Koncocoo

Best Chinese History

Bully of Asia: Why China's Dream is the New Threat to World Order
that invented totalitarianism thousands of years ago whose economic power rivals our own that believes its superior race and culture give it the right to universal deference that teaches its people to hate America for standing in the way of achieving its narcissistic "dream" of world domination that believes in its manifest destiny to usher in the World of Great Harmony which publishes maps showing the exact extent of the nuclear destruction it could rain down on the United States. Steven Mosher exposes the resurgent aspirations of the would-be hegemon–and the roots of China's will to domination in its five-thousand-year history of ruthless conquest and assimilation of other nations, brutal repression of its own people, and belligerence toward any civilization that challenges its claim to superiority. Steven W. Mosher is president of the Population Research Institute and an internationally recognized authority on China.
Reviews
"Steve Mosher demonstrates his total command of China, its history, culture, politics, and, most importantly, present intentions."
"In the West’s recent memory, however, China was wracked with turmoil and dominated by the main Western powers and Japan – certainly since the Opium Wars of the mid-1800s. DeVore is the author of "The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America" and the co-author of "China Attacks.""
"Whatever elements of capitalism and study abroad the People’s Republic of China adopts, its Great Han Chauvinism transforms them as means of imposing its will on other nations."
"Mosher shows that while many people view China as another nation among many, political leaders within China view it as a superior power destined for hegemony."
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The Art Of War
Note: The chapters in the book are not in order and it is intentional. 1.
Reviews
"I want to tell future readers of this book in this way. I read it first when I was 14 or 15."
"These truths in ancient warfare still hold true today."
"Ancient and still relevant."
"A great short read, the laws can be applied to not only warfare, but everyday life and any problems that may arise."
"The basic Art of War without commentary... which is actually a good thing... although some of the commentary does help..."
"Great book; will read it again; also applies to day to day such as business transactions, dealings with associates, etc."
"Great read and commentary on the classic war strategy book that offers advice applicable to any facet of life."
"I received and read this book all in one day."
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Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?
About the Peloponnesian War that devastated ancient Greece, the historian Thucydides explained: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Over the past 500 years, these conditions have occurred sixteen times. Yet, stressing that war is not inevitable, Allison also reveals how clashing powers have kept the peace in the past — and what painful steps the United States and China must take to avoid disaster today. A NATIONAL BESTSELLER. A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR. A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE. AN AMAZON "BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2017 SO FAR" “Thucydides’s Trap identifies a cardinal challenge to world order: the impact of a rising power on a ruling power. In Destined for War , Allison lays out one of the defining challenges of our time—managing the critical relationship between China and the United States.” — JOE BIDEN, former Vice President of the United States. If Graham Allison is right—and I think he is—China and the US must heed the lessons in this superb study in order to build a strategic relationship that avoids a war which neither side would win.” — General (Ret.). [ Destined for War ] argue[s] persuasively that adjusting to this global power shift will require great skill on both sides if conflagration is to be avoided...[ Destined for War is full of] wide-ranging, erudite cases studies that span human history...[A] fine book. "A brief but far-reaching book in which potted history is incisively deployed…Perhaps we can avoid war, Mr. Allison says, by negotiating a long peace with China. I can only hope that all senior policy experts read this timely book to prevent our country from falling into the trap Professor Allison so ably warns us against." “In Destined for War , Graham Allison has again done a great service. With an incisive review of the wars of yesterday and a deep understanding of today’s international politics, Allison has provided American and Chinese leaders not just with a stark warning about the consequences of falling into the Thucydides’s Trap, but also the insight to avoid it. “In dissecting—and suggesting ways to bend—the dangerous arc of the US-China relationship, Graham Allison has written the most important foreign policy book of our time. “Reading Destined for War and drawing from its lessons could help to save the lives of millions of people.” — KLAUS SCHWAB, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum “Steeped in history and propelled by one of the most transformative developments in modern times—the rise of China—Graham Allison has written a gripping book that decision-makers and citizens alike must read, digest, and act upon. He mines the recent and distant past to offer essential insights into the future — in so doing, changing the way we think about how America should act in the present.” — SAMANTHA POWER, former US Ambassador to the United Nations and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell “If any book can stop a world war, it is this one. Graham Allison makes a clear and compelling case that serious conflict between the United States and China is looming, but not inevitable. “Might Destined for War be the policy book of the year? Deftly presented, clearly structured, and with a fine concluding exploration of the endless historical debate between great forces and contingency, Destined for War seems itself destined for much attention, argument and constant classroom use.” — PAUL KENNEDY, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Surely another classic in the making, Destined for War is a brilliant example of 'thinking in time', which—as the author shows—is against us.” — BRENDAN SIMMS, author of Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy “Graham Allison has been a source of inspiration for me as a student and diplomat. As with Essence of Decision , Destined for War again provides us with his penetrating insights into global politics in the 21st century and beyond.” — BAN KI-MOON, former Secretary General of the United Nations “Managing our strategic rivalry with a rising China will be the number one challenge for US foreign policy in the decades ahead.
Reviews
"Allison primarily frames the USA vs. China rivalry in the well-known paradigm of superpower rivalries going back to Athens vs. Sparta, Britain vs. {every European Empire + Russia + Japan + USA}, and finally the USA vs. the Soviet Union. The implication is that we should not allow ourselves to be drawn into war with China over petty incidents that are vital to China’s prestige, but not to ours. The USA and China have historically been in alliance against other expansionist powers, especially during WWII when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor after we demanded that the Japanese withdraw from their brutal conquest of China. Nevertheless, the possibility of war between the USA and China cannot be ignored. Allison outlines the scenarios of possible USA / China war: a conflict in the high seas around China that China claims as sovereign territory; a conflict over the trade imbalance; a declaration of independence by Taiwan; and of course a renewal of the conflict in Korea that could accidentally involve both the USA and China in a war neither wants. Allison makes no bones about China’s intentions: =====. China is ready to use the carrots and sticks of its economic power— buying, selling, sanctioning, investing, bribing, and stealing as needed until they fall into line....China enjoys such superiority in its balance of economic power that many other states have no realistic option but to comply with its wishes, even when the international system is on their side....The fact is that China’s economic network is spreading across the globe, altering the international balance of power in a way that causes even longtime US allies in Asia to tilt from the US toward China. =====. I thus learned more than I expected from the book. I would also recommend another book as a companion to this one, that portrays the USA / China relationship in more historical depth, and with a more positive spin: THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY (the USA is called "the beautiful country" by Chinese) AND THE MIDDLE KINGDOM (China) BY John Pomfret. My takeaway from both is: “We can manage our relations to China constructively so as to have a fascinating and prosperous future of mutual benefit to us ad all humanity; but only so long as we are very careful not to disrespect each other, underestimate each other, or do something stupid that will provoke a war, that does not need to be fought.”. Of course that idea is self-evident, but the books delve into the specific details of policy on HOW the vision of cordial relations and mutual prosperity between the USA and China can be achieved by both nations."
"It has fought in Korea and Vietnam and protected Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, and the sea lanes in the region. Allison picks sixteen similar examples of great power conflicts over the last 500 years, only four ended peacefully. America started to apply the Monroe Doctrine and regarded the Western Hemisphere as its backyard. Teddy Roosevelt made it clear to the Europeans that the US would not tolerate interference in the Americas and it would fight to protect its interests. Foreign policy experts such as Ian Bremmer and Robert Kaplan have advised appeasement and suggested that we should terminate our obligations to Taiwan and Japan. He calls this “offensive realism.” The neo-cons who worked for the first President Bush wanted the US to become a global hegemon and they created the Wolfowitz Doctrine, which Allison does not mention. Allison believes that both America and China assume that they are special and inherently superior to other nations. China has made it clear it does not want be part of a world order dominated by the US and its liberal democratic values. Allison believes that there will soon come a time when the US would probably lose a military confrontation in the South China Sea. Some of Allison’s chosen historical lessons were not particularly relevant to the coming conflict with China and I often disagreed with his analysis. Germany’s decision to go to war in 1914 was mainly about its rivalry with Russia and maintaining hegemony over the European mainland, something Britain never had any interest in. Allison's list of key players in 1914 (e.g., Churchill, Edward VII, Bethmann Hollweg, and the Kaiser) is also wide of the mark. On the British side, Sir Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary) and David Lloyd George ultimately called the shots."
"This work, by looking at the past and how competition between countries often leads to war—like a game of road chicken-tries to suss out what both the US and China need to do to prevent war between our nations."
"This can be a scary book, but keep reading."
"Excelent analysis of historical data with comparative analysis and deep knowledge of decision making under pressure."
"Clearly we are sleeping in America while the huge totaliarian state of China begins to isolate America through the use of soft power."
"Excellent perspective."
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Best Japanese History

Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series)
Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln , Killing Kennedy , Killing Jesus , Killing Patton , and Killing Reagan , this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before. The iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor led the program to the status of the highest rated cable news broadcast in the nation for sixteen consecutive years. He holds a history degree from Marist College, a masters degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University, and another masters degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Reviews
"It is an insightful look at WW2's end with Japan and the decision by our President on using America's newest weapon, the Atom Bomb."
"I read a lot of history, and this book certainly appears to be in alignment with prior history I have read."
"I hope and pray that others will take the time to read this and understand the need to Make America Great Again."
"The "Killing" books are a great way to bone up on history."
"I am not a history reader but this book is written so that the roles played by all main characters are interwoven in a manner that you can just about place yourself in the middle of each scene."
"If all history teachers made history this interesting, many more kids would learn eagerly."
"My dad, after 3 years fighting in Europe, would have been part of the invasion of Japan."
"In the mid-70s, I commanded the US Army's intelligence unit in Japan, and had first hand knowledge of many of the scenes including Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
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Best Philippines History

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission
“The greatest World War II story never told” ( Esquire )—an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue the last survivors of the Bataan Death March. When Army Rangers among Douglas MacArthur's forces arrived in the Philippines, they hatched a daring plan to liberate their captured comrades, a mission that, if successful, would prove to be a tremendous morale booster at the front and at home. Led by a young officer named Henry Mucci (called "Little MacArthur" for his constant pipe as well as his brilliance as a strategist), a combined Ranger and Filipino guerrilla force penetrated far behind enemy lines, attacked Japanese forces guarding Allied prisoners at a jungle outpost called Cabanatuan, and shepherded hundreds of prisoners to safety, with an angry Japanese army in hot pursuit.
Reviews
"Tirelessly researched, skillfully written story of one of the greatest rescue missions of American POWs during the waning days of WW II."
"Inspiring story of heroism and human endurance."
"Hampton Sides is a uniquely talented story teller."
"I bought this book/s in November.For myself and for family and friends.It was only three weeks ago that I started reading it.I work nights and have a family so I only read in my free time.At times,I read a few pages at work when I am on my break.I chanced upon this book when I was browsing for books to read and I tell you this is a great find!I only heard stories from family about the Japanese occupation.Heard about Yamashita and the Hukbahalaps from friends.Learned just bits and pieces about it in highschool.My grandfather(mother's side) was a captain in WWII but he died before I was born.On my father's side of the family,they experienced first hand the cruelty of the Japanese soldiers.My father was young about 12 y/o when the soldiers took my grandfather's brother(the rest of the family fled and hid in the mountains)to one of the elementary schools,forced him to drink water and stepped on his stomach.In this book,you will read about the atrocities of war,it's evil side.You will feel for the characters and wonder how the POW's were able to survive the horrors done to them.Forget about Saving Private Ryan,this is a true story of the most daring rescue in the Pacific.While you're at it,watch The Great Raid as well."
"This is the second Sides' book I have read in the last three months, and both were "page turners" that I couldn't put down until I had finished them; then I was disappointed that the stories had ended."
"It also covers the infamous Bataan Death March where 100,000 starving and diseased American and Filipino POWs were forced to walk from the southern tip of Bataan province 90 miles north without food, water, or rest."
"Why must history textbooks be so dry and why must history courses require memorization when one can learn so much by being exposed to true stories within the context of the facts?"
"Another beautiful book on soldiers that we never heard about in school.These young guys took bravery to new heights.It is heart breaking what they had to endure and even more so what they endure here at home trying to get the services they were promised and deserve, such as medical care.Never forget veterans...we are free today because of these incredible humans.."
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Best India History

A Long Way Home: A Memoir
This is the miraculous and triumphant story of Saroo Brierley, a young man who used Google Earth to rediscover his childhood life and home in an incredible journey from India to Australia and back again... At only five years old, Saroo Brierley got lost on a train in India. A Long Way Home is a moving, poignant, and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. Born in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India, Saroo Brierley lives in Hobart, Tasmania, where he manages a family business, Brierley Marine, with his father.
Reviews
"It is the real-life story of Saroo, a five-year-old child in a village in central India, who gets lost and finds himself transported all the way east to Calcutta, some 1800 kms away. However Saroo always wonders about his origins, with clear memories of his birth mother Kamala, his kid sister Shekila and elder brothers Kallu and Guddu, whom he looked up to as a child two decades before. Gradually, over five years, with incredible patience and perseverance , Saroo, at age 30, using Google Earth's satellite images and Facebook, miraculously locates the train station with the identifying features of his childhood. Saroo soon goes to India and reconnects with his birth family to the great delight of his elderly mother Kamala and his siblings Shekila and Kallu, who are now married with children. It is a great tribute to these wonderful technologies which make it possible for the adult Saroo to sit ten thousand miles away in Hobart, Australia and exactly locate the water tower and overpass of his childhood memory and find out the correct name of his village. Going through the early chapters where Saroo survives for six weeks as a five-year-old in Calcutta, I had palpitations as I felt anxious that nothing terrible should befall young Saroo!"
"When 5-year-old Saroo is accidentally separated from his Indian family at a train station, he ends up surviving on the streets of Kolkata (Calcutta) on his own for 2-3 weeks before being taken to an orphanage. Fast-forward 25 years, and Saroo chooses to search for his biological family, which he does with the help of Google Maps, Google Earth and Facebook."
"Saroo was born in a small suburb of Khandwa, India called Ganesh Talai, which was an important place for him all his life including when he would initiate the long and tiresome search for his mother. Although this story wasn’t written by Saroo himself, ghost writer Larry Buttrose did an exceptional job at capturing the emotion and details of the journey. A poverty-stricken neighborhood, with a mud house and the only form of electricity coming from a candle, Saroo’s family had to work very hard to support each other. Guddu, the eldest brother, went to work every day, washing dishes for many hours just to make only half a rupee. Anyhow, Saroo and his family ultimately resorted to begging for money at local markets, railways, and neighborhoods. The author did an exceptional job at showing how much his family did to be able to support him by using many examples of his mother and brothers going out for long work days even if it meant earning enough to buy a simple loaf of bread. The author emphasized the importance of his adoptive parents and gave a good idea of what role they played for him following such a tragic loss of his biological family. “Mum and Dad were very affectionate, right from the start, always giving me lots of cuddles and making me feel safe, secure, loved and above all, wanted. The author was able to make me feel guilty for having such a good life by showing the struggle of this five-year-old boy losing his family with no money, no one to talk to and no way of how to find himself home."
"This is a unique story about a boy who became lost in India, adopted, relocated to Australia and his, eventual, return back to India in search of his birth mother and family."
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Best Korean History

The Girl with Seven Names
Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. ‘The most riveting TED talk ever’ Oprah.
Reviews
"Being so close to the border they could also get Chinese cell phone service and calls could be made to North Korea using Chinese cells. She withstood an interrogation by the Chinese police and was able to convince them she was Chinese due to her ability to speak Mandarin and her mastery of Chinese Characters, which she attributes to her father pushing her to study while she was in school. She has dangerous interactions with gangs, which she survives, was assaulted badly by an unknown assailant with a 1 liter beer bottle, an incident that did put her in the hospital and other adventures. They chose Laos, a backwater whose insufferable bureaucracy and corrupt civil service made things hard."
"The book is divided into parts, describing the author's life in North Korea, then her life in China (an entire decade), escape to South Korea, and finally, the ordeal of getting her mother and brother out of North Korea. In China, she makes a life and barely avoids deportation, being captured by human traffickers, and an arranged marriage to a complete zero."
"Few people that live outside North Korea (myself included) can fully understand the brutal horror that is a daily reality for the average people who are enslaved there."
"Having learned little about Korea in my lifetime, I felt so gratified to learn TRUTHS about the living standards dramatic differences in the North and South. I am so happy that she, mother and brother are together and finding joy in living."
"She informs the reader of the lack of freedom available to the citizens of North Korea through the day-to-day experiences of her life there."
"As for Hyeonseo, she is like a superhero to me and yet human in the fact that she loves her family and the freedom to make her own decisions about how she wants to live."
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Best Russian History

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice
Because of that, he became Putin’s number one enemy, especially after Browder succeeded in having a law passed in the United States—The Magnitsky Act—that punishes a list of Russians implicated in the lawyer’s murder. A financial caper, a crime thriller, and a political crusade, Red Notice is the story of one man taking on overpowering odds to change the world, and also the story of how, without intending to, he found meaning in his life. "The first half of Red Notice traces Browder’s improbable journey from prep-school washout through college, business school, and a series of consulting and Wall Street jobs before becoming Russia’s largest foreign investor....This book-within-a-book does for investing in Russia and the former Soviet Union what Liar’s Poker did for our understanding of Salomon Brothers, Wall Street, and the mortgage-backed securities business in the 1980s. Browder’s business saga meshes well with the story of corruption and murder in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, making Red Notice an early candidate for any list of the year’s best books." “In Red Notice , Bill Browder tells the harrowing and inspiring story of how his fight for justice in Russia made him an unlikely international human rights leader and Vladimir Putin's number-one enemy. It is the book for anyone interested in understanding the culture of corruption and impunity in Putin's Russia today, and Browder’s heroic example of how to fight back.” (Senator John McCain). Bill Browder is an amazing moral crusader, and his book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand Russia, Putin, or the challenges of doing business in the world today."
Reviews
"I've read a lot of Russian and Soviet history and I am interested in hedge funds, so I picked this book off the Amazon Vine list. Red Notice is the story of Bill Browder's hedge fund, Hermitage Capital, which at one time was the largest foreign investor in Russia. Hermitage produced extremely high returns and, before its demise, Browder had four and a half billion dollars under management. Boris Yeltsin and his advisers who inherited the Russian state wanted to make sure that communism would never return. Gorbachev had almost been overthrown in a coup by the communist old guard, so Yeltsin and his advisers felt that they had to put the state on an irreversible course away from communism as soon as possible. This was the environment that gave rise to the Oligarchs, brilliant and ruthless men who built multi-billion dollar fortunes from the rubble of the Soviet State. He was fascinated by Eastern Europe and when few people saw the possibilities in Russia he established a hedge fund that became wildly successful buying up under priced Russian assets. He managed to get the famous billionaire investor Edmond Safra to put up the initial money for the fund and went on to make huge profits. The standard share for hedge funds is 20% of the profits, so Browder must also have become a very wealthy man (e.g., hundreds of millions of dollars). After buying the under-priced assets they exposed the corruption, which at least for a time drove the thieves away and caused stock prices to rise. What ever the case, there is some irony in Browder's renouncing his US citizenship, since it was the US that allowed him to gain some measure of retribution by passing the Sergei Magnitsky Act."
"Without giving away too much, the book starts with a brief history of the authors early life before proceeding to his university days at Chicago and Stanford before moving to London to be a research analyst for a few firms. To that end he setup his own firm, Hermitage Capital, moved to Russia and came across amazing opportunities as the fall of the Berlin wall and communism was taking place. Starting out with just $25 Million in seed money from Edmund Safra (one of the richest people in the world), Hermitage Capital went on to become one of the largest investment banks in Russia growing to over $4 Billion. This apparently came from President Obama as it would hurt his total appeasement plan of "resetting" relations with Russia and at the time Kerry himself was trying to get the Secretary of State position after Hillary Clinton. Only after another piece of legislation came to bear and the two were tied did it come to the floor but even then John Kerry gave totally shameful remarks during the passage of the bill."
"Both adjectives describe Vladimir Putin leader of Russia and according to Browder, the richest man in the world."
"A great book for understanding the current oligarchy in Russia following the fall of communism, for understanding the still heathen and corrupt system of government in that country, and for understanding the economic sanctions that Russia and the U.S.A. currently are imposing upon each other, back and forth, like little tyrants."
"I don't recall how this book got into my Kindle queue but I am so glad it did."
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Best Pakistan History

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace - One School at a Time
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard. Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. The third time you become family."
Reviews
"It's a good children's book."
"This was a well written account and put forth a totally different solution to terrorism than the popular media presents."
"Both books offer extended examples of the heroics these men went to in order to safely escort/save Mortenson and Luttrell."
"Should be required reading in school."
"Jon Krakauer's 'Three Cups of Deceit' details how Mortenson went on to drain massive sums from his charity for personal use, renting private jets for book-selling junkets and buying his own books at retail to stay on best-seller lists."
"I thought it was far too full of flowery language and exaggeration, which was inappropriate for an account of real events."
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Best Central Asia History

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll recounts the history of the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks. Steve Coll is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and from 2007 to 2013 was president of the New America Foundation, a public policy institute in Washington, D.C.
Reviews
"This is the best book for understanding the roll of the CIA in Afghanistan and the war on terror."
"There were no apparent gaps in the connected dots and most connections made solid sense."
"If you have interest in covert operations and the intelligence agencies of the united States, this is an amazing book."
"Great product, would definitely recommend to others."
""Ghost Wars" is a fresh, detailed, and fascinating assessment of the United States' experience with Afghanistan from 1979 to the eve of 9/11/2001. Coll's recounting of this twenty year saga goes far to explain the roots and development of the United States's inability to deter the danger that became so graphically evident the day after this book's narrative ends. Yes, the book is detailed, but it would be a disservice to back away from the intricacies of the story -- just as it has proven to be a mistake for the United States to have backed away from the complexities of Afghanistan once the Soviets withdrew. While one might wish to disengage from such interwoven complexities, the risk of ignoring a failing state such as Afghanistan is to allow the creation of a untamed country in which an extreme regime such as the Taliban and a group as dangerous as that sponsored by Osama bin Laden can take root and thrive. I do wish that Coll had carried through with an epilogue to shed light on the events in Afghanistan of the past two to three years and the relationship of the U.S. to that sad country today. I know Coll has more to say about how the United States' response to 9/11 in Afghanistan has affected our relations with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia."
"If you want to know what really happened, you need to read this book."
"There are no 'Ghosts' to be found but a lot of hauntings as Coll brings into focus a series of turns and events in a troubled part of the world where tribal histories and passions have produced and fueled some very determined fighters."
"Steve Coll has done an outstanding job in presenting the history of our relationship with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the Afghan freedom fighters and shows how that history foretells what is occurring in the world today."
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Best Hong Kong History

City of Darkness: Life In Kowloon Walled City
Girard and Lambot spent four years exploring the notorious Walled City of Kowloon (Hong Kong), before it's final clearance in 1992.
Reviews
"Fascinating journey into another world."
"really some of the best photos, stories and insight on kowloon walled city demolished almost 20 years ago."
"It truly is sad this city no longer exists."
"Great gift and coffee table conversation piece."
"And the book itself is fascinating, just as described."
"Having lost the small pamphlet on the Kowloon Walled City that I had bought at the Hong Kong art museum many years ago, I did a web search to see if there was anything available to replace it."
"Update - 5 stars: I wrote a review before and gave a 2-star rating because I had a quality issue with this book - the binding on my copy came unglued after looking through it once or twice."
"Here are some snippets from the official website for the new edition, which will be a 356-page hardcover: "The new edition will include extended new sections on the history of the Triads in the City, the City's peculiar legal status, its architecture, and how it is has become part of popular culture.""
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Best Southeast Asia History

Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
full of emotion and color.”―Karl Marlantes, Wall Street Journal The first battle book from Mark Bowden since his #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down , Hue 1968 is the story of the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive and a turning point in the American War in Vietnam. The lynchpin of Tet was the capture of Hue, Vietnam’s intellectual and cultural capital, by 10,000 National Liberation Front troops who descended from hidden camps and surged across the city of 140,000. A Christian Science Monitor , Kirkus Reviews , Military Times , Hudson Booksellers, and Chicago Public Library best book of the year. Hue 1968 is also an exploration of what is common to all wars: humankind's capacity for violence, cruelty, self-sacrifice, bravery, cowardice and love. Mr. Bowden undertakes this task with the talent and sensibility of a master journalist who is also a humanist and an honest man . Bowden’s interviews, almost half a century on, with those who fought, on both sides, have produced unexampled descriptions of small-unit combat.” ―George F. Will, Washington Post. applies his signature blend of deep reportage and character-driven storytelling to bring readers a fresh look at the 1968 battle in the Vietnamese city of Hue . Bowden tells this story with a power and a wealth of detail that no previous history of this offensive has approached." Based on hundreds of interviews, news accounts, histories and military archives, the book combines intensive research with Bowden's propulsive narrative style and insightful analysis . What sets Bowden's account of the battle apart is his skill at moving from the macro―the history of the war, the politics surrounding it, the tactics of the battle―to the micro: the individuals, American and Vietnamese, who fought it and tried to survive it." "Bowden is one of the great journalists of our generation, and with this book he provides a captivating account of the pivotal battle that did so much to alter the trajectories of not just the Vietnam War, but also American politics and our nation's global posture. With its capacious research that includes the perspectives of combatants and civilians, Vietnamese and Americans, presidents and privates, it epitomizes what a definitive account should be." “An engrossing, fair-minded, up-close account of one of the great battles in the long struggle for Vietnam.” ― Washington Post , “50 notable works of nonfiction in 2017”. The heart and soul of Hue 1968 lies with its vivid and often wrenching descriptions of the 'storm of war' as soldiers and South Vietnamese citizens experienced it." “In a 539-page narrative, Bowden delivers a work of grand ambition: impassioned, powerful and revelatory at its best, and the most comprehensive yet on the Tet Offensive’s bloodiest confrontation.” ―Gregg Jones, Dallas Morning News. Many lessons, including how government can lie and [the] role of an effective media in finding truth. "For readers who enjoy learning about battle tactics and bloody encounters, Bowden delivers, as he did in Black Hawk Down . Most impressive of all, Bowden deftly blends clear descriptions of complex troop movements with careful attention to the human impact of the fighting . Bowden deserves enormous credit for calling new attention to an often-overlooked battle and especially for recovering the experiences of those who fought amid otherworldly horrors." Bowden revisits the historic battle with the same character-driven, grunt-level reporting style that made Black Hawk Down a bestseller. He lends a sympathetic ear to surviving soldiers on both sides, as well as guerrillas and civilians, and gives a vivid account of courage and cowardice, heroism and slaughter.” ―Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times. “ Hue 1968 pulls off a rare feat: it takes a conflict of terrible scale and consequence, and allows us to see it unfold at the street level, through the eyes of Vietnamese and American soldiers engaged in the struggle, journalists and activists observing the chaos, and the civilians caught in the crossfire . Not only are the personal stories Bowden uncovers at turns deeply moving and horrifying, but they also pose uncomfortable parallels with current events in the Middle East and Afghanistan.” ―Sebastien Roblin, National Interest. This is as much a book about what happens to peoples’ hearts, minds, and bodies in the swirling chaos of urban combat as it is a history of a specific battle and an assessment of its strategic significance. With a novelist’s eye for evoking the grim atmospherics of a hellish locale and the characters within it, Bowden reconstructs dozens of scenes of heart-pounding combat . “I am still recovering from the astonishment and appreciation of the reporting and writing in Mark Bowden’s latest book: Hue 1968 , a story of a single battle that encompassed so much of what occurred in that epic year of our history.” ―Mike Barnicle, Politico. This is the definitive account of a turning point in America's Vietnam strategy and in public opinion about the war.” ― Wall Street Journal , “top 10 nonfiction books of 2017”. “[A] skillful, gripping account of the turning point of the Vietnam War.” ― Christian Science Monitor , “30 best books of 2017”. “Bowden confronts head-on the horrific senselessness of battle and the toll it takes on people, and he grants Hue the regard it deserves as a defining moment in a war that continues to influence how America views its role in the world.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred review). "In this meticulous retelling of one critical battle, Mark Bowden captures the nuanced and often invisible threads of America's political, military and cultural blindness in Vietnam. “Bowden interviewed people on both sides, to great effect, and weaves a dense but compelling narrative about a battle that was a microcosm of the entire conflict.” ―Alex Prud’homme, Omnivoracious , favorite reads of 2017. Building on portraits of combatants on all sides, Bowden delivers an anecdotally rich, careful account of the complex campaign to take the city. One of the best books on a single action in Vietnam, written by a tough, seasoned journalist who brings the events of a half-century past into sharp relief." "An epic masterpiece of heroism and sacrifice, and a testament to the tragic futility of the American experience in Vietnam." gives voice to dozens, including Nguyen Quang Ha, whose five-man team emerged from underground caves to strike the first blow for North Vietnamese forces, Bob Thompson, a career marine officer charged with taking back the US stronghold at the Citadel, President Lyndon Johnson and General William Westmoreland in Washington, DC and reporters David Halberstam, Michael Herr, Gene Roberts, Walter Cronkite and others who changed the way Americans perceived the war." " Hue 1968 unravels one of the great mysteries of our time―how a puny force of North Vietnam regulars and local sympathizers could without warning occupy South Vietnam's second largest city, hold it for a month, then disappear into the mountains, beyond reach and largely unbloodied. While giving due respect to the abilities, actions and fighting spirit of the U.S. and ARVN Marines and soldiers who participated, Mark Bowden brought clarity to the larger intelligence, political and strategic shortcomings that made the prosecution of this battle so much more challenging and costly than it needed to be." "The longest and fiercest fighting of the Tet Offensive took place in and around Hue in early 1968 where Communist North Vietnam suffered a terrible military defeat. Yet the fight for Hue became a political victory for the leaders of North Vietnam and a turning point for US involvement and support for the war. Relying on archival documents now available after 50 years, he also examines the considerations and decisions of political and military leaders at the highest levels. This book is a tragic tale of misunderstanding but also one of great heroism and sacrifice by those who fought in the streets of Hue and in the nearby rice paddies and villages." "Mark Bowden uniquely describes the battle from both sides of the front lines and vividly captures the remarkable courage and valor of those that participated in the crucible of war that was Hue City in January to March 1968. "I am a US Marine Vietnam veteran who participated as a tank crewmen in the Tet 1968 battle for Hue City. “Powerfully told, and a vivid depiction of individual courage and national hubris.” ―William J. Burns, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. More than anything, Hue 1968 is the story of the entire Vietnam War in microcosm.” ―Michael M. Rosen, Claremont Review of Books.
Reviews
"My criticism is only that the author glosses over the fact that journalists did have a staggering effect on the fighting, and often their stories did fuel the anti-war movement back home. It occurs to me that if journalists had written about the Battle of the Bulge in the same tone that Walter Cronkite and others portrayed Hue, we would have sued for peace with Germany."
"5 Stars. If you only ever read one book about Vietnam, you could do a lot worse than Bowden’s “Hue 1968.” Other good choices would be Karnow’s “Vietnam: A History” and Sheehan’s “A Bright and Shining Lie.” However, Hue 1968 delivers not only the facts of the American tragedy in Vietnam , or even a particular point of view of the facts, but it also accurately depicts the feelings of the Americans serving in Vietnam, as well as those of Americans at home, and the Vietnamese who could not escape the war."
"While the author paints a very sympathetic portrait of most of the marines and soldiers caught in the fighting, he generally has a veryr unflattering view of US higher commanders, who simply wouldn't believe that the North Vietnamese could take and hold a major city, because it did not conform to their preconceptions of what the enemy was capable of, or what strategy they would adopt. As a result, for several days after the city had fallen, US commanders sent laughably small contingents--individual companies of a couple of hundred men--to retake the city, occupied by up to 10,000 enemy troops."
"Bowden gives us the best explanation of why the battle of Hue was the key turning point of the war, how U.S. government and military leaders deliberately lied to the American public about progress, and how carefully the Peoples Army of (North) Viet Nam and the National Liberation Front troops deceived the Americans into believing the big attack would come along the borders rather than the cities like Hue."
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