THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH VITOU AND I HAD THE FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF HIS STORY. HE NEVER STOP TO AMAZE ME FOR THEIR WELL TO SURVIVE.THIS STORY SHOW THE TERMENDOUS COURAGE AND STRONG WELL TO SURVIVE AMONG MONSTERS WHO HAVE NO REGARDS TO FELLOW HUMANS, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD AND RISK YOUR LIFE EVEN FOR THE BASIC NECESITY OF LIFE JUST TO SURVIVE. THIS IS AN EPIC OF FORGOTTEN HOLOCUST AND THE STORY OF A CAMBODIAN FAMILY GOING THROUGH HELL AN BACK. A SUCCESS STORY OF A FAMILY MOVING TO A COUNTRY WITH A DIFFERNT CULTURE AND LANGAUGE AND MAKING SOMETHING OF THEMSELVES. I AM PROUD TO BE A FRIEND OF VITOU AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING HIM. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, IT WOULD MAKE YOU APPRECIATE MORE OF WHAT YOU HAVE IN LIFE.

Joan Criddle has woven a gripping account of the personal experience of one young woman, Teeda Butt Mam, and her family under the oppression of the Khymer Rouge. Although I knew a little about Cambodia's killing fields, this book reveals in considerable detail the brutality and horror of Pol Pot's regime. Yet, it's an inspiring tale of survival, courage, and family loyalty under the most extreme conditions of deprivation, fear and suffering. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have had the strength, ingenuity and willpower to survive such horror. The book also includes many interesting details about traditional Cambodian life and culture.
I highly recommend this book. It's an amazing story!

"To Destroy You Is No Loss is an extrodinary book; it should be read by those who wish to understand this or any genocide, by those who would like to better know the Cambodians among us, and by those who are concerned about the still unresolved tradegey of the world's refugees. Criddle's book is far more than a history of annihilation. Like the finest examples of Holocaust literature, it is an affirmation of teh human spirit, of the will to prevail. It is the proof of the possibility of endurance of the human dignity in the face of incredible brutality. This book is in fact a deeply disturbing real-life story.

Molnar's book reads like Grisham...it just burns along...you can feel the action, see the people and feel their pain. A great book. Rhonda Herring, Gulfport, M

An exciting adventure of World War II...would make a great action movie. Mr. Frank Moore, Slidell, L

The realism placed you in the middle of the action, heart pounding, tasting the fear... Christine Kirby, Diamondhead, M

I'm not going to babble on and on about this book. I'ts an excellent reference material. I only wish it had color schemes.

This book is not only an incredible collection of art, it is also wonderfully explanitory. R. Beer tells the mythos and history behind each set of images in a logical and easy to read format. I only wish that it was in full color (rather than just black and white); however, the author gives full details of how each image is traditionally coloured.

I -highly- recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Tibetan culture.

This is a great book, a customer brought it in to me to show what she wanted for a tattoo and I was amazed at all the rad stuff in it. Lots of cool stuffs for tattoos and whatnot- I did a big ol' snake headed deity on her arm, it was so killer looking- thanks to this book, I am going to sleeve out her whole arm now with images from this tome. Thats how well the art translated into tattoo designs...A must for any tattooer (or regular artist) interested in this style or japanese/ asian motifs.

Jan Brett's latest book, Daisy Comes Home is a charming book for young children. The story takes place in a rural village in China along the Li River. A young girl named Mei Mei is known for having the healthiest and happiest hens in the village. She carries the eggs from the hens in a basket that says 'Happy Hens' into the village to sell. The story begins by looking back to the time when not all of Mei Mei's chickens were happy. Even though Mei Mei fed them treats, gave them fresh hay for their beds, and bathed them, the one called Daisy was not happy. The reason being that all the other hens always picked on her and were very mean to her. They always pushed her off of the perch so she had to sleep on the cold, hard ground.
One night, she had had enough of this and found a market basket near the river bank to sleep in. She fell right to sleep and did not notice the river creeping up the bank. The basket floated away, with Daisy in it. She woke up when the basket started tipping and realized that she was had floated away from home. As she traveled down the river, Daisy had to defend herself against a dog, a water buffalo, and red-tailed monkeys. Her 'Happy Hens' basket ran into a fisherman claimed her and took her into the village to sell.
By this time, Mei Mei had looked all day for her lost hen and decided that she must go into town to sell the eggs from the other hens. She carried the 'Happy Hens' baskets into town and arranged her place to sell the eggs. A friend told Mei Mei that a fisherman had carried one of her baskets into town with one of the hens. She rushed off to find her missing hen and told the fisherman that Daisy belonged to her. The fisherman said that he found the hen so he got to keep her. Mei Mei called to her hen and Daisy ran to her upon hearing the familiar call. The girl ran home with the hen as fast as she could.
One would assume that the other hens would be glad to have the missing Daisy back home, but they tried to treat her as they always had. Daisy had learned a lot on her adventure and could now defend herself. She flapped her wings, pecked, and pushed the other hens back; they could no longer push her around. So, she was given a place to perch alongside the rest of them. Now, all six of the hens are healthy and happy.
The beautiful pictures in this book also tell the story. The full spread beautifully depicts the main idea on each page. Not only is the main idea told, but the audience is allowed to peek into something else that is occurring or is about to occur through small windows in two corners of the page. For example, on the page where the Daisy bumps into the fisherman, a small picture of Mei Mei getting ready to go to the market is in the left corner of the page and a picture of the fisherman holding up the hen to sell is in the opposite corner. This cleverly gives the reader something more to think about and he or she follows the main storyline.

This wonderful story would make an excellent addition to a classroom of young students. The gorgeous pictures and charming tale would captivate the minds of young children as they learn about the importance of standing up for one's self, the need to be kind to one another, and the importance of looking after those one cares about.

Jan Brett has woven together intricate illustrations with an exciting story as we float with Daisy the hen down the Li River on an unexpected trip. Daisy's encounters with a dog, a water buffalo, a pack of monkeys and a fisherman are interesting and life-like - no talking animals here! As Daisy and Daisy's owner Mei Mei make their way to the marketplace, the mountainous scenery changes often. Look carefully and you will see the mountains become dragons and snakes, chickens and monkeys. The marketplace illustrations feel authentic and up-to-date and the wonderful colors and hustle-and-bustle feel adds to the story's tension for an exciting reunion! Brett's illustrations are wonderfully layered with Chinese textures and materials from china pattern designs to bamboo screens. Beautifully illustrated and skillfully told, Daisy Comes Home is sure to be one of those favorites that asks to be read over and over again.

So I call this one "Chinese Chicken," and "The Story of Ping" I call "Chinese Duck," but my kids love them, and every time we read it, we discover something else in the story of the illustration that strikes and intrigues us. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of Ms. Brett's work...I'm grateful for the thought she put into this book.

I read this book aloud to my sixth grade reading class. They loved it, and always wanted to hear more. Its also a great way to introduce students to some of the history of China, Japan and US involvement in the war there.

Boys can be picky readers, so I always take notes if they actually love a book. My 8 year old carried this book everywhere and told be about it every night for a week. Besides Redwall or Harry Potter, this is the first book he has raved about.

I told my young son about what a good book this was when I read it growing up, encouraging him to read it as well. He too enjoyed it, and I read it again in my fifties. Excellent book, would certainly encourage children to read it. Now in his teens, we still use a memorable quote from the book, "the heart understands without words".

It took a while to get into this book, and not until after finishing did I begin to "get it". There are many characters, and not being a mystery devotee, I did not "figure it out" (I guess the book worked!) This book is about a part of the world that a lot of us "care about" but few have visited, or penetrated the local culture. Moving west from the locale of The Skull Mantra, Water Touching Stone is set mostly in far western Tibet and Xinjiang. For afficiandos of unreachable central Asia its a real treasure. As an aside, I wonder if the glimpses of cooperation between oppressed Tibetans and oppresed Mulsim minorities are real...or made up by the author?

There seem to be two plots: 1) will Shan and colleagues find the killer(s)? and 2) how will the spiritual lives of Shan, the other "good guys", and those wavering on the edge hold up? At times, the mystery theme seems less important than the religious one. After finishing the book, my central impression was a reminder/teaching of the first Noble Truth of Buddhist teaching...all life is suffering. I would encourage people to read this book and try to understand how Shan and the other characters persevere.

This book is thoroughly satisfying on many different levels; a rare thing in todays, pump them out, formula novels. There is mystery and intrigue. A chinese teacher is killed. Her orphan students, 9 and 10 year olds, are being murdered. A tibetan lama asks our hero, Shan, the protagonist of `Skull Mantra`, to investigate. There is the harsh cruelty of the chinese political programs designed to eradicate etnic ties and cultures of the nomad tribes in Xinjiang as they have done so devastatingly in Tibet. There is political intrigue between various factions in the governing bodies of the area. There are grand vistas with the stark beauty of the desert, the magnificent mountains and, last but definately not least, the sensitivity and gentleness of Tibetan buddhism which so touched Shans spirit and seeped into ours as well.
I did not find the cast of characters hard to follow. They were developed well enough to add to the rich texture of this book.
This is such a wonderful read that I would like to buy this book for each one of you. I very highly recommend it.

After reading The Skull Mantra, I immediately began looking forward to reading Mr. Pattison's next book. As time passed, I became a bit worried he might not write another. After reading Water Touching Stone, I understand why there was such a long time between the two. This is definitely a thinking person's mystery, so much so that I will re-read it several months from now. Please, if you haven't read the Skull Mantra, read it before reading this book. There are too many connections between them. Shan returns again, the reluctant protagonist, called this time by the people who he has come to revere. The request: go find who is killing the children. There is a mind-boggling cast of characters that sometimes become difficult to keep straight, but none are no wasted. The mix of pain experienced by the different characters makes a striking contrast to both the beauty of the cultures and the author's description of the physical environment. Prosecutor Xu in particular comes across as terribly human in the final pages of this book. I must admit to wondering how the author could wrap this book up with any degree of neatness. He exceeded my expectations and left the perfect amount of ambiguity at the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a well-crafted mystery that both entertains and challenges the reader.

Set in China mostly in the 1970s, "Wild Ginger" focusses on a love triangle that develops between three young people caught in the maelstrom of the Cultural Revolution brough on by Chairman Mao. Maple finds an ally in fellow schoolgirl Wild Ginger, whose foreign-looking eyes make her also a target of the school bully. In efforts to prove herself and to separate herself from her heritage, Wild Ginger embraces Maoism to the utmost and dedicates her life to it. When she meets a young man who also embraces Maoism fervently, Wild Ginger chooses to stifle her burgeoning passions rather than challenge Mao's proclamation against romantic love. As Maple and the young man are drawn together by their mutual love of Wild Ginger, it sets the stage for doom for one of the three. "Wild Ginger" is written subtly and dreamily, where the bright colors of love are muted as they would be because of the Cultural Revolution of the time. And while this might give some readers a sense of distance away from the characters, it also strengthens the grand context of the personal confusions brought on by the Maoist doctrines.

This story is about two friends growing up during those recent awful times in China when family background could earn you a beating from sadist classmates. That's how Maple, the first person narrator, met Wild Ginger. Together they fought the class bully, and together they studied Maoism. Wild Ginger, however, whose father was a foreigner, had a harder time than Maple. But the abuse she endured even pulled her more strongly into Maoism. Eventually she rose in the party. And when a young man developed a romantic interest in her, a triangle developed that included her friend Maple. That's when the events take a more tragic turn.

From the very first page, I was immediately swept up in the story, which was set against the background of the horrors of Maoism. Here was history come alive through the eyes of the people, each one so beautifully developed that even the minor characters became unique individuals. There is not a wasted word and the tightly crafted sentences, juxtaposed with quotations from Mao's writings, brought me right into the heart of China. I felt the political fervor as well as the frustrations and depravations of living through that unique time.

I loved this book. I read it quickly, and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommended.

yes, this was interesting. It made that particulary piece of history interesting to me. I was glad the author explored that piece of history with her story.

I have read a number of books on Tibet, but this was the first from a womans point of view. To learn not only about women in Tibet but women in general was very educational. Being one of very very few to survive her prison ordeal Ama has taken the task of sharing the story of many of her dead friends. The attrocities have been played down to some extent, compared to other books I have read. Good for the sensative but curriouse reader. Worth while.

Ama Adhe's story is one of the most amazing and powerful I have ever read. You may have heard of the Tibetan struggle for independence, but Ama's story will blow your mind! This book is incredibly moving, honest and one of the most important historical accounts that has ever been written. Only if you read this book will you truly understand the fight for a Free Tibet. Ama Adhe is a true hero for what she survived, for standing up for her beliefs and for not viewing herself as a hero. If you have any interest in human rights and believe in standing up for a cause, read this book.

This is one of my favorite books of all time--among thousands of books I've read. Writing with great honesty and humility, Ama Adhe's courage and compassion shine like a lamp for anyone faced with oppression, torture and brutality for their beliefs and devotion to their homeland and people. My heart goes out to her with great gratitude for sharing her story with the world. I hope others will read it and treasure the example of her spirit. I think her book made me a better person.

James Thayer has managed to create another intriguing, deeply-layered story that takes the reader into a setting foreign to most of us. He transports us into the middle of Hong Kong, China where Clay Williams, chief of security for the architect of the tallest, most beautiful building in the world, acts as narrator and guide.

Clay is an engaging, likeable character who has lived in Hong Kong for ten years while the Gold Swan ( nicknamed for its sickle shape resembling the gentle curve of a swan's neck ) was being built. Through Clay, Thayer is able to describe Chinese society and culture and the glaring differences between their closed society and the freedom of an open society like the United States.

Thayer's ability to successfully compare the two systems within a thrilling mystery and a variety of sub-plots is a testament to his obvious writing talent. As the solution to the mystery is revealed amid the debris of a fallen icon, Thayer's talent as well as the reasons for gratitude for freedoms in the United States becomes readily apparant. The GOLD SWAN is an enjoyable and thought-provoking novel and is highly recommended for those looking for something a little bit different.

The Gold Swan is the nickname of a fabulous building being constructed, fictionally, in present-day Hong Kong --- more precisely, on a man-made island in Hong Kong harbor. The nickname comes from the unique, curving shape its architect has given to the structure, which is best described in the author's own words: "It was the tallest structure ever created by man and made of steel and bronze, those metals that are the very embodiment of solidity and it was a massive thing. Yet it was also slender, with delicate edges and was one long, elegant curve that some architecture critics were calling feminine. It was solid and inert, planted out there in the middle of the harbor, yet it was also soaring, more than seven hundred feet higher than the Peak, reaching skyward in a fluid, rounded motion, touching the clouds. And it was a chameleon, its bronze casing throwing back the gold of the sun and also reflecting images of passing clouds and the restless water of the harbor, endlessly changing as the day unfolded."

Clay Williams is a former FBI man approximately in his 40's. He has been working for ten years in Hong Kong as a security agent for international projects and has been one of three security men on the Gold Swan project from the beginning. Clay's visiting father is killed in a fall from the 20th story balcony of Clay's apartment at the same time that an eleven year-old boy disappears from his next-door neighbor's apartment --- and the plot is set in motion. The Hong Kong police say the father's death is suicide and they plant a couple of ridiculous clues as proof, but Clay knows better. It doesn't take the boy's grandfather long to find Clay and to discern a connection between death and disappearance and, thus, an unlikely but colorful and productive alliance is formed.

Clay is well connected. He has a best friend who is a police officer and he has other friends in the CIA and State Department. He's quiet, capable, thoughtful and
unassuming --- an appealing character whose heroic qualities are present in a muted key. After ten years in Hong Kong, Clay still sees the city with the eyes of a stranger who just happens to know his way around and he shares that vision constantly with us. He also educates us about the changes that have occurred since the British returned Hong Kong to China a few years ago. Ah yes. The plot thickens with those changes. John Llewellyn, architect of the Gold Swan, went to college with the (fictional) leader of China, who of course is based in Beijing; the fabulous building is
a way for Beijing to put its stamp on Hong Kong, to reclaim that city and its international prestige and wealth for the whole of China. Beijing-Hong Kong tension looms large.

Eventually it develops that Clay's father was killed and the little boy was kidnapped as part of a conspiracy surrounding the Gold Swan. It is a conspiracy so huge that, like the building itself, it's hard for the mind to grasp. Clay begins, secretly, to work with the CIA. At the same time, he's working with the boy's grandfather who is in an amazing line of business. He also has his own job to do, as the Gold Swan nears completion. It's a sort of triple-agent scenario that Clay juggles quietly and smoothly, even as he manages to nurture a friendship with a difficult woman.

Thayer handles his large story well, particularly in the way he brings Hong Kong alive on his pages. This is one of those books you can fall into and, when you come out of it, feel as if you've truly spent many hours in another place. It's about as close to a vacation in Hong Kong as most of us will ever get.

The characters, especially the little boy, his friends and his family, are vividly drawn. There are few clichés here -- with the notable exception of a certain henchman of enormous size, who seemed to have come from a Bond movie and whose guardian angel qualities were improbable all around.

The plot unfolds somewhat unevenly, but realistically -- life itself never unfolds at an even pace, particularly around big events; there are always hitches and glitches. This is a thoughtful book best read for the whole scope of what it has to say, not as if it were a print version of a summer blockbuster movie. Tension builds here slowly but inexorably, both in the ever-widening conspiracy surrounding the Gold Swan and in Clay's own personal life. The denouement, when it arrives, is huge, catastrophic and
totally believable.

THE GOLD SWAN is a poignant, sensual read that is likely to stay with you long after you close the pages of the book. It is, in fact, a keeper -- one of those rare books you are likely to want to read again.

--- Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day

I would like to say that I discovered a great new author, but I can only say that I discovered a great author. He is not new, because GOLD SWAN is his 12th book, and I am very unhappy that it took me so long to find him. I do not understand why he has not already been on the bestseller list 12 times.

I was lucky enough to read one of Thayer's WWII novels a few weeks ago. I enjoyed that paperback so much that I immediately went looking for it in hardback, as well as trying to find all the author's other books. I managed to get a new hardback copy of GOLD SWAN, and I immediately read it as fast as I could. It is a wonderful thriller that is almost completely different from the WWII books, except for the outstanding writing.

GOLD SWAN is a marvelous, fast paced story, with many interesting characters. I enjoyed it thoroughly, while learning more about Hong Kong than I did in my 10+ trips there. I love fiction that teaches me things, at the same time that I get a great story. Both of Thayer's books that I have read do that for me, but Gold Swan taught me about Hong Kong, Chinese politics and gangsters, architecture, construction, and police work, and it increased my respect for the work of the CIA. This book was exciting from beginning to end, fun, interesting, educational, and very well written.

I now have 10 more books to look forward to reading.

It is my understanding that the WWII book has been optioned for a movie that should be as exciting as the book, because of the star who is involved. Buy this author's books now, because he will soon be so well known that copies of his old books will be hard to get.

National security is a term we're used to hearing in the United States, but with rare exception "security threats" are in fact threats to America's vast informal empire abroad (military bases, troop deployments, the security of client regimes and business interests). As Ross and Nathan ably show, this is emphatically not the case for China. Even though "China is stronger today and its borders more secure than at any other time in the last 150 years", it continues to face a bewildering array of vulnerabilities -- from internal unrest to border insecurity to economic instability.

This book is a good corrective to the growing right-wing trend of playing up the "China threat". Ross and Nathan make clear that China's goals are not particularly ambitious and their capabilities so limited that even if the sinister cabal of Communists plotting against America's beneficent reign were real, it would be hard pressed to act out its evil intentions. Chapter 8, in particular, demolishes the idea that China's military will any time soon provide a real challenge to Japan, much less the USA.

Despite the great service Ross and Nathan provide in refuting the containment school's arguments, this book also has basic problems. Because it is a survey, the authors can only superficially treat each of the many issues raised. They do a good job of integrating history and current events, and the book should be quite useful for those mostly unfamiliar with its topics, but for those with more detailed knowledge it will often by unsatisfying.

Second, the authors use the national security paradigm to orient their analysis, but seem unaware of the drawbacks to such an approach. "National" security indulges the false idea that all groups and individuals within a nation can share the same interests and that national leaders act, fundamentally, on behalf of the whole population. In reality security policies generally hurt the interests of some groups while advancing those of others, and China's leaders act to perpetuate their own power and the power of the Communist Party, and to protect the interests of the increasingly influential business elite. The authors' inability to consider such matters leads them to seriously downplay the ruling class's increasing economic exploitation of workers and its violent domination of ethnically non-Han peoples in East Turkestan/Xinjiang, Tibet/Xizang, and Inner Mongolia.

And finally, the authors approach the subject from the perspective of the engagement school, which has both strengths (discussed above) and very serious weaknesses. Proponents of engagement are ideologically incapable of seeing that the current global economic system is based on inequality, exploitation, and the denial of people's basic needs (food, health care, shelter) and that it is upheld by American military domination of other people. Ross and Nathan's ultimate recommendation, then, is that China be safely integrated into this system -- not because doing so will help the Chinese people, but because doing so removes a threat to the safe operation of a fundamentally unjust world order.

Nathan and Ross have constructed an excellent book discussing the vulnerability of China. The book goes into great depth discussing issues such as: Taiwanese independence, nuclear proliferation, the strength of the chinese military, the necessity of U.S. intervention in Asia, the relationships existing between China and Japan or the two Koreas, Tibetan freedom, technological exchange with Pakistan. Ultimately, Nathan and Ross conclude that China is a weak and vulnerable country that is more concerned with maintaining its borders and internal stability than initiated a policy of imperialism. This book is a great edition for any student of Asian Politics. Easy to read.

Andrew J. Nathan and Robert S. Ross's THE GREAT WALL AND THE EMPTY FORTRESS is a clearly and tightly written presentation of Chinese foreign policy and defense issues. It is as reliable in its treatment of aspects of the pre-modern Chinese state and society that impinged on the course of modern Chinese affairs as it is authoritative (and well documented) in its analysis of the contemporary Chinese situation. With books on contemporary Chinese affairs, one must be concerned with material becoming dated, but though this book is some four years old in content, nearly its entirety is nevertheless very relevant. Its treatment of Chinese-Taiwan relations, for instance, is still on the mark. Since the book was written before the restoration of Hong Kong to China, the reader will not be able to glean anything new about that situation here. However that may be, this book remains as "must reading" for any student of contemporary China. The reader will happily discover that the style is eminently readable.