Far East Books

China: People Place Culture History

DK Publishing

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Gorgeous journey through a vast country 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I visited China earlier this year on business, so I was intrigued when I came across this book. When I opened it, I was not disappointed. This book celebrates China and its variety of culture, art, landscapes and rich history with beautiful photography and educational text.

The beginning section of the book draws you in with page after page of beautiful photographs of different landscapes in China, sprinkled with verses from Chinese poetry (translated to English, of course). It makes the reader aware of the varied landscapes (snow to desert, mountains to plans, forest to fields) that make up the vast country of China. Truly a treasury of photos!

The next section explains Chinese history, complete with a timeline. The information is provided in titled short paragraphs and articles so it is easy for the reader to get a glimpse of the history and read quick pieces for more detail. Small articles include items such as "The Grand Canal" and "The Boxer Uprising". All are sprinkled with old photographs and pictures of paintings and artifacts.

The most delightful section of the book is "A Day in the Life" which is a collection of stories about daily life of particular people in different areas of China. There's the life of a student in Shaanxi, a Chinese herbalist, a Buddist Monk, a Cricket Seller, and a farmer, just to name a few. The photos and text provide a window into the lives of the people of China to let the reader see life from their eyes.

There is also a section on Chinese Culture, which includes articles on philosphy and religion, painting, literature and Chinese opera.

The last segment of the book is entitled "Architecture" and contains pieces on various types of building styles, both old and new. From modern buildings such as the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai to an old Buddist Monastery in Hebei, this chapter contains a wealth of information and beautiful photography. The Jin Mao Tower is truly stunning inside (I wish I had gone to see it while I was there!). The Couple's Garden is typical of the gardens in Suzhou that I visited while there. One of the most beautiful places shown in called the "Temple of Heaven" with colorful painted decor and detailed stonework.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about China and its culture. It is not only informative, but makes a beautiful "coffee table book"!

Editorial Review:

As the world's oldest continuous civilization and most populous country, with the fastest-growing economy, China is experiencing profound social, economic, and political change. A detailed exploration of the country's long, rich history paired with its complex present makes China a one-of-a-kind reference that offers an eye-opening, thought-provoking and authoritative visual guide to one of the world's great nations. AUTHOR BIO: Written by an international team of China specialists.

The Great Wall: From Beginning to End

William Lindesay

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

It is arguably the greatest feat of civil engineering in history, and indisputably earth’s largest single cultural relic: begun during the Qin Dynasty (around 208 BC) and completed nearly 1,800 years later during the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall of China spans more than 4,000 miles. At the dawn of the Beijing Olympics, the eyes of all the world are upon it.
Two men who navigated every inch of the Wall have collaborated on a lavishly-illustrated tribute to this amazing structure. Michael Yamashita, an award-winning National Geographic photographer, spent a year shooting the Wall, its environs, and the people who live in its shadow, for the magazine. One hundred and sixty of his magnificent photos grace this volume, which features text by William Lindesay, who not only conducts tours of the Wall and spearheads the movement to preserve it, but has actually run its entire length. Broken into three sections, The Great Wall provides an overview that debunks myths and dishes up rare facts and figures, a comprehensive history that proceeds dynasty by dynasty through its construction, and an account of Lindesay’s personal experiences of the Wall.

Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs

Joan Sinclair

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This Isn't a Book for Prudes or Feminists 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

"All I ask is that viewers not assume that the profession is inherently degrading. It's more complicated than that. These women are not powerless, they are not on drugs. They have made conscious choices: they have their own dignity. The clubs are a reflection of modern Japan, a literate society, where the rules are written out, prices are not negotiable, and fantasies are predetermined, prescripted, and prepaid." Those are the words of Joan Sinclair, the young female photojournalist of this amazing book. In addition to startling pictures of a startling world unimagined to most of the western world the reader is provided some valuable historical information about what they are seeing. One of my favorite pictures is a close up a man's smiling face with a woman in the background laughing at his silly antics for the camera while she enjoys a cigarette. The customer quote from the 65 year-old Mr. Taniguchi is "I think men are universally perverted; it's just that in Japan, we do something about it." According to economists, in 2001, "the commercial sexual services sector in Japan accounted for nearly $20 billion." "Pink" or "pinku" translates as "Sexual: Commercial Sex." Most of these pictures were made in 2004.
It's amazing that this book was ever made. In the United States the people involved would probably never have allowed the foreign photographer in the front door, much less let her take any photographs. What is very obvious from the pictures is that the people involved in this fantasy land of sex are having a good time and even enjoying being photographed for publication. Their profession simply doesn't have the negative stigma attached to it, as is the case in the western world. Japan never experienced an extended period of time when various forms of sex was considered taboo or wrong. It was just a natural bodily function that was intended to be enjoyed by both partners. It was considered an important element of good health and long life. Guilt over sex wasn't a part of Japanese culture. Here you have both the hosts and hostesses as well as their customers cutting up for the camera lady. It was obviously a lark for them. They obviously weren't worried about being recognized by their family members and being ostracized from society because of their behavior.
This book provides an incredible look at an unknown to the western world phenomena. It shows high school girls selling their used high school uniforms and underwear to a "Used Underwear Shop." It shows a television auction for a woman's panties (they sold for 26,000 Yen) and she included a freshly plucked pubic hair as a bonus. There is a smiling portrait of a beautiful young woman holding up the 53,000 Yen she had just received for her used, soiled underwear. Sociologist James Farrer provides a very helpful introduction to this alien universe. The various clubs and lounges photographed and discussed include Hostess Clubs, Host Clubs, Nude Theaters, Touch Pubs and Pink Salons, Soaplands, Peeping Rooms, Fashion Health, Hotel Health, Cosplay (costume play), Image Clubs, (with fantasy rooms such as "Pervert Trains" full-sized scale models of subway cars for groping other passengers, Happening Bars and Couple Cafes, and a whole universe of fantasy, S&M, Kinky stuff that I can't begin to mention in this review. Some of my favorite pictures were of women dressed in their favorite Anime Character costumes. Other interesting and almost unbelievably surreal pictures were from the Club Mammoth, Tokyo's club for those usually skinny guys who like really big, big (obese) Sumo sized women. There were also clubs where customers can paint nude bodies with traditional calligraphy brush and ink, Karaoke with some unusual twists, sushi or sashimi meals served on a nude woman. This 192-page photographic coffee table book is beautifully done and manages to tastefully skirt actual pornographic pictures (not an easy task). Some of the text in the book's picture captions is so small it's difficult to read without a magnifying glass, but most of the text is actually oversized. I suspect the weird combination of type sizes and fonts had to do with the fact the book is probably translated into several different languages? Whatever, this book will provide readers and viewers with a voyeur's eye view of the underside of Japan. Just as with Brassai's coverage of the underbelly of Paris in the 1930's, this tome is not for prudes or puritans because western ideas of sexuality standards and culture don't apply. This world is an adult amusement theme park. The mostly young people pictured in the book are obviously proud of their profession and the money it makes them. They may even feel that they are on a par with rock stars and super models? The book is full of cartoon-like settings and cartoon like characters. One has to view it with an open mind and not try to psychoanalyze it to death. The obvious question of what happens to these young hosts and hostesses when they begin to show their age isn't answered or even discussed. This is a talented photojournalist's coverage of what is there and the reader/viewer will feel like they have actually been there looking over the shoulder of the thirty-year old American lawyer/photographer. That fact is not important to the book's pictures, but it does give you additional insight into the mind of the photographer. There is a lot of both intentional and unintentional humor displayed by the various photographic subjects. This volume is a peek at a surreal world that could probably only exist in Japan. It's probably already reached the status of the traditional Japan Shunga (Floating World) Pillow Books of the Edo Era. The two types of book are obviously related.
As one views this book they may feel an urge to pinch themselves to be certain they aren't dreaming and what they are viewing is real, not fiction. It is fantasy, but it is also very real.

Editorial Review:

In Pink Box, photographer Joan Sinclair takes us on a journey inside the secret world of fuzoku (commercial sex) in Japan, a world where kawaii (cute) collides with consumerism and sex.

Unrivaled in their creativity and the sheer number of choices, the clubs featured in this book offer their clientele every fantasy imaginable. Subway groping, visits to the nurse’s office, and comic book character encounters are just the beginning of the immense list of possibilities that are played out in colorful playrooms for adults where no detail is overlooked. Sinclair’s photographs capture it all, while an introduction by sociologist James Farrer provides a brief history of commercial sex in Japan and places the images in the context of contemporary Japanese culture.

China, Portrait of a Country

James Kynge, Karen Smith

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Editorial Review:

The People's Republic seen by Chinese photographers. This book brings together a vast selection of images by Chinese photographers since 1949, giving readers a visual journey across the great People's Republic; edited by esteemed photojournalist Liu Heung Shing, longtime Associated Press correspondent and Time magazine contributor. In post-Mao China, late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping urged his one billion countrymen to "seek truth from facts." Taking its cue from Deng's overture, China today is the leading economic story of the 21st century. The process by which China navigated the path from periphery to a central position in world affairs dominates the debate about Asia and China's relationship to the western world. Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Liu Heung Shing charts the visual history of sixty years of the People's Republic (1949 to 2008), and along the way aims to illustrate the humanistic course.

The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish To Spectacular, Goth To Gyaru, Sidewalk To Catwalk

Philomena Keet

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Tokyo is home to the most creative and stylish fashion in the world. The Tokyo Look Book takes us on a dazzling journey through the streets, clubs, and boutiques of this trendsetting city to introduce us to the people who wear the latest fashions and the people who make them. Crammed with cool, full-color photographs of Tokyo's trendy teens and twenty-somethings captured candidly as they work and play, this is a comprehensive look at the richly varied fashion scenes that thrive in Japan's capital city -- from the "gal" mecca of Shibuya, to the goths and cosplayers who hang out on Jingubashi bridge on Sundays, through the cutting-edge kids on the Harajuku backstreets, to the stylish young professional men and women on Omotesando Boulevard.
Yuri Manabe's distinctive photographic portraits are complemented by insightful text from British anthropologist and fashion expert Philomena Keet, who offers witty and informative background information on each of the fashion scenes introduced, and a plethora of soundbites and quotes from the featured fashionistas. In addition, there are interviews and spotlights on Tokyos hottest fashion designers, magazines and boutiques, including:
SHIBUYA 109: Shibuyas iconic shopping mall
GLAD NEWS: One of 109s leading boutiques
REIKO NAKANE: A former trendsetting charisma109 shop girl, now producer of her own fashion label
MANA: Japanese pop star and designer of Elegant Gothic Lolita brand, Moi-meme-Moite
H.NAOTO: Creator of the popular goth/punk brand
TAKUYA ANGEL: Creator of the cult cyber-kimono brand
TEAM MESSAGE: Designer of skate/streetwear brands
DOG: Owner of a cult street-fashion boutique
SHOICHI AOKI: Creator of the influential street-fashion magazine FRUiTS
GARCIA MARQUEZ GAUCHE: The husband-and-wife team behind this stylish brand for young women
5351 POUR LES HOMMES: A fashionable mens brand
TOKYO FASHION WEEK: A peek behind the scenes
MANNENYA: Purveyor of traditional Japanese workmens outfits

Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

John Berthold

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Unique and exquisite portrayal of Bhutan's peoples and regions 5 out of 5 stars.
33 of 33 people found this review helpful.

As a frequent traveller to Bhutan, mesmerized from the first step into the country by the beauty of the landscape and its people, and fascinated by the rural life-style there, this unique photographic portrayal of the country by region and cultural group is a special treasure in my collection. For anyone with even a passing curiosity about this land that is undergoing a phenomenal cultural revolution, this book is a necessity. For the would-be travelers, it will awaken your senses before you arrive, and for the vicarious adventurers who will see Bhutan only from the comfort of their armchair, there has never been a more beautiful way to peek into the remote corners of Bhutan that are rarely viewed by even the local people and never by foreigners. Kadinchey la, John Berthold!

Editorial Review:

In Bhutan, progress is measured in terms of “Gross National Happiness” and Thimphu, the capital city, has no traffic lights. This mesmerizing book captures the beauties of this remote kingdom, the only independent country to support Buddhism as the official state religion. Readers are transported to ancient fortresses and temples, colorful festivals, and religious ceremonies, as well as to isolated communities along the roof of the world. Featuring photographs taken over the course of three years, the book guides readers through areas normally off-limits to Western visitors, and encompasses a wide range of landscape, portrait, and editorial photographs.

Bikes of Burden

Hans Kemp

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a fantastic book and brought back some many great memories from travelling in that part of the world. A reccommended buy!

Awesome book!!! Must have after our trip to SE Asia. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book was a must have after seeing much of this craziness first hand in Vietnam and Cambodia. You see this kind of thing everywhere over there but you can't ever seem to capture it on film since it is usually flying down the road heading the other direction.

THe pictures in the book are VERY true to everyday life in Vietnam 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

After a visit to Viet Nam this book really brings back wonderful memories of the various sights we saw everyday! The photography is beautiful. A great coffee table book to remind one of their travels!

Bikes of Burden 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

For a photographer, this is an outstanding book. Both as examples, for clever shots/scenes, and as a how to.

Editorial Review:

In Vietnam the motorbike is the main mode of transport, not only for people but for every imaginable and unimaginable product and produce. Without the motorbike the economy would come to a halt. Bikes of Burden shows in 148 stunning, full color photographs how the motorbikes, the drivers and their loads ride around the cities and countryside in acts that defy your wildest imagination.

Fruits

Shoichi Aoki

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki's book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A best-of collection from the fanzine of the same name, and published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favorite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Garçons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men's silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL (elegant gothic Lolita), and a swathe of tartans, pinks, and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.

One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy's delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll and is currently preoccupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their "point of fashion" and "current obsession." The scope for sociopsychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilization, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks, and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl. --David Vincent

Fresh Fruits

Shoichi Aoki

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Presented in an identical format to Phaidon's previous Fruits, published in 2001, Fruits Too is a collection of Tokyo teenage street fashion portraits selected from Japan's premier street fanzine of the same title. Published every month by Shoichi Aoki, who is also the sole photographer for the magazine, Fruits was established in 1994 as a project to document the growing explosion in street fashion within the suburbs of Tokyo. Over the last decade the magazine has grown to cult status and is now avidly followed by thousands of Japanese teenagers who also use the magazine as an opportunity to check out the latest styles and trends. The average age of those kids featured in the magazine is between 12 and 18 years old. Most of the clothes that they wear are a combination of high fashion - Vivienne Westwood is a keen favourite - and homemade ensembles which when combined together create a novel if not hysterical combination. This latest publication of the best of Fruits will follow the original Phaidon publication by including translations of the various Japanese captions that were originally attached to the photographs that list the name, age and clothing of each person photographed.

China

Edward Burtynsky, Ted Fishman

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Edward Burtynsky's imagery explores the intricate link between industry and nature, combining the raw elements of mining, quarrying, shipping, oil production, and recycling into eloquent, highly expressive visions that find beauty and humanity in the most unlikely places. These images are metaphors for the dilemma of our modern existence: we are drawn by desire--the desire to live well and in comfort--yet we all know that the world is suffering to meet those demands. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into uneasy contradiction and feeds the dialogue in Burtynsky's images between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. Burtysnky's latest body of work gives visual form to the industrial and urban transformation of China, a place where industrial forces are gathering on a scale that the world has never experienced before. If the earth's resources were up to now under siege through western colonialism and technological progress, then China is on the brink of a sweeping assault on the planet's ecosystem that is only just forming and is nowhere close to expressing its full impact.