If you are a history buff or a scuba diver or if you know anyone who is, this is the book to get. Not only does this book go over the history of Truk (Chuuk as it is now known) Lagoon but also the history of all the wrecks contained there from WWII. It also details the attack that the US Navy completed in February of 1944. From the force of ships that participated in the attack to the ships that were sunk.
It has in complete detail of all ships that sunk, what they were carrying, size, etc.

I have been to Truk Lagoon once, bought this book when I came back, and now going back again now that I know more of the history of the ships and planes that I will be diving on again. This book also makes for a great coffee table book that many friends and family will enjoy looking through.!
It is well put together and worth the money for it.

I would recommend this book to all divers and war history buffs interested in the wrecks of Truk. Especially for divers who are planning a trip to Truk. This is the perfect dive planning text for learning about the wrecks before the dives so divers can maximize their bottom time experience. Each wreck has its own chapter with maps and a guide to the highlights of the wreck. There are also photos of the wrecks before they sank and a history of each ship. After a trip to Truk, it is the perfect souvenir -- better than any details in log books! Lots of GREAT underwater wreck photography in color, too.

I received a copy of World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon by Dan Bailey a few days ago. I can not get over the detail with which this book covers this subject. In addition to being a diver's reference book (and a large one at that...an 8 by 11 inch+ hardcover), it is also a highly detailed historical reference. Included are US Navy reconaissance photos, pilot reports from the pilots who were flying missions in Operation Hailstorm attacking these ships, layout drawings of the Japanese installations on the islands, not to mention the history of the sunken ships. This book contains virtually everything I can imagine regarding Truk (and stuff I never thought of). Lots of archival photos and present day photos. This book is a must for any Truk afficionato. A great addition to my library.

Both of his books on this part of the war are more than excellent. There are no more superlatives that can describe the accuracy of the events depicted. Great reading

This is one of the most informative and telling documentation I have ever read. I highly recomend the reading of this book. It would be a great addition to any historian's library. Every page is loaded with personal accounts of what it was really like to fight above the ANGRY SEA! Mr. Carey has captured the true essence of life on a PB4Y. If Spielberg could get a hold of this book, there would be a great movie made.

Mr. Carey has written a great book on a little known aspect of U.S. Naval History. He clearly brings out the suffering and bravery of the combat aircrew that served with Navy B-24 squadrons. His interviews of veterans and the multitude of photographs captures the spirit of fighting above the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

I'm currently taking my first course in Asian Art history, and I wish we were using this text! The Art of East Asia is eloquently and insightfully written and stunningly produced. The authors do an excellent job of bringing the art into the historical and cultural contexts of the time periods when it was produced. The color photographs are plentiful, large, and beautifully printed -- this is an important point, as black and white photos fail to capture the details of either fine brushwork or three dimensional pieces. This book is a tremendous value; it is far superior to other volumes costing almost twice as much. The only limitation to be aware of is that it does not include the art of India.

The entire book is a mine of information complemented by wonderful photographs. It is perhaps the best introduction to an ancient and profound culture. The Japanese and Korean section is a must for any person seriously interested in trying to understand what is a complex and usually inaccessible subject. In particular the masterful text on Japan by Michael Dunn illuminates the often misunderstood area of the overwhelming influence of Zen on Japanese Art. He should be encouraged to write in more detail on subjects with which he has such a commanding knowledge and insight.

This book manages to present East Asian art without mystification, but also without academic stuffiness.An extraordinary combination! If you want an accessible (but not vulgar) introduction to the subject that will whet your appetite for more, this is the book. The illustrations are exceptional. It's incredible that the publisher can put this kind of quality out for the price.

In this trilogy, Kerry Collison captures 3 decades of Indonesian political upheaval from the standpoint of someone who has actually lived through most of what he writes about. When I first picked up Freedom Square I felt it must be strongly based on fact - after reading recently declassified State Department documents on the US role in Indonesia at that time, I find that the books are even more fact-based than I had thought. Before reading them, I knew almost nothing about Indonesia except that it sounded exotic. After reading them, I can't understand how I could have been satisfied with that level of ignorance for so many years.

Collison writes with authority about a subject he knows as well as anyone else in the world. The books are hard to put down, and I lost a LOT of sleep because I couldn't stop turning the pages. If you are interested in exotic locations in general or Indonesia in particular, you must read these books.

An exciting, obviously thoroughly researched trilogy of books which not only carry the reader through the exciting periods commencing with the Years of Living Dangerously to the present but also provide a clever insight into the dangerous machinations of our own political leadership with respect to how we have treated emerging Asian powers. A great read!

What a great way to learn about the Asian cutltures and business practices yet be entertained whilst doing so. I was captured from the outset, the author's style and obvious in depth knowledge of the people and the shadowy world of politics and spies. Kerry B. Collison rates up there with Michener, Forsythe and Wilbur Smith.

The safety tips are outstanding. In depth coverage of every region of the country. The only reason I didn't take it with me to Cambodia was that Lonely Planet had more phone numbers of places to stay and I lost the included map of Cambodia that comes with this book. If this book had had printed in it a map of the entire country, then this would have been the book I would have taken. Great read before going however!

I recently returned from a motorcycle trip around Cambodia and can confirm that this is the only book to take with you - forget the others! Clear and concise, lots of maps, and a lot of "off the beaten path" true adventure travel opportunities.

I carried this book with me for three weeks in Cambodia and I was delighted that I chose this one. The maps pinpoint the hotels and restaurants even in small out of the way towns. This book has maps and towns not even mentioned in other books. Its has excellent coverage and inside information on the 'Big three'-Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukeville and has a huge color fold out map of the entire country on one side and a detailed map of Phnom Pen on the other,The safety and traveling tips are unique and worth the price of the book alone. Wonderfuly easy to read.

I am a dancer and when I looked up "dancer" in the library's book finder, I saw Angelfish. I checked it out and loved it. Also, if no one buys this book soon, then I am definitely going to try to buy it.

Laurence Yep's Angelfish is one of his best ever: a young Asian-American girl breaks an old man's window and finds herself working for a grumpy, disillusioned loner to pay her debt. Her involvement with ballet interests him and she discovers some real surprises underneath his protective mask of ill humor. A sensitive, revealing multicultural story with many facets.

I found this book to be very interesting. The girl, Robin, plugs together the story of a ballet, w/ her interaction w/ a famous chinese ballet dancer, Mr. Cao, from the Cultural Revolution. He blocks out anything that relates to dance or music because of his past, therefor he comes off to be cold-hearted, when inside he is very kind. I thought it was a very good book.

Angkor: Cities and Temples by Claude Jacques, et al undoubtedly presents one of the most enchanting illustrative descriptions of Khmer architectural design and history I've ever seen. The photos are crisp and clean and the printing quality is first class. However, the text, translated from French, is overly technical and lacks a sense of cohesiveness, which would have otherwise made it easier to percieve the "big picture" concerning the period of Angkor.

I had always wanted to visit the Angkor temples.And I was looking for some good books on Angkor. When I saw this book, I immediately bought it inspite of its price. The text is crisp and illuminating. And the photographs are the best I have seen of Angkor. They are so real and dramatic that you feel right there. The only drawback with this book is its size. It is mammoth, making it a reference guide rather than a guide you can bring with you on your travel to Angkor. Nevertheless, only in this book has justice been done to the magnificent temples of Angkor. If there is only one book you buy this year, make it this one.

Angkor Cities And Temples is perhaps one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. Everything about it beckons the reader to remain absorbed in its pages. The text by Claude Jacques is erudite, well-written, and very well translated. The photography by Michael Freeman is astonishingly good. Not only by virtue of his technical skills, which are considerable, but because he handles the art and architecture of the monuments with a tremendous sensitivity to detail and a glorious feel for the way in which light interacts dramatically with stone. Together, the flowing text and luminous colour images provide a wondrous exposure to an ancient world of great sophistication and profound aesthetic development.

This book is the rambling memoirs of Usumah ibn-Munqidh, 1095-1188. His lifetime very nearly tracks the time of the First Crusade through Saladin's reconquest of Jerusalem. Usumah was a member of the noble family of Shayzar, but was exiled by his jealous uncle. He became a high-ranking government official in Egypt, then in Damascus.

Usumah's memiors is an invaluable description of ordinary life during the time of the Crusades. Usumah spends more time in battle against other Muslims than against the Crusaders, and often travelled to Crusader lands for business or on diplomatic missions. His descriptions of Western Civilization are fascinating.

I recommend that you understand the basics of Crusader history before reading this book. Read Runciman vol.1 and 2 and Maalouf's "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes." Both Usumah and the editor assume that you already know basically what happened.

I suggest that you keep Runciman vol. 2 handy at all times. Usumah jumps backwards and forwards in time and it is sometimes difficukt to follow him. He also suffers from the medieval curse of obsessing on a topic and writing about it to death. The topics that fascinate him are wounds and hunting, and his discussion of these topics can get a little tedious.

But overall, a really cool book that I highly recommend to my fellow Crusades-freaks.

Usamah calls his book "Kitab al-Itibar" or "The Book of Instructive Example." True to its title, there is much to learn from this book, but what I found very interesting were perhaps things other than what Usamah wanted us to learn. For example, it was interesting to note the Arab perception of Franks, the relationship between Arabs and Franks during the first of two centuries of crusades on the Eastern Mediterranean, and aspects of the life of a prince and some commoners as well. The stories about hunts are numerous and tend to get boring, but they tell us of a rich fauna that is now largely extinct (lions, leopards, etc.). Usamah's talk of old age provides a sobering philosophical view of life.

What an excellent job by Philip Hitti who translated the manuscript from Arabic! Considering that the manuscript was lacking in things such diacritical marks (dots on Arabic letters), punctuation, etc. it is truly an amazing that he was able to pull this book together in the manner its stands. Thanks to Philip Hitti we can enjoy Usamah's book: it is truly a delightful read!

Unlike any other history book, this is a first hand account, day to day life of an Arab Syrian prince in the time of the crusades; He talks about his advantures, feelings and thoughts, it's just like going back in time almost 1000 years. If you like history and especially the crusades, this book is a must. I go back and read this book every once in a while, it's entertaining and informative.

This is a challenging work.

He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.

Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place

Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.

Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.

As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.

Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.

While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!

Traditionally, four major East Asian languages have used Chinese characters for their writing systems: Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and, of course, Chinese. Wm. C. Hannas knows all of them, and in this book he uses that extensive knowledge to deliver a broadside against the Chinese characters' lack of efficiency as a writing system.

Anyone familiar with John DeFrancis' work on the Chinese language will recognize some of Hannas' arguments (DeFrancis writes the forward for this book and was clearly an inspiration for Hannas' work). But Hannas is more wide-ranging in his scholarship and goes further with his arguments.

The first part of the book introduces the four major languages that have used Chinese characters for their writing systems, introducing them in order of the frequency they presently use the characters. Thus, Chinese -- which is comprised entirely of characters -- is introduced first and Vietnamese -- which no longer uses any characters -- is introduced last. This part describes the history of each languages' writing system and is highly readable.

After the languages have been introduced, the second part of the book critiques the Chinese character-based writing system. This part varies between highly readable sections and some more abstruse sections that deal with linguistic, analytical, and even psychological arguments that require close readings by the layman who doesn't have an expertise or at least a strong interest in those areas. But these arguments are the meat of Hannas' book as he looks at what Chinese characters represent, reading and literacy in Chinese character-based scripts, and even whether those writing systems are really appropriate for East Asian languages as some people have argued.

The third and final part winds down with a look at why reform of the Chinese character-based writing system fails (as Hannas argues it does) as well as what the future is likely to hold for it. One chapter alone is dedicated to the effect computers are having on characters. I found this part the least plausible of the three and also somewhat repetitive as arguments made earlier were restated.

While I agree with most of Hannas' general arguments and found his book both highly interesting and entertaining, I also think he greatly overstates his case. Hannas seems to actually believe that characters are on their way out. The growth in education and wealth, as well as the general social vibrance found in so many of the societies which still use Chinese characters suggests, at the very least, that perhaps inefficiency in a writing system is simply not an important aspect to a well-functioning, modern society -- that whatever impact it has is more negligible than Hannas imagines.

But disagreements over some of its points shouldn't be a reason not to read this outstanding book. Hannas' scholarship, lucid writing, and forceful exposition will give anyone who has experience with any of the East Asian languages that use Chinese characters a wonderful read.

I found this book to be a well written and interesting look at the use of Chinese characters. It uncovers some of the commonly held misconceptions about the use of the characters. It does a very thorough job of examining the differences between them and phonetic alphabetic scripts. The book covers the use of characters in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The view of Hannas is that the characters are "on their last leg". I have discussed this book with several of my Chinese, Japanese, and Korean friends and they all seem to disagree with Hannas and are not in favor of abolishing the use of the characters. Hannas claims that he is not writing from the point of view of a disgruntled Westerner, but sometimes this is hard to believe. The introduction by John DeFrancis states that Hannas is one of the few people (Western or Asian) to have mastered Chinese (several "dialects")Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. I would highly recommend this book for anyone curious about East Asian languages. As an aside, I'm sure that an Asian could find plenty of things about English that do not make sense and should be changed!

This work is a highly polemical look at the writing systems of East Asian languages, specifically those that use Chinese characters. The author is out to demolish standard ideas about the use of Chinese characters in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, and he does a thorough and persistent job of it. The book is accordingly much more exciting than a straightforward introduction to these writing systems could ever be. What is more, the author's insights are pretty well spot on, although not likely to endear him to those who entertain the myths that he sets out to demolish (which includes most speakers of these languages). Bold, refreshing, and definitely recommended.