Best of
Asia

1958

Escape From Corregidor


Edgar D. Whitcomb - 1958
     Whitcomb manages to evade the enemy on Bataan by travelling to Corregidor Island in a small boat. However, his efforts to escape eventually fail and he is captured but later manages to escape at night in an hours-long swim to safety. After weeks of struggle in a snake-infested jungle, he sailed by moonlight down the heavily patrolled coast, only to fall, once again, into the clutches of the enemy. Facing captors, Ed Whitcomb took a desperate chance for freedom. Clenching his fists, he said: “My name is Robert Fred Johnson, mining employee.” This is the story of a man who vowed never to give up. He assumed the identity of a civilian and lived another man’s life for almost two years. Neither hunger, nor beatings, nor the long gray hopelessness of prison life could shake Ed Whitcomb’s determination to escape the enemy and return home to Indiana. 'one of the most frank, and readable personal narratives of service in the Philippines, and escape from Japanese captivity' - Pacific Wrecks Edgar Doud Whitcomb (November 6, 1917 – February 4, 2016) was an American politician, who was the 43rd Governor of Indiana. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1941 and made an aerial navigator. He served two tours of duty in the Philippines and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. During the Philippines Campaign, Whitcomb's base was overrun; he was captured by the Japanese and was beaten and tortured by his captors, but was able to escape. Recaptured a few days later, he escaped a second time and was hunted for several more days but was able to evade his pursuers. He escaped by swimming all night through shark-infested waters to an island unoccupied by the Japanese army. He was eventually able to secure passage to China under an assumed name where he made contact with the United States Army and was repatriated in December 1943. Escape from Corregidor, his memoir of war-time experiences, was first published in 1958. He was discharged from active duty in 1946, but he remained in the reserve military forces until 1977 holding the rank of colonel. In retirement Whitcomb still sought adventure, with a six-year, around-the-world sailing trip.

The Ugly American


William J. Lederer - 1958
    The book introduces readers to an unlikely hero in the titular “ugly American”—and to the ignorant politicians and arrogant ambassadors who ignore his empathetic and commonsense advice. In linked stories and vignettes set in the fictional nation of Sarkhan, William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick draw an incisive portrait of American foreign policy gone dangerously wrong—and how it might be fixed.Eerily relevant sixty years after its initial publication, The Ugly American reminds us that “today, as the battle for hearts and minds has shifted to the Middle East, we still can’t speak Sarkhanese” (New York Times).

Human Condition


Junpei Gomikawa - 1958
    

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush


Eric Newby - 1958
    This is his account of an entertaining time in the hills!

The Fleet That Had To Die


Richard Hough - 1958
    Routed in Manchuria, the Russians decided to strike back. In October 1904 their Baltic fleet, a haphazard armada of some fifty outdated and ill-equipped men-of-war, led by a burnt-out neurotic and manned by 10,000 reluctant and badly-trained sailors, set sail for the East. Their plan was to unite with the Pacific squadron, then trapped in Port Arthur, and crush the soldiers of Admiral Togo. The two fleets met at Tsushima on May 27, 1905. Most thought the Russians would have little trouble defeating Japanese naval forces. But what followed was perhaps the greatest naval victory of all time. As Admiral Rozhestvensky's fleet lumbered through the Straits of Tsushima towards Vladivostok on 27 May 1905, the Japanese, in one of the most crushing naval victories of all time, utterly destroyed the Russian armada. Richard Hough recounts the fleet's extraordinary seven-month journey from the Baltic to the Far East in this gripping naval history. "Hough is a good storyteller with a refreshing, breezy style." The Wall Street Journal Richard Hough, the distinguished naval historian and winner of the Daily Express Best Book of the Sea Award (1972) was the author of many acclaimed books in the field including ‘Admirals in Collision’, ‘The Great War at Sea: 1914-18’, and ‘The Longest Battle: The War at Sea 1939-45’. He was also the biographer of Mountbatten, and his last biography, ‘Captain James Cook’, became a world bestseller. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

The Golden Hawks of Genghis Khan


Rita Ritchie - 1958
    A boy searches for the hawks bred by his father and ends up learning about who he and his father really were.

Peach Boy and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories


Florence Sakade - 1958
    In the present volume are collected a number of Japan's most-loved children's stories, told over and over again in many versions to the never-ending delight of children, generation after generation.

Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume I


William Theodore de Bary - 1958
    Volume 1 addresses the development, through the eighteenth century, of Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Little One-Inch Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories


Florence Sakade - 1958
    Drawn from folklore passed down from generation to generation, the ten enchanting stories collected in this Japanese children's book have been lovingly retold for today's readers. Vibrantly illustrated in full color and packed with thrilling adventures, funny discoveries, and valuable lessons, they're sure to become story time favorites — and serve as an introduction to Japan and its culture. Included are some of Japan's classic folktales:The Spider WeaverLittle One-InchThe Badger and the Magic FanMr. Lucky StrawWhy the Jellyfish Has No BonesThe Old Man Who Made Trees BlossomThe Crab and the MonkeyThe Ogre and the RoosterThe Rabbit Who Crossed the SeaThe Grateful StatuesReaders of any age and culture will find much to love and return to time & again in Little One-Inch And Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories.

Coronation Everest


Jan Morris - 1958
    As James Morris, the author packed along with the climbers, reaching one camp below the summit. Includes a new Introduction by the author. 10 photos.

A Person from England & Other Travellers to Turkestan (Century Travellers)


Fitzroy Maclean - 1958
    They called it the Great Game.In A PERSON FROM ENGLAND Sir Fitzroy MacLean recalls the romantic fascination this contest held for the players. He tells the dramatic stories of agents, travelers and spies, official and unofficial, military and civilian, who in the course of 100 years infiltrated the Khanates of Central Asia."MacLean calls to memory men who should not be forgotten. He portrays fantastic and little-known adventures and pictures a fascinating corner of the world in its shining hour." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)

Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Poems and Poets from Basho to Shiki


Harold Gould Henderson - 1958
    Henderson was, from 1927 to 1929, the Assistant to the Curator of Far Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art. In 1930 he went to Japan, where he lived the following three years. On his return to this country he joined the faculty at Columbia University, where he taught Japanese and initiated a course in the history of Japanese art. He retired in 1955. His published works include The Bamboo Broom, Surviving Works of Sharaku (with Louis V. Ledoux), and A Handbook of Japanese Grammar. He has also translated H. Minamoto's Illustrated History of Japanese Art, etc. Mr. Henderson lives in New York City.