Book Description
John Hobson challenges the ethnocentric bias of mainstream accounts of the "Rise of the West" that assume that Europeans have pioneered their own development, and that the East has been a passive by-stander. Describing the rise of what he calls the "Oriental West", Hobson argues that Europe first assimilated many Eastern inventions, and then appropriated Eastern resources through imperialism. Hobson's book thus propels the hitherto marginalized Eastern peoples to the forefront of the story of progressive world history.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-06-13
Accusations of "sino-centrism" or "one-sidedness" reveal simply that the accuser has not actually read the book (which one would hope to be a necessary pre-cursor to such evaluations). In fact, Hobson specifically argues not only against sino-centrism, but also offers philosophical and empirical arguments against ALL such "centrisms" where history is concerned. In this way, he distinguishes himself as a theoretical and empirical historian of the highest order.
Furthermore, Hobson--all of us--are under no obligation to be "balanced"--only to be honest and to present the evidence--which he has most eloquently done.
I highly recommend this book; it would be especially appropriate for a graduate-level seminar, as it is both rigorously researched and highly accessible.
Did the Chinese Invent Everything?.......2006-10-10
A great title for a book on a great subject, but simply horrible execution. Cambridge University Press must have forgotten to put this book through the normal refereeing and editing process, and thus it reads like a second-rate dissertation written by an angry Ph.D. student who constantly appeals to the oracular statements of his fellow-travelers rather than presents his own convincing arguments. Simply stated, Hobson's thesis is that nothing good or original ever came from the West; all that is positive and original came from the East. He rests his case on his presentation of an encyclopedia of "preemptions' (Doesn't he must mean "antecedents"?). The heat of his diatribe obscures the depth and true complexity of the (non)?-problem he allegedly studies: "The Rise of the West." By the way, his answer to this issue is as follows: It did not rise (At least until 1800 or so). To Hobson's credit, he constantly emphasizes the growth of a World System, yet overstatement mars his argument. Hobson persistently juxtaposes the most derogatory and pejorative picture of Western society against an uncritical and idealized version of Eastern society. Hobson lacks all subtly and therefore is not to be believed. History is not so simple.
As all historians know, true originality in culture, in ideas, or in technology is rare indeed. Thus agriculture was independently invented only handful of times, written language even fewer times, and almost all technologies have antecedents. However, this fact does not diminish the accomplishments of any society that takes a procedure or thing from elsewhere and "runs with it." This ability to borrow or to be stimulated and to utilize something from elsewhere is surely not a sign of weakness or decadence but of strength. Finding the antecedents to things or ideas is not proof that these were "stolen"--not grounds for the kinds of admonishment regularly meted out by Hobson. Moreover, inter-societal or inter-cultural transmission is much more complicated than Hobson would ever admit and must even allow for independent invention in the face of common circumstances.
Illustrations of Hobson's misunderstandings and mistaken approach can be found on nearly every page of the book. It is true that Su Sung's water driven clock of 1086 in China was a marvelous invention, but precisely where did it lead? Was it replicated widely in market and church towers as the European mechanical clock was a few centuries later? Did it create a new sense of time necessary for new governing ideologies. And is the "good circumstantial evidence" (p. 131) about the influence of the Chinese on the European clock grounds for any historical argument at all? What about gunpowder and the cannon? It is not true as Hobson writes that "Eurocentric scholars often attribute the discovery of gunpowder to the European scientist Roger Bacon in 1267." (p. 186). Actually, they simply state that Bacon was the first one to mention this explosive mixture in Latin manuscripts. Everyone knows that gunpowder was first employed by the Chinese. As for the cannon, its early design and the terminology that described it is really too confusing to determine where the first true cannon was invented (When does some tube-like thing filled with explosive mixture become a cannon? Anyway, wasn't it developed rather than "invented"?). The first drawing in Europe of a cannon dates from 1326. It rapidly evolved into a weapon that revolutionized warfare and gave Europe the means to dominate the seas and coasts of the world.
Furthermore, Hobson writes over and over about the superiority of Chinese junks over contemporary European vessels. Junks were magnificent ships and much much larger than European caravels, but maybe bigger is not always better. After all, the tiny caravel did its job quite well. For Hobson Henry the Navigator "had begun to fumble" (p. 138) his was down the coast of Africa while people from the East heroically explored the world. Hobson never abstains from using pejorative language when referring to Westerners while he always stand in awe of the feats of other cultures.. Chinese agriculture was much more productive than Western agriculture according to Hobson. Well guess what: hydraulically controlled paddy agriculture does yield more per acre than natural-rainfall wheat agriculture, but yield per acre is only one measure of agriculture productivity. The more relevant point is that European agriculture and distribution networks began to liberate the continent from famine mortality at a time when killing starvation still swept periodically through the great kingdom of China. Hobson writes that the Egyptian physician Ibn al-Nafis "fully pre-empted the much heralded work of the Englishman, William Harvey, by no less than three and a half centuries" (p. 179). My little encyclopedia says that Ibn-al-Nafis argued for the pulmonary circulation. Harvey is known not for his discovery of the pulmonary circulation, which had already been proved by Renaldus Columbus at Padua in the sixteenth century, but for the systemic circulation, which he rigorously demonstrated with brilliant and repeatable experiments. Hobson writes that the fourteenth century astronomer Ibn al-Shatir "developed a series of mathematical models which were almost exactly the same as those developed about 150 years later by Copernicus in his heliocentric theory." (p. 180) It is certain that Islamic astronomy was well developed in the Middle Ages and at a time when Western astronomy was scarcely able to replicate the mathematical precision of the ancient Ptolemy, it is noteworthy that an Islamic scholar succeeded in "saving the phenomena" so accurately and with so much simple elegance. But Copernicus's achievement with it heliocentrism ultimately led to a paradigm shift. This is what is important. And Ibn al-Shatir was a geocentrist.
The most disturbing aspect of Hobson's book is not in the multitude of mistakes that he makes and his disregard for conventional historical methodologies but simply his ill humor and name calling. Great historians like Lynn White who pioneered the field of medieval technology a half century ago are dismissed out of hand. Other historians, like David Landes, are characterized not as "the distinguished historian of technology" (which he is) but as "the avowed Eurocentric scholar" (p. 130). (Hobson's book is in part a response to Landes's The Wealth and Poverty of Nations). For Hobson, there is a litmus test to which all scholars must be subjected: Eurocentric or non-Eurocentric?. No matter the quality of the historian's work, the elegance of the presentation, the force of the conclusions. If a historian is not politically correct in this matter, he/she is to be dismissed out of hand and even excoriated. Thank god that Hobson's book is unlikely to exercise much influence on historical discourse. The real story of the East's influence on the West must continue to be told by other scholars of a more level-headed temperament employing more acceptable methodologies.
Excellent polemic.......2006-01-12
Looking through the reviews above I can imagine the bewilderment of the potential reader. Some of the reviewers hated it, some loved it. So is this book any good? I would answer 'yes': but the book has to be seen for what it is. It is NOT a 'fair' and 'balanced' academic treatise. It is, as someone pointed out, a polemic. What they failed to point out is that it is an excellent polemic, that has to be seen in context. The context is the literally thousands of books that have been published which unthinkingly take a 'Eurocentric' view of world history, asking loaded questions that are carefully chosen to permit only the 'right' answers to be given (E.g. Why did democracy arise only in the West? Why did science arise only in the West? Why is the West so much more 'advanced' than the Muslim world/Africa/South America etc. etc. etc.). Of course no one accuses them of being polemics: if you take the orthodox view, that's simply 'common sense'.
It should also point out that like most polemics (and unlike most academic texts) this book is well written and a pleasure to read. Certainly if one was carrying out an academic study on this subject I would read other books on the subject from more 'orthodox' historians to get the other side of the coin. In other words, not every word of Hobson's book might be the Gospel Truth. He ignores ambiguity and nuance: if something can be related back to China or the Muslim World it is. But on the other hand, it states an important position, which from now on economic and cultural historians are going to have to take note of.
Has Cambridge University Press thrown in the towel?.......2005-12-24
Readers should be forewarned that this is a polemical tract rather than a work of evidentiary historical scholarship. The idea that Chinese science was "ahead" of the West (however we define the West) is not new at all; it was a central theme of Joseph Needham's work half a century ago, some of which has stood the test of time and much of which hasn't. At least Needham and his collaborators were able to draw original Chinese sources into their studies (and the later works of his collaborators in "Science and Civilization in China" are mostly excellent). Hobson's work is laden with casual and unsubstantiated assertions, overuse of silly and undefined terms like "economic miracle," and unduly credulous readings of previous scholars who had their own axes to grind. As for individual critiques of his specific assertions about such issues as iron production, currency flows, etc, I'll leave that to the reviewers in the standard professional journals, if they bother to review this book (Although I'm sure it will be warmly received in some fields, like cultural studies, where the citation of prominent European intellectual theorists is more important than having reliable Chinese sources). In sum, this is a contribution to the growing ranks of Sino-triumphalist works by western writers guided more by recent politics and economic trends than historical evidence. A common feature of this group, apparently, is to think that because some of their predecessors have made ridiculous Eurocentric claims minimizing China's significance in their own works, that means it's somehow advisable to make equally absurd and unbalanced Sinocentric claims now - in fact, because the transparency of this approach is so obvious, it ends up preaching to the converted. My plea to others working in the same field: learn to read Chinese and look at some actual texts to check whether they support your arguments. For readers in search of more legitimate works in English about Chinese science, I heartily recommend "On Their Own Terms" by Benjamin Elman, published by Harvard University Press, which seems to be taking up the mantle so unfortunately cast off by Cambridge University Press.
**Shrugs**.......2005-11-02
I think that Hobson's book is good in a way that it provides a counter-argument to Eurocentricism such as found in David Landes' the Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Beyond that, however, I find that Hobson is lacking in any real substance and rather chooses to bash Eurocentrist's arguments rather than making any of his own. He resorts to many of the same pitfalls that he sees in Eurocentric authors by presenting the East as the sole site of pre-1800 civilization. I understand that he is trying to undermine Eurocentric arguments, but by being so obviously one-sided he is defeating his own cause.
Book Description
Few industrial enterprises left a more enduring imprint on the American West than Miller & Lux, a vast meatpacking conglomerate started by two San Francisco butchers in 1858. Industrial Cowboys examines how Henry Miller and Charles Lux, two German immigrants, consolidated the West's most extensive land and water rights, swayed legislatures and courts, monopolized western beef markets, and imposed their corporate will on California's natural environment. Told with clarity and originality, this story uses one fascinating case study to illuminate the industrial development and environmental transformation of the American West during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The process by which two neighborhood butchers turned themselves into landed industrialists depended to an extraordinary degree on the acquisition, manipulation, and exploitation of natural resources. David Igler examines the broader impact that industrialism--as exemplified by Miller & Lux--had on landscapes and waterscapes, and on human as well as plant and animal life in the West. He also provides a rich discussion of the social relations engineered by Miller & Lux, from the dispossession of Californio rancheros to the ethnic segmentation of the firm's massive labor force. The book also covers such topics as land acquisition and reclamation, water politics, San Francisco's unique business environment, and the city's relation to its surrounding hinterlands. Above all, Igler highlights essential issues that resonate for us today: who holds the right and who has the power to engineer the landscape for market production?
Customer Reviews:
A path breaking work.......2007-06-08
This is a fine book that provides important new insights not only into the history of big cattle ranching in California, but also into our broader understanding of the settlement of the American West and the meaning of American industrialization. Igler's concept of the "industrial cowboy" who works, in essence, in a factory without walls in which the landscape of nature itself becomes part of the technological system should force all American historians to rethink their understanding of what constitutes an industrialization. Likewise, Igler's work adds to the growing body of evidence that one of the best ways of defining and thinking about the American West is a place where a relatively pristine environment interesected with an advanced industrial society.
Book Description
Stone has created an interwoven pageant of stories of the great westward drive which, in a few rousing decades, settled a continent and gave the United States dimensions of which its founders hardly dreamed.
Customer Reviews:
Great writing. Fascinating Info.......2007-06-27
Everyone I know that has read this book has loved it. If you are interested in learning about settling of the west, take a chance on this book.
Men to Match My Mountains The Opening of the Far West, 1840-1900.......2007-05-12
A Great book, that really informs the reader. Hard to put down.
A Page Turner with More Adventure and History than in any Text Book.......2007-04-03
First, this is not my normal genre, but came as a highly recommended book. If one wants to learn about the immigration and exploration of the west, then one can not go wrong by reading and enjoying this wonderful history lesson in story form. As the title of the book indicates, it took a special stock of men (and women) to overcome the many obstacles that the mountains (and desert) requires of one. The book takes you on this journey from the viewpoint of the true early explorers, and adventures, to just people trying to make a better life, or escaping religious persecution. Either group provides the struggles required of all and the high adventures to get where they eventually landed.
It is hard to imagine that prior to year of 1830, that there were probably less than 5,000 non-Native Indians living in the far west. Even more so that most Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Russians, (and others) that thought the far west presented far too much danger to even attempt the crossing, and once there, not much to reward your effort. This was based on some facts as the story unfolds from the Donner Party tragedy, and Indian attacks, to continued religious persecution, and vigilante groups of early settlements. All told though, there is only greed or great opportunity that can overcome a rational repugnance of such hardships to justify the costs which to overcome man's avoidance of living in such extremes. That greed comes in the form of gold and silver for many that ultimately made the effort to expand the far west.
All in, this is a page turner with both drama, color, and interwoven events to keep the story (i.e. immigration) moving along to the far west that we know today. A wonderful and educational story indeed.
Wonderfully Entertaining.......2006-12-15
What a great read--fantastic story-telling of Western history. It captures the sense of adventure, danger, and especially, perseverance on the part of great men like Sutter down to the individuals rushing to the gold. It provides good lessons for all of us in what it took to build the American West. I highly recommend it!
match mountains.......2006-11-10
I bought this book as a gift for a fellow aficianado of Western U.S. history. It's one of the best ever published, as Mr. Stone delivers historical facts in a prose that makes it come alive. The concurrent time periods of each area's development is easy to follow, and mentally keep track of, as one enjoys the stories. It reminds the reader of just about every western movie he's ever seen!
Book Description
In the fall of 1897, eight whaling ships became trapped in the ice on Alaska's northern coast. Without relief, two hundred whalers would starve to death by winter's end. Mercifully, an extraordinary missionary, Tom Lopp, and seven Eskimo herders embarked on a harrowing journey to save the whalers, driving four hundred reindeer more than seven hundred untracked miles.
At the heart of the rescue expedition lies another, in some ways more compelling, journey. In a Far Country is the personal odyssey of Tom and his wife Ellen Lopp-their commitment to the natives and the rugged but happy life they built for themselves amid a treeless tundra at the top of the world. The Lopps pulled through on grit and wits, on humility and humor, on trust and love, and by the grace of God. Their accomplishment would surely have received broader acclaim had it not been eclipsed by two simultaneous events: the Spanish- American War and the Alaska gold rush. The United States and its territories were transformed abruptly and irrevocably by these fits of expansionist fever, and despite the thoughtful, determined guidance of the Lopps, the natives of the North were soon overwhelmed by a force mightier than the fiercest Arctic winter: the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
Life in Alaska in the late nineteenth century was frought with constant danger and unimaginable challenges........2007-06-17
They certainly were a hardy lot. Those who chose to come Alaska in the latter part of the nineteenth century faced obstacles and hardships that most of us simply cannot comprehend. So why did they come? Despite the fact that the industry was in decline, fleets of whaling ships from such distant ports as New Bedford, Mass. and San Francisco, CA still made the trek to the Bering Sea each year in an effort to eke out a living. Those in the business of saving souls viewed Alaska as fertile territory to spread the Good News. And as the nineteeth century drew to a close there was yet another important reason why thousands would risk life and limb to come to the Alaskan wilderness. The Great Alaskan Gold Rush was on! "In A Far Country" is author John Taliaferro's remarkable account of the events that were unfolding in Alaska during these years.
Tom and Ellen Lopp were missionaries who came to Alaska in the early 1890's. Tom was a Presbyterian from Indiana while Ellen was a Congregationalist who hailed from Minnesota. Both were assigned to a mission at Cape Prince of Wales on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula. Only a month after meeting in July 1892 Tom and Ellen were married. As things turned out Tom and Ellen would start a family and spend the next dozen years ministering to the Eskimos at Cape Prince of Wales. The work was dirty, difficult and exhausting but proved to be extremely rewarding nonetheless. During their years at Cape Prince of Wales the Lopps opened a mission school and assisted in the effort to establish a herd of reindeer in the area. The man who had attracted both Tom and Ellen to Alaska through an advertisment in "American Missionary" magazine was one Sheldon Jackson. Jackson, who was at the time the general agent for education for the new U.S. Territory of Alaska was absolutely convinced that bringing reindeer to Alaska was the key to the regions economic future. Reindeer were indigenous to neighboring Siberia and had been used there for centuries as both a source of food and for transportation. Jackson envisioned teams of reindeer driven sleds moving people, commodities and even the mail throughout the Alaskan territory. At the same time Sheldon Jackson argued that the reindeer could replace the dwindling numbers of caribou as the primary source of food for the native Eskimo population. "In A Far Country" details how large herds of reindeer would eventually be established in several areas of the Alaskan wilderness. Finally, John Taliaferro spends a great deal of time chronicling what became known as the Overland Relief Expedition. At the end of the summer of 1898 a total of 8 whaling ships who were operating in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska became trapped in the ice and were unable to leave the area. It was feared that unless help arrived in time more than 200 sailors would eventually starve to death. The Overland Relief Expedition was organized and Tom Lopp was tapped to lead the final leg of this Herculian rescue effort. What an incredible adventure!
I found "In A Far Country" to be quite compelling reading indeed. The publishers quite wisely furnished a detailed map of the region at the beginning of the book and I found myself referring to it again and again. I find that inclusion of maps like this often greatly enhances my understanding of the events being discussed in the text. All in all this is a nicely written book about important history that has been largely forgotten. Recommended!
Excellent adventure .......2007-03-24
This is a little known adventure story of missionary people, personalities, government polititians, native Americans, & foreigners. It has graphic illustrations of problems and errors made when dealing with different cultures in unknown and adverse climates. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.
Life on the Edge of Civilization.......2007-03-09
It must have taken individuals of rare inner strength to even have the desire to go establish a Christian mission at Cape Prince of Whales, 55 miles across the Bering Strait to Russia and only 70 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Even more surprising to me was the number of women, single or married to missionaries, who went as well. Tom and Ellen Lopp were both single, that is until six weeks after they met.
This is a story of the mission at Cape Prince of Wales, the Lopp's and of a dramatic rescue where Tom and seven Eskimo herders drove a heard of reindeer some 700 miles to rescue stranded sailors whose ships had become frozen in the ice. This was a trip to rival the other famous trip in the cold, but up until now has been little known.
All in all, a most interesting book about life on the very edge of civilization.
epic adventure.......2007-02-06
This book rightly takes its place among the other tales of heroic arctic travel. It is well researched, the writing is sprightly, and the characterizations both compassionate and vivid.
Unsung Heroes.......2007-02-06
This was a fascinating book. It takes an honest look at subjects as diverse as; culture clashes, mission work, family struggles, man verses nature, government inner workings, and humanity's dual nature (good and evil). A whole cast of unsung heroes finally get their day. Unfortunately, it comes about 100 years too late. Although the author resides in our current day of political correctness, his characters do not. Frankly, I find them refreshing.
The Alaskan frontier is shown as the mishmash that it must have been. Competing groups vied for their own goals and dreams. They inevitably mixed and influenced each other resulting in the lines that formerly demarcated distinct people groups being erased and blurred. The outcomes of this amalgamation ranged from laudable triumphs to scandalous tragedies.
For some reason (maybe growing up in the hot South), I have always enjoyed books about Polar Regions. The first book I ever read was Jack London's Call of the Wild. I read In a Far Country in less than a week because the story kept my interest. It is one of the few books that I really hated to complete. I did not want to leave the characters.
Book Description
A story of love and adventure in Alaska, and a moving testimonial to a beloved wild place. Murie received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her environmental work.
Customer Reviews:
Two in the Far North.......2007-01-16
Parts of this book were very interesting and I respect the woman and the adventurous lifestyle, but parts were dated for me and other parts were too long. I do not think that is was well told.
Alaska by an Alaskan.......2004-07-16
Many of the best-known books about Alaska, its people and wilderness, have been written from an outsider's perspective (John McPhee, for example, or Joe McGinniss), with an outsider's sense of detachment and strangeness, as though what they were commenting on were just slightly odd on some level.
Margaret Murie (known as "Mardy"), gives as Alaska from a true insider's perspective, as one who grew up with it, knows it in her bones, and loves it the way we love our closest family.
Born in 1902, Mardy moved to Fairbanks at age 9, where kids went to school in -50F temperatures and where the only way in or out of Alaska in winter was on the back of a mail sled propelled by sled dogs. One of the first grads of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, she married the naturalist Olaus Murie and honeymooned in the Arctic. Over the years, fearless Mardy even took her infant children on expeditions into the wild.
The book is an indivisible combination of autobiography and nature writing. Murie has a remarkable eye; her descriptive powers rival McPhee's but her tone is more one of powerful affection rather than awe. My favorite story was of a young teenage Mardy, on her way to the Lower 48 to go to high school, catching the last mail sled out of town in the spring of 1918. This spring trip took many days; at each river crossing there was a possibility of not making it over the thinning ice.
What an adventure! Combined with that adventure is a powerful romance, the lifelong relationship between Olaus, a professional naturalist; Mardy, the fearless and intrepid companion; and Alaska herself.
Mardy Murie died only last year, at age 101. If you read this book, you will regret having just missed her; she deserves to be missed.
"My sense of wilderness is personal" - Margaret E. Murie.......2003-05-10
Mardy Murie is often referred to as "The Grandmother of American Conservation" and "The Grand Dame of the American Conservation movement, but somehow after reading her story, these titles barely seem adequate to describe such an incredible and personal woman. While we may liken Murie to women like Rachel Carson or Anna Botsford Comstock, Murie's journey is singular. We follow her from her childhood in Wyoming to graduation at the University of Alaska, through love, into the far reaches of the Alaskan North.
Murie successfully bridges the personal and the political, her own life and her life's work, her love for one man and her love for their work together. You will laugh with her, you will cry with her, feel scared for her, and come to love her. She will become your hero.
We must recognize Murie as an American treasure, but we must also recognize that Murie's inspiration is perhaps more important now than it ever was. The most obvious reason for this statement is the continuing struggle to preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from growing oil interests. We must also recognize, however, that Murie could be the inspiration for the young generation of leaders in conservation-- a group of leaders that undoubtedly must include women. That there are very so few women leaders in conservation has caused the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women to recognize the struggle of women in their efforts to achieve leadership positions in the conservation movement. Other organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club, and the National Wildlife Federation have launched campaigns to attract more women into leadership roles. The lack of women in environmental leadership reflects America's view of rugged individualism in our collective imagination...nowhere has this myth been more prominent than in the discussion of America's last frontier-- a very personal discussion for Ms. Murie.
Not only is Margaret E. Murie a woman in the conservation movement, but she is an American treasure with a very personal and very political story to tell. Even as she approaches her 101st birthday in August, she continues to speak out for Alaska's lands, peoples, and wildlife. Her story is not one of fame, comfort, or glory, but it is her American story. Mardy Murie will become your hero, your inspiration and your friend. Take the journey with her.
"And I see them dancing.....".......2000-11-14
I, first, heard of Mardy Murie and her husband, Olaus, while watching John Denver's The Wildlife Concert. He wrote A Song For All Lovers for their deep and abiding love for each other and for the state of Alaska. The song's beauty gave rise to my curiousity. And, recently, while watching a documentary of Mardy's life, I became determined to read this book about her life.
This book is a must have. Mrs. Murie paints with words, a picture so vivid of Alaska's tundras and plains, that I felt as if I were part of it. The lifestyle was hard, but satisfying, and this woman's life was nothing short of fascinating. Mardy Murie is a living testament to the strength and beauty of women, and she leaves a shining example of what a woman can do. In her assistance in Olaus' work for the ANWR and other Alaskan Land Conservancies, to her carrying on of that work, she is a beacon to us all of what we can do.
Buy it...read it. You will fall in love with Alaska and with Mardy.
Amazon.com
Only in India would the American film Rambo be remade with the title role played by a woman--in a sari, no less! Only in Hong Kong would a man at a cocktail party pick up a woman with the line "What do you think of the dollar?" And only in Video Night in Kathmandu will you find detailed, unsettling portraits of a Far East in flux as experienced by Pico Iyer, a travel writer beyond compare. Tibet, China, India, and Thailand--these are among the objects of Iyer's wanderlust, the subjects of 11 essays chronicling his travels. In India, he explores the lucrative Bombay film business: "The process of turning an American movie into an Indian one was not very difficult ... but it did require a few changes.... the Indian hero had to be domesticated, supplied with a father, a mother, and a clutch of family complications." As one film director told him, " ... for example, Rambo must be given a sister who was raped." In Bangkok he finds the sex trade is well nigh impossible to avoid: " ... by the time a third official government tout approached me with the novel invitation: 'My friend. You no like birdwatching?' I was inclined to suspect that ornithology was not among his interests."
Pico Iyer is more than just a travel writer. For four years, he wrote about world affairs for Time, and he brings to these brilliant, comical, and poignant essays his extensive knowledge of politics and culture as well as a journalist's eye for the telling details. Video Night in Kathmandu provides both a stark, unsettling view of modern Asia and an exploration of the ambivalent attitudes Asians hold toward the West.
Book Description
Mohawk hair-cuts in Bali, yuppies in Hong Kong and Rambo rip-offs in the movie houses of Bombay are just a few of the jarring images that Iyer brings back from the Far East.
Customer Reviews:
Asia Travelin'.......2005-12-27
Brings back times of travel before the world learned of the Internet. True description of the oddities of Katmandu for anyone who has spent some time there. Most travelers simply pass in and out of the capital with 2-3 days on the front and/or back end of a journey. If you can take the time to soak up the side streets, meet the locals and spend time with family and children, this exciting capital offers some of the most exciting asian travel adventures...try to spend a week there if possible. A good absorbtion of the Katmandu valley for 3 weeks will bring liftime memories.
Up On The Mountain in Himalayans........2005-07-30
This book is interesting in that Kanmandu used to be closed to the western world. Their culture is so special, being at the foot of Tibet, that we could not appreciate it. But the first I heard of it was in Paul Theroux's RIDING THE IRON ROOSTER as that was the starting point for his adventurous, almost fatal, car trip up that treacheous, spectacular mountain to see the Dahlai Lama. He distributed 8X10 glossys of the one we all revere. And made it to Shangrila.
Before that my favorite news reporter in the Fifties, think it was for CBS, was invited to do a broadcast from there and he took had an accident, only his was more serious -- on the way down the mountain when his mule took a misstep and fell. Paul's was on the way up to Tibet.
Ever since I read his book and reviewed it for my literary club, I have done much searching for the truth of Tibet and its major problems even today. These essays show just how special Kathmandu is and how they struggle to keep their impenetrable jungle just that. It is beauty personaified. We need to know more about the Asian culture and beliefs so that we can all live in harmony.
Late 80s Asia.......2003-03-03
Pico Iyer has written an interesting set of annecdotes on Asia during the late 80s boom years. It covers the isolation of Burma, the sex trade in Thailand, the night life in Nepal, and everything inbetween. The book takes a deeper view beyond the stereotypes to understand the complexities of the cultural merging.
The book really has two main values. First, it gives an annecdotal view of a lifestyle that, while only 15-20 years ago, is already gone. Hong Kong 1986 is a place in transition that is different than Hong Kong today. While many books today provide political and economic viewpoints on the times, and the changes, they don't accurately cover an expats view of life and cultural exchange.
The second value is in understanding aspects of the culture that still apply. India's polyclot of ethnic groups and interaction with the West applies today. Pico Iyer is adept at capturing cultural traits that last, and perhaps even grow, despite the pressures of a globalizing world.
I'm not a universal fan of all of Iyer's material, but this is certainly one of his better works. It's more readable, and the concepts more universal and lasting than some of his other books.
patronizing fluff.......2001-10-18
I tried reading this book while in Kathmandu, and forced myself to finish the chapter on said city before throwing the book across my hotel room in frustration. His anecdotes start out interesting, but turn into self-serving drivel that trivializes a very complex situation and culture. What bothers me most is that his writing is gimmicky- he puts words next to each other that try to sound cool and witty, rather than sharing any real insight. P>Predictably, the Thailand chapter concerned itself mainly with the sex trade. This a common theme, and it's sad that so many authors can't come up with anything else to say about a truly diverse and fascinating country.
Not his best, but if you like Pico Iyer, give it a try........2001-07-14
As a long standing fan of Pico Iyer's writing, I had high expectations of this book. It is entertaining and fun, but Mr. Iyer comes off as rather self-centered. You hear a lot about the girls who meet him (...). Some of the sardonic observations go beyond Mr. Iyers usual clear-eyed notice to the point of churlishness.
That said, it is much better than the usual pabulum offerred by travel essay writers. If you are new to Iyer, start with "Falling off the Map" for a smoother taste of his style.
Average customer rating:
- Great book, very helpful, love the maps.
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Knopf MapGuide: Rome (Knopf Mapguides)
Knopf Guides
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Rome | Italy | Europe | Travel | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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Similar Items:
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Knopf MapGuide: Florence (Knopf Mapguides)
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Knopf MapGuide: Venice (Knopf Mapguides)
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Knopf MapGuide: Paris (Knopf Citymap Guides)
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Knopf MapGuide: Naples (Knopf Mapguides)
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Knopf MapGuide: Barcelona (Knopf Mapguides)
ASIN: 0375711007
Release Date: 2007-04-03 |
Book Description
This opening fold-out contains a general map of Rome to help you visualize the 6 large districts discussed in this guide, and 4 pages of valuable information, handy tips and useful addresses.
Discover Rome through 6 districts and 6 maps
Campo dei Fiori/ Pantheon/ Piazza Navona
Vaticano/ Piazza Cavour/ Prati
Testaccio/ Aventino/ Trastevere/ Ghetto
Tridente/ Piazza del Popolo/ Villa Borghese
Quirinale/ Esquilino/ Termini
Caracalla/ San Giovanni/ Colosseo
For each district there is a double-page of addresses (restaurants — listed in ascending order of price — cafés, bars, tearooms music venues and stores) followed by a fold-out map for the relevant area with the essential places to see (indicated on the map by a star *). These places are by no means all that Rome has to offer but to us they are unmissable. The grid-referencing system (
A B2) makes it easy for you to pinpoint addresses quickly on the map.
Transportation and hotels in Rome
The last fold-out consists of a transportation map and 4 pages of practical information that include a selection of hotels.
A thematic index lists all the sites and addresses featured in this guide
Customer Reviews:
Great book, very helpful, love the maps........2006-11-30
I had checked out a book from the local library and liked it so much I came on amazon to buy that book, Fodor's Rome's 25 Best, 6th Edition (25 Best). Amazon then recommended this book to me and after looking it over decided to give it a try.
My wife and I went on a 12 day cruise of the Med and ended that we 3 days in Rome right before Thanksgiving 2006 (Nov. 2006). This book more than paid for itself with all of the helpful reviews in it and suggestions. But the topper for me was the quality and size of the maps. We looked enough like tourists in the city, but this little book and it's fold out maps helped us look a little less so. They were more than details enough, and having suggestions on them we found a wonderful place to eat one night, it was great.
If you want something that is small and compact, yet still provides great details in terms of maps of a city this is the book for you. And there is no huge map to fold and unfold as you walk around a city. This book breaks the city in to sections and based on where you are you have only a small map to easily unfold and use.
I highly recommend this book.
Average customer rating:
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Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West
Harriet Rochlin , and
Fred Rochlin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Old West | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0618001964 |
Book Description
When people think of the Jewish immigrant experience, it's usually the Lower East Side of New York that comes to mind. But, in fact, thousands of Jews lived in western mining towns and on ranches and trading posts in the late nineteenth century. In this "colorful history of Jewish settlers in the West . . . that stereotype of the urban Jew is vigorously and even exuberantly rejected" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES). PIONEER JEWS is a vivid and thorough chronicle of the lives, experiences, and contributions of the Jewish men and women who helped shape the American frontier.
Books:
- Lone Wolf & Cub, Volume 13
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 1, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon
- Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer
- Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition
- Prize Pokemon (Pokémon Chapter Book)
- Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie
- Saltwater Fishing. Tackle, Rigging, How & When to Fish
- Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Landscape Wars of the American West
- Shadowplay (Shadowmarch, Vol. 2)
- Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- Biology: A Guide to the Natural World
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- Venice: A City, A Republic, An Empire
- The Value of Life: Biological Diversity And Human Society
- Uncle Shelby's Circus
Wah-to-yah & the Taos trail: Prairie travel and scalp dances, with a look at los rancheros from muleback and the Rocky mountain campfire
Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper (Bison Book)
Castaway: The Narrative of Alvar Núñez Cageza de Vaca
Through the Dark Continent:Volume 1
News from Tartary
