This book is over-rated, and I'll explain why. The book is marketed on its title as an Ilocano-English/English-Ilocano Dictionary and Phrasebook. This is complete false advertising. This book is written for English speakers who want to learn Ilocano, and Ilocano words, not the other way around. I bought this book for my Ilocano-speaking girlfriend so she could better look up Ilocano words and find their English equivalents, and learn, in Ilocano, more about English, but, as this book is written one-sidedly in English for English speakers, it is of little use to her. It's a major flaw, this false advertising of Ilocano-English/English Ilocano, because when you say a dictionary or phrasebook is formatted in such a way, that is supposed to mean that the first half of the text gives an Ilocano word or term, then its English equivalent, then the second half of the book would give an English word or term, then its Ilocano equivalent. That is THEEE purpose of ANY foreign language dictionary, such as English/French - French/English. It would be written for BOTH French speakers and English speakers, not one or the other.

This book is almost useless for my Ilocano-speaking girlfriend to learn English with. I feel like I have been ripped off, and am rather embarassed for giving to her. She's almost offended, for she can't read a thing of it! How the heck is she supposed to look up a word in Ilocano to find its English equivalent when you firstly and only reference words in English????!!!! Mr. Rubino- you need to change the title of this book to simply: "Learn Ilocano".

Currently I am living and working in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. As an American, I have found learning Ilocano both interesting and challenging. I searched both far and wide looking for a good dictionary that would be of use to me. To my disappointment, the selections here in country are rather slim. My boyfriend found me this book and it has been of great help to me ever since. The grammar sections are wonderful and explain things fairly well. I have found it, however, a little difficult at times to understand some of the grammar terms, although I am well versed in grammar as a teacher of both English and Spanish. Yet even with some difficulty, there are plenty of examples given to back things up. A word of caution on the vocabulary that is presented in the book. It is very general. It applies to anywhere that Ilocano is spoken in the Philippines. If you want to use it in conjunction with a certain area, I would check with the locals about which words are most appropriate for something, if more than one is given. I also was really looking forward to using the book to help me understand more of what I hear in Ilocano already. I was a little down to realize that there is no Ilocano-English dictionary, only English-Ilocano. Overall though, I have found the grammar sections and the English-Ilocano dictionary very helpful. This book is both insightful and well put together.

Seeing that there aren't many resources for learning non-Tagalog languages in the Philippines, this book makes up for that. The beginning of the book deals mainly with grammar and it also includes a short history of the language. And the rest is a dictionary. As Carl Rubino stated to me, it's part of a 500-page thesis... And I must add, it's very well done.

I almost would say that this book is as much about the Philippines as it is about the fun loving dictators the Marcos's. The book covers about 50 years and covers more then just the rise to power of these two, but also detail in what was happening in the country as a whole. I came away thinking the book could have been called the Marcos Crime Family, I guess if you are in power for so long it is easy to keep slipping more and more down that path. I was also interested in how much the USA was involved in keeping them in power, sure it probably seemed like the best thing to do, but the country suffered under his uninspired rule for so long how many years will it take for them to get up to the level of many of the other countries in Asia?

You can tell that the author is an investigative journalist because of the straightforward, detailed account he gives. This book comes at you almost like the author had an ax to grind. I would have liked a bit more on the end - what happened after they left? Overall the book was enjoyable and worth the effort.

This book manages to shed a light on the Marcos Dynasty & what they have done to the Phillippines. Whilst some incidents seemed to be far-fetched, for those who have lived in Asia for a long time, the incidents seem to make sense afterall. Connections & corruptions come hand-in-hand. The book also dented the shiny armour of USA of their involvement in local politics. The book is incomplete on its own. Rather, if we read all the book offerings by Sterling Seagrave such as the Yamato Dynasty, Soong Dynasty, & Marcos Dynasty, we would get a better picture. I suppose the author is running short of space. otherwise, I wouldn't mind knowing the aftermath of the Marcos Dynasty after they have shifted to the States & also the former wife that Ferdinand has left behind. Otherwise, this book is a very good effort, indeed.

Excellent! This is a must read for Filipinos! I know it because I am a Filipino!

If you are looking to read, forget this one. 100 pages( 50 of which illustrations) of under sized print, not to mention its inordane shape left this book without a chance from the moment I opened it...

Capt McGrath captures the essence of human depravity in a manner that makes humanity ashamed of its cruelty and proud of its resilience. A book such as this is a great thing to have on one's desk to look at when times get tough - a quick look at it will serve as a definitive reminder of how good one really has it! I have the utmost respect for Capt McGrath and his fellow POWs who served their country honorably and admirably. If you want further insight into Capt McGrath and his fellow POW's plight, I HIGHLY recommend the documentary "The American Experience - Return With Honor."

I have read this book many times and each time I get chills at the thought that a human being suffered through this. Mike McGrath and the other POW's are our nations guardians of liberty and freedom. There time spent in the cells in Hanoi stand as a testament to the human will. They emerged bruised and battered but they returned with Honor.

Just finished reading this book and found the portion
debunking JFK idolators' revisionist history to be well done,
although rather long winded. The rest of the book is pure paranoia - I was alive during the Vietnam buildup and well remember the motives that led to intervention. Surprisingly,
Chomsky attributes dark motives to practically everything
the US did during those times, and virtually never touches on the motives most often at play - the defeat and containment of Communism, which at times looked as though it was going to win.
Chomsky seems to think that Communism was essentially just a sort of ultra socialism. That is his biggest error in the book:
a severe naivete about what Communism was and why much was sacrificed to ensure that it didn't envelope the planet. In other words, he displays an extreme case of tunnel vision.

What is missing from Chomsky's book is the notion that if anyone told JFK right to his face precisely what the United States was going to do in Nam for the following ten years (I think George Ball tried to do this), the president himself wouldn't have believed it, and could have told him, "You're crazy . . . " (as I remember this, the president expressed himself with an expletive) and really meant it. Anyone who thinks that American policy in Vietnam ever made sense is underestimating the ability of the government to lie whenever it is trying to picture what its national honor adds up to in evens and odds. I knew that something was crazy when I read in Rethinking Camelot that John Newman had written a letter to "The Nation" in which he said, "Let's get serious." Actually, the policy always begged to be compared with some outrageous joke, and "The Nation" has been great at coming up with jokes (I have even read the admission by Calvin Trillin that he used jokes in his column) to match such situations. Possibly the funniest thing that I ever read just showed up again in the April 10, 2000 issue of "The Nation," in a book review by John Leonard. "It's worth recalling that when Freud finally got permission to leave Vienna in 1938, the Gestapo obliged him to sign a certificate saying that he had been well treated by the authorities. He added a sentence of his own: 'I can heartily recommend the Gestapo to anyone.'" (p. 26) American policy in Vietnam was always a dream of imposing that kind of order in a country in which a majority of the people were not Americans, and might even try to kill Americans, if you want to know the truth. I can name one Kennedy adviser who was willing to tell LBJ in November, 1965, that the odds were about even that things were getting worse in Vietnam, and were going to get a lot worse as the plans at that stage were implemented, but he wouldn't have even been keeping his job if he told everybody what he thought. I'm actually glad McNamara didn't resign in protest, because he knew that other people could do his job worse than he could, and he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the country from the kind of stupidity that was assumed for anyone in his position, of which he was highly aware.

Excellent overview of the relationship between American political/corporate culture and the origens of the Vietnam War. In this case, Chomsky looks at the historical revisionism that clouded the discourse on the assassination of JFK. The book does not debunk the notion that a conspiracy in Dallas occurred; rather the emphasis is on how JFK simply continued (and, in some cases,expanded) the basic thrust of American foreign policy. Using mostly the internal record, Chomsky details JFK and his virulent hawkish and anti-communist ideology, a fact which Camelot propogandists attempt to hide or minimize. Once again, the point is to highlight the reality: a single political party exists today to do the bidding for the corporate sector (of which the military-industrial complex is a large component). Remember, JFK had increased defense spending and forced through a great deal of pro-corporate legislation (while also dragging his heels on Civil Rights legislation and scolding the Warren Court for its progressive leanings) prior to the assassination. All in all, another worthy contribution from one of the great American intellectuals of the 20th century.

This book was less about Ho Chi Minh, and more about why the United States should not fight him. This reader was hoping for a more detailed discussion of Ho's life, his philosophy, etc. This book does over some insights into Ho Chi Minh's character and life, but I was left with the feeling that the book was written for other purposes. The book was originally published in 1970, a year after Ho's death so the book also smacks of the eulogy, glorification of the dead variety.

Ho Chi Minh was, in many ways, a mysterious figure. This book reveals some of those mysteries. But also, his stalinist tendencies which caused the death of many of his fellow countrymen and women. Although a revolutionary, he was a stalinist in many ways. Halberstam is such a brilliant writer though, its worth a read.

Yes I read this. You read. You learn so much. YIf you are like me and you can like this book. I went to see Ho in Hanoi. His body was in Russia for maintenance. This was not informed to me by word of David. Sorry my English. Please visit my country.

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.

I don't think this book is in any way a bad travel book, but it could be better. Generally, there is not enough detail, and there aren't enough maps. There are maps of all major cities, but the maps aren't detailed enough and then if you go to a place even a little off the path of the everyday tourist, there won't be a map at all. I think this book simply takes on too much. Most travelers will never see all these countries in one trip, so they end up with a lot of wasted paper and packing space. If I could do it again, I would buy the Lonely Planet guides to the individual countries. The writer who does the research for LP in Thailand in Laos is a well-known expert. You'll get more detail and better information. Besides, the new LP for Southeast Asia just came out, so that makes the debate between Let's Go and Lonely Planet pretty easy.
I recently saw Wat Phu in Laos. I had photocopied part of Lonely Planet:Laos and I also had my Let's Go book with me. Let's go was worthless compared to LP, even though LP:Laos came out in 1998. I had a map of the temple and tons of history on it. It was like having a tour guide, without having to hear the bad English.

Like all other volumes in the "Let's Go!" series, the guide to Southeast Asia is at the top of it's field. I planned and executed a flawless 2-week trek that took me from Detroit to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia with the information I gleaned from this book. Exhaustively researched and informative without being dry, "Let's Go! SEA" is essential if you are thinking of traveling to that area. The sights, hotels and all travel info is broken down and the pros and cons are thoroughly weighed so as to give the traveler the best info needed in making crucial decisions. Take it from me -- the proof is in the pudding. This is THE book on SEA and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This book contains the most current information on the market for backpacking in Southeast Asia. The depth of the research is outstanding, with authoritative information on where to get the best pempek in Palembang, whom to hire to cook your octopus on Pulau Nias, and how to get your poste restante from the central post office in Medan. The maps have obviously been checked by a rigorous routine of trekking up and down every street, and the prose has the characteristic golden polish that always sets Let's Go above its competitors. Good job, guys.

The first 5 or 6 Chapters are very useful for the Beginner but afterwards it becames increasingly difficult. It hard to understand the explanations on more advance grammar. I think that unnecesarilly tries to explain many concepts instead of teaching the howto of the language as in the first part. I think I should be reworked (at least the last part) in order to make the student to be able to use the grammar at least for some basic reading. I think I should include more practical examples of reading and interpreting texts. Vocabulary alone is not enough. So I guess that considering the few book about this subject this is a good one after all despite the shortcomings.

I am less enthused about this massive tome than the other reviewers. I have a feeling that the book has failed to make the transition from a very lively university course to a textbook. The approach using all the different 'dimensions' is rather idiosyncratic. There problem is that there are few other choices when it comes to Tibetan textbooks. There is a heavy reliance for examples on the literature of logic. In my opinion more examples from practice-related material would have been useful. Too much reliance is placed on traditional Tibetan grammar for my liking. And that romanisation is unnecessarily complex. Still, it is a very significant work, and inspite of its short-comings, is still the best in this small field.

Very useful book for learners with a constructive introduction to Tibetan sentence structure and a useful basic vocabulary for classical Tibetan. Start with this book if you want to learn to read Tibetan and get a good basis. With the next edition please give us a lighter version an add an index!

I read this book as part of preparation for teaching my ISLAND LIFE course, which examines the role of islands in ecology, conservation and biogeography. Although not, as other reviewers have pointed out, a scientific treatise, Severin's VOYAGE is a very nice way to "get into" both the ecology of an amazing part of the globe (southern Indonesia) and the life and work of the truly amazing Alfred Russell Wallace. While Severin can't refrain from some minor Darwin-bashing (Wallace, among MANY other contributions was the co-discoverer of Evolution by Natural Selection) he is much less nasty than some other popular authors, and (thank goodness) gets on with discussing both Wallace's travels in Malaysia and his own attempt to follow Wallace's path. This makes for both fun story-telling & some fascinating glimpses of a world that many of us will never get to see -tropical islands now all too endangered by the growth of modern "civilization". With his keen interest in boats & boat-building Severin takes us through the construction of the locally built craft that mimics the sort of boat that Wallace might have encountered more than 150 years ago & also discusses regional forms of navigation & seamanship. I passed the book on to my historian father & he was equally enthused. Overall a delightful read that will leave you hungry for more on Wallace & Wallacia

Beginning naturalists like me need enjoyable, readable books such as this to help us learn about our field. I had been interested in Alfred Wallace from the time I first learned of him as the guy who thought up the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest at the same time as Darwin. I wanted more information and looked for a biography of Wallace. Someone suggested The Spice Islands Voyage instead of a traditional biography.

The first time I approached the book, I plunged in craving a biography and didn't get past chapter 3 because I felt bogged down by all Severin's detailed descriptions of boat building. I put the book down for over a year, unsatisfied, still wanting to know Wallace. I finally came back to the book with more realistic expectations, understanding that I would read not only about Wallace, but also about Severin's team's journey to retrace his footsteps. Once I began to read with more patience I was pleased with the book. I found out what I wanted to know about Wallace and got the bonus of learning a lot about Indonesia and sailing.

Severin is a traveling sailor-amateur naturalist-author, who is writing to appeal to a large audience, so I wouldn't expect a scholarly, scientific work. As an introduction to Wallace and Indonesia for someone who has a beginning interest, I feel the book is valuable. Most other complaints about the hardcover edition can probably be attributed to cost cutting measures in publication. Artwork that was almost certainly created in watercolors looses much of its pizzazz when displayed in black and white. Color photos cost less when grouped in the center pages, but are never as effective as they would be when integrated with the text. Multiple and detailed maps are another expense. College students often complain about the cost of textbooks for some of these very reasons. This is not a textbook, so I feel the readers should be willing to make allowances for cost.

It is clear that Severin is a fan of Wallace and aims to give him more recognition. To achieve this goal he does downplay Darwin a tad bit overmuch. To a naturalist reader already grounded in Darwin, this is no harm. To a reader from that wider audience approaching with perhaps a sailing interest in Indonesia, reading about Darwin for the first time, this may be a slightly unfair depiction. However I would rate the danger as only minimal. I was intrigued by Wallace when I began reading, and came away a full-fledged fan. I definitely recommend this book.

I thought this book kept it's promise. It was part scientific, part historical, part travelogue. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5. I look forward to reading other books by Tim Severin. He has a deft way of braiding in adventure with history. He obviously spends a lot of time researching his material.

This is a technical book, detailing all the complex rules of writing Thai. For beginners who have not studied linguistics, the methodology used may be inaccessible. For those who already know some Thai, and would like to improve their ability to spell, and to determine tones of unknown words while reading, this is a very good resource. The book contains no exercises -- book refers to a Thai Reader which contains exercises -- I have not seen the Thai Reader.

The Thai use a fairly complex writing system. The basic principle is one letter one sound and, unlike English, you can actually tell the pronounciation from the spelling. But there are lots of strange rules and many exceptions that you have to learn. Mary Haas untangles and explains them all. Every detail about the Thai system of writing can be found in this careful and systematic book. (My only criticism is the poor print.)

So should you buy this book? It depends. It will take you at least one month of hard work before you have mastered Thai writing. If you don't want to spend that much time, you are better off focusing on the spoken language. Also, the book is not written for complete beginners. You need to know basic phonetics terminology. If you don't know what say an "unsaspirated unvoiced stop" is, you need to study some phonetics before you can use this book.

But if you are serious about learning Thai and you know basic phonetics terminology, then this is the best book you can get about Thai writing.

The Thai writing system is not as complex as it appears at first glance, but can be somewhat frustrating for speakers of English. Mary Haas lays out the system very very well. As with all older texts, and as other reviewers have noted, this one would benefit from a reprinting with modern and more elegant laser fonts. As Derek Tonkin and Franklin Huffman set the standard for textbooks on the Khmer writing system, Mary Haas has done the same for Thai.