Cannell does an absolutely amazing job portraying the everyday lives of people in the Philippines, and how quotidian acts serve as forms of resistance to various externally imposed ideas and hierarchies. especially interesting because things like Christianity was initially externally imposed from the Spanish, yet has been re-appropriated by Filipinas/os in order to serve their needs. book breakdown:

1: Marraige Stories 2: kinship and the ritualisation of marraige 3: Healing and the people who have nothing 4: Spirit Mediums and spirit-companians 5: Spirit Mediums and Seance forms 6: Coda: the birthday parties of the spirits. 7: the living and the dead 8: the funeral of the 'dead Christ' 9: Kinship, reciprocity and devotions to the saints 10: Beauty and the idea of America (beauty, mimicry and transformation)

Chapter 10 is especially interesting as it deals with the bakla (male transvestites) of Bicol and how they interpret and approptiate notions of beauty and power.

overall, a really ecclectic and interesting book that got me to think of power, mimicry and symbols in a new light.

Pridi Banomyong has always remained an enigmatic figure in contemporary Thai history---a lawyer who had once studied in France; a member of the so-called "People's Party" who led the civilian faction which overthrew the absolute monarchy during the coup d'etat of 1932; the man viewed by others as a dangerous communist because of his radical economic plans; the regent who headed the Free Thai movement during the Second World War and earned Thailand's non-belligerent status at the closure of the war in 1945; and the unfortunate Prime Minister who was forced to resign and, ultimately, go into exile following several of the political upheavals of the 1950s.
This book gives an excellent insight into the man who helped shaped Thailand's modern political history; into the thoughts and writings of a man who, although we might not agree with many of his ideas, is now deemed great, despite several attempts by the military dictatorships to censor him out and blame him for the assassination of King Ananda Mahidol.
Inside this book are the writings of a surely great man.

Chandler, Heder, and Ledgerwood are unquestionably among the world's premier experts on Cambodia, and their work is the most unbiased and dependable available. In spite of massive obstacles in all directions, UNTAC's "braintrust" did a remarkable job in attempting to insure that the promises of the 1991 Paris agreements were faithfully fulfilled by all involved. Propaganda, politics, and violence most always win out in the short term, although the future in Cambodia is not yet lost. This history of events during the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia bears study by all those stubborn enough to remain interested in peacekeeping operations.

Oplinger's memoir puts the reader: on-point in the mountainous jungles with snipers in the trees, and in the doorway of helicopter gunships with the knowledge that incompetent officers were , unseen, calling the shots, and it puts the reader in military hospitals surrounded by tortured bodies, and it also puts us on rioting college campuses back home. Best of all this, thoroughly engrossing book puts a memory of the Vietnam experience on the "pass-it-around" circuit. I loaned my copy to my brother-in-law- (a Vietnam era vet himslf). I can't get it back, he's loaned it to another vet. But don't let me give you the idea that only vets want/need to read Oplinger's memoir. During the late '60's I spent my energies in anti-war demonstrations trying to get guys like the author and his platoon safely home to enjoy the decade the way we were enjoying it. This book is also a connector for the vets and those who weren't in 'Nam but who were home working so that no American "boys" had to be there. A bit of history worth re-visiting. Recently I visited D.C. with my teen-aged daughter. We found ourselves walking down the hill towards the Vietnam Memorial. At some point as we neared the Wall, I froze-up with emotions and pain as I discovered I could not approach any closer to the Wall and the memories of that war. Choked-up,I had to wait to attempt an explanation to my daughter. At home, handing her a copy of Quang Tri Cadence by Jon Oplinger, I said something like, "Read this, it'll help you understand the times, the War, and your Dad."

The reader is presented with a wealth of material; illustrations, photographs and maps detailing all aspects of the RAAF during the Vietnam War. Keynote are accurate combat action reports and attention to most every military aviation issue.

The literary style allows for very personal accounts of the heroics of the aviators and the specific of military operations. I was enlightened by the joint Australian and American cooperation depicted. Perhaps the most important use of this book by American military would be the means provided to contrast American aviation problems and issues with those of the Australians.

This volume belongs in every aviation or military school library.

Joseph M. Kralich, MA US Army DUSTOFF Historian (1988-98)

The Ramayana is one of the most important pieces of literature ever written, yet it is not commonly read in this country. Here's your chance to do something about it. This version retains all the depth and beauty of the original, yet it is an accessible and compelling read. The path of Rama and his wife Sita is so inspiring in this day and age because of its emphasis on moral virtue. We could all use a dose of that.

I read "Reading Athena's Dance Card: Men Against Fire in Vietnam" expecting a well reasoned, well written study of American soldiers and Marines in Vietnam but found much more. This book delivers alot more than the jacket comments promise. It contains the expected analysis of Americans under fire in Vietnam and compares findings with the earlier landmark study by S.L.A. Marshall, but doesn't stop there. The book examines core issues using examples taken from historical depth and geographic/national breadth. Comments taken from surveys of American Vietnam veterans are used as a cordon bleu chef uses fine seasonings, with the ultimate result that the human factor, the face of the soldier under fire, is always to the fore. The book also gives great attention to factors such as training and rotation policy, among other things, essentially leaving no stone unturned in this thorough, well paced work. I highly recommend this book for students of military history in general, and those with an interest in Vietnam in particular.

Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, The Center For National Security Law of the University of Virginia Law School hosted a seminar designed to determine the "real" lessons of the Vietnam War. In doing so they assembled a distinguished team of twenty-one scholars, each an acknowledged expert in his field. The results were then compiled and published in this work. The conclusions reached included, but were not limited to the following:

Vietnam was a small "hot-spot" in a global "cold war" It was important because the great powers of the day chose to contest it, if for no other reason.

Ho Chi Minh was a dedicated agent of international Communism, not a Vietnamese Nationalist fighting for his people.

While the "Peace Movement" greatly aided the Communist efforts, they did not lose the war. Our flawed, "no-win" strategy did.

American forces were not given a free license to rape, kill, pillage and burn at will. Soldiers and Marines were indicted and vigorously prosecuted for war crimes in Vietnam.

Our involvement in Vietnam WAS necessary. Had we meekly capitulated when the Russian bear growled, we could not have remained credible as an ally.

The war was NOT unwinnable. In effect we DID win. Only Congress' refusal to provide the support promised our allies caused South Vietnam's capitulation and the subsequent blood bath that left millions dead.

The authors authenticate their findings with well-researched data. These facts will be contested by some and ridiculed by others. However, mere hype cannot refute their research. Facts are facts. The carefully prepared and skillfully perpetuated myths by some in government and many in the media cannot change them although they can be fully expected to try.

In the preface, editors Moore and Turner say that, "Obviously, this small volume is not intended to be the final word on the Vietnam War." Inevitably, more facts will emerge from such diverse places as Hanoi, Washington, Moscow and/or Beijing. However, until more facts emerge, this work is the most complete review of the conflict available. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious student of the war for that reason.

Since Vietnam the world situation has changed completely. State sponsored terrorism has replaced Communism as our major threat. Knowing when and how to use force are more critical today than ever. Being too eager and too reluctant to use force when necessary are equal evils. This work provides valuable insights on the when and how of using force. It is an invaluable tool for today's national security planners for that reason.

I was privileged to attend the Conference that inspired this work and eagerly awaited publication of this book for two years. It was well worth the wait. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well.

this book started off intense and full of political emotion and it never backed down. if you would like a real and emotional story of who workers are, the opression they face, and the breaking point for them, then i suggest this book. i remember being outraged, shocked, disgusted throughout the book.....and then the ending...well it's full of sweet vengenace. real people, real life, real solutions....that's what this book is about.

Bruce Bastin is probably the leading expert on the blues styles of the East Coast of America, and this book is a superb analysis of the history of blues in a range of regional centres. It features detailed biographies of such seminal bluesmen as Willie McTell, Blind Blake, Pink Anderson, Gary Davis and Blind Boy Fuller, as well as much information about lesser known contemporaries such as Curley Weaver, Peg Leg Sam and Baby Tate.

Bastin draws on a great deal of field research he conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, and has a lot to say about the social and economic context of the blues, the development of regional styles, the role of medicine shows, the role of field recordings and the impact of white businessmen such as J.B. Long on the recording careers of bluesmen.

This is a well written and fascinating book which made me repeatedly go to my CD collection (or expand it further). It is a model of blues research. Anyone with an interest in east coast blues in general and the piedmont style in particular should not hesitate to buy this book. Strongly recommended.