On Dangerous Ground is a 2022 book on the competing interests of various countries in the South China Sea. Poling examines 100 years of America’s…
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Category: Uncategorized
The King James Bible and its turbulent origins
I highly recommend In the Beginning – The Story of the King James Bible by Alister McGrath. I read it in 2001, and I don’t…
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The Timeless Mastery of Jan Morris
Gone …were the long star – lit nights beneath the Bedouin tents, in which the English man deluded himself that his friendship with the Arab…
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Retracing Xuanzang: A Journey Through Time
Dust in the Wind is a beautiful 2006 book published by a Taiwanese magazine. The editors in 1987 sent 5 teams of reporters and photographers…
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The Overlooked Spy Master of Mao’s
Kang Sheng. Who is he? In the typical histories of Mao China, one glaring omission is the spy v spy. Other than the Green Gang…
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Buddhism under the Tang – Part 2
The great Buddhist pilgrim, monk- translator Hsuan Tsang had spent 15 years in India studying in Buddhist monasteries where he learned Sanskrit. He brought the…
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Buddhism under the Tang – Part 1
Buddhism spread into China from India via foreign traders in the 1st century AD. By the 4th century, Buddhism has spread widely and became the…
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Kenya and out of Africa
In 2017 we couldn’t see the pink flamingos nesting at Lake Nakuro, Kenya. This time today, 6 Aug 2024 we saw many at the private…
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Tibetan Buddhism Explored: Insights from Five Books
How was Buddhism spread to Tibet? How did Tibetan Buddhism evolve and assimilate with Tibetan’s native and animistic beliefs? Is Tibetan Buddhism now the purest…
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Sunday Book Haul
Last Sunday I bought 3 excellent books at Kinokuniya KLCC. The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials by Telford Taylor is a memoir by one of…
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