Book Description
"Tan is one of the prime storytellers writing fiction today."
NEWSWEEK
Winnie and Helen have kept each other's worst secrets for more than fifty years. Now, because she believes she is dying, Helen wants to expose everything. And Winnie angrily determines that she must be the one to tell her daughter, Pearl, about the past--including the terible truth even Helen does not know. And so begins Winnie's story of her life on a small island outside Shanghai in the 1920s, and other places in China during World War II, and traces the happy and desperate events tha led to Winnie's coming to America in 1949.
"The kind of novel that can be read and reread with enormous pleasure."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Customer Reviews:
As usual, Amy Tan has won me over.......2007-09-29
Not my favorite Amy Tan book, but certainly one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Tan works her magic weaving an interesting story that makes for wonderful reading.
Wonderful Book.......2007-08-16
Amy Tan is such a talented author and her talent is very apparent in The Kitchen God's Wife. From the time I started reading till the end, I couldn't put it down. Amy Tan teaches you so much about the Chinese culture and the hardships that many woman went through. I loved this book and plan on reading it again!
Hope above all,.......2007-06-07
A capturing tale of hardships, hope, and love, "The Kitchen God's Wife" is a worthwhile read. Novelist Amy Tan trails her readers behind WeiWei, Winnie Louie, as she relives the tortures of her youth to share them with her American-can born daughter. When her mother disappears and she is sent to live in an unwelcoming house with unfamiliar relatives, young Winnie thinks she will never again live a happy life. When a fluke presents her with a marriage proposal, she thinks her future husband is too good to be true. Before their marriage has even fully set in, Winnie realizes her joy is short lived as Wen Fu turns her world into a nightmare. Amy Tan's heart-rending rendition of a Chinese woman's struggle in a world where she has no authority, speaks to all people who have ever felt trapped of helpless. She paints a model for all people who have ever felt like victims through Winnie as she suffers an abusive husband, the death of her children, the chaos of war, and the turmoils of emotional uncertainty. This novel is a touching read because to all people who have ever felt pain and it sends them a message of strive, understanding, survival, and most of all, hope.
Cultural Dynamics.......2007-04-05
Step into the world of war-torn China and enjoy the mother-daughter relationship set in the backdrop. Tan provides amazing insight into Chinese culture.
The kitchen God's wife.......2007-02-20
This was a GREAT book. Beautifully written. It has such GREAT insight into the Chinese culture and relates the experiences of war torn China from a very real, very raw, very personal perspective.
Product Description
Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Tan's (The Joy Luck Club) mesmerizing second novel, again a story that a Chinese emigre mother tells her daughter, received a PW boxed review, spent 18 weeks on PW 's hardcover bestseller list and was a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection in cloth. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Paperback edition. Product Description: "Tan is one of the prime storytellers writing fiction today." NEWSWEEK Winnie and Helen have kept each other's worst secrets for more than fifty years. Now, because she believes she is dying, Helen wants to expose everything. And Winnie angrily determines that she must be the one to tell her daughter, Pearl, about the past--including the terible truth even Helen does not know. And so begins Winnie's story of her life on a small island outside Shanghai in the 1920s, and other places in China during World War II, and traces the happy and desperate events tha led to Winnie's coming to America in 1949. "The kind of novel that can be read and reread with enormous pleasure." CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Customer Reviews:
Shades of Pearl S. Buck.......2006-07-11
Well written story and well rounded characters. The mother-daughter angst is perfectly portrayed. The depth of emotions is subtle as it seeps through the innocence of a young Chinese woman growing up and living though severe hardship and worn torn Asia in the mid 1900's up to modern times. Her spirit survived horrific times and relationships. Perhapts one too many crises for the reader to deal with.
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The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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ASIN: B000O3XU1Y |
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The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Contemporary
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ASIN: 0002237083 |
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The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Ivy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: B000NVO2NM |
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- The Kitchen God's Wife
- Life of a Chinese immigrant.
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Amy Tan Collection: Joy Luck Club & Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: Audio Literature
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
General
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Tan, Amy
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General
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Tan, Amy
| Asian American
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Contemporary
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Tan, Amy
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ASIN: 0787117471 |
Customer Reviews:
The Kitchen God's Wife.......2000-04-08
I read the book The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan. In this book the author explores controversial issues such as ender and how it relates to life in China at the beginning of World War II through today. I would recommend this book to anyone who has struggled over any major bumps in their life involving predjudice and injustice. This book show how a person can be strong enough to overcome even the greatest oppression. I would also recommend it because of the strong themes that shine through this riveting novel.
Life of a Chinese immigrant........1998-10-23
Out of the books I read by Amy Tan, The Kitchen God's Wife was the best, it was easy to understand the effects of Chinese immigrant and their children. This book is a lot easier to follow than the Joy Luck Club because of the flash back, it was hard to tell if she was in the present, past or future. In the Kitchen God's Wife the flash back is easier to tell what point of time she is. The book reviews the life of Winnie, the mother of Pearl about her secrets, life in China, tradition, and how she came to America.
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THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: The Franklin Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
General
| Asian American
| United States
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ASIN: B000NP8JS2 |
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The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000IANPPO |
Download Description
"I've a feeling you'll soon rue this day. . . ." These were the fateful words Sarah Markham's father uttered after she threw herself between the convict lashed to the ship's mast and the captain's whip. Transported to Australia for crimes against the Crown, Dominic Gallagher had been labeled a troublemaker. No humor lightened his handsome face; everything about him looked dark, deliberate, and dangerous. But independent, feisty Sarah couldn't bear to see any man flogged to death. Instead she insisted her father buy this young Irish rebel and bring him back to their ranch. Soon a forbidden passion began to blossom between the indentured man and his mistress in this lush, primitive land. A twist of fate swept them together amid betrayal and intrigue as a man faced risking everything for freedom and a woman faced risking everything for love.
Customer Reviews:
Swept Away by Dark Torment!.......2006-07-04
I adored this book; the heroine was what particularly struck me about Dark Torment. She was brave and feisty without being annoying and belligerent. She was strong and funny and Robards just wrote her in such a way that if Sarah were real, I'd love to be her friend. She's kind and compassionate, but that doesn't mean Sarah isn't practical. She's very nice and polite to the convict staff in her home, but, and as bad as this may make Sarah sound, it is at least very realistic, she is also aware of the gulf that separates the high-born from the convicted. She saves Dominic from being flogged, but she is aware of how difficult a relationship between them would be. And that scene after she and Dominic chase off those bad guys...hahaha - had me laughing for years.
Dominic is as sexy as all get out and totally someone I could imagine drooling over! Their love scenes were totally hot and heavy if you're into that kind of thing, but more importantly, the plot moves quickly without losing atmosphere. The book had a unique setting as well, for a historical romance. I enjoyed Dominic and Sarah's barbed remarks to each other and how they relished getting a rise out of one another.
This was a totally thrilling book and I still read it over and over and over because it's just that wonderful. Trust me, pick up this golden treasure and you will not be disappointed.
Another great Robards read!.......2005-08-13
Dark Torment was a book that I just bought simply because I had read a lot of other Robards historical romances and thought it would be a safe buy. But I ended up enjoying this book far more than I thought I would.
I won't bore my readers here with another synopsis of the story line, but the story was very intriguing indeed! Sarah was believable as an almost Cinderella-like character. And she made the reader empathic of her innocence and curiosity. And the character of Dominic was sexy and heart-warming. This book is heated with an abundance of sexual tension and passion. It totally wraps you up in a world that few of us know about. Karen Robards describes historical Australia as a place of danger and intrigue, which makes it all the more suited for this particular story.
I thought that the ending could have been more detailed - as there is a large gap that leaves you wondering, but overall this was a great read and I would definitely recommend it! It will stay in my collection and I'm sure I'll pick it up again.
Liked it, but not the best. .......2005-01-27
I have read many of Karen's books and although I liked this book, I have read better by her. This was a heart pounding, whip you along, fast paced story. There was lots of action, great dialouge and chemistry between the characters. Sarah was a very strong girl when it came to Dominic, but very weak with her family. Even though she had alot of control in the house. I did not care for her character in the middle of the book. I know why she acted the way she did, but I thought she was really rough on Dominic when it was her own actionsand feelings that made her so mad. After that was resolved she was quite likeable again.
Dominic was on the hard side. He had it rough, and was not going to take it any more. I thought there was a few too many holes in time. Example, she is riding her horse to get away from someone, then its two months later. Hello? What happened. Then when they took Dominic, you did not hear anything until he came back. none of this ruined anything, but if it was different, it would have been much better in my opinion. Otherwise this story has all of Robards usual eye holding action. I did enjoy this novel and would recommend it.
Absolutely wonderful.........you'll love it........2004-09-24
The Australian outback lents itself beautifully to this tale of a wrongly accused/convicted man who escapes death by becoming indentured to a sheep grower. His plain, no-nonsense daughters saves the convict "gallagher"'s life. He resents her for it as he doesn't want to be "beholden" to anyone esp a woman. The overseer wants to marry 'sarah' for her inheritance and makes every effort to beat and kill Gallagher once he sees that Sarah
befriends the man. Filled with adventure and action, love and hate, ruthlessness and tenderness and all the emotions in between, this is really enjoyable. You come to love gallagher and his sapphire eyes and hope he and sarah find the love they both deserve despite the obstacles. It was hard to put down and I was sorry when it was over.
This book was and will always be awesome!!!.......2003-03-16
I have recently began reading romance novels this past year and I have read over 200 novels already, but none captivated me more than "Dark Torment". I have read many of Karen Robards' books, (each of them are thrilling onto themselves)but none captured my attention and held it to the very end as this work of utter perfection! The character's are well thought out, the dialogue is interesting and the descriptions are thorough. I enjoyed every minute of the love affair and then marraige of the shy miss and the criminal.
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Dark Torment
Karen Robards
Manufacturer: Warner Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OB5FI2 |
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Reflections of a Dark Soul
C.V. Clark
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1424175038
Release Date: 2007-06-18 |
Book Description
Cory was born in Miami, Florida, in the cultural turning point that was 1979. He watched as corruption, drug, hate, and greed ran rampant through the halls of government and the streets of America . He watched as terrorism, war, famine, and plagues ran amuck around the world including in our own back yard. It seemed as if the darkness inherent in humanity was destined to destroy us, but somewhere in that darkness there was a speck of light. Reflections of a Dark Soul was born from that era of strife and tragedy that he grew up in. He took the strife and suffering of humanity and turned it into a collection of darkly twisted, aesthetically beautiful, and deeply disturbing poetry that scrapes across the surface of the soul to reveal the angst within us all.
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Spider-Man #1 : Torment Part One (Gold Variant Cover - Marvel Comics)
Todd McFarlane
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Marvel | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Spider-Man | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
McFarlane, Todd | ( M ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Antiquarian & Rare Books | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Star Trek | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UWW50G |
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Spider-Man #1 : Torment Part One (Sealed and Bagged Regular Cover - Marvel Comics)
Todd McFarlane
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Marvel | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Spider-Man | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
McFarlane, Todd | ( M ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Antiquarian & Rare Books | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Star Trek | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UWXLXG |
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Spider-Man #1 : Torment Part One (Silver Cover - Marvel Comics)
Todd McFarlane
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Marvel | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Spider-Man | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
McFarlane, Todd | ( M ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Antiquarian & Rare Books | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Star Trek | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UWSFKK |
Product Description
4 massmarket paperback Titles By Karen Robards - Bait - Superstition - Dark Torment - Ghost Moon
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Dark Torment
Karen Robards
Manufacturer: Warner Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000L4IPPM |
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Perhaps a little too much unsubtle political commentary in this book.
One side of the conflict, Haven, needs to expand and take over planets
rich in resources to supply their population in a style to which they
have become accustomed. This is done by fighting cheap wars against
rich planets with inferior military forces.
The only rich planet left is Manticorne, and its equally absurd
royalist/militarist political structure. They, of course, are not an
easy target.
Cue explosions and HH shooting at stuff.
Third in the excellent Honor Harrington series: all-out war begins.......2007-07-22
"The Short Victorious War" is the third book in a wonderful space opera series set some three thousand years in the future and featuring David Weber's best fictional heroine, "Honor Harrington." The books are best read in sequence and I strongly recommend that you start with "On Basilisk Station" which is the first one.
The title is, of course, highly ironic. Weber explains at the start of the book that it comes from a comment from the Russian Minister of the Interior to their Minister of War in 1903, "What this country needs is a short victorious war to stem the tide of revolution."
So the Russians attacked Japan, got their backsides well and truly kicked by the Japanese Navy, and set off the 1905 Russian Revolution.
However, the main parallels in this book are not with the Russo-Japanese war, but with those of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. In particular, the Royal Manticoran Navy in which the heroine services is clearly based on the Royal Navy at the time of Nelson.
The technology of space travel and naval warfare in the Honor Harrington stories has been written so as to impose tactical and strategic constraints on space navy officers similar to those which the technology of fighting sail imposed on wet navy officers two hundred years ago. Similarly the galactic situation in the novels contains many similarities to the strategic and political situation in European history in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
This seems to be quite deliberate: many thinly veiled (and amusing) hints in the books indicate that they are to some extent a tribute to C.S. Forester, while the main heroine of the books, Honor Harrington, appears to owe more than just her initials to C.S. Forester's character "Horatio Hornblower."
During the first two books in the series it was made clear that Honor Harrington and most of the other sympathetic characters in Manticore expect within their lifetimes to have to fight a war against the People's Republic of Haven or "Peeps" - an agressive superpower which has been gradually conquering the small nations on it's borders in bitesize chunks. In the first chapter of this book, the Peep government decides it's time to launch that war.
Meanwhile Honor Harrington is given command of the Battlecruiser HMS Nike and made Flag Captain to an admiral who is second in command of the fleet at Hancock, one of the most important points in Manticore's defensive alliance. So when the war starts she is bound to be in the thick of the action. This is also one of the few books when she finds a little time for a romance.
A few more important characters are also introduced in this book. One of the early Havenite attacks is commanded by an Admiral Pierre, whose father, Rob S. Pierre is to be an important figure in future books. Another is directed against a convoy whose escort is commanded by Captain Helen Zilwicki. Her husband Anton and four year old daughter, also called Helen, are on board one of the ships of the convoy and also play important roles in future Honorverse books.
Another great story with strong and believable characters, brilliantly described space battles, and good explanations of how the tactical situations in which the characters find themselves relate both to the technology their ships use and the political dynamics which set up the conflicts between them.
Many people read Weber for the space battles, and most of the battles in "The short victorious war" are excellent. Dave Weber sometimes writes a bit too much like the wargame designer he once was, and this book starts to demonstrate that problem, but in general the battles are grippingly described and plausible.
One other feature in this book is a 16 page annex at the end with a lot of technical detail about how the assumed space travel and technology works in the series, with such details as how big a battlecruiser as opposed to a superdreadnaught is. Space warfare anoraks, or anyone interested in understanding how, for example, a single dreadnaught wipes out four battlecruisers in a quarter of a second during the course of the book, can read it: those who are not particularly interested in that sort of detail can give it a miss.
At the time of writing there are thirteen full length novels and four short story collections in the "Honorverse" as the fictional galaxy in which these stories are set is sometimes known. The main series which tells the story of Honor Harrington herself currently runs to eleven novels; in order these are
On Basilisk Station
The Honor of the Queen
The Short Victorious War
Field of Dishonour
Flag in Exile
Honor among Enemies
In Enemy Hands
Echoes of Honor
Ashes of Victory
War of Honor
At All Costs
The four collections of short stories set in the same universe, not all of which feature Honor Harrington herself, are
More Than Honor
Worlds of Honor
Worlds of Honor III: Changer of Worlds
Worlds of Honor IV: The Service of the Sword
The two spin-off novels are "Crown of Slaves" (with Eric Flint) which is a story of espionage and intrigue featuring a number of characters, including Anton and Helen Zilwicki, first introduced in earlier Honor Harrington books such as this one, and "The Shadow of Saganami" which is a kind of "next generation" novel featuring a number of younger officers in the navies of Manticore and her ally Grayson.
For amusement, if you want to try to look for the parallels to nations and individuals from the French revolutionary period and the Hornblower books, one possible translation would be:
People's Republic of Haven = France
Star Kingdom of Manticore = Great Britain
Gryphon = Scotland
Grayson = Portugal
Prime Minister Alan Summervale = Pitt the Younger
Hamish Alexander, later Earl White Haven = Admiral Edward Pellew
Honor Harrington = Horatio Hornblower
Alistair McKeon = William Bush
Crown loyalists and Centrists = Tory supporters of Pitt
Conservative Association = isolationist/hardline High Tories
New Kiev Liberals = Whig Oligarchists
Progressives and traditional liberals = Whig radicals
Legislaturist rulers of Haven = Bourbon monarchy and nobles in France
Rob S. Pierre = Robespierre
Committee of Public Safety = Committee of Public Safety
Anderman Empire = Kingdom of Prussia
Silesia = Poland
Solarian republic = United States of America
Wall of Battle = Line of Battle
Ship of the Wall = Ship of the Line
Battleship = "4th rate" sailing warship (in each case too small to form part of the main force in a fleet action, but powerful enough to defeat anything else.)
Battlecruiser = frigate (5th rate)
Cruisers and destroyers = 6th rate and smaller warships.
Another Great Honor Harrington Book.......2007-05-14
The Short Victorious War is another great piece of the honor Harrington Pie. It is the strongest of the first three plot wise, I think, and the best at developing Honor's character. A great battle and personal conflict only add to the universe that Weber is so gifted at creating.
Honor gets a new command and is made flag captain.......2007-05-01
"The Short Victorious War," the third in the Honor Harrington series replays the relations between England and France under the directorate, which succeeded the French Revolution (the characters Rob S Pierre, St. Just, and Danton appear, just to make things perfectly clear). The People's Republic of Haven, the author's nightmare welfare state (a blend of revolutionary France and revolutionary Russia) decides to engage the Star Kingdom of Manticore (i.e., the British Empire) in a "short victorious war."
The "Peeps," who've managed to intercept Manticore's fleet orders, think the war will be a walkover, but they reckon, of course, without the intrepid Honor. The author provides intriguing plots and subplots, from multiple pov's; and he spells out the various schemes and intrigues for you, leading up to the spectacular battle scene that makes for a splendidly suspenseful grand finale--suspenseful even though, since the number of titles in the series has reached double digits, there's little doubt that Honor is going to make it to the last page.
Readers will also learn more about Honor's character along the way, and an appendix givbes military fans some background on the size and makeup of the competing forces.
Splendidly done.
Among The Briefest, But Still Exciting, Novels in the Honor Harrington Series.......2007-03-10
David Weber's "The Short Victorious War" is one of the shortest novels in the entire Honor Harrington series, but it is replete with as much political intrigue and battefield drama as can be expected from this entertaining, well-done space opera that's truly an homage to C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series. Once more Weber excels in creating memorable characters and building suspense as the People's Republic of Haven finally plans - and then executes - an all-out assault on the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Weber does such a fine job, that the only reason why this novel doesn't deserve highest praise from me, is that the foregone conclusion is emotionally a bit disappointing after the extensive work he's done in creating exceptional suspense and intrigue. However, I strongly suspect that long-time fans of David Weber and Honor Harrington will enjoy immensely "The Short Victorious War".
Once more Royal Manticoran Navy captain Honor Harrington is in the thick of things, having assumed command of the newest battlecruiser in the fleet, HMS Nike, and receiving an unexpected appointment as flag captain to Rear Admiral Mark Sarnow. She also becomes reacquainted with Captain (Junior Grade) Paul Tankersley, the executive officer of remote Hancock Station, with unexpected consequences for both. Meanwhile the People's Republic of Haven is beset with economic and political turmoil, and its hereditary leadership seeks salvation only through a new war to be waged finally against the relatively small, but technologically superior, Star Kingdom of Manticore (Here Weber excels especially in building intrigue, alluding to both the French Revolution and the early history of the Soviet Union in creating memorable Havenite characters and suspense.). Harrington is forced to defend not only her own personal honor, but also the lives of her crew, when the People's Republic Navy launches several devestating raids against Royal Manticorean Navy installations along the nebulous frontier between both star nations.
Customer Reviews:
A fast paced history.......2004-07-10
This is a quick-moving history of the Russo-Japanese war which. almost exactly a century ago, gave a sort of preview to some of the themes of the first half of the 20th Century. With many similarities in tactics to WWI, this war also can be seen as the first successful example of the colonized nations fighting back to regain their pride and autonomy after the centuries in which European conquest spread around the world.
The author is interested mainly in the military dimension, and the major combats by land and sea are covered. Critical events flowing from the war - the Portsmouth peace conference, the effect of Russia's defeat on the revolution of 1905, and the effect of Japan's victory in China and elsewhere in Asia, all are mentioned but inadequately discussed.
The writing is good and, with the inherently dramatic story being told, makes for a highly readable book. As history it suffers from the fact that the author apparently knows neither Russian nor Japanese, and has used sources in neither language. Direct accounts of the major battles by the men who fought, which surely exist in both languages, would have greatly improved the book. Considering the emphasis in this book on military tactics, the maps included are inadequate both in number and detail.
In spite of these faults, the author has succeeded in his goal of writing an interesting and useful history of these important events for the general reader.
An account of a war that should be studied more.......2002-04-04
The war between the Japanese and Russian empires fought in 1904 and 1905 had many consequences. The near total Japanese victory made Japan the prominent power in Asia and was a major step leading towards the Japanese involvement in World War II. The victory bolstered the radical nationalist elements in Japan, increasing the drive for further territorial expansion by force of arms. While the defeat led to few internal political changes in the Russian empire, it did cause the focus of their foreign policy to be shifted west and south to the Balkans and the tottering empire of Austria-Hungary. The Russian involvement in that area was one of the major factors that turned what should have been a routine political assassination into a world war. The war of 1904-5 was also the first one where large numbers of men armed with rapid firing weapons engaged in battles.
Such a critical war should not be neglected by anyone interested in the history of this century, which is why I recommend this book. It tells the tale of how the Japanese nation managed to defeat what should have been a superior foe. Much has been said about the Japanese sneak attack against the Russian navy, but that was only an opening skirmish, as the real war was won on the ground. The tenacity, dedication and discipline of the Japanese forces were incredible, showing how organization wins wars.
The Russian naval defeats also demonstrated how obsolete most warships of the high seas fleets were. The Russian ships were totally outclassed in their battles, even though they nominally outgunned the Japanese. This was a lesson learned very well by the British, and led to the building of the mighty dreadnought class of battleships.
The book is well-researched and the author is clear about the consequences of the events. However, there is one point where Walder totally misses the target. In describing the carnage of masses of men fighting with machine guns, he repeatedly says that the lesson of not attacking an entrenched enemy over open ground was not learned , and was repeated in the first world war. He seems to forget that it was the Japanese who did this and they were the victors. The incredible and often suicidal courage of the Japanese soldiers was the deciding factor and the history of the first world war is replete with the belief that one more push will win the day. The lesson was learned, it was just the case that it could not be applied a second time.
I have read the book three times and each time I gained new insights into a war that changed the world more than most people realize. If the Russians could have avoided such a catastrophic defeat, subsequent events would have been quite different, even to the point that it is slightly possible that two world wars could have been avoided.
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The Short Victorious War
Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GS7OL4 |
Book Description
In each of the many vital roles you fill as a woman, you take your responsibilities seriously–but lately you’ve begun to wonder, “Where’s the joy?” Perhaps you’re feeling trapped in an energy-sapping cycle of “musts,” burdened by to-do lists, relationship challenges, and endless expectations. You find yourself grasping for the life you “should” have while missing out on the beauty of what is.
If you yearn to recapture a sense of passion and purpose, here’s the hope you’ve been waiting for. Author, speaker, and singer Kathy Troccoli believes that life is full of rich gifts just waiting to be opened, but many women are missing out on the joy and adventure of living to the fullest.
Drawing on her own discoveries in embracing what her Italian-American family would call la dolce vita, the sweet life, she offers seven simple yet surprisingly effective practices to reenergize your life and your faith. These seven celebrations will awaken your heart and romance your soul, opening your eyes to God’s lavish gifts and seasoning your spirit with hopeful expectation.
Don’t wait another day. Dare to reach beyond mere routine and grab hold of a rich, passionate life. It’s time to Live Like You Mean It.
Customer Reviews:
La doce vita!.......2007-02-20
A book that is a quick read and give us encouraging inspiration - Ms. Trocolli shares good solid advice with nice flare. I am passing along my book to a friend and I hope she passes it along to someone after she finishes reading it.
Live Like You Mean It: Seven Celebrations to Rejuvenate Your Soul.......2006-11-10
One of the most encouraging and uplifting books I have read in a long time! Life needs to be lived on purpose despite the struggles you may be going through.
VIBRANT READ.......2006-02-08
Kathy's zest for life comes through not only on the cover of but in the pages of this book.
Living la dolce vita can be anyone's life if they embrace these seven celebraitons that the author so clearly outlines. It is a great gift to women...just in time for Valentine's Day!
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