This was the second book I purchased for learning go (the first was Charles Matthew's 'Teach Yourself Go'). For the beginner, Go can be somewhat frustrating to get into. There is a plethora of books that will teach you the basic rules, but these can also be learned from a variety of web sites.

After these, the average beginner knows the rules, but not how to actually play. An opponant will play a stone right next to one of theirs, and they don't know how to respond... do I play above it? or on the other side? do I ignore it and play another hoshi (star point)?

This book teaches the reader about making jumps (how to expand on territory you're claiming or keep from being captured), base extensions (in order to stake out territory), and the basics of ko fights and contact fighting (what happens when stones are played right next to each other). If you've done a bit of playing and problem solving online, I would recommend picking up the next book in this series at the same time. As soon as you finish this book, you'll begin to see more patterns in games and understand that there is more you should be seeing behind the moves. As a result, you will probably want to study the game more, and the next book is really still a mid-level book.

My only complaint about the book would have to be just that. The niche it fills, for the reader who has learned the rules but isn't ready for serious study of go patterns yet, isn't filled unless you have both the second and third book in this series. These probably should have been published as one larger book. That notwithstanding, it's an excellent second (and third) book of Go.

As a side note, while the fourth book in this series is quite interesting, it is not as much of a prerequisite for studying other books, such as the Elementary Go Series, as book II and III.

By far the best series of Go books for beginning to intermediate players. So much of success at Go, at least of the recreational player who does not have a huge amount of time to devote the game, hinges on mastering some basic ways of thinking about problems and "stances" that help to identify opportunities avoid pitfalls or common mistakes. This book continues the focus on these elements initiated in Volume I by concentrating on a small number of principles and skills that are the key to doing well at beginning and intermediate Go. This book, like the subsequent volumes in the series is written with the beginner in mind, but should by no means be ignored by even the advanced intermediate player--any player at any level who can truly master and consistently apply the concepts presented in this book will be a stronger.

This is the second volume in the Go teaching series authored by Janice Kim and Jeong Soo-hyun. It takes the basic principles laid out in "A Master's Guide to the Ultimate Game" and begins to tie them together into coherent game play. This is no trivial task, as anyone who has struggled through the first few months of Go playing will tell you.

Learning is a habit that a good go player has to have. This short, easy to read volume lays the rest of the framework needed to start the process. The authors start with an introduction to the real task of the game, claiming and achieving territory. This is a more theoretical approach than the 'you need two eyes' approach of volume one, and, for the first time, the player is lead to looking at the whole board and the fine art of moving in a game where nothing moves.

This little bit of theory out of the way, the book turns to the core skills of Go playing - attack, defense, capturing, Ko fighting, hand-to-hand combat, the endgame, and the intricacies of life and death. All of the discussions are good. I give a special tip of the hat for the attention the authors pay to the playing of Ko's. It is one of the marks of beginning players that they avoid these repeating capture attacks like poison. Here the authors give enough attention to this strategy to get anyone past their doubts.

While this volume goes deeper than volume one, it is by no means heavily written or over analytical. Plenty of illustrations and examples, but the chapter tests are gone. There is a final exam though. Almost painlessly, the beginner is eased into having a good basic concept of what Go is about.

Wonderful book. The photography is just so compelling. I wonder how Haviv got such great exposure. Together with the rich text...While my expertise lies in the Middle East, this is by far the best book I've ever seen on Afghanistan, irregardless of the current war.

Success in war reporting can be excruciatingly elusive. Especially in military photo journalism. In America, where the vast majority takes a car to drive to the burger joint two blocks down the road, it can be a Sisyphus task to invoke deep emotions for human suffering. Of course, I am not taking into account tears - the cheapest and easiest commodity that will secure an Oscar in no time. I am talking about emotions and feelings that make one understand that there is something terribly wrong with humankind. Mr. Haviv and Mrs. Ozernoy have successfully invoked exactly the latter.

I believe that this book does not just introduce one to the roots, core and consequences of the war in Afghanistan. It laces one into the complex fiber of life that almost does not want to part from medieval. Mr. Haviv has captured an ethnos in a conflict that is intertwined with the essence and color of hard land called Afghanistan. Mrs. Ozernoy added descriptive passages that make one wish for an ability to rebel against passivity of comfortable nations.

I was stunned to actually feel uncomfortable when I was looking at the pictures of troops' movements. I almost felt dust penetrating my retina. Then my eyes were soothed by pleasing colors of Afghan fabrics that were part of a picture depicting life of women there.

There are many brilliant allegories in this book. When understood, they will help us all live peacefully.

This book was recommended by a friend of mine, who said the book really opened her mind to the people of the country of Afghanistan and to their struggles. After reading this book, I see what she means! The pictures are beautiful, in a haunting way, and the images will stay in my mind for a long time. After hearing so much about Afghanistan on the news, it was refreshing to finally see what life is like for the real people. The commentary is sharp and savyy and went well with the photos. This is one book I won't forget because I learned so much from it!

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING IT PROVIDES INFORMATION THAT IS BOTH TRUE AND OF EXTREME VALUE. THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN EARLY ASIA COVERS MIGRATION FROM AFRICA TO ASIA DATING BACK FROM OVER 100,000 YEARS AGO. IT ALSO COVERS THE REVOLT OF THE ZANJ, WERE EAST AFRICAN SLAVES REVOLTED IN IRAQ AND IRAN. CAUSING NUMEROUS DEFEATS UPON THEIR OPPRESSORS AND SERIOUS ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO THE EMPIRE OF THEIR OPPESSORS. IT ALSO COVERS NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF AFRICAN PERSONALITIES AND PEOPLE IN ASIA. SUCH AS UTHMAN IBN BAHR AL-JAHIZ, MALIK AMBAR, LOKMAN, BILAL, ANTARA: THE LION AND MANY OTHERS. THE AFRICAN DIASPORA IN ASIA WAS MAINLY BY MIGRATION, BUT SLAVERY WAS ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF THESE MASSIVE AFRICAN POPULATIONS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ARABIA, YEMEN, SOUTHERN IRAQ, KUWATI, SOUTHERN IRAN, AND SOME PARTS OF INDIA. HISTORICAL MIGRATIONS INCLUDED SAUDI ARABIA AND YEMEN ALSO. AS WELL AS INDIA HAS AN EXTREMLY LARGE AFRICOID POPULATION KNOWN AS THE "THE BLACK UNTOUCHABLES OF INDIA" WHO ARE THE INDIGENOUS INHABITERS OF INDIA AND THE CREATORS OF THE INDUS RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION. THERE ARE ALSO AFRICAN POPULATIONS IN MALAYSIA, SOUTHERN CHINA, ANDAMEN ISLANDS, SRI LANKA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS. THIS BOOK IS OF GREAT SIGNIFIGANCE ON THE UNEXPLORED HISTORY OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN ASIA. OTHER BOOKS RECOMENDED IS AFRICANS AT THE CROSSROAD: NOTES ON AN AFRICAN WORLD REVOLUTION, INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS, THE DESTRUCTION OF A BLACK CIVILIZATION, AND THE AFRICAN ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION

This book has made it clear that the inhabitant of this earth is GOD in all forms. There is nothing else to be said on this subject. This book and others like it, has opened the door for many to become what they truly are...GOD.

This is best book for true information of early "African Presence" Lots of reserches and essays are included.

I would compare this extraordinary memoir by an extraordinary man to The Tale of Genji - both of them are "firsts" in their culture. The descendants of Tamerlane were both ruthlessly crafty Central Asian kings and warriors, and ultra refined conoisseurs of art and architecture, poetry, food, gardens, and (alas for them) wine. The Baburnama has it all. To encounter the private thoughts of a great conquerer is a unique experience. The Baburnama is well-written and well translated. It is one of the great treasures of literature, and will give the reader a much better idea why Afghanistan and Central Asia are the way they are.

Babur, a descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, was a truly remarkable man: a soldier and a poet, an inspirational leader with a deep appreciation for the beauties of nature - and a sensitivity that seems striking to us in a warrior of his undoubted stature.

His memoirs are a detailed, entertaining, and highly personal view of a changing world. In leading his followers into northern India, he laid the groundwork for the Mughal Empire, one of the great Islamic powers of the early modern period - and it is this achievement that history primarily remembers him for. Yet the _Baburnama_ shows that there is considerably more to the story than its conclusion.

With unstinting and engaging honesty, Babur talks of his early struggles, his constant setbacks, and his lifelong desire to hold Samarkand, glorious seat of his ancestor Timur (Tamerlane). For Babur, India is only the consolation prize after his failure to reconquer the lands of his birthright; India is rich, yes, astoundingly so, but it is far removed from his fond reminiscences of home. Along the way, reports of skirmishes with his enemies, and the constant betrayals of his allies, share the page with descriptions of local flora and fauna, and fascinating observations on everyday life in the cities and towns that he spends time at - and it is here that the work's true enjoyment lies.

Bear with the initially confusing internecine squabbles of the Central Asian nomads, and you'll be richly rewarded. A comprehensive and compelling insight into both Central Asia at the turn of the sixteenth century, and the day-to-day pressures inherent in the leadership of an empire based on conquest.

Babur was a king in the true sense of the word. His autobiography outlines his feirceness as a warrior as well as his compassion toward the people in his court. Although he lived in a time where one would think there would be little time for introspection, this is exactely what his narrative is: and introspective look at his own life, his shortcomings, his downfalls, his triumphs and tragedies. One is touched by Babur's humbleness, his sensitivity towards some of the most simple of things, and at his sense of awe and appreciation of beauty in the world around him. Although in some ways I prefered the AS Beveridge translation, this is also a wonderful translation with beautiful pictures and notes in the margins to help explain things. Even if you are not normally interested in this type of book, Babur leads you into his world and you are compelled to read on!

Absolutely one of the best books that I have read on the country of Bhutan. After reading several chapters, I was ready to travel on one of the tours to Bhutan, which are led by authors Russ and Blyth Carpenter.

This meaty little book is informed by the experience of the authors'numerous visits (including working trips) to Bhutan, extensive research, and the wisdom of many lively but respectful conversations with Bhutanese friends. Gorgeous color photographs by the authors supplement the vivid, lucid writing. There is intrigue in seeimg how these two self-described linear thinkers are gradually changed by confronting an intuitive culture with a Tantric lifestyle and a heritage of both Tibetan Buddhism and the remnants of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. What will be the effect of television, which has only now entered the culture, on this relatively isolated culture? What do monks do all day? What does it mean to measure a culture by its Gross National Happiness? Why is Bhutan known as Little Switzerland? These are among the many questions the Carpenters answer. One could not have better guides to this intriguing country.

This is a marvelous series of sketches that illuminate the mystique of Bhutan. The Carpenters, through their work and travel in and love for Bhutan, bring a personal and western perspective to a unique part of the world. Blessings of Bhutan serves as a bridge for the western traveler that allows for full appreciation of the uniqueness of Bhutan as a destination and a way of life.

Warning: This travel guide is not designed for the "accidental tourist," the person who travels to foreign lands hoping only to recreate a faraway, expensive version of his homeland. This book is for anyone who wants to travel not only for pleasure, but also for knowledge. With humor and incredible insight, Phil Karber writes of his adventures in the lands he has visited, lands that most of us will only see on National Geo specials. Karber immerses himself in each culture, learning as much as he can about the history, philosophy, people, and customs of each country that he visits. After reading this book, the reader will feel as if he, too, has visited each place Karber describes. This book is a must-have for anyone who plans to travel to these exotic locales, but it is also a delightful way for those of us who lack the courage, time, or funds to travel to experience places that may no longer exist in a few year's time.

Phil Karber is my Dad's first cousin. Trust me, the sarcastic humor runs in the family. I have not read my cousin's book yet, but I have no doubt that it is wonderful. Phil is a great guy to be around, and he could write a dozen books about his life. I would love to read about his childhood also.

I've just finished Yak Pizza--and how much I was transported from Fort Smith, AR to places I've only dreamed or heard of. Each day I looked forward to that time after dinner when I could grab Yak Pizza, get off by myself, and take trip after trip.

Phil Karber did a remarkable job here, finding the right distance from his subject matter--at times letting places and experiences speak for themselves and at just the right times giving such keen insights from observation and analysis.

There were such poignant moments and then humor and then righteous indignation and then such a knowledge of the background history of environment, economics, political/social structure. . .and gadzooks what a vocabulary.

I wrote a haiku over my impressions the night I finished the book and had such bittersweet emotions on finishing it--here tis Brushed bamboo, twisted thickets of morass. Leeches hold time in their craw.

The book traces the life of one of most intrepid explorers of fin-de-siecle 19th century, Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (FEY).

FEY was a man of many talents : explorer, writer, athlete, spy, thinker and philosopher. Born to English parents in 'Imperial' India, FEY spent his early years at Dharamshala where he came under the influence of his maternal uncle Robert Shaw. Shaw was a keen adventurer and trekker himself which left a deep impact on the young FEY.

FEY started his career as an official of the British Empire and because of his treks to China (Gobi desert) and within India (Rohtang Pass) he became recognised as an explorer. At the turn of the century, Tibet remained one of the last uncontrolled regions in the 'Great Game' between Russia and Britain (for increasing their respective influences in the Asian region). Curzon, afraid of Russia's growing influence over Tibet (later proven unfounded), decided to send an 'expedition' to Lhasa headed by Younghusband. (Curzon and Younghusband were very good friends). The expedition was actually a military adventure to assert British influence over Tibet. In this most celebrated event of FEYs life, he along with British troops trekked from Sikkim to Lhasa and signed the Treaty of Lhasa which was responsible for Tibet coming under British influence (till the Chinese took it over much later on).

In the post-1904 phase of his life FEY tried, unsuccessfully, to enter politics. However, this physically-resilient explorer turned into a philosopher after he had a near-fatal accident in Belgium. He also led the 'probably' unsuccessful attempts over Mt. Everest in the early-1920s ('probably' because till date the mystery over whether George Mallory did reach the summit in 1924 before perishing to his death remains unresolved).

The author also discusses in detail FEYs relationship with his wife Helen and daughter Eileen. PF also uncovers an affair FEY had in the twilight of his life with Lady Madeline Lees.

The book is also interspersed with details of how the author, Patrick French retraces Younghusband's steps. In true 'living in his shoes' style, the author traces the travels / exploits of FEY. PF travels to Dharamshala, China, Gobi Desert and Sikkim to get a feel of Younghusband's travels. The research done by French on events of more than hundred years ago is commendable and extremely detailed. He even details the number (67) and type of shirts FEY took with him on his 1904 expedition !

Patrick French has also recently written 'Liberty or Death' which is a lucid and well-researched account of the Indian Freedom struggle.

This book is an excellent achievement by a young British writer. Patrick French has meticulously researched all aspects of the life of this enigmatic 'empire builder'.

In the earlier stages of his life Francis Younghusband was desparately trying to gain fame and get his name into the annals of British imperialism. In a way time was running out, for the era of great explorations was coming to an end. Therefore the young officer set his eyes on the last frontier: Central Asia.

Very soon Younghusband was caught up in the hike-stake 'Great Game': the competition between Britain and Russia for control over the enormous expanses of inner Asia. Both states considered this region as vital for its strategic interests. The British feared that control of Turkestan and Tibet would bring the Russians too close to the mountain ranges separating India from the rest of Asia. The Russians in turn considered the steppes and deserts of Central Asia as a buffer zone between its Far Eastern territories and British-ruled South Asia.

Younghusband's travel experiences through the Himalayas, Karakorum, Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains would turn out to be essential for the formation of his later-day personality and activities. By temperament Younghusband fits into that strange category of the late Victorian soldier-adventurer with a spiritual bend. Just like General Charles 'Chinese' Gordon and T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), he paired a love for action with unmistakable spiritual inclinations.

After his military and administrative career in the British India service had come to an end, Francis Younghusband started a new mission in life. He became involved in a myriad of organizations concerned with inter-religious dialogue and the pursuit of world peace. Although, along the lines, he maintained a vivid interest in all 'things Asian' and was deeply involved with the first Mount Everest Expeditions.

French has been extremely thorough in investigating this second career of Francis Younghusband, pursuing all kinds of vague leads and intent on turning over the last stone. Patiently sifting through years of correspondence and personal journals, he pieces together a very detailed picture of Younghusband's later life and relationships with the people around him.

French's five year involvement with the life of Francs Younghusband was nothing short of an obsession, with the writer being determined to get into the head of his subject. The result is one of the best and most entertaining biographies I have ever read.

Patrick French's biography of Francis Younghusband - 'the last great imperial adventurer' - is beautifully written, insightful and above all humane. I say humane because at first glance Younghusband could easily be ridiculed - in his youth for a reckless jingoism that cost lives and embarrassed the British government, and in his later years for a brand of religious mysticism that was, well, bordering on insane. It is a tribute to French's understanding of his subject that he digs beneath these criticisms to bring us a deeply satisfying portrait of a surprisingly complex man.

Frank Younghusband's most pressing claim on history was that he led the British expedition into Tibet in 1904 - even at the time seen as being based on a flimsy pretext of stopping Russia from gaining control of central Asia. Some 2000 Tibetans were killed as the British force made its way into Lhasa. Younghusband forced a treaty on the 13th Dalai Lama pledging loyalty to the British empire. The Government in London found this deeply embarrassing and almost immediately repudiated the treaty. Younghusband himself was convinced of the threat Russia presented to British interests in India and central Asia.

But while the expedition created popularity and profile in England, it finished any chances of a senior career with the civil service. Younghusband served in India in a number of middle-ranking posts and wrote books about Tibet and his earlier exploits as an explorer in central Asia. In 1906 he played a bit part in the Jamison raid in South Africa - in the pay of The Times. Most importantly Younghusband thought about spirituality. Literally following a mountain top revelation in Tibet, he increasingly devoted his life to promoting a form of all-embracing spirituality which led in its silliest form to speculations about aliens living on a planet called Altair. His later years were devoted to boosting this form of spirituality by establishing popular movements in England, lecturing widely including in the US, running the Royal Geographic Society and supporting Indian independence.

All of which one could easily ridicule. But French brings life to his subject and a subtlety of understanding which makes the book absolutely engrossing. One reason is that Younghusband was a prolific letter writer - the India Office Library contains 600 "bulging" boxes containing his papers. Through these we see into the private mental world of Francis - his arid and rather sad marriage to Helen, and the relationship in his very last years with Madeline Lees - truly the love of his life. These insights allow French to paint a much deeper and satisfying portrayal of a complex man - a person of his time and place but also a complete iconoclast, some one who pushed against the establishment for most of his life. Remarkably, this is Patrick French's first book, written in his mid-twenties. He is a natural, a gifted writer with a fine sense of judgement. No sentence rings out of tune in the whole book. In short Younghusband is worth every one of its five stars. If the publishers have any sense they will issue a reprint soon. If not, readers should do everything they can to somehow find a copy of this wonderful biography.

This book is fantastic for planning your trip between countries and used in conjunction with other travel books detailing the countries you're going to. I found myself relying more and more on it alone as a reference guide as I became more comfortable traveling, as it highlights the things to see / how to get there, and leaves the details to the traveler. I also found people fascinated by its hand-drawn maps (beware trying to get the book back from a crowd- including other travelers!). Now that I'm back, it's the only book that completed my journey with me, and resides in a place of honor on my bookshelf, tattered, dog-eared and stained.

I have read and perused many a travel book in my time and I have to say this one is a model for which others should be judged by. I have used travel books extensively through the 100 or so countries I have been to and I wish more travel tomes could match the authors love, maps and general details in their work as these two young fellas have....

I used Asia Overland for the first 8 months of a 13 month trip and found it to be excellent. It is written by two guys who are just travellers themselves and have an excellent idea of what is essential when arriving to a strange new place where you do not speak the language.

At the core of the book are simple schematic maps of each country/area with notes written on them which rate and describe destinations, give travel times and costs, and even give recommendations of guesthouses or restaurants. More detailed maps are provided for large cities or areas particularily dense with things of interest. The format is very easy to understand and allows planning at a glance rather than by reading through pages of cross-referenced text. Again their grasp of what information is essential was nothing short of incredible. The book also contains a dirth of border-crossing info and tells you which visas you will need and where you can acquire them. From their own accounts they understood the border rules better than the border guards did on a few occasions.

More than the information it provides Asia Overland is a well written quidebook. Mark and Wil are extremely upbeat writers. Their senses of humor and personal accounts really made me want to go to all the places they wrote about. In summary the book is informative, accurate, entertaining and inspirational. If you are planning a trip to Asia, one country in Asia, or just trying to think of some destinations to visit, I highly recommend reading this book.

This book gives credit to the men of the 377th Security Police Squadron for an incedible defense of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. There were enough heros to go around but Nolan has given the Air Force credit for a defensive masterpiece. This book was long over due.

Mr. Nolan is an incredible and invaluable cronicler of the Vietnam War. My father was at the Ton Son Nhut Airbase during the Tet. I now truly understand that battle; this is what you didn't learn in school. Since I read The Battle Of Saigon I have gone on to read The Magnificent Bastards and am in the proocess of reading Operation Buffalo. I strongly recomend reading Keith Nolan's books so you can learn what really happened in Vietnam. The Battle of Saigon is a must read. With respect, Kimberly E. Monahan

iam currently attending my english class, i am asked to do the oral presentation on this battle. please give me some more information and some more idea

This study is an excellent examination of Japanese colonialism in Taiwan and its consequences for the contemporary formation of national identity. Through examining not only the particular circumstances of Japan in Taiwan but also the nature of colonialism in general, Ching shows how colonialism is a social transformation which produces people of mixed identities. He draws upon "The Orphan of Asia" by Wu Zhuo-Liu as an example of this understanding. Ching also sets forth an interesting critique of postmodernism's hesitancy to draw judgments across cultural boundaries. The "miracle" of postwar Japan, essentially an almost immediate turn from complete external orientation to complete internal orientation and subjectivity, was made possible by the United States' appropriation of Japan's colonies and Japan's immediate alliance with the U.S. in the Cold War. Because of these factors, Japan never had to go through the harsh but important process of decolonization, and Ching shows how this failure affects the identity crisis of Taiwan today. Ultimately the book is oriented around "the politics of identity formation" in which Taiwan must come to hold a national identity which embraces the diversity of elements (Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, aboriginal, etc.) that have formed the ontology of Taiwan through history.

This is a detailed account of the Taiwanese response to colonization under the Japanese. Liu adroitly illustrates the monumental changes afoot in Taiwan of the early 20th Century and builds a strong case to support the idea of a Taiwanese identity seperate from China. Liu follows the steps colonialization drive that can later be seen in the Chinese colonization under the KMT. At times the language bogs down in anthropological terms of art, but is no less a valueable addition to the pool of information available on Taiwan.

This is a good book to point out why China had no claim on Taiwan. Taiwan is a country that had been invaded by so many other countires in its past. Han Chinese are just minority in Taiwan while Taiwanese are the majority. This is why Taiwanese people will decide their future for their own political, economical, and military interests!!