3 comments about Bold Plum: with the Guerillas in China's War against Japan.

1. The wartime China from 1937-1949 has not been sufficiently discussed in both the academic and popular realms. Bold Plum provides an alternative narrative from the official history-- one that is told by a Chinese woman whose lived an extraordinaray life during the time -- that will surely deepen our understanding of the rising power of the Communist China in rural northern China in the 1940s.
   
   It is my fortune to come across the publication of Bold Plum; it has given me so much information about the wartime China. I bought a copy of it and coudln't put it down. The story is a personal account of the argubly most important time of modern China, a nation was transforming into a socialist state. I highly recommand it to all students and reserachers of the history of (modern) China.



2. The book is a first hand history of the war against the Japanese by Mao Tse Tung and the Chinese during WWII. It was fascinating, could not put it down. Imagine being a young newly wed walking many miles, enduring attacks and hardships, giving birth and suffering hunger in a distant place. Very unique story.



3. "Bold Plum" is a unique contribution to an understanding of Chinese
   Communist organization, methods and policies during the "Anti-Japanese
   War" years 1939-1945. As a retired Chinese-language-trained Foreign
   Service Officer, I particularly value first-person accounts of
   experiences in China that are written objectively. Hsiao-li Lindsay tells
   of her experiences living in Communist-controlled villages
   dispassionately - a rare virtue when too many first-person accounts are written
   with "an agenda". While her husband, Lord Michael Lindsay,
   was working with the Communists to improve their radio communications
   in the struggle against the Japanese occupiers, Hsiao-li
   observed the daily life of the villages in which they lived.
   "Bold Plum" is not only a unique contribution to the literature for the
   specialist, it is also fascinating for the general reader. (In 1955 Lord Lindsay published
   "China and the Cold War" (Michael Lindsay: Melbourne Univ. Press),
   a dissection of the increasingly irrational aspects of Chinese Communist
   policies after the end of World War II).

2 comments about I Came Back from Bataan.

1. This book was one that out of all of the books about the Death March of Bataan, was the most vived.This man came to my school and old us how real that this war that most people just talk about, was so real! This man went through so much and survived it and then went through it again, just to tell people about it. I think that it was a very honorable thing to do.



2. Sgt. Gautier was given some unusual assignments while a prisoner of the Japanese, and he was fortunate to have survived the Death March, prison camp and the voyage to Japan. He gives a gripping account of his experiences, and also provides us insight into the lives of the PoWs after their returned to the States.

   This is a good book. Anyone interested in learning what it was like to be a prisoner of war under the Japanese will find it intriguing.

No comments about Memory - Lucy M Boston Autobiography Japanese Language Book.

1 comments about Neutral War: A Novel of Soul-Chilling Barter, Bioterror, and High-Stakes International Poker.

1. Neutral War is an undetached, unsympathtic, in your face story of the relationship between two men of differing cultures in the years before and during World War II. While I found the pace rather slow and the author seemed entrenched in conveying every fact he discovered it still didn't dispell the honesty, and truth which drips from every word.
   While I would have sincerly liked to have read more of the (fictional??) relationship between the Swedish narrator and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto since this clash of cultures was intelligent and at times humorous, Gold seems bent on pressing us with facts, facts, and more facts.
   
   Is there something wrong with this...not in my book. It was an inspiring and candid look at the protocol of war. It practically proves the adage 'those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.'
   
   Neutral War is 'very' much a book for OUR times and should not be overlooked for thinner, fluffier, more cozy reads.

No comments about Sam.

No comments about Japanese Biographies: Life Histories, Life Cycles, Life Stages.: An article from: Pacific Affairs.

No comments about A Few Memories As a Prisoner of War.

1 comments about Kristi Yamaguchi: Pure Gold (Taking Part Series).

1. ...and for the most part, although it's geared towards a younger audience, it's a great book to have if you are a big fan of Kristi Yamaguchi, mostly for the photos it includes. There are several photos of Kristi in Albertville, both on the podium and standing with her medal after the ceremony that I've not seen in any other book and that brought back great memories of watching it live all those years ago. One of the more interesting parts of this book is that it was written before Kristi decided to turn pro, and talks about her plans for Lillehammer in 1994 (how great would that have been if it had been true?). Some of the photos are incorrectly captioned, and the book doesn't really reveal any ground-breaking information about Kristi or her life that hasn't already been covered in other books, but I recommend it for the photos. If you are a BIG Kristi fan, regardless of your age, this book will fit nicely into your collection. Otherwise, for a better book on Kristi and skating in general, check out her "Figure Skating for Dummies".

2 comments about The Emperor's Angry Guest: A World War II Prisoner of the Japanese Speaks Out.

1. The Emperors Angry Guest was an excellent book and I would recommend it. Mr.Knox narrated his story well. The book was carefully documented. A very good example of the US government's propensity in not paying close attention what is really, truly going on with their own sons lives. These kids were 18-20 years old. The Battan Death March was real and so were the men who were forced at gunpoint to participate in it. A very good historical account...



2. The range of emotion you feel as a reader has its highs and lows to such an extent that one can not put it down until it is finished. The real things in war are not always felt by those who never went to war, but in this book you feel what war is all about, including all of its flaws.

No comments about Ibuse Masuji: A Century Remembered.