Chodron writes in the Preface of her book, "if you have ever wondered how to awaken your genuine compassionate heart, this book will serve as a guide" (p. ix). We learn that through tonglen practice, "everything we meet has the potential to help us cultivate compassion and reconnect with the spacious, open quality of our minds" (p. 81).

Life is full of "raw material for waking up" (p. 64). However, it's also up to each of us to wake up, Chodron observes (p. 69). Starting wherever we are in life, Chodron's instructive teachings encourage us to "lighten up" (p. 17; Chapter 15) and allow the world to speak for itself (pp. 25; 29-30). Chodron challenges us to contemplate lojong slogans including: "Always maintain a joyful mind" (p. 92). "Be grateful to everyone" (pp. 8, 56). "Drive all blames into one" (p. 50).

Reading this insightful book is like having a heartfelt conversation with a wise friend. For me, this is what makes reading Pema Chodron such a rewarding experience. If you like the engagement this book offers, I also recommend Jack Kornfield's A PATH WITH HEART and AFTER THE ECSTASY, THE LAUNDRY.

G. Merritt

I absolutely loved this book. I read it for a class about wisdom and of the 10 books we had to read I'm only keeping three; this is one. I didn't know anything about Buddhism before reading this and I don't feel that I need to be a Buddhist in order to benefit from Pema's insights. Her advice for living (taken right from lojong slogans from Buddhist traditions) can be taken on many different levels. I don't feel that you need to go deep into the practice in order to benefit from any of this books teachings. You take from it what you need to. I'm adding my voice to the many here who have praised her, Pema Chodron has written a wonderful, helpful book. If you're in pain emotionally I highly recommend it. If you just want to get some peace in your life I highly recommend it. Everyone needs help coping with living, even if it's just a little. Pema has given us a guide to one way of coping.

I highly recommend Start Where You Are for anyone who is serious about meditation practice and wants an earthy, no frills, no pretentions guide to compassionate living. Pema Chodron stresses that in order to act with compassion toward others, one must start with themselves, openning up that can of worms full of all the messy stuff that we would all rather not fess up to.

At a very difficult time in my life, I just kept starting at the beginning every time I finished reading it. I felt as if I knew Pema Chodron personally by reading her books. And having read everything of Chogyam Trungpa's that I could find prior, I had a strong grasp of the foundation from which she learned, but that is certainly not a prerequisite to benefiting from her teachings.

I would also strongly recommend her earlier book: The Wisdom of No Escape.

I read this book nearly at one sitting, literally sitting, up in bed one night when I should have been sleeping. Four or five times I awakened my husband, shaking the bed with my laughter, especially when Mohammed moved a sheep into the back seat of his taxi for the next five days, saying, "The sheep won't mind."
Eric Hansen has scored with this book, and I've recommended it to probably 40 people and given it as a gift to 5-6.
Read it and enjoy in - on many levels.

Within three hours of finishing this book, my copy was flogged by a friend who's off for a year in India on an antique motorbike. These adventurers must have some kind of tribal recognition.

"Motoring with Mohammed" is a book in three parts. The first bit is true adventure, storms at sea, a shipwreck, a desert island, the revelation of character among the survivors, brigands, and an unlikely rescue. It's great writing, deft and light, touching beauty and terror.

The second, and major, part of the book recounts Hansen's return to Yemen ten years later to look for a personal treasure he left on the island. In truth, not much happens, but in Eric Hansen's hands it always manages to not happen in an interesting way. His introduction to the local narcotic "qat", his subtle dance with intransigent bureaucracy, his unwise wanderings in high, misty mountains and along the edge of great deserts of The Empty Quarter make this a great read.

Hansen never meets an uninteresting person. Even the hostile and the dull are intriguing or comical in his hands. He gets to travel with sheep and mystic woodsmen, to meet an ageing Frenchwoman under a tragic spell, a toilet inspector, and the ghost of his grandmother. Along the way, he gets to play with his favorite theme: the essence of "destination". He doesn't labour it, but you know what he means.

The third, and briefest, part of his story is an unexpected twist, which neatly closes the circle even if by that stage we hardly require it.

A friend of mind informed me that Yemen ranks bottom of the world for gender equality. Certainly no woman could have written this book. The more reason for us to be grateful for this window on a little-known world. Eric Hansen has written a beguiling and joyous story. When you've finished enjoying it, seek out his even more extraordinary account of his Borneo travels, "Stranger In the Forest". But with all these books, don't expect to hang on to your copy for long.

This book not only makes me wish I could afford to travel, but it makes me wish I was a man(Well, kinda). Since most of the interesting stuff can only be experienced by men. Eric Hansen has an easy to read style that easily draws the reader into his story. It's a delightful read, especially since he is not an arrogant traveler and tries a lot of things that other tourists might snub. He also gives a lesson on the Yemen culture, without the reader ever suspecting that they're learning something. This is a great book for travelers at heart.

While captioned a novel, J. G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun is very much a true life memoir. In this book (made into a film by Steven Spielberg), Ballard first tells the life of a boy ("Jim") in pre-Pearl Harbor Shanghai, the privileged young son of an English business executive. When the war begins, Jim and his parents are separated, and Jim survives for weeks on his own, living of the food left in his and his neighbors' abandoned mansions. Most of the book is set in the Lunghua prison camp, where Jim is forced to grow up under circumstances no boy should endure. Finally, the war ends, and he is reunited with his parents under the shadow of nascent Chinese communism. Ballard tells a compelling story, and pulls no punches. Much of what Jim experiences is shocking, and Ballard neither embellishes nor understates Jim's experiences. Flies, death, and decomposition are everywhere, as are avarice and (occasionally) kindness. This is a very different "coming of age" story, but one I thing a high-schooler would enjoy. (Query: Ballard assumes from his reader a fairly good grounding in World War II and cold war history, which I have. I understand that many young people lack such knowledge. Would such young people understand and appreciate Ballard's story and artistry? I don't know). I suspect this book will be read and recommended for many years to come.

This is an account of JG Ballard's childhood in Shanghai during World War II when he was imprisoned in an internment camp away from his parents but just knowing that alone tells you nothing about the book. Yes, it takes place in WWII but that's almost irrelevant to the book, Jim is barely aware of the war as far as most people would conceive it and the entire war seems to take place mostly on the periphery . . . if it doesn't affect him directly than he doesn't care. On one level this is a nicely detailed account of life in Shanghai, especially in the beginning. Ballard is a good enough writer that he can describe such mundane events with enough flair that they take on another ambiance entirely. This becomes more pronounced as Jim winds deeper into the war itself, with the book becoming almost dream like in its quality. A lot of people I think object to the actions of Jim, which are very much what we don't expect. He's fairly self centered and makes a lot of weird rationalizations but I had no trouble understanding his POV, even if I didn't totally agree with it. He's a kid caught in something he can barely understand, so he has to break it down into something he can understand and sometimes that means making it a game and sometimes that means doing some things that most of us would interpret as cruel. That was the most interesting part of the novel for me, watching Jim trying to cope with the events around him, deal with the fact that he can barely remember his parents, with the fact that the only life he can really remember after a while are in the camp itself. With everything filtered through his perceptions the reader has to evaluate for him or herself what exactly the truth is . . . Jim's perception of some characters can change over and over, or maybe not even agree with what the character is doing, but that's because he's looking at it through the eyes of a child and by way of Jim, so is the reader as well. The white flash of the atom bomb that comes toward the end isn't even a climax, it's just another strange event in a war where everything strange is normal and for Jim it doesn't even signify the end of the war, for him the war never really seems to end. Haunting in its grim depiction of reality, this stands as one of the better books to come out about WWII simply for its personal perspective.

My friend recommended this book to me because I'd read the color purple so she thought I'd like it. I did! The books about a young boy who is abandoned in Shanghi during world war II. The events that follow the boy through finding himself alone and to eventually, being held in a prison of war camp by the Japanese are breath-taking. Some parts of the book were a little drawn out for my liking but all in all, this is a great book for your collection.

I think it is a good book for ages 8 and up. Because I read it to my two little siblings; Jessica, age 7 and Brendan, age 4; and they thought it was to scary for them.
It was interesting because: it was kind of a backwards story of Little Red Riding Hood which I thought was something new instead of the same old story; I liked how the children in the story out-smarted the wolf by tricking him into allowing them to pull him up in a basket in a tall tree and that's how they captured him and killed him; and I thought it was neat that other countries have this story also, their story, though, is different in some ways but a lot a like in others.

This is the Chinese version of "Little Red Riding Hood." The main characters are a wolf and three sisters - Shang, Tao, and Paotze. The story takes place in the country, where the girls live with their mother.

The wolf wants to eat the three sisters. The girls solve their problem by tricking the wolf. You'll have to read the book yourself to see what happens.

If you like this book, another book by Ed Young you might like is "The Lost Horse."

...

Lon Po Po is a 1990 Caldecott medal winner. The author transforms the well known Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale into a Chinese Red Riding Hood Story. The story begins when three sisters are left home alone and someone comes to their door pretending to be their Po Po. The girls soon discover it's a wolf at their door. The author keeps the reader's attention by having the main characters devise a plan to lure the wolf up a tree. It's not until the end when the reader finds out the fate of the wolf. Young uses abstract and realistic illustrations with a lot of vibrant colors and shadows throughout the book which adds to the suspense. I loved how the author uses three picture sequences throughout the book which resemble Chinese decorative panels. Teachers, parents, and students will love this Chinese Red Riding Hood fairy tale and you will too!

I view "New Shanghai" through the prism of someone who worked in business in Shanghai during 1995-97 and has travelled there frequently from a base in Hong Kong during the last few years. Simply put, I can think of no more useful and interesting book for anyone who does any kind of business in Shanghai or just wants to understand the recent historic transformation of the city. Frankly, I can think of no more interesting or useful book about the metamorphosis of urban China. Among the things that makes this book great is the way Yatsko lets the city speak through the voice if its own people -- some chapters read like a more analytical version of one of Studds Terkel's great oral histories.

As a businessman, I found especially interesting the chapters on the quirks of the local economy, on the experience of foreign investors, and on the city's sputtering efforts to build its financial markets. In each case, her analysis is right on as she makes clear what is going both right and wrong. She observes, for example, that while the local economy has grown respectably in recent years, overly interventionist bureacrats have trampled Shanghai's efforts to build its own brands and to nurture technical innovation. On foreign investment, she offers us the condensed wisdom of most of the smartest people operating in Shanghai today. And on the capital markets, she recounts great tales of scandal and unfulfilled dreams.

Here and elsewhere this is a book filled with fun and revealing stories that show the real fabric of a city in the midst of revolutionary change. Some of my favorite tales come in the chapter on the return of the vices, where Yatsko tells all about her nocturnal explorations. We learn, for example, how kept women in China, known as "caged golden birds", keep themselves amused while the master is away by renting "little wolf dogs", or younger pretty boys with slick hair and cute suits.

Shanghai's re-emergence is a great tale, rich in heroes and villains and a bizarre mix of the city's spectacular visible, physical progress and its profound failures. I so wish this book would be read by all overeager urban and national leaders so that they could realize both what they should do to build their cities as well as the tragic consequences of trying to do too much.

I found "New Shanghai" not long ago as I was preparing to visit Shanghai after six years in the states, and was attracted to it immediately. Having lived in Shanghai most of my life, I have to say that the author knows about Shanghai better than I do. I'm only familiar with the life of my like, but the book has a broad coverage, from the upper class to the cultural underdogs. In particular, I liked to read Yatsko's interviews with various people, which added a sense of reality.

Yatsko has captured Shanghai's fastest socio-economic changes since it lost the luster as the most prosperous city in the Far East early last century. With her solid knowledge of economics and first-hand experience, the stories are credible and the analysis is insightful. Whereas "old Shanghai" has aroused most scholarly interest due to its relation to modernity, Yatsko's depiction of Shanghai's rebirth in the 1990s also offers a unique hindsight on its past.

Although I wish I could have read this wonderful book earlier, it's not so late in the sense that I now know more interesting places

Pam Yatsko's book is a terrific contribution to the understanding of modern Shanghai - and China by extension. The reader is treated to a wealth of personal stories that Ms. Yatsko collected over her several years of living in Shanghai. While many writers tend to focus on the sensational, Ms. Yatsko examines what is really happening in people's lives and why. She has taken the Chinese economic policies that appear to most people as nothing more than news blips in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, and shown how they have dramatically changed lives in modern China - bringing enormous rewards for some, significant hardship for others.

I have been visiting Shanghai since 1982 and have had an office in the city since 1995, so it is a particular pleasure for me to find an author who not only obviously shares my great love for the city, but who also chronicles the remarkable changes and array of paradoxes that define the city in such a compelling and engaging manner. So whether you are a business person looking to understand the business environment in Shanghai or an armchair traveler looking for insights into the rapidly changing culture of one of the world's largest cities, New Shanghai is a wonderful passport to the real world of Shanghai today.

Bryan Batson, President, The China Business Group, Inc., Boston, MA

THE BOOK Homesick:My Own Story is about a REAL author telling of the times when she lived in China and her thoughts and feelings. Now Jean Fritz is a well known author- not a girl homesick for a home she had never been in.What really got me interested in her book was her.She came to my school when I was studying China (2nd grade).I have always been a reader(I read the 4th Harry Potter book in less then 12 hrs!), even in 2nd grade, but at the time, I wasn't interested in thosew types of history and culture books.I recently joined a book club and they choose the book.Now I'm glad I read it.....it is one of the best historical books I have ever read! (my friend is going 2 CHINA!)

This engaging story gives you a view of how Jean fritz felt and lived in China during the war.Her move to the USA was exciting for her as she encounted many 'mishaps and troubles' along the way.You should reallly read this book, if you are interested in biographies and foreign countries, such as China.I give this book 5 stars as she describes well in detail about her life and inner thoughts during the early 1920's.I am reading this book as an literature assignment and felt that this book was the one.Jean Fritz is a great author!

We loved this book because we were able to do an author study on Jean Fritz. We have read many of her books. The fifth grade curriculum requires us to study American History. Reading books by Jean Fritz has allowed my students and I to approach history with an open mind. Getting away from the text books has been enjoyable for all of us. Learning through literature is very effective and we have grasped many historical concepts by reading these books.