Book Description
In 1988, Dr. John Casey, a professor visiting Burma, meets a waiter in Mandalay with a passion for the works of James Joyce, and the encounter changes both their lives.
Pascal, a member of the Kayan Padaung tribe, was the first member of his community to study English at a university. Within months of his meeting with Dr. Casey, Pascal's world lay in ruins. Burma's military dictatorship forces him to sacrifice his studies, and the regime's brutal armed forces murder his lover. Fleeing to the jungle, he becomes a guerrilla fighter in the life-or-death struggle against the government. In desperation, he writes a letter to the Englishman he met in Mandalay.
Miraculously reaching its destination, the letter leads to Pascal's rescue and his enrollment in Cambridge University, where he is the first Burmese tribesman ever to attend.
From the Land of Green Ghosts unforgettably evokes the realities of life in modern-day Burma and one man's long journey to freedom despite almost unimaginable odds.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary!.......2007-02-19
If you enjoy the pleasure of reading a fascinating autobiography written by someone with consummate skills in composition as well as an incredible story to tell- GET IT! This is one of the best reads of 2006 for me. Or, for that matter, of any other year.
Enjoyable and very informative.......2007-01-11
I read this book while traveling in Burma late 2006. It's a powerful and informative book. I recommend it to anyone. In a remarkably enjoyable story, Mr. Thwe explains what it's like to live and struggle for survival under Burma's military dictatorship.
If you visit Burma read this before.......2006-08-31
This book has quite deservedly collected very favorable reviews and I will not belabor the point. I would like to add that I read this book shortly before a visit to Burma nearly 2 years ago. The insights gained, both political and cultural, were extremely helpful to me during the visit.
One of our guides, herself a Shan, was well educated but unaware of this book and expressed a great interest in reading it but I had not carried it with me. Any of you planning to visit might consider taking this along - less obvious than writings of Sang An Su Qui - and leaving it as a gift. I believe many in Burma would appreciate access to this book.
Ulysses springs eternal and from every corner.......2006-08-24
I liked this book immensely on several levels. As an anthropologist, I found it very interesting to get a Padaung's eye view, written in literate English, of his own background, his childhood in the remote, forested mountains of eastern Burma. The author tells of everything---from the strictures of Roman Catholic missionaries in far parts of Asia, to eating dogs, baby wasps, and snakes (with relish), his grandmother's stories, guardian spirits, a Padaung funeral. The Burmese political climate of the 1960s and `70s merely lurks in the background until the author drops out of a seminary and heads to Mandalay to attend university. While information about various remote peoples is not uncommon, it is usually processed by foreign writers who have visited them. FLGG gives it to you from the horse's mouth.
On a second level I admired Pascal Khoo Thwe because I'm an American, grandson of immigrants who left traditional villages in Russia for a new life, a freer life, in America. Odysseys like Khoo Thwe's form the essence of the American experience, but perhaps few are so dramatic---from university student, to jungle fighter to student at Cambridge University to published author. I can easily see the difficulties of becoming a new man (my family took the last name "Newman", but the real story is long) in a new country. I recalled Sir Albert Maori Kiki, a Papua New Guinean born into a Stone Age village, but who became a pathologist and high ranking Minister in his newly-independent country. I once had read his book, "Kiki: Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime" and had been inspired by it.
This leads me to admire the book on a third level. We who live in modern countries, whether East or West, tend to denigrate those who live in poorer, less fortunate nations often suffering under tyrannical regimes. We feel that they may not have the sensibilities that we pride ourselves on. FLGG is a book that will shatter any such belief. The human spirit flies into the heavens from every corner of the globe, in all epochs. We--as Man---are universally capable of the greatest transformations and adjustments, able to surmount suffering. Pascal Khoo Thwe's thoughts and feelings, as expressed in his book, are eloquent proof of this. From a brutal regime which suppressed all independent thought, from a jungle war with no mercy, emerged a thinking, feeling man. I felt proud to be a human being when I finished. I admit that his book even moved me to tears.
A fourth reason why I liked FLGG is that it provides echoes of the same topic found in "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"---the transformative power of literature and its ability to change human nature. As a student of English Literature, no matter how constricted, Khoo Thwe could respond to different ideas, imagine a different world. The theme is not the dominant one as it is in the above named works, but it is there. But now, Pascal Khoo Thwe, a Padaung, has produced a work to stand in company of the works of mankind. Read it.
A Great Read on Burma.......2006-01-04
This is an engrossing memoir. Detailed. Synchs with other things I have read of Burma. I kind of think some of it is a bit, um, self-serving or fictional. A story on steroids. But, with that caveat, enjoy this book and keep it in your Burma collection.
Customer Reviews:
For modellers by the master modeller.......2007-05-17
Francois Verlinden is the foremost model maker of his generation, and this superb book reflects his knowledge of what the intermediate to advanced modeler needs to know in order to produce outstanding results. It should be noted therefore that, while comprehensive, this slim title is not a detailed technical appraisal of the F-16. Rather it is designed to give the model maker sufficient insight to add the kind of details that mark out an every day model from a potential museum piece. Having said that, even if you are not planning to build a model F-16, you'll still enjoy this lavishly illustrated and informatively written book.
Book Description
The F-16, called the Viper by its pilots, has been the most prolific fighter in US and Coalition operations in the Middle East for over a decade. Since the 1991 Gulf War, it has been the workhorse of the UN-sanctioned operations in the region, working in 'Wild Weasel', ground attack and air superiority roles. Operations Southern Watch and Northern Watch required daily and continuous combat patrols over Iraqi territory for over a decade - a task that was made simpler by the bountiful supply of F-16s in USAF service, and the fact that the jet has always been able to assume multiple roles and uses. When US President George W Bush ordered his forces into Iraq in March 2003, the F-16CJ was the second aircraft to enter enemy airspace-proper, sweeping the skies for electrons in a bid to find, identify and kill Iraq's comprehensive air defence system. With the mission fulfilled, hordes of other Coalition fighters followed, including F-16CGs, which were used with great success to strike numerous targets.
Customer Reviews:
Real Airplanes!.......2006-11-05
To remember the Century series you have to be "of a certain age". I'm getting there. I had this book when it was first published and it still has appeal. The author has made a good balance between pictures, text and color plates; all showing the advance designs of aviation and all the colorful heraldtry of the time. This is a book well worth having in an aviation library.
Only book like it.......2001-08-07
The century series of fighter aircraft is unique. They were developed at a time when the air force was transitioning from sub-sonic to supersonice aircraft. Hence, these aircraft looked like nothing that had come before, and were as exotic as the YF-22 or stealth bomber are today. Even today they represent, in my mind, some of the most beautiful and sleek aircraft ever built. This is the only book I have ever found devoted exclusively to these aircraft. The pictures are beautiful, and the text isn't dumbed down to make it appealing to people who just want to look at the pictures. Each of the aircraft gets its own chapter, and is covered fairly in depth. If you build aircraft models, or an amateur air force historian, this is definitely a must have.
Average customer rating:
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Tornado (Modern Fighting Aircraft)
Doug Richardson
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Tornadoes
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ASIN: 0139255044 |
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F-15 Eagle Modern Fighting Aircraft
Mike Gething
Manufacturer: Arco Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0668059028 |
Customer Reviews:
Fighting Jets.......2004-08-27
This book was very informative about the history and future of fighter jets and military aviation. The amount of descriptiveness and pictures of this book made it not only helpfull but also interesting to read. What also made it easy to read was the way it was chronologically set up. Overall this book was really good and a must have for anyone who is interested in fighter jets.
Average customer rating:
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F/A-18 Hornet (Modern Fighting Aircraft)
Mike Spick
Manufacturer: Arco Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Military
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Military Science
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General
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
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ASIN: 0668060719 |
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Nighthawk F-117A (Fighting Forces in the Air)
Lynn M. Stone
Manufacturer: Rourke Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books
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ASIN: 1595151834 |
Book Description
Revised, and with a New Introduction by the Author
"I am an agitator, and an agitator is the center post in a washing machine that gets the dirt out."
--Jim Hightower
Hightower is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore! He's also funny as hell, and in this book he focuses his sharp Texas wit, populist passion, and native smarts on America's political, economic, scientific, and media establishments. In There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos, Hightower shows not only what's wrong, but also how to fix it, offering specific solutions and calling for a new political movement of working families and the poor to "take America back from the bankers and bosses, the big shots and bastards."
"If you don't read another book about what's wrong with this country for the rest of your life, read this one. I think it's the best and most important book about out public life I've read in years."
--Molly Ivins, author of Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
"When do we get to vote for Jim Hightower for president? Will somebody please tell me? When do we get to vote for Jim Hightower for president?."
--Michael Moore, author of Downsize This!
"Listen to Jim Hightower. His is a two-fisted, rambunctious voice unafraid to speak truth to power, eloquently and clearly...He's one of the best."
--Studs Terkel
Customer Reviews:
Essential handbook of American politics.......2006-01-04
Agree or disagree, this book takes you through all the madness of politics since the rise of Clinton - yes, Clinton. Though Hightower is a populist liberal, he takes Clinton to task for being complicit in the gradual decline of the people's voice in government, bowing instead to corporate interests who want everything from tax-deductible CEO salaries (ever wonder why they were so high?) to looser regulations on the food we eat (recent food poisoning cases come to mind). If you're a Republican, you can't blame this book on a Bush-bashing mentality. Democrats have their problems too.
You have to be the change.......2005-04-29
In this book, Hightower mainly goes over corporate greed and how our politicians will cut social programs (that especially effect the elderly and poor), but will keep increasing corporate welfare. He also makes fun of Clinton, Limbaugh and a few others.
More than the politicians though, I blame the American people because most people simply do not pay attention. Recently a survey was given to people who voted in the 2004 Presidential election and 70% of Americans couldn't even name one bill that Congress has passed since January. 70% - and that is the people who voted in the last election, 79 million citizens over the age of 18 didn't even vote. That just gives you a feel for the level of political apathy in this country.
Here is some information from the book:
- The real cause of breast cancer can be linked to harmful chemicals which are dumped by companies.
- Our taxdollars subsidize products being advertised to Japan, or outsourcing jobs to Puerto Rico!
- Basically our media is propoganda for corporations.
This is a entertaining book and Hightower makes it easy for people to understand government policy. I would recommend "Thieves in High Places" over this book though because it is more current :0) Also you can visit www.jimhightower.com if you would like too see some current news or things he is working on.
Good grief! Don't let morality interfere with profiteering!.......2004-09-18
Nobody is safe from the sharpened teeth and wit of this political watchdog, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
Though "Armadillos" is an older book, published in 1997, it is still valid today. And those of you who think he's swinging too hard at Pres. Bush will enjoy watching his energy focused on Clinton, who was Pres then.
This is what I mean when I say Jim Hightower is not necessarily anti-Bush; he is anti corporateering and pro working-citizens. He will aim his sights at anyone, regardless of partisan politics, and expose their greedy, pork-filled underbellies.
"Armadillos" is divided into five basic sections; Class War, The Media, Pollution, and Politics.
In Corporateworld, Hightower exposes such big-money deceptions as Corporatized Medicine. While we sit back and debate whether or not socialized medicine is a worthwhile route, the HMO's and Corporations have taken over our health care to line their own pockets and serve no one but themselves. Also note his timeline comparisons to the old Robber Barons, and the similarities of today's working place. And watch out NAFTA, Hightower is on to you!
In Class War, Hightower emphasizes the growing chasm between the filthy rich and the working-class right here in America. Fortunately, anything this top heavy must eventually topple over, especially when their supporting base becomes unstable. (translate to unhappy and no longer willing to hold them up) Of particular note in this chapter is Hightower's revisiting the origins of our holiday, Labor Day; by itself this makes the chapter Class War shine.
In The Media, Hightower exposes the media bias long before "Out-foxed" was ever made. Anyone remember the 1994 "Telecommunications Deregulation" bill that was supposed to create more competition in the telephone and cable choices we everyday citizens have? How many choices do you have now? If you are like me, there is One Mega-Monster provider that services your area and that is that. I still have no choice and I'm paying 10 times what I used to.
Pollution is the best chapter in the book. Here, Hightower charges in, no holes barred, and shows up the corporate greed, incompetent government agencies, and fat-belly back scratchings that are keeping this country polluted and compromising our health everyday. From meat-packing to organochlorines, no polluter is safe. I have recently read a very disturbing book called "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz, and here in "Armadillos" Hightower proves that what Ms. Eisnitz exposed has been going on for a very long time.
Taking a huge risk here, Hightower even stands up against the "feel good" events such as the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. How dare he attack such a noble and gentle association? Because the sole funding source of BCAM is Zeneca Group, a huge multibillion-dollar corporation named in a 1990 lawsuit for dumping DDT and PCB's into Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. What, you say? Zeneca produces cancer causing, chlorine based pesticides, most of which are dumped into our environment, then has the nerve to tell us women that its our "fatty diets" or our "lifestyles" causing our illnesses. To put icing on top of this putrescent cake, Zeneca also owns a pharmaceutical company that produces a treatment drug for breast cancer. Give it to `em, then charge `em to try and cure it.
During the next BCAM campaign, watch to see if any mention is made to organochlorines and their links to cancer. You won't find any.
The last chapter, Politics, sounds more volatile but is actually a gentle sliding out of the book. Making more and more sense, Hightower warns us that instead of being so partisan, we need to question the ethics of each and every candidate, especially where their monetary interests are.
"Armadillos" is still in tune with the problems of this country, and what I really like about him is that he points out ways for the reader to fight back, so you are not left all riled up with no comb in your hand.
His humor is both sharp and refreshing, and he infuses it heavily into his written works, making palatable even the most horrible of subjects. One of my favorite ideas of his is the Candidate Stickers; just like racecar drivers wear patches and stickers showing their sponsors, so should our politicians. Hightower paints a very funny picture of a debate with sticker-covered candidates, the only part that is not so funny is that while we argue party against party, the candidates are wearing the same corporate logos on their 1K suits.
Hightower uses extensive reference to real occurances here, naming bills and corporations, providing dates, and showcasing the organizations that are making a difference. This is a great book for those just becoming politically aware, and for old veterans of the partisan wars alike. Hightower's witty prose and down-home humor actually make politics a fun read. Enjoy!
awesome book.......2003-08-22
hightower is absolutely hilarious. Being from Austin, Texas, this book is even more incredible to hear the tales again of what goes on here, but from a more truthful perspective than the media. Unlike some "conservative" authors, Hightower criticizes the entire system that's got us where we are- including the democratic party.
Give 'em Hell, Hightower!.......2003-02-14
I voted for Jim Hightower (for Land Commissioner or something like that) way back when I'd just turned 18 and was able to vote for the first time. I'm very glad to see he's still fighting for the little guy. I live abroad, and whenever anyone asks where home is, I always used to proudly say, "Texas!" These days, it's getting harder and harder to be proud. At least with Bush the First, we could say, "Well, he's not really a Texan." But Junior...well, there's really no denying it, is there? He embodies every negative stereotype of the Texas millionaire.
But when I read Hightower, I remember all the good things about Texas, and about America, too. People like Jim Hightower and Molly Ivins make me proud to be a Texan and an American--people who cut through the lies and take on the big boys without a drop of fear in their hearts...just because it's the right thing to do.
Book Description
Soon after her fiftieth birthday, Melissa Walker set out on a journey that many women of her generation have mapped only in their dreams. Having spent her adult life raising children and climbing the academic ladder, Walker decided to put some of the environmental theories she'd taught into practice. Leaving her suburban life, she ventured into the wilderness.
Like many American chroniclers before her who have surrendered to the aimless pleasures of the road, Walker had no geographical destination in mind, but she did have two definite goals--one personal, one political--for her journey. She was looking for the peace and solitude of the backcountry, certainly, but she also wanted to learn the dynamics of preserving wild places and to devote herself to that cause.
Walker took off on three extended solitary trips over the next two years, establishing a way of life for herself that continues to this day. In the Sky Islands of southern Arizona, on the banks of the Popo Agie River and the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming, in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, and Olympic National Park, in Gila and Glacier Peak Wilderness, she encountered the hazards of wild animals and extreme weather, and she began to reassess what parts of her life she could control. Her belief in the primacy of individual achievement changed as she confronted the hidden structures of life. And her understanding of her environment broadened when in addition to grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions, she also met ranchers, loggers, cowboys, and outfitters whose livelihoods depend on activities that may threaten wilderness.
Living on Wilderness Time is a book for those who have visited wild places and want to return and for others whose overcommitted urban lives make them long for land where time is measured differently and human beings are scarce. Above all it is a call to join those, like Aldo Leopold, who see wilderness as vital to the human community.
Customer Reviews:
Inspirational.......2007-10-08
Very Inspirational when we all loose ourselves in the hustle of everyday life, I have adapted the saying Wilderness Time every time I feel rushed, it has a calming effect on me now, even being a outdoor addict, there are many of times I feel rushed in the outdoors. The book has made me appreciate that time more.
I did not give the book 5 stars, simply because there was to much reference to Melissa being with someone, in a resort, in a hotel, and not being "alone" as the book lead me to beleive, I realize all the people she was with were for resources, but it got to be to much. Pretty picky I know! I always felt there she be more to the story that never got answered or told.
WONDERFUL BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2005-12-28
My sister told me to read this book and I liked it so much, I returned the half read book to the library and bought one of my own so I could savour it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (She is right, I live in Washington, and the Olympic National Park is west of Seattle, not east as the text says.)
LOVE THIS BOOK(couple of errors though).......2005-11-21
I loved this book. I can't imagine having the "guts" to do what she did, I feel too vulnerable as a female. We are too easily overcome by strength, but I think she used her wits not to put her into these situations. I loved it when she hit the guy in the stomach for blocking her in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There were two mistakes in the text however: page 65 "when I thought I might encounter the largest predator to roam the wilderness." The male polar bear is the largest land predator to roam the wilderness I believe, not the grizzly, and upon checking several resources they seem to agree. page 73: "then the next day we drove all the way across the state of Washington to the Olympic Peninsula National Park, east of Seattle." Upon checking a map, this peninsula and park appear to be west of Seattle. When I read mistakes like this in books I wonder why they haven't been caught by editors?????
I LOVE this Book!.......2005-07-03
I actually learned of this book from the author on a rainy Georgia afternoon while touring her beautiful backyard garden which was part of a local tour. She and her husband Jerome were so interesting and kind to me and my tour buddy whom I also just met that day! This all proves once again, there are no accidents.
After our garden tour, Jerome led us on a tour of his photography gallery. He explained that he took the stunning pictures when he joined Melissa several times out on her wilderness adventure. The sights were spectacular.
Since I had traveled by car/van out west myself in my 20's and 30's, I was curious about a 50 year old gal out on her own in a tent! Immediately on returning home I ordered the book. I could hardly put it down! WOW, did she have some amazing experiences out there!
Melissa is descriptive in the scenery, the people she meets along the way and her personal feelings and challenges while touring our nations wilderness country alone . . . and with a few new found friends from the trails.
As a woman who's recently turned 50, I can relate to her own life curiosities of wanting to make a difference in our country. The fact that she actually made the quest on her own, and lived to tell the tale is so inspiring!
Her travels make it seem possible that I too could pack up my CRV and hit the road again with a more deliberate purpose and find my own calm inner spirit by becoming one with our Motherland.
This would make a great gift book for any woman who is at, or is reaching, that middle age point of life re-evaluation and personal self discovery. It's a book you'll cherish if you love the out of doors, animals, big skys and peeing in the middle of the wide open spaces! Her personal humor is a blast!
Buy it, read it, share it with others! I feel blessed to have met Melissa and Jerome. They are now a part of my life journey!
Made me get off my bum.......2004-11-01
Melissa Walker was 51 in 1993 when she realized she needed to "go to the wilderness." She suffered from "hurry sickness." Having raised two children and been a college professor for 20 years, her life was crammed full, jam-packed, harried and hectic.
Walker decided to learn about the preservation of wild places, and to do so, she did what so many of us dream of - she packed up, hit the road and DID IT. She writes, "In 1993 I took off from home on the first of three solitary trips extending over a 15-month period and totaling more than 200 days. Living on Wilderness Time grew out of events during that time."
Although Ms. Walker is brutally honest about the aching desperation one must feel for our earth, there is inspiration here for all of us. I, for one, not only feel it's my obligation to begin educating myself about channels for DOING something to help Mother Earth, but I am excited about it. I may not be able to live in the wilderness for 200 days, but I can certainly learn from Melissa Walker's wilderness experiences. And who knows? I may even try to live a little on wilderness time.
Books:
- Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of Curtis Turner
- Genius: A Photobiography of Albert Einstein (Photobiographies)
- Good Bones and Simple Murders
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Hons and Rebels (New York Review Books Classics)
- I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory
- I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941 (Modern Library Paperbacks)
- ICE BOUND: A DOCTOR'S INCREDIBLE BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL AT THE SOUTH POLE
- In Search of the Promised Land: A Slave Family in the Old South (New Narratives in American History) (New Narratives in American History)
- Intimacy With Christ
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Broken Music: A Memoir
- Washington's Crossing
- The Seductive Impostor
- The Return of the Dancing Master
- The Sunlight Print Kit: Materials, Techniques, and Projects for Homemade Photography
- Why
- Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph
- Kenneth Noland: The Nature Of Color
- The Night Gardener: A Search for Home
- Global Seagrass Research Methods
Letters from Burma
The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma
Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma)
Finding George Orwell in Burma
Burmese Days: A Novel
