he title comes from the mother who urged: "Son, be careful; fly low and slow." Low and slow is where a pilot doesn't want to be, but it's where a U.S. Army Artillery spotter had to spend his time. Moore is quick to point out that the hazards of flying 800 feet above the Philippines paled in comparison to combat on the ground: war is hell, but his war was "more funky than demonic."

Moore once had a dogfight with a Zero: two cannon and two machineguns vs. a Piper Cub armed only with a carbine. As long as the planes were closely entwined, Moore had the upper hand, since he could turn inside the Japanese fighter. Then the Zero moved off, setting up for a fast attack that the 65 hp Cub couldn't have dodged. Moore dove for home, and he and his rear-seat "gunner" were out of the Cub and into a trench before the Zero passed over.

More terrifying, actually, was the time he was sucked into a cloud. Anti-aircraft guns were popping off beneath him, U.S. bombers roaring through the cloud beside, and Moore had to fly IFR with only a compass, tachometer, airspeed indicator, and altimeter. Against all logic, he made it home that time as well. Still, as his commander warned him, the odds didn't favor a liaison pilot: "All you have to do is fly one of these things long enough, and it will get you."

When Moore doesn't remember the details, he says so. The effect is like a favorite uncle, yarning to his nephews about a 55-year-old adventure so extraordinary that he still can't quite believe that he took part in it. A delightful book.

Dare I say "enchanting" about a war memoir? Honest, Don Moore has accomplished that feat. Nearly 50 years on, he wrote this yarn about his service, flying a Piper Cub L-4 500 feet above Japanese lines, as a spotter for American artillery. His only armament was a Colt forty-five and sometimes an M-1 carbine in the hands of his backseat passenger. He had a dogfight with a Zero (no damage done on either side) and a harrowing flight through the clouds without IFR instruments, while Japanese ack-ack shells exploded around him and fast American bombers dashed through the soup beside him. There's a great chapter also about the Brodie Device, which enabled a Cub to fly off a landing craft, running along a wire suspended to one side--and even to "land" again on the same wire. First class.

Why is this book out of print? It's one of the best books written about modern Africa.

Well written insights into the daily lives of the Maasai. Gives true feeling of the issues the Maasai face every day. A great read for anyone who is interested in Kenya or pastoralist peoples

This is a fantastic book on Macau. I was using this book as one source for a paper I was writing on Macau for a university class. I became fascinated with Macau ever since a visit there, and this book really does justice to Macau's past. I was surprised at how interesting Macau: The Imaginary City is. The book is jam-packed with interesting historical anecdotes about the colorful people who have lived in the colony as well as the culture, historic events, and geography of the enclave. In addition, the book is always fascinating and never boring because Porter is such a good writer. This book is a must for anyone interested in the city. After reading it, I'd like to visit the city again.

"Macau:The Imaginary City" is a beautiful tapestry woven from the histories of "gray-brown fortress walls","great churches", "European and Chinese commercial buildings", "19th century European residential and commercial building", and the current modern buildings which "stand in contrast to the fortress walls; yet echo their starkness" as they seem to complete a circle "as modern fortresses of money not of artillery". Anyone considering a trip to Hong Kong must include in the itinerary a trip to the Macau of Jonathan Porter, and a copy of "Macau: The Imaginary City". This is not a history text book but rather a collection of historical and cultural fabrics with which Porter weaves his tapestry. The book prepared me for my recent visit in June 99, and my second reading, since arriving home, has added to my appreciation and understanding of a city which was a doorway for Europeans and Chinese to peer into each others' world perspectives. And in a history of more than four hundred years, elements of each synthesized which gives Macau it wonderful uniqueness today.

I think Made in USA: East St. Louis is a brilliant description of the rise and fall of an Illinois town. The explanation offered for the East St. Louis you see today is shocking but irrefutable. I love the illustrations. They really compliment the story of 100 years of East St. Louis history. The book and the companion PBS documentary are excellent sources of information for anyone interested in cities and how they operate.

Dear Readers: I hope you enjoy this book. It is the first comprehensive scholarly history of the city and I feel it makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of East St. Louis. The story of East St. Louis is not necessarily a happy one, but we must understand the source of problems if we intend to devise lasting solutions. The book has about 250 illustrations of historic photographs and documents. It is the companion volume to the public television documentary of the same name.
Thank you for considering this book.

Facts are solely missing in the on-going debate about China and Tibet. Grunfeld puts in the grunt-work and makes available to us a detailed, easy-to-read, and thought-provoking history/analisis of Tibet in the 20th century. As a Western scholar who's been condemned at times by both Beijing and Dharamsala, he must be getting something right.

Put this on your bookshelf... it will provide a perspective toward Tibet you might not have had before. You may want to balance this out with Tsering Shakya's equally-good volume.

The author worte in his introduction that "I have made every effort to use materials from most, if not all, contending points of view." The book clearly live up to his promise. This is one book filled with facts. On many pages one will find facts along with both the Chinese and the Tibetan contentions. It's history with muliple view points. The reader is therefore given a vast scope of information to contemplate the events.

The book covers Tibet's history from back in the days Buddhism and the Dalai Lamas first came into place in Tibet, to the turmoils of the 1950's, to the current situation, all in details that one can not find without vast research.

I am planning a trip to Africa, so I bought this book (used) and "Ghosts of Tsavo" by Phillip Caputo and "Man Eaters," which is Patterson's book (he is the British officer who shot the man eating lions). I liked this one best of the three. It is really exciting in some places and tells the story of the man eating lions in Tsavo better than Paterson does, and he was there! I enjoyed the travel aspect too, where Boyles takes the train ride from Mombassa to Lake Victoria and gives a stop-by-stop account of the journey. This book is also very funny in places. I'm glad I took the trouble to get this book. I recommend it completely.

I read Boyles's other African book (African Lives) and loved it. When we decided to visit Kenya this year on vacation, I started looking for this book, which I had found discussed in some newsgroups, but it was "out of stock" (whatever that means!). My local public library did a search for it, but couldn't locate the book before we left. When we got home, it was there and I read it. I can't tell you how much I wish I'd had this book before I went. Not only is the writing wonderful, but since the book follows the railroad (telling the story and describing the places along the way) from the coast to Lake Victoria, the details are exactly the kind of things a visitor really needs. Our vacation was expensive and tame, even though we enjoyed the people and the scenery. This book was better than the trip, since it was free (from the library) and very exciting (funny, too).

The best things in it are hard to pick out, but I recommend the story of Patterson and the man-eaters (better than the hokie movie, by far), the depiction of Zanzibar, the social scene in Nairobi and the description of Lake Victoria. If we had known about the little winery in Naivasha, we would have gone there. This book is full of things I wish I'd known, but didn't. Find this book if you can.

The title THE MAN FROM THE EAST comes from a statement made by J.G. Bennett describing the spiritual movement Subud: 'It is a direct experience of the power of God available through "a man from the East". It requires no teaching and there is no dogma.' When Istimah Week heard this in 1958 it proved to be the most important turning point in her life.

The book describes Istimah's subsequent inner and outer journey through life as she practised the latihan-the spiritual exercise central to Subud-and followed the advice of Pak Subuh, the founder of Subud.

Outwardly, the journey took her and her family from New York to Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia, and on world tours with Pak Subuh in 1970 and 1977. She experienced the early pioneering days of Cilandak, Pak Subuh's home near Jakarta, and its development as an international spiritual centre in the sixties and seventies.

Inwardly, the journey is her very personal experience of growth, purification, expanding spiritual awareness, difficulties and times of great joy. Throughout this period of nearly thirty years, Pak Subuh's presence and guidance were a focal point in Istimah's experience. A unique feature of her story is the inclusion of excerpts from Pak Subuh's talks to members. These provide an explanation from him corresponding to Istimah's experience at the time, a juxtaposition that offers an unusual and most useful counterpoint.

The book is short (185 pages) and its clear, open feeling makes for easy reading. It is an excellent contribution to the literature on Subud and suitable for the general public.

Since 'The Man From The East' was published Istimah Week has received numerous positive comments from members of Subud and others. Here are four extracts.

A letter from a member of Subud, UK: 'I have just read your book. I enjoyed it so much! An autobiographical account is so readable, but there are so few who can do it. I am so very impressed that you can describe your spiritual experience as it relates to your life-no theorizing. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story, for writing so expressively and for the help it will be to Subud members and for those who through it will discover Subud.'

A magazine review by a member of Subud, California: I have just finished 'The Man From The East'. I found the language and style of writing compelling. I found the description of the writer's experiences easily understood almost as though I were experiencing them myself. I have since passed the book on to many friends. I feel this book has been a gift and as with all gifts I wish to thank the giver for writing the book, for sharing her innermost experiences, and for giving us the opportunity to visit those early days of Subud. It feels like a very important book.

A letter from a Jungian Analyst, Australia: 'I am so glad to have read Istimah Week's book 'The Man From The East'. I was enthralled by it-by the direct supple way she recounted her experiences, and by Pak Subuh's explanations with their central emphasis on the spiritual exercise, the latihan, and the process of testing and purification. It is lovely to see those things spoken of so clearly. The experience of an inner, ever-present Source, of its guiding and purifying activity and the practical integration of that into everyday life seem to me the central discovery of our lives and the raison d'etre of all spiritual and psychological methods. Yet that can become so obscure. It is wonderful to see such a clear focus on that in Pak Subuh's message and in the book.'

A letter from a member of Subud, Spain: " 'The Man From The East' is clear without fantasy-straight forward and real. It is an important book. It is most worthwhile that a Spanish translation has been made." (Note. 'El Hombre del Este' was published by Dawn Books, Australia, in 1999.)

This is a very well structured overview of the basic history of the middle east. It gives a balanced account, mostly centered on the United States' role. One gets a sinking feeling that Harry Truman could have predicted where we would wind up 50 years on...

This work provides more insight into the development of US policies toward Israel than any other available. Extremely well written! Provocative and entertaining, it traces the development of US cultural attitudes toward the emergence of Israel and the Arab world and the development of policies during the Truman administration. An excellent chapter on US oil policy in the Middle East and the Palestine Question. Highly recommended.

Potiential readers should be aware that this is the diffinative English translation of this spiritual classic. It is sometimes referenced by native Farsi speakers because of it's accuracy. However, it is difficult to read. Know that the work required to read this translation will be well rewarded for anyone with a heart.

Jalaluddin Rumi, b. 1205 in Balkh, now Turkestan, d. 1273 was founder of the Mevlevi order of Sufi Dervishes. He was known among followers as "Mevlana" or "Our Master". The Mathnawi, "Song of the Reed" is often referred to as the Koran in Persian, and ranks among the classics of world spiritual literature.

A series of 3 volumes, the Mathnawi is an ingenious series of allegories, fables, parables and tales, often no more than a page or two in length. The sprawling scope of the subjects covered include everything from accounts of the famous saints of Islam, Christianity and Judaism; told in symbolic and allegorical form to deeply mystical interpretations of life and a renewed call to faith. The quality of the writing is best described as ecstatic prose verse. They are rich with detail about the cultural life of the period.

Rumi dictated the 3 volume series to a scribe, after the loss of his closest friend, guide and spiritual companion, Shams of Tabriz.

Shams was a wandering mystic of astonishing accomplishment who came upon Rumi in his mature middle years and through their relationship, helped carry Rumi into further phases of his development. Their bond was so close, it aroused suspicion and finally jealousy among Rumi's followers, who plotted against Shams and eventually had him killed.

Rumi was inconsolable. According to the tales, the famous turning of the Whirling Dervishes was invented as a form of meditation and praise to God after the wrenching loss of his spiritual companion.

The richly layered stories of the Mathnawi will prove inspirational for the spiritually-inclined of any faith, as well as students of comparative religion, and those open to inner adventures describing the mystical travels of one of the world's greatest, and most literate saints.

For me the best part of this book is not its engagement with some of the world's current sources of real and political pain, but its recommendation and honest appraisal of other books. Mr. Alcalay writes informatively and with tasteful purpose. Even the essays of a more personal nature I found moving, but the books he has read and recommends are the diamonds that too often remain beneath the rubble. I cannot say there is anywhere else I would have found some of these authors recommended or reviewed. Mr. Alcalay writes with enthusiasm about authors whose literatures will never make the weekend book page. These authors are diverse in approach (poets, novelists, essayists, historians) and smart. They provide more immediate accounts of other places and states, some of the light and the heavy. This book fills a need by providing the names necessary for readers to get better acquainted with writers in the Middle East and some chosen Eastern European regions. I recommend this book highly.

Memories Of Our Future is an outstanding anthology of essays surveying the complexities of Mediterranean cultures; the diverse, changing space of the Balkans, Middle East, and North Africa -- areas of diasporas, dislocations, and genocidal exterminations provoked nationalism and religious fanaticism. As a Sephardic-Croatian Jew, Ammiel Alcalay confronts the deep resistance to change of any kind in this region, and describes his personal intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and political endeavor to help break down barriers between peoples, nations, and languages. Of special interest is his observations and analysis of the Israeli/Palestinian confrontation, Arab/Jewish poetics, and Jewish identity in America. Memories Of Our Future is seriously recommended reading for students of Balkan, Middle Eastern, and North African studies.