That just won’t seem to go away-the book meme is back again.
What is the book meme? It is where you list the last ten books you have read-and no, Manga does not count. ( Damn it Jim, I’m a doctor-not a reader!). Oh what the heck-here are the last 10 that I have read or am currently reading:
1) Imperial Cruise– This is a book about the journey of William Taft and Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter to Japan to negotiate a settlement to the Russo-Japanese war. It is by James Bradley, same guy who wrote Flags of Our Fathers. Now that was a good book. This one? Not so much. The biggest problem with this book is that Bradley turns it into an anti-colonialism screed about the Philippines and Korea, without considering the context of the time. Plus, given the current track record of Madame President Arroyo-its not certain that Teddy Roosevelt was wrong: The Filipinos just might have been better of under American protection. Interesting history-but you will want throw the BS flag pretty early.
2).Rape of Nanking-by Iris Chang. I did a detailed review of this book back in 2006. I wanted to go back and re-read it for two reasons: 1) to refresh my memory for another book about China I was to read and 2) to have ammunition to throw at the S.O. every time she goes on one of her “ I don’t understand why the Chinese are so pissy” rants.
3) Red Light Nights, Bangkok Days-Chronicles of Sexuality across Asia. -by William Sparrow. Hey, a man needs to hang on to his dreams, doesn’t he? Nuff said.
4) Six Days of War-By Michael Oren. Its a pretty good account of the Six Day War in 1967. Does a particularly good job of chronicling how the Arabs were inept in the build up to and the prosecution of the war.
5) The Wrecking Crew-by Thomas Frank. Its an account of the hollowness of many conservative ideas before Bush junior and during. An enjoyable read but I agree with Publishers Weekly about it: While Frank’s assessments and interpretations of key events, players and party doctrines is accurate and justifiable, his overwhelming blame of the Republican Party as the source of everything that’s wrong with this county and as the emblem of self-destructing government denies the Democrats and the citizenry their roles in a decaying democracy. That sums it up pretty well-although his description of Saipan as being some sort of sexual playground, kind of overstates what it is really like there. ( Its about the sweatshops set up in the Marianas).
7) Shanghai Girls-by Lisa See. This book was not what I thought it was about. Has all the makings of a movie on Lifetime someday. Blech!
8 ) Getting Out: Your Guide to Leaving America.-by Mark Ehrman. This is what almost two years of exile in Shopping Mall USA will do to you. See line 3-stoking the fires of my dreams.
These last two I have not read yet-they are on my to do list. I probably would not have ordered them, had I not read about them over at Expat at Large.. Once I did read about these books-I just had to get them and read them.
9 )The Singapore Grip-by J.G. Farrell. Life in pre-war Singapore.
10) The Siege of Krishnapur-also by J.G. Farrell. Set in India in 1857 during the time of the Mutiny.
So there! My work here is done. Now get your own books and read them.
Skippy-san,
After leaving Singapore I ran across a couple of books that might be up your alley. “Invisible Trade” and “Invisible Trade II” by Gerrie Lim. Both of the books were interesting in talking to and about the sex trade in Singapore and across Asia in general. There is nothing too scandolus in it, but some real interesting stories about the bigorty in places like Malaysia, HK, and even Japan; think of moral codes or even just ethnic backgrounds. Even more interesting was reading about how some of the woemn interviewed found it easy to get out, but the temptation to make buku cash was a hard temptation to stay away.
I read the Rape of Nanking and it was a good book. The hard part was making people understand that this event actually happened. It is scary.
I’ve read Invisible Trade.