No comments about Autobiography of an Ex-White Man: Learning a New Master Narrative for America.

No comments about A Passionate Pen: The Life and Times of Faith Fenton.

No comments about Under the Holy Lake: A Memoir of Eastern Bhutan (Wayfarer Series).

5 comments about Earth and Water: Encounters in Viet Nam.

1. This book is unusual, for it offers readers a sense of the sights, feelings and sounds of Vietnam in the late 1990s. Shillue is an honest reporter, who travels to Vietnam without war baggage. She writes like a dream and the only criticism I have of the book is that I wanted more. Read it.



2. I am enjoying this book, but the numerous grammatical errors (ex.: the use of "it's" to indicate the possessive, as opposed to "its") are beginning to prove distracting. In this day and age, there is no excuse for such inattention to detail on the part of the publisher.



3. Excellent Read! In the early 1990s I was an American businessman living in Vietnam and this well written book takes me back to the country and a time which I still miss every day.

   It reminds Americans that Vietnam is a place and not a war.

   If anyone wishes to see and feel Vietnam and Cambodia as they are today this is THE book to read. I look forward to Ms Shillue's next book.




4. This book was alright, a good description of Vietnam for those that have never been and want to know what is about over there. I studied in Hanoi for four months during college and it was a real trip back for me while reading this, especially when the author speaks of her visit to Hanoi. I stayed in Bach Khoa while I was there and lived in that very neighborhood for four months and it made me very nostaligic. However, the author tended to irritate me at times with what I saw as an attitude towards the culture and traditionalism of the northern region. Frankly, I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would...but then again I'm very biased when it comes to Vietnam since the country means a lot to me...



5. As a child of the Vietnam era, I've long been curious to find out what became of the people that populated the Time magazine of my youth. Shillue brings up to date with a personal look at the lives and times of the Vietnamese. It is reassuring to hear about the resiliency of the Cambodian people and I was glad to see that Shillue's first-hand accounts bring us right into the lives of those we left behind. I particularly liked when she compared contemporary Americans to their counterparts in Asia.

5 comments about The English Governess at the Siamese Court: Being Recollections of Six Years in the Royal Palace at Bangkok (Oxford in Asia Paperbacks).

1. While this book was extremely helpful in my research on Anna Leonowens I believe the reader does not get a true picture of her life because there are many gaps in the story. She fails to go into depth on the matter of her popularity with slaves when she often paid for their freedom. I recommend this book for people trying to get a sense of the history of Siam and some stories of her life, however, it may be that she never taught the king's children at all and never met the king. I would recommend Anna and the King of Siam for extensive research.



2. Anna Leonowens is a controversial figure even now. Her name may not even have really been Leonowen (but the more common Welsh Owens), her husband not dead from heatstroke in a tiger hunt, but from drink, and not a British army officer at all. Nevertheless, her account of her time in Siam as the royal governess is ever popular and fascinating reading.

   Anna wrote several books, The Romance of the Harem being another. Both this and the Romance were novelized by Margaret Landon into the more familiar Anna and the King of Siam.

   Part of the controversy stems from the fact that any criticism of Thai royalty is not tolerated in that country. The king is held in a religious esteem and is the heart and soul of the country. So Anna's casual remarks on the king's temper and habits are practically heresy to the Thai, hence, she and her writing are targets for criticism. And what's worse, her pupil Chulalongkorn or Rama V, is Thailand's MOST revered king--kind of a Thai saint. His portrait is found in nearly all Thai homes and businesses.

   Having that as a background, it's still fun to read Anna's account of her time in Thailand. Though many people feel that Anna distorted or hid the truth about herself in many ways, the book gives a fascinating look into a magical land. Anna's writing is typically Victorian; the prose is a bit ornate and not as direct as the writing of Landon.




3. I am thai, and I feel that it is my obligation to make a comment about this book. In all fairness, I think it is a 'fun' book to read, providing that the reader is aware that it is mostly fictionalized. Anna wrote a much distorted story of her time as an English tutor in the royal court of Siam, mostly glorifying herself without concerns for any real accuracy. When I was younger I was fascinated because this book was/is banned in Thailand, and so I wanted to find out more and did an extensive research. I learned that Anna's account is mostly ego-centric, euro-centric, and sensationalized. She created many fictional details of her own life to make herself sounding glamorous (for example, she said she was a daughter of a high-ranking British army officer and a genteel lady,when in fact she was a ... child of a petty soldier and an indian prostitute. Her husband was a drunk, etc.) If anyone would bother to do more research, he/she would also find that King Mongkut (Rama iV) was a wise, gentle, highly educated monach with a supreme, long-ranged vision to lay the foundation to modernize Thailand and prevent the country from being colonized by European Imperialism. He was a priest and a scholar,who rather chose/preferred to live within religious confinement for many many years before he had to finally ascend to the throne as an old man after his brother passed away. FYI, With fine, white hair, he was a very thin and fragile-looking man---not at all what all the musicals and movies have portrayed him to be. Because of him Thailand is the only country in Asia that has never been colonized. And King Monkut would have done it with or without Anna being around! Mongkut's son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) indeed carried on his father's legacy. Wise, modern, and highly educated(a result of his father's effort), King Chulalongkorn abolished slavery, created the first public university/public elementary and secondary school system and railroad and telecommunication system, reorganized the government and army infrastructure, etc---that is why he became one of the most beloved king in the Thai history. But all of this could not have happened without King Mongkut's vision in the first place. Anna's portrayal of King Monkut as a temperamental, insensitive tyrant/barbarian/womanizer is therefore downright offensive and insulting to the thais, NOT because we can't stand any criticism of our royal family, but simply because we know that most of her account is not true! About the violence/punishments/the concubine 'harem' of the royal court, please remember that this was a very different time. Such practices were common in many cultures and countries and not just in Thailand.



4. I recently listened to an unabridged version of this book on CD. There was surprisingly little time spent on actual personal happenings between Anna, the king and the court. She really does get into the history, culture, art, customs etc. of Siam in the 1860s. Three quarters of the book is taken up with this very kind of detailed and endless information. Nadia May, with incrediable skill and a voice that is as prim and English as Anna's, adds to the diminsion of this narrative. Her amazing ability at pronounciation helps capture a real sense of time and place. If one is looking for the glamous story from broadway or the movies--be ready for a disappointment. For a person fascinated by the culture and history of this country as well as interested in the English view, then, get your walking shoes on and have a nice listen to Anna's story.



5. Your decision to purchase this book depends mainly on what it is you seek. If you expect an interesting and easy-flowing narrative, such as portrayed in movies and musicals claiming to be based on the book, you will be sorely disappointed (as I was). If, however, you hope to find a long and intricately-detailed account of all things Siamese, -- her history, court protocols, geography, literature, art, culinary offerings, imports, exports, manner of travel, religion as it relates to Roman Catholicism, architecture, precious metals, customs, superstitions, foreign relations, clothing and hair styles, manner of war craft, flora and fauna, "etc.", -- sprinkled with minimal anecdotal vignettes of Mrs. Leonowens' experience in the many-faceted country and not at all mentioning cats, you, my friend, are in for a very special treat.

No comments about The Education of Henry Adams.

No comments about McCormick of Rutgers: Scholar, Teacher, Public Historian (Studies in Historiography).

1 comments about Studies on Modern Scholarship.

1. First, please note that Amazon has put in the wrong book descriptions here. This is *not* a book by Bowersock, about pagan fiction. [Perhaps that is Bowersock's "Fiction As History"]. What "Studies" is is a posthumous collection of academic articles about historians, written by Arnaldo Momigliano (and *edited* by Bowersock and Cornell).

   Momigliano was an eminent historian. He received the MacArthur "Genius" award in 1987, while a visting professor at the Univ. of Chicago. He died later that year. One of Momigliano's passions was writing biographical studies of historians, such as those collected here.

   The historians covered in each essay are: Creuzer, Grote, Rostovtzeff, Burckhardt, De Sanctis, Syme, Croce, Beloch, Bernays, Droysen, Coulanges, Reinhardt, Eduard Schwartz, E. A. Freeman, Eduard Meyer, Niebuhr, Dumezil, Muller, and Bachofen. The essays are presented in order in which they were written, from 1946 until Momigliano's death.

   I have in fact only read chapter 16 so far ("New Paths of Classicism in the Nineteenth Century"), and appreciated it greatly. I felt compelled to put in an accurate description of the book's contents because Amazon had so clearly made a mistake. When I can finish the whole book I hope to write a more complete review.

No comments about Booker T. Washington And Black Progress.

5 comments about True Notebooks.

1. True Notebooks is an insightful account of Salzman's volunteer experience as a writing instructor for juvenile offenders. It soon becomes apparent that he is as skillful as a teacher (although his instruction methodology for his students is not revealed) as he is a writer. The penetrating essays of his students are riveted with emotions of anxiety, guilt, revenge, remorse and love. Neither Salzman nor his students make excuses for their actions, but they too are challenged with their search for an explanation of their criminal behavior. The nature of the beast is self-analyzed, then exorcised through the newfound elixir of writing.
   
   Interestingly, the spoken language of the inmates is loaded with expletives; every response has one. Yet, expletives do not appear in their written essays!
   
   Salzman writes with such straight-forward, digestable language; it is hard to accept his revealing admission that he struggles greatly as a writer. His struggle is rewarded in the final product.



2. I taught English to boys in Central Juvenile Hall in LA every day for years. This book refers to conducting a writer's workshop. This book is an interesting slice of life of a selective audience, not a view reflecting the broader population.
   
   About 75-80% of the kids are not able to function above the 4th or 5th grade level. Many are not literate in any language. There are a few who are very articulate. These kids come from all walks of life.
   
   If the purpose was to really communicate the writing of kids who are in juvenile hall, I think this book missed it. If the attempt was to share some writing of a few incarcerated kids who messed up, it is fine.
   
   Of course, everyone wants to work with the responsive one. The saddest were the ones who had done so much glue that they couldn't even remember their birthdays...



3. Better him than me. I just finished reading this for my third time, which is my typical reaction to a Mark Salzman title. Look up everything he's ever written, read them all, enjoy the movie based on one of his books, and thank me. You just can't go wrong with this guy.
   
   Looking at this book in particular, I devoured it like it was new to my bookshelf. I just couldn't stop myself. I had some work I was supposed to be doing and I just rescheduled. Yeah, it's good to be the boss. Even better to have such a great book to read. It's still a keeper.



4. Very easy read, very informative on what its like for these juveniles who are caught up in our legal system. My words for review cannot describe how good of an account this is.



5. I was assigned to read this book for my Honors English 10 class, and I must admitt, I was not too thrilled with this being chosen for me. This is nowhere near my type of book. I like to read suspense and thrillers with the occasional teen books (you have to admitt they're hilarious), so I thought this would either be a waste of time or a major let-down. To my surprise, I loved it!
   
   I figured it had to have somewhat substantial writings done by these kids in juvie, but I never expected them to make such a profound impact on the way I envisioned freedom and justice.
   
   The works that Salzman included that were written by the HROs (high-risk offenders) astonished me.
   
   This book teaches a vital lesson to society and life in general with the only downfall I saw as beimg the kids don't always get that happy ending that you're hoping for, but hey, neither does life all the time...