How to Grill a Gourmet

Book Description

Here's a fact! 90% of all new restaurants close within the first year. Now here's a lesser known fact. 90% of those surviving the first year close within the first two weeks of the second year! I know. Our restaurant lasted exactly one year and two weeks. The story you are about to read is the truth - the whole truth. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. THAT'S RIDICULOUS! Anyone who was in our fair city (Ann Arbor, Michigan) 30 years ago when we started this fiasco knows exactly who the nine of us are. If you weren't in town then, you probably have heard about La Seine - the most elegantly authentic French restaurant ever to grace Main Street, Ann Arbor. You also know us. Our story was written 30 years ago, but it has taken us this long to lick our wounds and ease the pain. Now we can laugh about it and share the humor with you.

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Darwin rules

Asks all the right questions

powerful thoughts on unanswerable questions

A much-needed exploration of the price paid by some

Into the dark with a flashlight

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow: The Dark Side of Extreme Adventure
Maria Coffey
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Fragile Edge: A Personal Portrait of Loss on Everest

Strange And Dangerous Dreams: The Fine Line Between Adventure And Madness

Addicted to Danger: A Memoir About Affirming Life in the Face of Death

Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition

On the Ridge Between Life and Death: A Climbing Life Reexamined

ASIN: 0312290659

Book Description

Without risk, say mountaineers, there would be none of the self-knowledge that comes from pushing life to its extremes. For them, perhaps, it is worth the cost. But when tragedy strikes, what happens to the people left behind? Why would anyone choose to invest in a future with a high-altitude risk-taker? What is life like in the shadow of the mountain? Such questions have long been taboo in the world of mountaineering. Now, the spouses, parents and children of internationally renowned climbers finally break their silence, speaking out about the dark side of adventure. Maria Coffey confronted one of the harshest realities of mountaineering when her partner Joe Tasker disappeared on the Northeast Ridge of Everest in 1982.In Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow, Coffey offers an intimate portrait of adventure and the conflicting beauty, passion, and devastation of this alluring obsession. Through interviews with the world's top climbers, or their widows and families-Jim Wickwire, Conrad Anker, Lynn Hill, Joe Simpson, Chris Bonington, Ed Viesturs, Anatoli Boukreev, Alex Lowe, and many others-she explores what compels men and women to give their lives to the high mountains.She asks why, despite the countless tragedies, the world continues to laud their exploits. With an insider's understanding, Coffey reveals the consequences of loving people who pursue such risk-the exhilarating highs and inevitable lows, the stress of long separations, the constant threat of bereavement, and the lives shattered in the wake of climbing accidents. Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow is a powerful, affecting and important book that exposes the far reaching personal costs of extreme adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Darwin rules.......2004-04-20

I loved this book, but probably not for the reasons of most other readers. It reminded me of the Darwin Rules website and books celebrating the ways in which people find to remove themselves from the gene pool.
Surely this applies to mountaineers! This is my conclusion after reading Maria Coffey's engaging book. She relates harrowing tale after harrowing tale in which these absurd risk takers try again and again to kill themselves. Eventually they all seem to succeded.
It becomes hilarious after about the fourth chapter.
Coffey does not try to make us feel sorry for those left behind. This is a wise ploy as it would only soften the impact of what she has to say, which is that these people cannot be helped, but perhaps understood.

Asks all the right questions.......2004-04-04

A terrific successor to Fragile Edge by the same author. That book was a personal journey - a quest for answers - followed by the author after the death of her famous mountain climber boyfriend on the slopes of Everest.

This book looks at the effect of following this most dangerous of passions on the partners left behind and some who sometimes accompany their loved ones. Even more interestingly, Maria Coffey looks at the point of views of those who have no choice in their relationships with those whose addiction seems as self-serving and as inevitable as any other addiction - parents and children.

I really liked Coffey's earlier book, and I recommend this one as much. I believe she has matured as a writer as well. She has the knack of addressing very large picture issues yet not losing sight of the personal and `small moments'.

Some of the personal testimonies about coming to terms with loss and dealing with grief are true not only for losses under such circumstances, but there are some universal truths particularly for anyone who has had to deal with death and the "loss of a future", rather than a mere celebration of a life fulfilled (as many older person funerals have become in my culture in recent years).

An understated but important subtext for me is what this has to say about gender relations. It is no accident that most of those off risking their lives, and the fur=tures of those around them are male. Ms Coffey does touch on this, and especially the unusual circumstance of women with children who still pursue the apex of whatever mass of rock and ice they have their heart set on. However, she never table thumps an agenda . . . you are lft to ponder your own conclusions.

A remarkable achievement.That Ms Coffey has the confidence of so many associated with the pursuit is a testament to her insight and empathy.

I rate this alongside Ed Douglas's book "Chomolungma Sings The Blues" as my favourite books discussing ethical and spititual concerns about mountaineering.

powerful thoughts on unanswerable questions.......2004-03-13

Losing a friend or loved one is never an easy process, but it becomes even more tangled when they leave for a mountain adventure and never return. I first experienced this in the early 70's when 3 close friends were killed while attempting Mt. Elias in Canada. Maria Coffey examines how climbers and their families and friends cope with the devastating losses that shadow this sport.
She begins with a search for why people climb in the first place, and in particular why they continue after close calls; without becoming banal, she quotes Jim Wickwire, "One of the addictive aspects of climbing is that it allows you to be in the present moment in ways that are impossible in ordinary life". Similar thoughts come from Csikszentmihalyi's concept of 'flow' - which finds that the "enjoyment of risk comes not from the danger itself but from managing it, from the sense of exercising control in difficult situations." And then, there's the ultimate mountaineering existential futility of Camus' Sisyphus facing an "unspeakable penalty in which the whole being is exerted toward accomplishing nothing... Each atom of that stone , each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart".
The bulk of this powerful book interviews the survivors and comrades of lost climbers. At times, its difficult to read, but the feelings expressed range from acceptance to anger and denial. In most cases, there is a community of shared experience and values. Whether you're an active climber or arm chair mountaineer this book gives a much needed balance to the hyberbolic tales of expedition climbing. And for those of us who have lost people to the mountains it offers, not comfort, but a stoic acceptance.

A much-needed exploration of the price paid by some.......2004-02-22

My friend Arlene Blum (Anapurna: A Woman's Place) climbed in the Himalayas and elsewhere and lived to tell the tale. She now leads treks into the world's remote and wild regions, but she once rendered me speechless with her offhand reply to my horror at one hair-raising tale she told of crossing an ice bridge about a million miles up a some scary mountain.
"Why on earth would you do that?" I had asked, when I recovered my voice. And another unspoken question hung right behind the first: Having done it once and survived, why on God's green earth would you do it again? And again, and again.
"Oh, it's not really dangerous," and she poured me another cup of tea.
Not dangerous. Yeah, right.
Arlene had already lost a lover and several friends to accidents in high places, and others have died cold and lonely deaths since then. Not dangerous? I mean, what??
But there will still be those who MUST climb mountains. Some of them will die, and their survivors often are quoted as saying, "He died doing what he loved best," or the feminine equivalent. Maria Coffey's book, Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow," chronicles the naked underbelly of the experience of this particular kind of loss. It looks behind the public quotes into the hearts and bleeding souls of the survivors, and I believe it's a story whose exposure is long overdue. The personal costs of extreme adventure are too often dismissed for the thrill of reading about the adventures themselves. Coffey handles with grace and delicacy the stories of wives, husbands, lovers, friends, and children left behind my someone who just had to climb yet one more mountain - for reasons the rest of us armchair travelers can't even begin to imagine.

Into the dark with a flashlight.......2004-02-07

Coffey is to be applauded for asking the hard questions about the climbing game. In my experience, mountaineers too often pay lip service to the death toll in the hills, regardless of their own struggles with grief and fear. I think it's because grief and fear become so tied up together for a high-altitude climber of any enduring ambition, it becomes very difficult for them to honestly talk about the issues -- because it's all very close to the surface and uncomfortable. Coffey's exploration, filtered through her own grief, is compelling but not complete. What's missing is that internal monologue where grief and fear are seen to be in starkest play. I certainly recommend Coffey's book, but I would urge you to look at the new book by Peter Hillary, `In The Ghost Country', to complete the picture of the dark side. There you'll enter Hillary's mind and find the grief and fear of the game working there for all to see, a lifetime of horror playing out in his head on a walk to the South Pole. I love both books.

WHERE THE MOUNTAIN CASTS ITS SHADOW: The Dark Side of Extreme Adventure

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WHERE THE MOUNTAIN CASTS ITS SHADOW: The Dark Side of Extreme Adventure
Maria Coffey
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTF886

Customer Reviews:

somebody should've known better........2002-03-12

i'll just repeat everything everybody else already said for emphasis. cuz this is a poor quality collection, and it didn't have to be. i don't know whose stupid idea it was to shoot photos of monitors showing the videos rather than just printing from the negatives, maybe romanek himself thought it would somehow be conceptually "neat" to photograph his work as it plays across the screen, but of course the quality is reprehensible. it's like when you were 8 and you tried to dub a tape by sitting one tape deck next to another.

it's no suprise that romanek has werked with madonna several times, since they are both consummate rip-off artists - i mean "appropriators." if you like his videos, check out the brothers quay to see where he stole all his ideas. not that i think that invalidates his werk...well ok it does a little, but it's still fun to look at. "closer" is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures. BUT...it takes looking at a bunch of horribly digitized stills to understand how important it is to see his werk in motion as it was conceived and executed. it would be cool if they'd release a dvd collection of his videos - and then you could freeze-frame and get out your canon and make your own "video music stills." seriously. in that case you'd also be able to select your own favorite stills, cuz another problem i have with this book is that it leaves out some of the most interesting shots from the videos while including a lot of redundant filler.

it looks like they were prepared to spend a decent amount of money to produce a quality coffee table book, but the harebrained "video still" idea blows the whole thing. and sadly, i doubt whether you'll ever be able to purchase that mark romanek music video dvd, cuz the record labels have too much money to make hawking those videos in individual compilations.

A pixelated collection of outstanding work........2001-05-22

There was much abuzz for music video and film fans when highly respected director Mark Romanek announced the release of a collection of stills from his videos. I, myself, checked Amazon for a release date every day as soon as I heard it was going to be published.

The day came and Romanek's book arrived in the mail. The packaging was even impressive, with odd dimensions and a rough green fabric to coat the book's covers. On the front page was the unforgettable still of Madonna in her "Bedtime Stories" video.

As I read through the fascinating foreword by Mark Alice Durant, I turned the page and was greeted by a still from David Bowie's "Jump, They Say". I then realized the burden of a book that seemed too good to be true.

The title of the book doesn't kid when it says "Music Video Stills". The pictures are slightly blurred from actually being captured off a screen, so as that the pixels of the picture are thick and in horizontal lines. On most occasions, this minor defect doesn't affect the reader's viewing pleasure, but it is noticeable.

In any case, the book remains a fine collection, sporting key snapshots from all of Romanek's well-known and unknown videos. Highlights of the book include Nine Inch Nails' "Closer", Michael Jackson's "Scream", Nine Inch Nails' "The Perfect Drug", Madonna's "Bedtime Story", and Janet Jackson's "Got 'Til It's Gone". Others covered are videos by Lenny Kravitz, G. Love & Special Sauce, David Bowie, En Vogue, Keith Richards, and Iggy Pop.

Fans of music videos, cinematography, or Romanek's work in general will love this book and it is a recommended buy if you can stand picture quality that isn't 100% crystal clear. The book is also recommended for fans of realist (a la Andreas Gursky) and portrait photography.

Despite the blur, the book is a showcase of a cinematogrphical mastermind's diverse work and I'm proud to place it on my bookshelf.

I'm sorry, this is not good enough..........2000-06-13

My main problem with the book is the quality of the pictures. I read in another review, that the picture quality was great, but it isn't. Instead of doing the pictures for the book, by scanning the original 35-millimeter prints, as they should have done, for a good result, it looks like they've used video-images. yes, that's right: Video. There are those pink and light-green distortions at the edge of white areas. Pixelation happening all over the place. No clear, sharp edges. Very dissappointing. I love Mr. Romaneks work, and this book does not do his images justice, I'm sorry.

The best stills of Trent,Fiona,Milla,Janet,Lenny.............2000-01-23

I wondered,since these pictures are actually video stills,if they'd be grainy or fuzzy in some small way.NOT AT ALL,these look like photographs,you'd never guess they're stills...unless you've seen the videos.Fiona Apple's "Criminal" and NIN's "Closer" are two of my all-time favorite videos,and Fiona and Trent could not POSSIBLY look sexier than they do in those videos.And this book captures the very best frames.There's also a Lenny Kravitz video featuring Milla Jovovich which I'd never seen,where her eyebrows are still bleached for The 5th Element,and she's all buff,pale and otherwordly.And the Janet Jackson video featured has her looking more beautiful than ANY other video she's EVER made-sensual,minimal make-up,funky,earthy....WOO-HOO! This is a gorgeous,totally COOL book,I recommend it wholeheartedly.

At long last !.......1999-12-22

I've been a fan of Mark's before I even knew who he was, because all of my favorite videos were directed by him. This beautiful book is wonderful in that it displays many of the breathtaking images experienced in the dream-like environments he so masterfully creates. The book, however, doesn't make him any less elusive and mysterious, because the few pages of text don't elaborate much on him - but I guess - what can you expect, it's a book of video stills. After breathing in each page, you're left unfulfilled. You want more images, more pictures, more Mark! This is an absolute must buy for any fans of the art of music videos, Mark Romanek, and Milla Jovovich :)The fabric cover/binding is beautiful and the picture is perfect eye candy. I'm ready for the Mark Romanek Video Archive !

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Adriano Banchieri : Fantasie Overo Canzoni Alla Francese per Suonare dell'Organo et Altri Stromenti Musicali, Quattro Voci (Venice, 1603) and Ascanio Mayone : Primo Libro di Ricercari a Tre Voci (Naples, 1606)
F. Sumner
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Reference | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0824045173

Book Description

Fantasie overo canzoni alla francese...a quattro voci (Venice, 1603); Ascanio Mayone. Primo libro di recercari a tre voci (Naples, 1606)

Fantasie overo canzoni alla francese per suonare dell'organo et altri stromenti musicali, a quattro voci. (book reviews): An article from: Notes

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Fantasie overo canzoni alla francese per suonare dell'organo et altri stromenti musicali, a quattro voci. (book reviews): An article from: Notes
Giulio M. Ongaro
Manufacturer: Music Library Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on December 1, 1996. The length of the article is 1366 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Fantasie overo canzoni alla francese per suonare dell'organo et altri stromenti musicali, a quattro voci. (book reviews)
Author: Giulio M. Ongaro
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1996
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: v53 Issue: n2 Page: p617(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

With 160 trivia questions, 80 full-page bridge problems, and a wealth of useful information, this book is guaranteed to entertain as it instructs players of all levels and preferences.

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Collins Bridge Quiz Book
Bernard Magee
Manufacturer: Harpercollins Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8KJWC

Book Description

If you want top grades and a thorough understanding of Intermediate Accounting II, this powerful study tool is the best tutor you can have! It takes you step-by-step through the subject and gives you 431 accompanying related problems with fully worked solutions. You also get plenty of practice problems to do on your own, working at your own speed. (Answers at the back show you how you're doing.) Famous for their clarity, wealth of illustrations and examples, and lack of dreary minutiae, Schaum’s Outlines have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide—and this guide will show you why!

Customer Reviews:

Good Supplement to CFA Studies.......2005-07-13

Thus far, I have been fairly impressed with the quality and consistency of Schaum's Outlines. While I can't fairly evaluate this book's usefulness to CPA candidates, I believe that Baruch Englard's Intermediate Accounting II provides an excellent supplement to those pursuing the CFA curriculum or students studying accounting.

I appreciated Englard's attention to accuracy - I found few errors or discrepancies (but hey that could just be me!). To his credit, he also has a good way of explaining things.

The book's copyright is 1992, but the chapter material was still very relevant. The fundamental concepts presented in the book seem to have lasting value.

Most valuable to me were chapters covering Long-Term Liabilities, Dilutive Securities and Earnings Per Share, Revenue Recognition Issues, Accounting for Leases, Statement of Cash Flows, Accounting for Pensions and Deferred Income Taxes. All of these topics are currently studied under the CFA curriculum. Englard's accounting perspective broadens the financial analysts focus and thus makes the book a very worthwhile read.

Chapter end review problems provide readers with ample opportunity to further understand concepts. I commend Schaum's Outlines for being consistent with this general format. It facilitates one's learning and increased interest in topical studies.

Schaum's Outline of Intermediate Accounting II, Second Edition (Schaum's Outlines)

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Schaum's Outline of Intermediate Accounting II, Second Edition (Schaum's Outlines)
Baruch Englard
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0071469745

Book Description

Study faster, learn better-and get top grades with Schaum's Outlines

Millions of students trust Schaum's Outlines to help them succeed in the classroom and on exams. Schaum's is the key to faster learning and higher grades in every subject. Each Outline presents all the essential course information in an easy-to-follow, topic-by-topic format. You also get hundreds of examples, solved problems, and practice exercises to test your skills.

Use Schaum's Outlines to:

Brush up before tests
Find answers fast
Study quickly and more effectively
Get the big picture without spending hours poring over lengthy textbooks

Fully compatible with your classroom text, Schaum's highlights all the important facts you need to know. Use Schaum's to shorten your study time-and get your best test scores!

This Schaum's Outline gives you:

An easy-to-follow guide to all topics in the second-level course in Intermediate Accounting
Over 400 fully solved problems, including new “real-world” examples
Topic coverage completely updated to comply with recent FASB changes

Chapters include: Long-term Liabilities * Stock Ownership * Stockholders' Equity: Retained Earnings o Dilutive Securities and Earnings Per Share * Investments: Temporary and Long-term * Revenue Recognition Issues * Accounting for Leases * The Statement of Cash Flows * Accounting Changes and Correction of Errors * Accounting for Pensions * Net Operating Loss Carrybacks and Carryforwards: Deferred Income Taxes * Appendix

Schaum's Outline of Intermediate Accounting II

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Schaum's Outline of Intermediate Accounting II
Baruch Englard
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF9TZS

Amazon.com

As a second-generation Chinese-American, Eric Liu has grown up with an awkward relationship to race and ethnic identity. He can follow a conversation in Chinese, although he would have problems if he tried to take part in it; as for the written language, he is functionally illiterate. He would be the first person to question which of his personality traits are "Chinese" or "American," "Asian" or "white," or none of the above, and The Accidental Asian is, in fact, a rigorous self-examination--not merely about the costs and benefits of assimilation, but about whether assimilation should even be viewed in those terms.

Whether he's recalling his adolescent frustration with "Chinese hair" that just wouldn't permit itself to be styled, examining the history of Chinatown, or pondering the mixture of fear and fascination with which China is viewed by Americans, Liu writes with admirable personal intensity. It doesn't matter whether you consider The Accidental Asian to be a memoir or a batch of interconnected essays; once you've read it, you will be forced to consider for yourself what place, if any, race has in America today (but even more so tomorrow).

Book Description

What is race for? That bracing question animates every page of The Accidental Asian, a powerful work from one
of the nation's leading young voices. In these personal and poignant reflections on assimilation,
Eric Liu articulates a vision of American identity that will provoke and inspire. For Liu, the price of
assimilation became clear when he tried to read a memorial book about his father's life, composed in Chinese,
and found himself staring at a blur of indecipherable characters. There in his hands was the measure of his
inheritance. Liu, meanwhile, has watched with both       wonder and concern as a pan-ethnic Asian American
identity has taken shape. Here now is a race that   offers a new source of roots--but also tightens the hold that
color has upon our minds.
Like so many in the second generation, Liu doesn't know whether to embrace, resist, or redefine assimilation--
and ends up doing all three at once. He speaks candidly about his journey from a fierce pursuit of racelessness to a slow
rapprochement with race. He is not afraid to reveal his ambivalence. At bottom, Liu is an "accidental Asian"--someone who has stumbled upon a sense of race, who is not always sure what to do with it.
           Weaving narrative and analysis into a series of elegant essays, Liu addresses a broad range of questions:
¸          Is whiteness America's fundamental race problem?
¸          Are Asian Americans really the New Jews?
¸  Should we fear the rising might of China?
¸          What does a journey through Chinatown
   reveal about our own lives?
¸          What might intermarriage mean for Asian
  Americans--and for the future of race itself?

           The clear voice in these pages will resonate with Americans of every hue. Beyond black and white, conservative and liberal,
native and alien, lies a vast and fertile field of human experience. It is this field that Liu, with insight and compassion, invites us to explore.

Customer Reviews:

A Self-orientalized book .......2006-06-21

I accidentally read this book but unfortunately found I dislike it. As a Chinese who speaks and write imperfect English, I have read lots of books on Asian American history and memoirs. But I found Eric Liu, while trying to show off his ability to be assimilated and his desire to be accecpted by White American culture, does not really try to understand other Chinese including his own families. For example, when he describes his grandma, he does not show interest in her story and experience and share her opinions, because for what she talks about-Chinese and Taiwanese politics,Hong Kong pop stars, etc., he did not have interest. And he did not speak and read Chinese very well himself. He describes the grandma who has a rich experience, opinion and courage as if she was a mummy, just because she was not well adjusted to the new environment as himself. When Eric Liu describes New York's Chinatown, it seems that he was more American and Americans--it was noisy, "they" looked funny, everything there was exotic...He looks at Chinatown not as a native Chinese who respects and sympathizes people living there, in spite of their somewhat unbecoming habbits, but like cityboy going to the countrysiade for the first time and cried,oh, they are so dirty. "we are Chinese, but we still outsiders", he said. He obviously exaggrated the diffrence between his family and Chinatown people. But if his own family was so elitist, why was he never trained by parents to write a thank you note?
To be sure, I agree that American born Asians should identify with American culture and be more involved in politics, as Liu sugguests. But Liu is just too proud and pretentious. For Chinese American exprience, I would rather read Joy Luck Club.

what is asian-american identity?.......2005-11-04

Eric Liu wrote a memoir - he's entitled to his opinions - and he is not a self-hating Asian. Most of our problems stem from too much emphasis on race and race identity. I think we should all celebrate culture (not race) and diversity of culture (and not deny our culture) - but for those of us who feel that we're losing our parents' culture, we shouldn't feel too bad about it - because we're gaining another culture or developing a new kind or blend of culture (1.5 generation, etc.). Eric Liu mainly explores the question of what exactly Asian-American identity is. What's the point of trying to put ourselves into a box? It ends up being more restrictive and confining - and unnecessarily so. If you're Chinese or Taiwanese or Korean or whatever - learn to be comfortable with that - and with the fact that you're also American. In fact, to be American should not nullify your Chineseness. If you have been blessed with the opportunity (or the desire) to learn (and retain) your parents' language while growing up, be thankful for it and use it to help immigrants who really need help assimilating and adjusting to life in America. I think the group that needs advocacy is not the generation of Asians who have grown up as Asian Americans but the recent immigrants.

The more important question is why this constant yearning for a sense of identity in all of us? And where do we truly get our sense of identity in a world of constant flux and change? If we fix our sense of identity on our culture, culture's bound to change, too. "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!"

A few flaws, but an otherwise excellent book........2004-12-06

The author gives an account of growing up in America as the child of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan. He mentions his awkward teenage years, attending Yale University, and choosing a career path different from that of the stereotypical Asian-American: Marine officer, political staffer, television commentator, and essayist.

The first essay is a well-written, powerful tribute to the author's father, who immigrated to the United States and ultimately spending a majority of his life in his new country. This essay alone would prompt me to recommend this book to all immigrants and their children, Asian or otherwise.

This book is at its best when the author reflects on his own life and identity. However, when he drifts into pondering questions on assimilation and "omniculturalism," he forgets that he speaks only for well-educated, upper-middle class Asians born in the United States. To uneducated fishermen, indentured domestic servants, restaurant workers, and other blue collar Asians, assimilation will be far more difficult, if not impossible. Because the author appears to ignore this and other barriers to assimilation, I have to disagree with his theory that today's Asians are the "New Jew."

Overall, the book was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Asian-American culture. However, this book is hardly an authoritative look at Asian-Americans, and it only provides one man's perspective.

A++ book.......2004-10-06

That accidental asian by Eric Liu is a very well written memoir, he talks about the second generation of asian american which is very unusually you would find that most books out there are about the first generation of asian american. He talks about he experiences as he finds himself choosing between being asian or being american. There two culture are very different as he tries be both he finds himself being a banana like many of the second generation asians. he also talks about not being label as a typical asian so he tries to separate by having white friends but in the end he is put into the area as being a regular asian. This book was very fun to read and I recommend it to anyone that wants to read something new.

pretty good.......2004-04-24

This book is honest and the author doesn't try to say more than he knows. Nothing exotic thrown in for effect or drama. He writes for Asians and for himself which is uncommon.

It's not perfect but I gave it five stars anyway.

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The Accidental Asian : Notes of a Native Speaker
Eric Liu
Manufacturer: Random House of Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KP5X0M

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An Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker ('Ou ran sheng wei ya yi ren', in traditional Chinese, NOT in English)
Bochuan Liu
Manufacturer: Tian Xia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9576216133

Book Description

The Japanese mafia - known collectively as yakuza - has had a considerable influence on Japanese society over the past fifty years. Based on extensive Japanese language source material and interviews with criminals, police officers, lawyers, journalists, and scholars, this is the first English language academic monography to analyse Japan's criminal syndicates. Peter Hill argues that the essential characteristic of Japan's criminal syndicates is their provision of protection to consumers in Japan's under- and upper-worlds. In this respect they are analogous to the Sicilian Mafia, and the mafias of Russia, Hong Kong, and the United States. Although the yakuza's protective mafia role has existed at least since the end of the Second World War, and arguably longer, the range of economic transactions to which such protection has been afforded has not remained constant. The yakuza have undergone considerable change in their business activities over the last half-century. The two key factors driving this evolution have been the changes in the legal and law enforcement environment within which these groups must operate, and the economic opportunities available to them. This first factor demonstrates that the complex and ambiguous relationship between the yakuza and the state has always been more than purely symbiotic. With the introduction of the boryokudan (Iyakuza) countermeasures law in 1992, the relationship between the yakuza and the state has become more unambiguously antagonistic. Assessing the impact of this law is, however, problematic; the contemporaneous bursting of Japan's economic bubble at the beginning of the 1990s also profoundly and adversely influenced yakuza sources of income. It is impossible to completely disentangle the effects of these two events. By the end of the twentieth century, the outlook for the yakuza was bleak and offered no short-term prospect of amelioration. More profoundly, state-expropriation of protection markets formerly dominated by the yakuza suggests that the longer-term prospects for these groups are bleaker still: no longer, therefore, need the yakuza be seen as an inevitable and necessary evil.

The Japanese Mafia: Yakuza, Law, and the State

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The Japanese Mafia: Yakuza, Law, and the State
Peter B. E. Hill
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOJOCM

Book Description

What is the minimum viable population (MVP) of a particular species? Besides the obvious implications for conservation, especially of endangered species, this question raises important issues in population biology. MVP obviously varies with demographic, life history and environmental factors, but also depends upon genetic load and genetic variability. This book addresses the most recent research in the rapidly developing integration of conservation biology with population biology. Chapters consider the roles of demographic and environmental variability; the effects of latitude, body size, patchiness and metapopulation structure; the implications of catastrophes; and the relevance of effective population size on inbreeding and natural selection. Other topics addressed include the role of decision theory in clarifying management alternatives for endangered species, and the opportunities for improved co-operation between agencies responsible for management. The book concludes with a forward-looking and plain-speaking summary on future research and its application for conservation practice.

Linking the gaps between conservation research and conservation management of rare dipterocarps: A case study of Shorea lumutensis [An article from: Biological Conservation]

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Linking the gaps between conservation research and conservation management of rare dipterocarps: A case study of Shorea lumutensis [An article from: Biological Conservation]
S.L. Lee , K.K.S. Ng , L.G. Saw , C.T. Lee , and Muhammad
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR8LC0

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
To conserve a rare plant, conservation programs must be guided by the biological attributes of the species. What constitutes the most critical biological information for plant conservation has been the issue of discussion for the last 30 years. Most scientists promote an approach that is either ecological or genetic in emphasis. Ecological and genetic processes will often interact synergistically to influence the population viability and to determine the persistence of populations in the long run. Consequently, conservation management of plant species, in addition to ecological information, requires a robust understanding of underlying genetic processes as well as the variation within and between populations. Conservation has a cost and the resources available for conservation programs are always limited. Therefore, conservation management strategies should not only be scientifically justified but also practical in terms of resource availability. Shorea lumutensis is a rare and endemic dipterocarp in Peninsular Malaysia. A comprehensive research activity was initiated to assess the population ecology and population genetics of S. lumutensis to elucidate specific ecological and genetic requirements and subsequently to set conservation strategies and priorities. This paper is apparently the first attempt at applying both the ecological and genetic approaches into conservation management of a rare dipterocarp. In addition, this paper also attempts to link the gaps between conservation research and conservation management in a realistic manner. It is our hope that this study will serve as a model for the study of other rare dipterocarps which should be given priority for conservation.

The use of spatial concepts as a basis for designing a viable-habitat network: Conserving redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) populations in Sherwood Forest, ... from: Journal for Nature Conservation]

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The use of spatial concepts as a basis for designing a viable-habitat network: Conserving redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) populations in Sherwood Forest, ... from: Journal for Nature Conservation]
P. Nikolakaki , and N. Dunnett
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR39L8

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Journal for Nature Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This paper presents a method for the design of a habitat network in a fragmented landscape. It employs metapopulation dynamics and connectivity to develop spatial rules which, together with the requirements of a target species, can be used to guide the creation of a network to improve population persistence. Using these guidelines, two conservation strategies of patch enlargement and corridor creation are developed. The spatial models used to produce the habitat network are described. The resulting maps show the network consisting of the source patches that could be occupied by stable populations and a number of patches, which could support viable local populations, situated in the proximity of the sources or linked to them. The approach could be used to inform decision-making in nature conservation and landscape planning.

An assessment of the potential for restoring a viable steelhead trout population in the Alameda Creek Watershed

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An assessment of the potential for restoring a viable steelhead trout population in the Alameda Creek Watershed
Andrew J Gunther
Manufacturer: Applied Marine Sciences, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Viable Populations for Conservation

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GVLBBA

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