Editorial Review

This colorful and thoughtfully arranged guide provides easy access to Thai history and culture,religion and politics, music, sports, and festivals. From Chiang Mai to Bangkok, Phuket to Ko Samui, themany pleasures, diversions, sites, and activities are detailed in a conveniently usable format. Orchid parksand elephant training centers, wats and Buddhas, beaches, treks, museums, and rainforests--it's all there toperuse and choose. With lists of hotels and restaurants, information on shopping, whitewater rafting, golf,diving, Thai massage, and lots of maps and pictures, Dorling-Kindersley has put together a guide that's bothpractical and beautiful. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

This is simply a gem
This is a good quality book, something you could open and open again.
Traveling To Thailand?
I found Eyewitness Travel Guide for Thailand very informative, and easy to read.It had tons of pictures, facts, FYIs, and did I mention pictures?Like Eyewitness I agree that a picture is worth a thousand words.I also bought Lonely Planet's Travel Guide for Thailand, but liked Eyewitness' much better.Lonely Planet's Travel Guide had a more standard layout for the abundant amount of facts, but was limited on the pictures.The phrase at the bottom of Eyewitness' book holds true, "The Guides That Show You What Others Only Tell You."

Out Of Date
This is a great book with beautiful pictures, maps and nice glossy color pages. The only problem being that it is out of date! Having said that, I would not recommend it for your guide book if travelling to Thailand. Wait for an updated issue.Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Middle East - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Asia / Far East   

Reviews (7)

Another Unique Situation
As other reviewers have pointed out this book is a collection of the author's memoirs and should be treated as such. If a more scholarly work is desired then Bradley Martin's Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader : North Korea and the Kim Dynasty would be a superior choice. However, this book offers insights that few were capable of collecting and remains enjoyable for anyone interested in the "unique situation" in the DPRK. Martin was in and out, but Harrold was a resident.
Very Interesting
I think it must be hard to write a book about North Korea that's not depressing, but somehow Micheal Harrold manages to do just that. Not many westerners have had the opportunity to live in North Korea, so his perspective is unique and interesting. He highlighted many of the problems of the country, but managed to give a certain humanity to his study of North Korea that is lacking in other books about the isolated nation.

Fascinating tale of extreme cross-cultural understanding
Harrold's personal story intrigued me on so many levels.I worked as an English teacher on the southern half of the Korean penninsula during almost the same exact period he was in the North (1987-1993 for me).Much of the xenophobic experiences that he attributes to ideology and politics, is rooted a culture that values much that the West does not:tradition, stability, respect for authority, hierarchical relationships, conformity and consensus.Of course, the DPRK's strident self-reliant communism, coupled with its constant search for "positive strokes" from outsiders greatly exacerbated the author's experiences, relative to my own.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Asia - Korea    3. Harrold, Michael    4. Korea (North)    5. Korea - History    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. North Korea    9. Travel / Asia / General    10. Travel writing   

Reviews (2)

A DAZZLING JEWEL!
THIS BOOK IS HELLA HUGE. IT'S SUPER! THE FIRST PORTION OF THE BOOK HAS WRITINGS WITH SOME NICE TRADITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS. THEN, THERE ARE WONDERUL, MONSTROUS PHOTOS OF PEOPLE IN COLORFUL DRESS, WORKERS AND STREET PEOPLE. THIS BOOK IS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WORTHY. IT'S A REALLY BIG BOOK TOO, AND VERY HEAVY. ANY ONE INTERESTED IN A BASIC CULTURAL OVERVIEW OF INDIA SHOULD GET THIS BOOK. THE PICTURES ALONE MAKE IT WELL WORTH IT.

India by Radhika Jha
For those who collect "coffee table" books, as well as those who have a genuine facination of India, this book is a treasure. The majority of the photos are close ups of people, rather than just the usual landscapes or buildings. The book effective captures a wide range of expression of the many states of this vast country. I felt that it was a very personal book, and offered a delightful viewpoint of the color and beauty that is India. On a different esthetic, I would warn you that this is a large book, almost capable of being a coffee table itself! At 15 by 12 and weighing in excess of 10 lbs, it is not very wieldy for the arthritic or or infirm! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - India & South Asia    2. India    3. Individual Photographer    4. Individual Photographers And Their Work    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Photography Of Specific Subjects    8. Pictorial works    9. Pictorials    10. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    11. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Asia    12. Travel - Foreign    13. Travel - General    14. Photographs: collections    15. Photography / Travel    16. Places & peoples: general interest   

Reviews (3)

Another strong title from Lonely Planet
I ventured to South India, Bombay and Goa, last January, and this book never left my side.As a first-time visitor to the country, I was nervous at first, but the information found in this book helped me to prepare adequately for the trip and navigate my way through this often confusing (but always amazing) country.The guide caters to travelers on a variety of budgets, and offers tips for escaping the white-washed tourist trail to really get a taste of local culture.I would recommend ordering a copy a couple months before leaving- there is much to peruse in the book and region, and it will help you to plan out what you want to see, what you need to pack, and how to get by when the culture shock is hitting hard.

short on detail
India is really too big to be adequately covered in a single guidebook. That was one of the main reasons I used Lonely Planet's "South India" while travelling there in December 2003. Some of the information, particularly prices for accommodation was out of date, but this is to be expected of a guide book that has been in print for more than two years. What disappointed me about this book was that even though it only covered part of India and should be less constrained by space considerations it was frustratingly short on detail in various ways. Some places could have had more detailed coverage and there were still many places omitted completely. I also think Lonely Planet stretches the definition of South India a bit far by including chapters on Maharashtra and Orissa. Less states and more detail would make this guide book much better value for money.

As always, lonely planet excels
You can never go wrong with lonely planet. Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - India    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. India    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (14)

Fabulous Freaks
Another amazing collection of eye candy fashion. I love the full page color photos and the brief descriptions. It is interesting to see how a sub-culture of fashion in itself fractures off into seperate catagories. Like L.O.L.A., european punk, goth, hippie, couture, et cetera. All amazingly creative free spirits. This is a great buy if you like cultures and community, fashion design, or interesting coffee table conversation starters. I love the book "fruits" as well, they are like twins, something to be kept together. I would love to see what changes in style another ten years has brought to Japan. Hopefully I'll run accross that book next. The only irksome bit was the bubblegum text color. It was hard to read at times. And my eyes aren't too bad.

Bambi
I saw the Fruits exhibition a while ago and I wanted this book ever since!! And i have to say that i'm pretty pleased with it!
great pics
Great colorful pics, going to Japan again in Dec and just wanted to peep out what some cats were sporting in the far east. Great book not a wealth of info but good none the less ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Design - General    3. Design - Textile & Costume    4. Fashion    5. Photography    6. Subjects & Themes - Fashion    7. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    8. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Asia    9. Art / Fashion    10. Fashion design    11. Japan   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southwest    2. Description And Travel    3. Elliot, Jason    4. Essays & Travelogues    5. Iran    6. Travel    7. Travel - General    8. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (5)

A very good book
OK, ignoring all the strange hype and anti-hype over going to Myanmar (my in-laws live there), this is a good book.I purchased it as my sole guidebook.Although some of my local guides had a few words of disparagement for some of the restaurant recommendations (they said they were years out of date), it was otherwise a useful tool.If you are going to Burma, buy this book.Really, you'll find it handy.
Response to pepper "pepper".
Uhmmm... the name Buck Naked comes from the "Seinfeld" show. It is the artist name George would use if he were a porn actor...
Stop the moralizing - the people of Burma will thank you
I have been to Burma several times and I know the people I have talked to appreciate my going and communicating their concerns to the world. I believe I can say, with all appropriate humility, that I have been involved with Burma far more than the other reviewers here and am even married to a relative of a member of parliament from the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi's party.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Myanmar (Burma)    6. Travel & holiday guides   

Editorial Review

Originally published in 1953, this adventure classic recounts Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer's 1943 escape from a British internment camp in India, his daring trek across the Himalayas, and his happy sojourn in Tibet, then, as now, a remote land little visited by foreigners. Warmly welcomed, he eventually became tutor to the Dalai Lama, teenaged god-king of the theocratic nation. The author's vivid descriptions of Tibetan rites and customs capture its unique traditions before the Chinese invasion in 1950, which prompted Harrer's departure. A 1996 epilogue details the genocidal havoc wrought over the past half-century. ... Read more

Reviews (71)

An exceptional book
Heinrich Harrer was one of those men you'd describe as a "force of nature," one of the very few Germans to have "a good war" in the 1940s, and a good friend of the Dalai Llama.
Reminiscence of a lost world.
Sadly, Mr. Harrer has passed on recently, but he leaves us with an intellectually inspiring record of what he observed in what was once the free nation of Tibet. Heinrich Harrer was a famous Austrian mountain-climber, and was arrested by the British while on an epedition when World War II erupted. There was a moderately interesting movie somewhat based on the book, but thoroughly "Hollywoodized" with pretty-boy Brad Pitt miscast as Harrer (I think Liam Neeson resembled the actual Mr. Harrer much more). The account begins with a failed attempt to climb a Himalayan peak, arrest and imprisonment by the colonial British government of India, and a number of escape attempts. The one that succeeded resulted in one of the most thorough narratives of life and culture in Tibet in the last years of its existance.
Belonging in Tibet - a book for all ages
Belonging in Tibet - a book for all ages
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Subjects:  1. 1912-    2. Asia - China    3. Asia - India    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Buddhism - General    6. Description    7. Description And Travel    8. Harrer, Heinrich,    9. Historical - General    10. Tibet (China)    11. Travel    12. Religion / History    13. Tibet    14. Travel writing   

Reviews (2)

Haven't gone to India yet But.....
I bought this book with the anticipation of eventuallygoing to India but more so to better understand my Indian in laws.I always felt like there was something I was missing when my husband and I would visit his family.This book explained a few etiquette questions that I had.It's a good starter book but there is always room for improvement.

Culture Smart, India
This is the kind of book every first-time traveler to India needs!It is short and to-the-point, and gives a very concise guide to customs and etiquette that is required learning for Westerners.Other version of the Culture Smart series are available, so if you're traveling outside the U.S., be sure to get one of these incredibly handy guides.These books are small enough to take with you to for a quick refresher course, too! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - India    2. Etiquette    3. India    4. Travel    5. Travel & holiday guides    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel Guides    8. Travel / Asia / India   

Reviews (25)

Best travel book I've read
The author has written an engaging, entertaining, beautifully discriptive book of Yemen.I visited Sana'a about 15 years ago and his book really hits the mark.I particularly enjoy how Mr. Hansen captures the culture and attitudes of the Yemen.He knows that that that culture is 180 degrees from Western culture and he treats Yemeni religion, customs and attitudes with respect and openness - yet does not patronize as do many other travel books.
Yemen, Beneath the Veil
I second the views of several reviewers that this is one of the best travel books they've ever read.Hansen takes us through Yemen as if we were riding (or sailing) with him.I never gave much thought to or knew much about Yemen but, thanks to Hansen, I have a new and positive view of it.His willingness to get out and experience many facets of this country enriches his descriptions.His good humor and sensitivity to its people are gratifying. But this is more than just a travelogue.Hansen's quest for his buried notebooks is a compelling story in itself.That plot and this venue combine to make this an irresistible and meritorious book. I look forward to reading more from this intrepid and gifted writer.

Perhaps, one of the best travel books I have ever read.
Having read literally hundreds of travelogues, I must say this is simply one of the finest I have ever run into. Eric's experiences are unusually wonderful, and his writing is magical. His focus on the Yemeni people and their lives and experiences make this book far more engaging than travelogues that focus on personal experiences, interpretations or places visited and described.
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Subjects:  1. (Eric K.)    2. Asia - China    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Description    5. Description and travel    6. Essays & Travelogues    7. Hansen, Eric    8. Special Interest - Adventure    9. Travel    10. Travel - General    11. Yemen    12. Journeys    13. Red Sea    14. Travel / Adventure    15. Travel writing   

Editorial Review

In 1982, Salzman flew off to teach English in Changsha, China. He writes of bureaucrats, students and Cultural Revolution survivors, stripping none of their complexity and humanity.He's gentle with their idiocies, saving his sharpest barbs for himself (it's his pants that split from zipper to waist whilst demonstrating martial arts in Canton).Though dribs of history and drabs of classical lore seep through, this is mostly a personal tale, noted by the Los Angeles Times for "the charmingly unpretentious manner in which it penetrates a China inaccessible to other foreigners." ... Read more

Reviews (86)

How many times will I read this book?
You know I play the "bumbling mute illiterate" card when I write about China. Salzman doesn't. But, he's not a hard core journalist or political commentator like Ian Johnson. Salzman's love of martial arts brought him to China. Like me, he loved David Carradine in Kung Fu. But, unlike me, he speaks fluent Chinese. He's also quite gifted at writing in English. Get this one.
Poignant accounts
For a couple of years the early 1980s, Mark Salzman was an English teacher and a martial arts master who went to a poor city in China to teach English. Salzman recalls his many episodes and adventures there with vignettes in his book Iron and Silk. He reveals much about the contrast of the Chinese culture from western culture.
China through the eyes of a teacher
I spent several years living in Asia and this movie recaptured many of those memories.While the movie is fairly honest it respectfully portrays Chinese culture from an American viewpoint.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Bibles    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. China    5. Description and travel    6. Educators    7. Essays & Travelogues    8. General    9. Martial Arts & Self-Defense    10. Martial arts    11. Salzman, Mark    12. Travel    13. Travel - General    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Journeys    16. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (4)

An Educating Glimpse of Vietnam
Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth by Frances Fitzgerald, Mary Cross (Photographer) is definitely another one to add to your South-east-Asia booklist. The book is divided into essentially two sections: the first includes the commentary; the second - the photography. The commentary discusses several "down-to-earth" issues and aspects of Vietnamese life and culture and manages to cut through their (only seemingly) simple fabric; the mix of subjects chosen is surprisingly (and refreshingly) esoteric (and authentic). The photography is good, although a bit on the grainy side. All in all - a recommended book for the South-east-Asian culture enthusiast!

Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth
Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth, photographs by Mary Cross and text by Frances FitzGerald, a book of surpassingly beautiful images by the distinguished American photographer and a thoughtful, radiantly intelligent text by the National Book Award-winning author and historian, bringing us the news, not entirely expected in some quarters, that since the devastation of the Vietnam War years, Vietnam has shifted to a market economy that has allowed for a "fascinating resurgence of traditional culture"; another work of surpassing beauty and ambition. Vietnam: Spirits of the Earth
Ever since serving in the Army from 1967-71 I have been curious about what Vietnam is really like. I was never sent over while in the army so all I know was what I read and heard.This book is informatively writen and beautifully photographed. This book is not about the war, it is about the country today. Extraordinary in every sense! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Photo Essays    3. Photography    4. Photojournalism    5. Pictorial works    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Asia    7. Vietnam    8. Photographs: collections    9. Photography / Photojournalism   

Editorial Review

For more than a decade following the end of World War II, Eric Newbytoiled away in the British fashion industry, peddling some of the ugliestclothes on the planet. (Regarding one wafer-thin model in her runway best, hewas reminded of "those flagpoles they put up in the Mall when the Queen comeshome.") Fortunately, Newby reached the end his haute-couture tether in 1956. Atthat point, with the sort of sublime impulsiveness that's forbidden to fictionalcharacters but endemic to real ones, he decided to visit a remote corner ofAfghanistan, where no Englishman had planted his brogans for at least 50 years.What's more, he recorded his adventure in a classic narrative, Read more

Reviews (21)

A Wonderful, Humorous Description of Travel
Eric Newby does an excellent job in writing about his adventures, or misadventures in the Hindu Kush.He is witty in that British way that many Americans may not understand.However, due to the popularity of Britcoms in the United States, Americans should be able to appreciate Newby's not so subtle humor.
Kush comes to Shove
Despite the occasional clunky writing [and who knows maybe because of the rough edges] this book possess a compelling charm that makes it a fun read for the most part, although it does get a tad tedious at times. Frequently hilarious, often amazing, sometimes sad, it is a book well worth the read, even if it is now ancient history.

Very entertaining
I've read Edmund Hillary's latest book.And now, for something completely different, we have Eric Newby's, um, "short" walk in the Hindu Kush.Newby is not at all a champion mountain climber like Hillary.Quite the opposite.But that is part of what makes this book interesting and funny.It is a great travel story, and I recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Central    2. Description and travel    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. General    5. Hindu Kush Mountains    6. Hindu Kush Mountains (Afghanistan and Pakistan)    7. Newby, Eric    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Afghanistan    11. India    12. Travel writing    13. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (2)

About This Book
Artist Book and Exhibition Monograph. Collection of photographs on subject. Possibly the photographer's single most beautiful book. The true first. Precedes all other editions. One of the most exquisite productions ever made by Michael Kenna, Chris Pichler, and Nazraeli Press: Oversize-volume format. A large book in square shape. Red silk cloth boards wrapped in handsome black silk folding slipcase in the Japanese style, with white toggles at the ends. Photographs by Michael Kenna. Text in Japanese and English by Kotaro Iizawa. Printed in Tokyo, Japan to the very highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Published on the occasion of a series of exhibitions in the United States and Japan. "Michael Kenna's photographs have long inspired words such as 'mysterious', 'elegant' and 'hauntingly beautiful', adjectives that likewise describe the Japanese landscape. These photographs are the result of an ideal pairing of artist and subject. Kenna has had a large following in Japan ever since his first exhibition there in 1987. His many subsequent exhibitions and publications in Japan have provided him with ample opportunities to visit and photograph. During the past several years, as this project began to take shape, Kenna's trips became more frequent and intense. The resulting images are stunning" (Publisher's blurb). "He has been reflective when others have been militant, romantic when others have been skeptical. Such isolation can starve all but the most independent of talents, but for these it can provide a sanctuary where visions can develop undisturbed. Kenna is one of these" (The Times of London). Michael Kenna's best book thus far. � 2006, ModernRare.com

BEAUTIFUL!!!
This is another fine offering from the good people at Nazraeli... Makers of EXTRAORDINARILY beautiful limited edition art books, and this one is NO exception.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - Japan    2. Individual Photographer    3. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. South East Asia    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (27)

Almost Kabalic
A Jewish spiritual journey of interfaith connection that is unpoetic as it claims and connects in no other way then that it is a communication between people. It is apparent that two religions will always remain to have many perspectives. Read it for its spirituality context and for its religious zen like experiance.

a chance to learn along with Kamenetz
It's clear that Kamenetz himself learned a lot during the events he writes of, and the book makes it possible to ride on his shoulders through that both the meeting between the Dalai Lama and a delegationfrom across the spectrum of Judaism and his digestion of those events afterwards.The book is centered more on Judaism than about Buddhism, and covers issues such as the principles of Kabbalah in an authentic, nontrendy form and how it fits into mainstream Judaism; the commonalities and differences between Jewish and Buddhist views of the world; the failures of current Jewish religious education, and the effects of the Holocaust on modern Judaism (not just the people killed, but ho it has changed the focus of the religion). It addresses some of the same concerns about assimilation as Anne Roiphe's Generation Without Memory, but by contrasting Judaism to Buddhism and examining some of the people who are in a spectrum between the two ("JuBus") comes closer to finding some answers.

A creative encounter
In 1990 the Dalai Lama invited a cross-section of American rabbis to Dharamsala to discover what Buddhism and Judaism have in common and what they can learn from one another.The author, a more or less secular Jew until that experience, was a member of the group.His book is a little long, but I found it absorbing, although I neither want to nor could myself share this longing for spirituality, let alone for mysticism.But it was moving to read of the Dalai Lama's openness, and of one or two rabbis in the group.It must have been a great experience for them all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Buddhism    2. Dialogue    3. Judaism    4. Judaism - General    5. Judaism - Theology    6. Relations    7. Religion    8. Religious aspects    9. Dharmsala    10. Himalayas    11. India    12. Journeys    13. Kamenetz, Rodger    14. Travel writing   

Reviews (15)

Very Useful, But Could be Much Better!
I did a fair amount of research before deciding to purchase this particular guidebook for my week-long trip to Tokyo.I read much of it on the plane ride over, which is when began to see some of its weaknesses.The book could have stood better editing, for one thing.On p. 11, for instance, a passage reads, "Emperors became largely figureheads, manipulated by a series of powerful regents from the dominant Fujiwara family.The invention of the kana syllabary, " etc., and then immediately following "The emperors were largely figureheads, manipulated..."!
My Favorite Tokyo Resource
My week trip to Tokyo was made much easier with this guide. I researched a great deal before I took the trip using this book and others but this is ultimately the travel guide that came with me.
Mandatory for a trip to Tokyo
I've just returned from my first 10 day trip to Tokyo and had to write about how fantastic this guide book was. The maps were excellent - especially since the streets in Tokyo are not always labeled.They enabled my group and I to find the excellent clubs, shrines, temples and restuarants with ease.All the places we checked out in the guide were fantastic and the paragraph descriptions were insightful and helpful.I will always take a Time Out Guide when traveling going forward! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Japan    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Japan    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Great guide
Just got back from my trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and some areas of China.This guide was invaluable and perfect for my needs.The maps and highlights are great.The photos are colorful and plentiful.I chose this guide over the Lonely Planet because Lonely Planet seemed to have more listings, like hotels and restaurants.My hotel accommodations were already taken care of, so I didn't need that. The Insight Guide gives a good recitation of the history and the contemporary culture.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Guangzhou (China)    3. Guidebooks    4. Hong Kong (China)    5. Macau (China : Special Administrative Region)    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Travel Guides    9. Hong Kong    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (3)

Nice book, Great City
I am going back to Istanbul and Turkey for the fourth time. I am buying a copy of this after seeing the library copy.
Lonely Planet Istanbul
This guide is loaded with information about Istanbul.I have found it very useful in planning my trip.i had at first bought another istanbul guide and found it to be really lacking in substance.Mostly pictures, not much text, lots of platitudes designed to dazzle you, and made of heavy paper that is a drag to carry around.the lonely planet guide is lightweight, informative, good maps, and enough pictures to satisfy.

Oversells the city.Functional.
This books makes Istanbul sound better than it is.While the "relative" descriptions were accurate (such as place A is better than place B) I was not nearly as impressed by the city as it was described in the book.
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Subjects:  1. Guidebooks    2. Istanbul (Turkey)    3. Middle East - General    4. Middle East - Turkey    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. Turkey   

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Description And Travel    3. Railroads    4. Railroads - General    5. Russia    6. Travel    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Siberia    9. Trains & railways: general interest    10. Travel & holiday guides