So Far from the Bamboo Grove (rpkg)

Book Description

Though Japanese, eleven-year-old Yoko has lived with her family in northern Korea near the border with China all her life. But when the Second World War comes to an end, Japanese on the Korean peninsula are suddenly in terrible danger; the Korean people want control of their homeland and they want to punish the Japanese, who have occupied their nation for many years. Yoko, her mother and sister are forced to flee from their beautiful house with its peaceful bamboo grove. Their journey is terrifying -- and remarkable. It's a true story of courage and survival.

Customer Reviews:

Based on her old memory, some are not corrent, though........2007-09-08

Her writing is both attractive and shocking even to adults. Even though there are diputes regarding distorting the historical fact, her story is touching and also good.
One thing I feel sympathy is that the setting she described is far from truth. Were it not for the odd setting, this story could be more attractive even in Asians who had had terrible memories toward Japanese army during the World War II.

Due to the severe weather, bamboo has not been growing up in northern part in Korea. Besides, Korea was divided into North and South Korea in 1948. Since the setting is 1945, Japanese ruled in Korea, which means there were no organized communist army at that time in northern part in Korea.

Despite those flaws, this book is worth for discussions among people especially who are aware of Asian history.

Please read this book from the beginning to the end carefully........2007-08-20

I purchased this book after I had heard an argue over this book between Koreans and this author. Koreans said this book is showing fabricated history, and this author said it is the true story. Koreans even kicked this book out of libraries in the U. S. The author said sorry for misunderstanding.
I have parents, who are the same age with this author. To tell you the truth, this book is the part of true history.
My parents, one is from North Korea and the other is from South Korea. My parents had told me so many times about WWII and Korean war, how they survived. That is the reason why I am saying this book is the real history. Koreans, please read this book carefully from the beginning to the end. This author was appreciating to Koreans, who helped her big brother to escape from North Korea. The rape incidents are true. My parents told me that there were so many mad Koreans to try to revenge Japanese. In North Korea, there were Russian soldiers raping any age Korean women. In South Korea, it was chaos. Yes, it is true that Japanese took Korean girls to sexually serve Japanese soldiers. However, because of that reason,after WWII, a few mad Koreans tried to kill Japanese, who were in Korea. In Japan, a few mad Japanese tried to kill Koreans, who were in Japan, too. Please, peple. This it the real tragic story behind war. There are innocent people. Even though the country started the war, still there are so many other nice people behind of this bad decision.
Back in before 1945, there were a lot of Japanese and Koreans, who leanred each other's languages. But also, there were some people, who only knew how to speak the other language. One of my mom's friend, who had been in Japan before 1945, came back to Korea after WWII ended, but did not know how to speak Korean. She was misunderstood as a Japanese to Koreans. She and her family were almost beaten to dead by Koreans.
Hatred is making people to be blind. There are no perfect people. Even nice people can make mistakes.
Please no more fighting... It does not help anything.
To know each other, to understand each other, please read this book carefully. And please do not judge anyone because some of those bad people's mistakes.

Trash.......2007-05-29

Don't waste your time on this book. It's full of lies and distorts the truth. The japanese still refuse to apologize for their horrific war crimes/crimes against humanity.

Excellent Book.......2007-04-28

So far, this book has been the best I've read. It wasn't a boring book about somebody's life, but it described every little detail that Yoko experienced during her frightening journey. This book was graphic, but I believe that's why I enjoyed this book. I like reading novels that tell you stuff like that because it makes it easy to picture how difficult and stressful this trip was for Yoko and her family. I definitely recommend this book! *****

I am simply confused by these comments by "kid's review" and "a reader".......2007-04-22

This might be a "well written" book, but it is completely distorting the truth about the Japanese WW2 aggressions and atrocies. It makes as if atrocies were committed by the victims rather than the aggressor. If you knew even a bit of history, you would have some misgivings and the second thoughts about why the author wrote this book and why she is trying so hard for this book to be adopted by the elementary schools around the U.S. Depiction of mindless rapes and atrocies committed by the Koreans and Russians in this book could have happened, however what does she say about those close to half million comfort girls and women who were forcefully removed from their homes and brutally raped by Japanese soliders day after day and had to live as sex slaves for the duration of the war. Most of these women were never compensated for the crimes committed by Japanese government and people to this day. On top of that, Japanese government continually denies the atrocities by their soliders and civilians during the war (although it's partially due to lawsuits which may result from their admissions). You might say that this is a story about a Japanese girl and writing her memoir about WW2 although I seriously question whether this book is suitable for the elementary school kids considering the level of violence depicted in this book.

If Anne Frank were a German and she were still alive to this day and if she wrote about the mindless rapes committed by Jewish resistance fighters and Jewish American soliders after WW2 and no mention was made about the Holocaust during WW2. Wouldn't you think that is a DISTORTION of history?

If they were going to adopt this book as the textbook for the elementary school kids, they should at least adopt another book written by a Chinese or Korean author talking about a girl who was amidst of Nanking Massacre or a girl kidnapped by Japanese soldiers during WW2 to serve as sex slaves. That should give a balanced view of what really happened during WW2 and should mitigate unfounded stereotypes about certain ethnicities or racial groups.

And who are these "kid's review" and "a reader"? They are writing unanimous praise of this book. Somehow, the same person is writing two dozen reviews and trying to promote this book. Do you smell something fishy here?

Bamboo World: Clumping Bamboos & How to Use Them

Average customer rating:

best bamboo book out of print!???

Bamboo World: Clumping Bamboos & How to Use Them
Victor Cusack , and Deidre Stewart
Manufacturer: Kangaroo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0864179340

Customer Reviews:

best bamboo book out of print!???.......2001-11-17

Bamboo World is one of the very best , most comprehensive,most
detailed , best photographed, authoritative texts on bamboos
and clumping bamboos especially that there is (was!) available.
Why the heck it would now be out of print is a real mystery.
It is also a pity and a blow to those of us cultivating
clumping bamboos.
This book is IT for those who do.
Bring it back into print ASAP....
please ;^)

Average customer rating:

Warning!
Well pleased
Very detailed and very useful
Great book
excellent and comprehensive

Bamboo World
Victor Cusack , and Deirdre Stewart
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Australia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0743200667

Book Description

'Each year during the shoot season, we stand spellbound in our beautiful botanical garden, gazing in awe at the newly emerging shoots of tropical giant bamboos. They thrust the earth aside in great clods as they heave their mighty bulk from beneath the earth.'

The object of this book is to communicate a wealth of knowledge, both scientific and practical, to those with little knowledge of the fabulous clumping bamboos of the world. Few people seem to be aware of the existence of these clumping bamboos. Their experience and attitudes have been soured by the invasive running bamboos.

The Western world is not yet taking clumping bamboos seriously. Most Asian countries treat this fastest growing, annually renewable resource with great reverence. Bamboo feeds them, houses them, graces and shades their environment. It is used to make their musical instruments, cooking and eating utensils, furniture, hunting weapons, and ceremonial artifacts. It even provides the reinforcement for their concrete. Bamboo provides their carrying and storage baskets, lamps and lampshades, ropes and strings, roof tiles and hats, and has hundreds of other practical and spiritual uses.

Bamboo World distils simple practical advice on using bamboo for a wealth of applications. It draws on both traditional village technology and modern scientific research, accumulated over the author's many years of travel, practice, research, growing, and association with village communities and scientists from many countries.

Customer Reviews:

Warning!.......2007-02-17

I ordered this book in Nov 2006, and it still has not shipped, yet Amazon are still quoting 4-6 weeks shipping!

As I live in Oz this will bump the price up by $12 as there is no way to add books to my order that are in stock..... Grrrr!

Latest shipping date is March 14, this is the second update since November.

The one star is for Amazon, not the book. :)

Well pleased.......2006-03-11

I live in an area of So. FL. which was devastated by Wilma. Australian pines which had been my sight and sound barrier were destroyed. I decided to plant bamboo as a perimeter, but was in a quandry about how to proceed, except that I didn't want runners.I have looked at other "bamboo" books without enthusiasm. I ordered this book sight-unseen, because it sounded perfect for me. And it is perfect for my needs. It deals with everything I want to know (such as propogation) and many things I think I don't need to know (such as how to construct furniture and huts from bamboo.) Thankfully, it excludes the runners and concentrates on what I want.
A friend asked if there was a clumper which grew to about eight feet. We went to the book and found the answer. I recommend this book highly. It is literate and to the point.

Very detailed and very useful.......2005-10-18

This book is very detailed and reads very easily. Victor's passion for bamboo is obvious and he provides detailed information on just about every aspect of working with bamboo. He gives useful information on identifying, planting, caring for, harvesting and construction using a huge variety of bamboos. He includes great information on building joints for bamboo and different treatment styles. There's even a few DIY projects included to help you build furniture or even a small shelter.

The information is unashamedly biased towards the more useful 'clumping' bamboo, rather that the more weed-like 'running' bamboo, but most of the DIY tips can be used for both. After reading the book, Victor has convinced me that clumping bamboos are the ones to use and that running bamboos should be avoided.

The only small shortcoming I found is that Victor, being based in Australia, is very detailed when it comes to Asian and Australasian bamboo species. For species in South America however, (which I am working with) he is a little brief. Apart from species identification however, everything else he talks about seems to apply equally to South American species (although it will be a little while before I know all the results!).

Great book.......2005-09-01

This is a very comprehensive book about bamboo. The diagrams and pictures are very good at showing everything you might want to know about bamboo. It has lots of pictures of projects that you can make with bamboo and has lots of connecting strategies for working with it. Some of the other books I've seen have been a little more limited in this. The only negative I saw was that the pictures look a little dated. (70's ish) Not a big deal though. Definitely worth the price.

excellent and comprehensive.......2002-02-04

An excellent resource which I have used extensively both for agricultural research as well as for my home garden. The most comprehensive guide to bamboo culture that I have come across. Highly recommended.

The Bamboo Gulag: Political Imprisonment in Communist Vietnam

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The Bamboo Gulag: Political Imprisonment in Communist Vietnam
Nghia M. Vo
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

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Vietnamese Boat People, 1954 and 1975-1992

ASIN: 0786417145

Book Description

This comprehensive review of the gulag system instituted in communist Vietnam explores the three-pronged approach that was used to convert the rebellious South into a full-fledged communist country after 1975.

This book attempts to retrace the path of these imprisoned people from the last months of the war to their escape from Vietnam and explores the emotions that gripped them throughout their stay in the camps. Individual reactions to the camps varied depending on philosophical, emotional and moral beliefs. This reconstruction of those years serves as a memoir for all who were incarcerated in the bamboo gulags.

Average customer rating:

A tropical gulag archipelago

Bamboo Palace: Discovering The Lost Dynasty Of Laos
Christopher Kremmer
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Australia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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Sunsets, Bulldozers, And Elephants: Twelve Years in Laos, The Stories I Never Told

Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos

Another Quiet American: Stories of Life in Laos

A History of Laos

The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future

ASIN: 0732277566

Book Description

Twenty years after the Indochina wars, Christopher Kremmer visits Laos-at the crossroads of change in southeast Asia. He begins his journey in the tranquility of Luang Prabang, once the royal capital. With its ancient culture and stately airs, the town-like Laos itself-is a place of secrets, mysteries and nagging questions.

Setting off in search of the lost royal family, a 600-year-old dynasty consumed by the violent troubles of the 1960s and 1970s, Kremmer reveals a small land-locked corner of Asia struggling to deal with the legacies of the US war and Asian communism. Bamboo Palace begins as a travelogue, turns into a mystery and ultimately redefines a nation's history as Kremmer journeys through Laos to uncover one of Indochina's darkest secrets.

Customer Reviews:

A tropical gulag archipelago.......2006-09-08

This is the true, tragic story of what actually happened to the last king of Laos, his family, and his associates, and those loyal to the crown, as the Communist Pathet Lao buried them in their jungle gulags. A must read for anyone interested in Southeast Asia, and especially for those who visit that beautiful country. A great piece of investigative journalism.

Behind the Bamboo Curtain: China, Vietnam, and the Cold War (Cold War International History Project)

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Behind the Bamboo Curtain: China, Vietnam, and the Cold War (Cold War International History Project)

Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Southeast Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0804755027
Release Date: 2006-10-26

Book Description

Based on new archival research in many countries, this volume broadens the context of the U.S. intervention in Vietnam. Its primary focus is on relations between China and Vietnam in the mid-twentieth century; but the book also deals with China's relations with Cambodia, U.S. dealings with both China and Vietnam, French attitudes toward Vietnam and China, and Soviet views of Vietnam and China. Contributors from seven countries range from senior scholars and officials with decades of experience to young academics just finishing their dissertations. The general impact of this work is to internationalize the history of the Vietnam War, going well beyond the long-standing focus on the role of the United States.

The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War

Average customer rating:

Great Story and Great Insight
Wicked sharp, powerful imagery and wisdom.
Growing Up The Hard Way.
More then an adventure!
An amazing story of strength and self-determination

The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure in Healing the Trauma of War
Frederick Graham
Manufacturer: Dragon Press Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0970358016

Book Description

Finally, the whole, uplifting and extraordinary story can be be told: $20 Million in Captain Kidd's treasure on an island off the coast of Vietnam; an eighteen-year-old photojournalist from California, haunted by the Vietnam War. Travel with Frederick "Cork" Graham in The Bamboo Chest from San Francisco to Thailand and a Socialist Republic of Vietnam political prison on an amazingly healing adventure that will capture the world's imagination for years!

Customer Reviews:

Great Story and Great Insight.......2006-04-03

I thoroughly enjoyed this true account of Cork Graham and his experiences in the Far East. It amazed me that an 18-year old could be so focused on what he wanted to do with his life. And it was also amazing what he experienced and his reactions to his experiences. I recommend this book for reading for all.

Wicked sharp, powerful imagery and wisdom........2006-03-28

Mr. Graham bares his soul in this powerful true story. I remember seeing this kid on 'good morning America' after he came back from 11 months in a Vietnamese prison. First American held as a political prisoner after the end of the Vietnam war. The amount of recently de-classified information in this book blew me away. Anyone who's ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time should read this book before they whine about it.
Mr. Graham pulls no punches and is not politically correct, thank God. Few people write this raw, because few people can handle the truth anymore. I'm waiting desperately for the next book in his trilogy. I took a HARD look at a lot of things in my life that I took for granted before reading this. BUY THIS BOOK !!!!!!!!

Growing Up The Hard Way........2006-02-27

Very good book. Saw it was reviewer rated very high so I bought it.
He seemed not to have known the advantage of learning about life
second hand instead of first hand. I read books, biographies of
great men and leaned from their experiences. Used their road maps
to get to my goal. Learned from their mistakes. He did it first hand but he grew up fast. He used some old established methods of
meditation, physical conditioning, and reflecting on his situation.
Some of the philosophical quotes are helpful for getting through life in general. His use of auto-suggestion or self hyponosis is also a method I used most of my life starting at about 8 years of age. Some of the side comments about Viet Nam, the French,and Agent Orange are but a few sentences long but very enlightening.

More then an adventure!.......2005-10-20

*Something* draws us to certain places and certain activities.

Inside our heads, no one really knows why.

In this book, Graham describes his compelling adventure in Southeast Asia, just weeks after completing high school, as he sought out a photo-journalism career.

At 18, he somehow needed to go to Vietnam when it was all but closed to Americans. The power of his mind got him there against all odds.

When he needs to leave Vietnam, will the power of his mind be enough to get him out of the prison he landed in for being American?

A thrilling read, with action, intrigue, drama, emotion, and insights into the power of his mind and yours....you will stay on the edge of your seat until the last page.

An amazing story of strength and self-determination.......2005-10-18

I purchased one book from Amazon and then another from the author's website so that I could get a personally signed copy, it's that good! I am not attracted to books about Vietnam, but after this book was recommended to me by a friend who served there in the military and later as a civilian contractor, I couldn't put it down. The book was finished in two days! For an eighteen year old, who was barely out of high school, to survive this type of experience without any prior military training makes the story almost incredible. He even confronted his case of post-traumatic stress received while earlier living in Saigon during the war. There's a movie here. I'm going to get more for friends and children of friends returning from Iraq.

Silk and Bamboo" Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition (World Musics)

Average customer rating:

Welcome addition to scholarship and readable too

Silk and Bamboo" Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition (World Musics)
J. Lawrence Witzleben
Manufacturer: Kent State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0873384997

Customer Reviews:

Welcome addition to scholarship and readable too.......2001-04-25

The ensemble tradition of South China is too little known, both in the West and China. Prof. Witzleben's book is a highly readable introduction to this music and the people who make it. Although the music, complex heterophony, requires virtuoso technique, many of the musicians are gifted amateurs, factory workers as well as world famous conservatory professors. In this repect it is a uniquely Chinese endeavor. Prof Witzleben does an excellent job placing the music in its social context....

Sweet Bamboo: A Memoir of a Chinese American Family

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Sweet Bamboo: A Memoir of a Chinese American Family
Louise Leung Larson , Shirley Hune , and Jane Leung Larson
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0520230787

Book Description

Sweet Bamboo is the vivid and absorbing memoir of a Chinese American family who lived in Los Angeles since the first years of the twentieth century. Lovingly recounted by the second daughter, who went on to become the first Asian American reporter for a major American newspaper, this account illuminates the many changes that occurred in the family as members increasingly became integrated into American society. While much of the attention given to Chinese immigrants has focused on the struggles of working class people, this book sheds new light on a different kind of immigrant experience--that of privileged Chinese parents and their children living in relative affluence in a predominantly white neighborhood.
The family saga begins in China's Kwangtung Province, in the village of Gum Jook (Sweet Bamboo), about 31 miles south of Canton. It follows Louise Leung Larson's parents through their arranged marriage in 1898, to their arrival in Los Angeles, the birth of three daughters and five sons (named after American presidents), and her father's development of a successful herbalist business. Larson's intimate portrait of her family, her lively depiction of Los Angeles at the turn of the century, and her engaging descriptions of meals eaten, holidays celebrated, school events, visits from relatives, and much more make this a richly textured excursion into the dreams and disappointments of everyday life.
The death of the author's mother in 1957 marks the end of an era for the Tom Leung family. An epilogue brings the story to the late 1980s, tracing the intermarriage of the third and fourth generations, and the family's diminishing sense of its Chinese identity. A postscript by the author's daughter, Jane Leung Larson, provides details of the fourth and fifth generations Leungs and recounts Jane's trip to China where she visited her parents' birthplaces and met relatives from both her grandmother's and grandfather's families. Taken together, these keen observations illustrate several generations' adaptation to dual cultures and the formation of a unique Chinese American sensibility.

The Snowflakes (Bamboo and Friends) (Bamboo and Friends)

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The Snowflakes (Bamboo and Friends) (Bamboo and Friends)
Felicia Law
Manufacturer: Picture Window Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1404825975

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