Skip to content
The Old Pond | Book Reviews
Friday, May 01, 2026
  • Home
  • About The Old Pond
  • Follow Us On Facebook
  • Uncategorized

    A Biography of Cao Cao

    Rafe de Crespigny is an Australian sinologist, now aged 90. He specialises in the history of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. His…

    Julia_M April 29, 2026 No Comments
    View More
  • Uncategorized

    The Halberd at Red Cliff

    The Halberd at Red Cliff by Tian Xiao Fei (2018) is an excellent addition to my library of literature on The Three Kingdoms. Tian is…

    Julia_M April 28, 2026 No Comments
    View More
  • Uncategorized

    Dust on the Throne

    Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India (2023) by Douglas Ober, unfortunately, did not begin with an analysis of why Buddhism…

    Julia_M April 28, 2026 No Comments
    View More
  • Uncategorized

    First impressions of Mount Lu/Lushan, Jiangxi tour—Part 3

    “The True Face of Mt. Lu” is a famous idiom. It is a phrase written in 1084 by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi (Su…

    Julia_M April 23, 2026 No Comments
    View More
  • Uncategorized

    Day 2—Jiangxi

    Donglin Temple Today we visited this historic temple. Tour brochures invariably highlight the fact that this temple has the world’s tallest Buddha statue on a…

    Julia_M April 20, 2026 No Comments
    View More

Uncategorized

Excellent history – The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj

Julia_M November 1, 2019 No Comments European Governments & PoliticsHistory of IndiaHistory of South Asia

This is an excellent book on how the men of the Indian Civil Service worked and lived from Chota hazri to sundown; how a mere…

View More Excellent history – The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj
Uncategorized

A wonderful book – Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire

Julia_M November 1, 2019 No Comments History of IndiaHistory of South AsiaIndian Subcontinent Historical Biographies

It is appropriate that I finished reading this book at the stroke of midnight 14 August 2007. This first book by the author is a…

View More A wonderful book – Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire
Uncategorized

A good travel book – Nine Lives: Encounters with the Holy in Modern India

Julia_M October 31, 2019 No Comments Cultural History BiographiesNew Age MysticismTravel Pictorials

William Dalrymple is one of my favourite authors. This is his latest book. It is a travel book. There are 9 chapters on his conversations…

View More A good travel book – Nine Lives: Encounters with the Holy in Modern India
Uncategorized

Excellent translation – The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun

Julia_M October 31, 2019 1 Comment Humour EncyclopaediasItalian Poetry (Books)Russian Poetry

Lu Xun is famous for his short stories which point out the lack of compassion and lack of honesty in Chinese society during late Imperial…

View More Excellent translation – The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun
Uncategorized

Interesting history – Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City 1842-1949

Julia_M October 31, 2019 No Comments Literary Fiction (Books)Society Politics & Philosophy

This book would be interesting for a reader looking for a rollicking and layman history of Shanghai from 1842 (the year when Shanghai was forced…

View More Interesting history – Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City 1842-1949
Uncategorized

Review – One Night Only: Barbra Streisand & Quartet at Village Vanguard

Julia_M October 30, 2019 No Comments Music OutletMusic Video & Concert

This cd is such a treat. All of us have all the songs before. What makes this cd special is the bantering Barbra had with…

View More Review – One Night Only: Barbra Streisand & Quartet at Village Vanguard
Uncategorized

Pre-World War 2 – Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai

Julia_M October 30, 2019 No Comments Ancient Chinese HistoryEarly British & Roman Britain HistoryJapanese Historical Biographies

This is the story of Richard Maurice Tinkler an ordinary Englishman who after fighting for his country in World war one found that his country…

View More Pre-World War 2 – Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai
Uncategorized

The Soong Sisters – Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China

Julia_M October 30, 2019 No Comments Far Eastern PoliticsHistory of ChinaNationalism

The US is called mei guo – the Beautiful Country — by the Chinese long before the current trade war and the hostile relationship arising…

View More The Soong Sisters – Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China
Uncategorized

Interesting – Moral Combat: A History of World War II

Julia_M October 30, 2019 No Comments World History (Books)World History of World War II 1939-1945

This book could be better. The author obviously knows a lot and has done a lot of research. Unfortunately, the editing left much to be…

View More Interesting – Moral Combat: A History of World War II
Uncategorized

Tolstoy’s last year – The Last Station

Julia_M October 30, 2019 No Comments Drama (DVD & Blu-ray)Historical (DVD & Blu-ray)

A 2009 movie based on Tolstoy’s final year; The Last Station is based on a novel by Jay Parini published in 1993. Unfortunately, this movie…

View More Tolstoy’s last year – The Last Station

Posts navigation

Previous page Page 1 … Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 … Page 99 Next page

Post Dates

May 2026
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr    

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget
  • About The Old Pond
  • Privacy Policy
The Old Pond | Book Reviews | Designed by: Theme Freesia | WordPress | © Copyright All right reserved