Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War


Viet Thanh Nguyen - 2016
    From the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Sympathizer comes a searching exploration of the conflict Americans call the Vietnam War and Vietnamese call the American War—a conflict that lives on in the collective memory of both nations.From a kaleidoscope of cultural forms—novels, memoirs, cemeteries, monuments, films, photography, museum exhibits, video games, souvenirs, and more—Nothing Ever Dies brings a comprehensive vision of the war into sharp focus. At stake are ethical questions about how the war should be remembered by participants that include not only Americans and Vietnamese but also Laotians, Cambodians, South Koreans, and Southeast Asian Americans. Too often, memorials valorize the experience of one’s own people above all else, honoring their sacrifices while demonizing the “enemy”—or, most often, ignoring combatants and civilians on the other side altogether. Visiting sites across the United States, Southeast Asia, and Korea, Viet Thanh Nguyen provides penetrating interpretations of the way memories of the war help to enable future wars or struggle to prevent them.Drawing from this war, Nguyen offers a lesson for all wars by calling on us to recognize not only our shared humanity but our ever-present inhumanity. This is the only path to reconciliation with our foes, and with ourselves. Without reconciliation, war’s truth will be impossible to remember, and war’s trauma impossible to forget.

The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food


Charles Phan - 2014
     Charles Phan opened The Slanted Door in San Francisco's Mission District in 1995, inspired by the food of his native Vietnam. Since then, The Slanted Door has moved across town to the historic Ferry Building and has grown into a world-class dining destination. Its accessible, modern take on classic Vietnamese dishes is adored by diners, chefs, and critics alike. "The Slanted Door" is a love letter to the restaurant, its people, and its food, featuring stories and essays along with to its most iconic recipes such as Seared Scallops with Vietnamese Beurre Blanc, Wok-Seared Eggplant with Satay Sauce, and Rack of Lamb with Tamarind Sauce. In addition to recipes, the book will include an extensive cocktail section, and essays on its esteemed wine program.

Japan's Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism


Louise Young - 1997
    Focusing on the domestic impact of Japan's activities in Northeast China between 1931 and 1945, Young considers "metropolitan effects" of empire building: how people at home imagined and experienced the empire they called Manchukuo.Contrary to the conventional assumption that a few army officers and bureaucrats were responsible for Japan's overseas expansion, Young finds that a variety of organizations helped to mobilize popular support for Manchukuo—the mass media, the academy, chambers of commerce, women's organizations, youth groups, and agricultural cooperatives—leading to broad-based support among diverse groups of Japanese. As the empire was being built in China, Young shows, an imagined Manchukuo was emerging at home, constructed of visions of a defensive lifeline, a developing economy, and a settler's paradise.

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret Philosophy for a Happy Healthy Long Life with Joy and Purpose Every Day


Marie Xue
    Have you ever stopped to think about what it is that will make your life worth living? Is it the large amount of money that you have in the bank? The prestigious education that you have? The family and friends that surround you? Or your spiritual belief that there is someone greater than you in the world? Most people will spend their entire lifetimes trying to figure it out, but only a few will have the privilege of really understanding and experiencing themselves what it means to live a fulfilled life. Over the past years, we’ve seen many life philosophies take center stage, all claiming to hold to secret to happiness and fulfillment. While all of them may have very convincing premises, only one truly stands out. Ikigai, or the Japanese concept of finding your purpose, is the key to living a meaningful life. If there’s one people group who have mastered the art of living - and living well, it’s definitely the Okinawans of Japan. Famous for being the world’s longest-living people, they attribute their joy and contentment to finding their ikigai. It’s the reason why they live longer, happier, and better lives than the rest of us. So how does knowing your ikigai change your life? And what should you do to help you uncover your ikigai? Well, you’ll discover all that and more after you’ve listened to this audiobook. This audiobook is packed with helpful insights that will change not just the way you think, but also the way you live. You’ll learn how to slow down and let go of the things that stop you from finding your ultimate purpose. This audiobook will also give you the blueprint to living the life that you always wanted so you won’t have to feel your life is meaningless ever again. I hope that through this audiobook, you will see joy, meaning, and purpose in every single day of your life.©2018 Zen Mastery (P)2018 Zen Mastery

The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an American Kitchen


Marja Vongerichten - 2011
    In a new PBS series that willbegin airing in May 2011, Marja Vongerichten and three-star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten will give viewers an insider's look at Korea as they travel the country and experience its authentic flavors and cultural traditions. As the show's companion cookbook, The Kimchi Chronicles will include a recipe for every dish featured, explaining how they can be easily duplicated in an American kitchen. Chef Vongerichten will also offer original dishes with a lighter, modern flair, showing how the flavors of the Korean table can be readily integrated into any meal.For lovers of Korean food, those eager to experiment in search of an accessible introduction to thisintriguing cuisine, and readers who just want a little taste of culinary and cultural exploration outside the Western Hemisphere, The Kimchi Chronicles is sure to provide plenty of inspiration, information, and entertainment.

Thailand: A Short History


David K. Wyatt - 1982
    David K. Wyatt has also added new sections examining the social and economic changes that have transformed the country in the past two decades. Praise for the previous edition:“Wyatt knows his subject well enough and has enough enthusiasm for it to make his book . . . entertaining as well as eminently educational.”—David McElveen, Asiaweek“A very readable account. . . .We come away from reading it with a clearer understanding of where Thailand stands in relation to its neighbors, who the Thai people are, how the Thai government evolved into its present form.”—James Stent, Asian Wall Street Journal“Concise, thorough, and readable.”—John Gabree, New York Newsday

The Mediterranean Family Table: 125 Simple, Everyday Recipes Made with the Most Delicious and Healthiest Food on Earth


Angelo Acquista - 2015
    Angelo Acquista began "prescribing" them recipes for nutritious and flavorful home-cooked meals prepared with ingredients key to the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean Family Table combines his medical experience and Sicilian roots to outline the guiding principles of the Mediterranean diet and takes it one step further with a collection of easy, wholesome, and delicious recipes the entire family will love.From purees made with fresh vegetables that will tempt the taste buds of bambini—and can serve as easy sides for the rest of the family—to recipes tailored to meet the special nutritional needs of children and seniors (highlighted by icons for easy reference), this well-curated collection of recipes will allow you to:Reinvent classic recipes by replacing mayonnaise and butter with heart-healthy olive oil in dishes like Mediterranean Potato Salad and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes Discover good-for-you Mediterranean greens in kid-approved recipes like Orecchiette with Bread Crumbs and Broccoli Rabe, and Swiss Chard and Cannellini Beans alla Alessandra Create your own "Sunday Supper" family tradition with recipes like Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce and Mama's Meatballs with PastaThe Mediterranean Family Table contains a wealth of helpful information, including how to make healthier eating choices; instill good habits in kids that will last a lifetime; and buy, store, and cook ingredients fundamental to the Mediterranean diet. Anecdotes from Acquista's family history are woven throughout, as well as stories of growing up near the Mediterranean Sea, and the techniques he uses to incorporate what he learned from his Sicilian upbringing into his busy, landlocked, modern family life. Buon appetito!

And The City Swallowed Them


Mara Hvistendahl - 2014
    Twelve days later, she was stabbed in a Shanghai stairwell. The actions of both police investigators and O'Brien's Chinese modeling agent soon aroused suspicion as her family sought answers from China's opaque legal system. Ultimately, their quest would put them face to face with her accused killer.At once a page-turning murder mystery and a work of deep investigation, And The City Swallowed Them is a true crime nonfiction story based on dozens of interviews with investigators, models, and both the victim's and the convicted murderer's families. The short book moves from Shanghai's back alleys to the seedy underbelly of high fashion, where young models travel alone to strange cities, often with falsified work papers, and sleep ten to an apartment between cover shoots. Set against the backdrop of Shanghai's explosive urbanization, the work also explores the world of China's liudong renkou, or floating population, where the hopes of newcomers from poor villages often turn to dust—leading some to horribly desperate acts.The debut digital title from the writers cooperative Deca, And The City Swallowed Them overturns assumptions about both China’s feared justice system, where the conviction rate for criminals is 99.9 percent, and the glamorous world of international modeling. More than a murder tale, And The City Swallowed Them lays bare the powerful forces that send two families on a collision course from distant sides of the Pacific.

The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars


Andrew X. Pham - 2008
    From the award-winning author of Catfish and Mandala comes a son's searing memoir of his Vietnamese father's experiences over the course of three wars.

Yoga and Vegetarianism: The Path to Greater Health and Happiness


Sharon Gannon - 2008
    When they are used in tandem, she argues, they form a strong framework for physical and spiritual attunement and promote an overall healthy life. Yoga and Vegetarianism emphasizes the importance of understanding of Ahimsa, the practice of non-harming and nonviolence, as the first step in marrying yoga and vegetarianism. All actions, says Gannon, originate as thoughts, so the "perfection of action" that yoga strives for must come from a perfect thought. What is a perfect thought? According to the book, it is a thought free of selfish desire, anger, and hate. This brings us back to Ahimsa and to vegetarianism. Freeing oneself of needless cruelty, harm, and injustice — which includes eating meat — can transform both the individual and the world. This book shows how.

No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species


Richard Ellis - 2004
    The trilobites, which dominated the ocean floors for 300 million years, are gone. The last of the dinosaurs was wiped out by a Mount Everest-sized meteorite that slammed into the earth 65 million years ago. The great flying reptiles are gone, and so are the marine reptiles, some of them larger than a humpback whale. Before humans crossed the Bering land bridge some 15,000 years ago, North America was populated by mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and cave bears. They too are MIA. Passenger pigeons once flew over North America in flocks that numbered in the billions; the last one died in 1914.In this book you will meet creatures that were driven to extinction even more recently, as well as some that were brought back from the brink. You will even encounter animals not known to exist until recently -- an antidote to extinction.

Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation


Thongchai Winichakul - 1994
    Siam Mapped challenges much that has been written on Thai history because it demonstrates convincingly that the physical and political definition of Thailand on which other works are based is anachronistic.

Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China


Jen Lin-Liu - 2008
    When she decided to enroll in a local cooking school—held in an unheated classroom with nary a measuring cup in sight—she jumped into the ring herself. Progressing from cooking student to noodle-stall and dumpling-house apprentice to intern at a chic Shanghai restaurant, she finds poor young men and women streaming in from the provinces in search of a “rice bowl” (living wage); a burgeoning urban middle class hungry for luxury after decades of turmoil and privation; and the mentors who take her in hand in the kitchen and beyond. Together they present an unforgettable slice of contemporary China in the full swing of social and economic transformation.

The Body Multiple: Ontology in Medical Practice


Annemarie Mol - 2002
    Drawing on fieldwork in a Dutch university hospital, Annemarie Mol looks at the day-to-day diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis. A patient information leaflet might describe atherosclerosis as the gradual obstruction of the arteries, but in hospital practice this one medical condition appears to be many other things. From one moment, place, apparatus, specialty, or treatment, to the next, a slightly different “atherosclerosis” is being discussed, measured, observed, or stripped away. This multiplicity does not imply fragmentation; instead, the disease is made to cohere through a range of tactics including transporting forms and files, making images, holding case conferences, and conducting doctor-patient conversations.The Body Multiple juxtaposes two distinct texts. Alongside Mol’s analysis of her ethnographic material—interviews with doctors and patients and observations of medical examinations, consultations, and operations—runs a parallel text in which she reflects on the relevant literature. Mol draws on medical anthropology, sociology, feminist theory, philosophy, and science and technology studies to reframe such issues as the disease-illness distinction, subject-object relations, boundaries, difference, situatedness, and ontology. In dialogue with one another, Mol’s two texts meditate on the multiplicity of reality-in-practice.Presenting philosophical reflections on the body and medical practice through vivid storytelling, The Body Multiple will be important to those in medical anthropology, philosophy, and the social study of science, technology, and medicine.

China Men


Maxine Hong Kingston - 1980
    Here's a storyteller's tale of what they endured in a strange new land.