This is definitely a comprehensive book. The author delves directly into the grammar and vocabulary, all without ever using transliterations. I had already learnt basic Hindi before picking this up, so I knew most of the script, but I could see that being a real problem. It's definitely competent. The learning curve is very steep, though, and it seems almost as if it would be better used as accompaniment to classes.

I admit that I was more than a little apprehensive when I first ordered Deshpande's Samskrtasubodhini, since my first textbook by Lanman dated from the 19th century and featured a microscopic devanagari typeface, the compound letters illegible even with my trusty magnifying glass. Deshpande's elegant and readable devanagari font seems rather like eating a box of chocolates after becoming used to far more spartan fare. Deshpande's extremely competent text makes me suspicious that he is not making his users scrabble hard enough to grip the language, but what the heck. Sanskrit is difficult enough to get hold of, as it is, so a thorough and competent text will probably work out, in the long run. Even with Deshpande's throughness, Panini's grammar is still quite a way off, but Deshpande's graspable and intelligently arranged text--perfect as a preparation for the Whitney grammar--makes the entryway into to this great language less arduous, and probably Panini's Astadhyayi less difficult once one comes to take it up. I just wish that my first text had been Samskrtasubodhini.

I must confess I'm not the biggest fan of 'slithy toves' or 'cats in hats,' but I found several verses in this book that satisfy. Mostly, I was taken with the pieces that go beyond slithy tovedom and settle into recognizable social commentary. For example, The Miracle Man mocks the arrogance of physicians with a sharp yet not quite piercing tongue (and after surviving my HMO I found it delicious). The Customs of Bombagarh takes on royalty, while The Pursuit of Science tackles psychiatrists with the same spirit. Finally, the very funny Super Beast can be used to help children build self esteem (simply change the last two lines to: "Not shoe nor a sunshade, I'll have to be me!") Warning: it is impossible not to read aloud from this book. Make sure someone else is home when you do it or the neighbors will talk.

Sukumar Ray's nonsense verses have delighted generations of Bengalis. The humour is subtle beyond definition. Dr Chaudhuri has achieved something that Ray's own son -- the world famous film director, author and editor Satyajit Ray -- tried and gave up!! The latter pays a generous tribute to Chaudhuri in his signed introduction-- no mean tribute!!!

I bought this book because I was intrigued by the prospect of reading a memoir from the point of view of a South Vietnamese soldier. Although Gen. Lam Quang Thi was a very high-ranking member of the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and attained high rank at a young age, I got the impression that he was one of the truly gifted officers in that army, who was idealistic about serving his country to the best of his abilities.

Throughout the book, Thi regularly takes issue with the corruption and incompetence of many of his fellow officers, and recounts the political situation in the South, where coup after coup after coup left the country of South Vietnam basically a rudderless ship. He tells of how many of his fellow officers attained high ranks, up to and including senior generals, not because of superior soldiering prowess, but because of having the right political connections. Even he (the author) benefitted a little from the political machinations of some of his superiors. In this regard, the book is an excellent source on the socio-political scene in Saigon in the 1960's.

However, as a war memoir, I found the book a little light in descriptions of battle and how he and the men under his command coped with the strain of combat. This is why I give the book only four stars. I suppose that as a general, his viewpoints of battle tend to be more detached and "big picture" oriented, which is reflected in his writing. Most descriptions of battles his units fought were mostly like, "We swept the area with the 1st regiment, while the 2nd was held in reserve. After heavy contact, we suffered 25 dead while the VC suffered 100 dead." None of the harrowing descriptions which can be found in many other terrific war memoirs are present here. Since so many of those other types of books have been written by American soldiers, with American perspectives, I was excited to finally be able to read one written from an Asian soldier's perspective. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this regard. All in all, however, I feel that this is a book that most Vietnam War buffs should read.

General Thi shares with us the major events of his life, from losing his father at an early age to the Viet Minh, to how his Uncles and Aunts were so instrumental in providing the Extended Family (Confucian) Values that enabled Lam and his brother to pull themselves up by their hard work and many accomplishments in school and later in their adult life.

We see through Lam's eyes the French Occupation of Vietnam, the reasons for the Viet Minh, the Fall of the French, the coming of the Americans, Lam's Army Career and how he so skillfully plays the hand Life has given him, making the best of what he has, leading all the way to making ARVN Lt. General (Three Star General) at such an early age through his sheer abilities and hard work.

The book also allows the Reader to see and experience Vietnamese Culture, from Tet (Chinese New Year), the tasty foods (I still can smell the Cha Gio) cooked in celebration of their various Holidays and Occations, to Confucian Extended Family Values of Respect for Elders and a High Premium on Education as the way to get ahead in Life, and how even later on in their lives when he outranks his Older Brother (who was "only" a Two Star General) that Older Brother still made the Final Decision and was obeyed when it came to Family Matters.

For those of you who did not know, Vietnamese Wives and Mothers, while seemingly docile and obedient, were actually Very Powerful when it came to Family Matters of Finance and Children. Vietnamese Family Values were demonstrated as we watch Lam and his Family when they get to visit with Emperor Bao Dai's Mother, and her demonstrated tenderness towards Children.

An excellent example of what one Vietnamese Life was like from 1950 to 1975, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I loved this book. A wonderful example of personal travel writing--a very personal memoir. In addition to beautifully describing the countryside, some of her insights were quite interesting--the lack of privacy in the culture, the obedience to authority. Her appreciation of and eventual conversion to Buddhism helped me really understand in a very different way the nature of this most un-western form of spirituality. I too was a little disappointed in the second half of the book where her falling in love interferes with the very compelling story of ethnic tensions, and I did think the ending was a bit of a cop out--"oh,well--cultural differences"--unexplained reason for her separation. Still, having been to Nepal and seeing just a glimpse of the things she writes about, a must read for people visiting that part of the world.

Jamie writes a beautiful account of Bhutan & it's people. And although she would like to believe that it is an ideal existence - a shangri la, she soon realises that every country has it's own unique problems. This however does not prevent Jamie from falling in love with Bhutan & the way of life. After adjusting to living with no electricity, no running water, a drastic change in diet, language problems & the local bus aptly named the 'vomit comet', Jamie's mind finally arives in Bhutan. Gradually, through letters to her boyfriend she finds a widening gap between her new life & life in Canada. So much so that on returning home for a visit, she finds her former life to be a complete culture shock & shortens her stay.

Her tales of the school children in the village of Pema Gatshel are both amusing & heartwarming. This is a society where children revere their teachers. Jamies acknoledges that that these children have taught her a lot more than she was able to teach them.

A must for anyone with an interest in Bhutan, the Himalayan region, Buddhism & teaching in a foreign country.

I just finished reading this book, and thought it was wonderful! It was especially good to read because I just recently moved to Romania and am going through some of the same experiences that the author discribed. Culture shock, language, trying to teach students without the words to communicate with them (I haven't had anyone tell me that their birthday is "It is rice and pork," yet [p. 43], but I could definitely relate to that story!), all of these are common struggles in a new land.

One of the best parts of the book for me was the way the author managed to combine a description of the history of Bhutan and her own personal experiences. I love reading history and culture books, but reading about history by experiencing it through someone else's eyes made it all come alive again. I loved how Zeppa brings the reader slowly through ever-spiraling circles deeper and deeper into the culture. The way she carefully described her arrival in the country, her original culture shock and despair, and the gradual love she gained for her new people are very well-crafted. It gives the reader the chance to experience the same gradual love of Bhutan, its culture, people, and landscape. She also managed to do so with a good sense of humor, laughing about things such as rats having a Rat Olympics while she was trying to sleep, or the reverse culture shock of having sliced bread after so many months in what originally seemed to her to be extremely spartan living conditions. I've read many travel books and memoirs, but I have to say that this is one of my all-time favorites.

I also appreciated the author's honesty, both about the good and the bad decisions she made and things she experienced. Here I have to take issue with some of the other reviewers. In fact, I have to wonder if they've ever lived in a country besides their native land (as well as wondering how they would fare with the Rat Olympics, lack of electricity, unfamiliar food, and lack of connection to their first native land). I found Zeppa's description of culture shock to be extremely accurate. As humans we have the built-in characteristic of believing on a certain fundamental level that the way we know things is "right". Living in other cultures can change that to a certain degree, but it never goes away. Some days (especially in the beginning) you wonder why you ever decided to come to this stupid country and when the next plane home is. Other days you love this wonderful new country, can't believe you ever lived anywhere else, and can't imagine why anyone would ever live life differently than people do in your new home. Most days are somewhere in-between. Through a great deal of work you can try to view both your old and new cultures objectively, but this is very hard. I felt that Zeppa did an amazing job with this; she was definitely not perfect, but she wrestled with her decisions before making them and remained constantly open to new ideas and interpretations of what she saw, which is more than most people can do. To me, this was one of this book's main strengths. I loved this book and would recommend it to people interested in learning about another culture. I would also recommend it to people who are going to be living in a new country to give them an idea of what culture shock can be like. Although most culture shock won't be as severe (Canada to Bhutan is one of the biggest cultural changes available on our planet at the moment), this is still an excellent view of what adjustment can be like. If nothing else, I know that I will remember this book so that when my culture shock gets worse ("I don't understand what she just said... This new climate is hard to get used to!... Why do they do things THAT way here?" etc.) I can know I'm in good company.

I actually looked forward to receiving this book. As English is my native tongue, and I had studied French/Japanese at school, I was looking for an easy book that would teach me the hindi alphabet and provide me with some easily referenceable vocabulary. Whilst this book provides some assistance on both, I didn't find the layout to be very useful. I would have also preferred more attention on how to write the characters.

I'd still recommend this book, but a little more visual assistance (the book is a bit dry, as it is predominantly textual) would have enhanced my learning speed, as well as more romanization of hindi words, especially for beginners such as myself.

I have been learning hindi for the past two years, and I have been using many books in the process, including Snell and Weightman, an older book by Misra and Fairbanks, another book by Surendra Gambhir, and this one by Bhatia. For those starting from scratch, this book is the best option.

Snell and Weightman move way too fast and you quickly find yourself in way over your head (unless you already have a background in hindi). I found this Bhatia's romanization excellent because it emphasized the difference between english and hindi sounds, and most importantly, Bhatia was consistent throughout (though hopefully some of the typos towards the end will be fixed in a future edition). His pronounciation introduction is also the best I've seen as far as emphasizing and drilling Hindi vocal nuances. The pacing of the book is very comfortable for the complete beginner.

Bhatia also does not take anything for granted. A lot of important questions left unanswered by other books are treated thoroughly in this text (like the compound use of "lena", "jaana", and "dena"; the frequent ommision of the "a" sound in the middle of words; and the fact that words like "mahal" and "kahana" are pronounced "mehel" and "kehena"; just to name a few...) You are really able to digest everything as you go along. Bhatia's word list and grammatical summary in the back are god-sends, and his mnemonics like "nerd nouns" and "laal adjectives" are clever and effective. He also puts his lessons in a cultural perspective that is crucial for using your hindi socially.

One criticism I would make is the lack of emphasis on the devanagri script. If you use this book, you should really take the initiative and learn the script. It will help you as you progress to more advanced books.

It seems like the few who gave this book a bad wrap are educators who are used to hindi being taught in a certain way. I think the things that make this book different also make it the best.

My recommendation is start out with this book, then go through Snell and Weightman, using the early lessons as review, then go through Surendra Gambhir's pricey but excellent "Spoken Hindi" set. All these books have their lessons on cassette. I transferred all the lessons to CD, which made my studying much more efficient. Also get McGregor's beautiful Hindi-English Dictionary which will be a cozy campanion throughout. If you can even find the Misra and Fairbanks book, don't bother. It is quite antiquated and impractical, and the tapes are a nightmare. Happy studying!

An excellent book for beginners, like the title implies, it is mainly a course in Colloqial Hindi, and almost omits the Devanagari syllbary entirely. There is only one chapter on it, but that chapter is very helpful all the same. The tape that comes with the book is a necessary element; it is integrated with the exercises in the book quite nicely, so make sure you get the cassette as well. The romanisation scheme is weird, but it's not too difficult. As an introduction to spoken Hindi, this can't be beat. For a better knowledge of the Devanagari syllabary, I would recommend Snell's "Teach Yourself Hindi".

As a resident of Bali year-round, the number one complaint by almost every lonely planet carrying visitor is how inaccurate and outdated the lonely planet guides are. Whether it is Thailand or Indonesia, information that is needed on a daily basis is history by the time the lonely books reach the traveling consumer. Bookstores throughout Asia are piled high with lonely planets discarded by weary travelers eager to lessen their load. Lonely planet books do offer historical perspectives that can also be found on the internet, but the insider's information the first time traveler needs to save money and sanity their first days in Asia is sorely lacking. Updated info on how to avoid being ripped off from lodging to transportation to moneychanging is of primary concern to almost all visitors to Bali that we meet. Books as heavy as bricks with pretty pics are nice but hardly handy when you are in need of fast, accurate information. Try "The Beginners Guide to Bali" on cd-rom- it has weekly updated info and prepares the first time traveler to Bali for the unexpected.

I found this book quite informative and useful in its information about many different aspects of visiting Bali. The book provides wonderful cultural insights, historical background and detailed information.

The only major discrepancy we came across, for instance, was that the book said that Kuta has problems with tourists being hassled by street vendors, but when we went in April, we found that the main street in Kuta (where the Matahari Department Store is) quite the opposite. It turned out that the officials had just recently come down on the street vendors and put a stop to harassing tourists there. Instead, when we went to the center of town in Ubud, we were hassled a great deal by taxi/moped drivers to get us to hire them; this caught us off guard.

In response to concerns that the book isn't current on it's information, I feel that you shouldn't rely on a guidebook for prices, and that as a whole Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok gives the information that you need to know. It tells you in great detail about what there is to see and do, and where things are and how things work. I mean afterall, by the time any book reaches publication, isn't a lot of the information out-of-date? Otherwise, a book would never get published; it would be a newsletter.

I gave this a rating of 4 stars only because when we went to Bali, we didn't travel enough of the country (and we didn't get to Lombok) to give the book 5 stars.

We have just returned from Bali (October 2000) and strongly recommend taking this LP with you. I have been a bit skeptical about the info of some LP's (Mexico-we hardly used it!) but in Bali whoever put this one together knew their stuff. FORGET THE PRICES MENTIONED, they've at least doubled for meals accomodation etc , but then so has the amount of rupee you'll get!! One interesting note. We took a taxi to the Temple of Gudang Kawi, an 11th century temple. LP justifibly raves about it. The only other tourists there we saw were holding a LP. Local tour operaters didn't seem to think tourists would be interested in it and must take them to more boring temples!(and believe you me, they get boring!)

If you are English speaking and want to learn Thai, this set of tapes seems to be more thorough than others available. However, you can not use the set of tapes without the book. There are some words and phrases that have the English meaning but much of it is in the Thai language without any translations into English. The instructions say to listen to a conversation between two Thai people, and you have no idea of what they are talking about. You are refered to the page number and section number in the paper book. Therefore, you can not use it without the book. It should not be sold by itself at all. I am ordering the book and assume the English meaning for these conversations are in the paper bound book. At that point, it should be an excellent course.

It is very tough for an english speaker to learn thai. The tapes are perfect but the book is not. They have things like backwards e and some other things that are not in the english language.I have passed the test in lesson 1, so there is hope for me yet !You really are going to have to go to thailand or get yelled at by a thai woman for 13 years as I have...

This past year i've been looking for a good book/audio combination to learn Thai.
Quality of the tapes is good and the possibility to do the writing and reading at the end of each lesson is perfect!
You can't learn Thai properly if you can't read and write it!
And it's easy in this set!
That's what makes this set (and the following set's) better than the other (more expensive!) learning programs.

This is a very useful book. It is basically a phrase book, but I also gives word-by-word translation, and so you know how the sentences are made. Tapes are also useful. It is very practical in outlook, and frankly it could have been better with theoretical description of sound and tone marks - those who don't care can just skip them.

Unless you get the audio forum set that has over 2 dozen tapes & several books, this book is the best thing to get you up to speed with Tibetan pronunciation and vocab. Very useful and user friendly, with lots of vocab and clear instruction, as the other reviewers have mentioned. With casual effort, you can make good use of the book, however the more time you put in with it, the more you will be rewarded in learning Tibetan.

I first read a glowing review of this book from Columbia University and decided to buy it. It's a wonderful book in its own right and especially good when you purchase the accompanying tapes. I used the book when I was in Nepal with great success, and imagine my surprise when I saw many Tibetans with the same book! They told me it helped them to learn English. By far better than the confusing Goldstein alternative (lonely planet), I thanks the authors for filling a gap with such a worthy product.

Poor plot. Author should have written some short stories for periodicals before writing a book.

Authors should stop jacking up rating of stars by writing reviews themselves....

Please stop this practice

This book has the seeds of something exceptional to come in the future. But bring a history of Pakistan before you read it. The stories are beautifully told, the black humor sounds like an American influence. It all weaves back and forth, needs some serious organizing. The author feels very strongly about his family and his country, and I appreciate that. And I hope to hear from him again before long.

I am a personal friend of the author, and enjoyed her book very much. She is a medical doctor, and would never engineer good reviews as the next reviewer you will read suggests. To accuse without proof is folly. As far as I am concerned, Dr. Khan is a great story-teller and talented writer, whose point of view may not always agree with everyones, but is enlighteningly humorous. Her view of Pakistan lacks prejudice and I have many reports that it is an accurate picture of life in that country. Dr. Philip Petersen