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This is a terma (treasure) text which, among other things, promises to put anyone who comes into contact with it on the path to liberation. There are two particularly beneficial chapters which contain oral teachings given by Guru Padmasambhava to Mandarava. Highly recommended to anyone with the good fortune to be aware of its existence.

Maps of the Profound is a career-capping work for Professor Jeffrey Hopkins, who has worked with this text for decades. This book contains a short translation of the terse root verses of the late Ge-luk-ba doxographical work Great Exposition of Tenets by the quintessential Tibetan Buddhist scholastic author Jam-yang-shay-ba, followed by an enormous commentary unpacking the significance of each word.

The root text is one of the best known and most highly regarded specimens of the Tibetan genre of writing concerning the tenets of philosophical schools belonging to India. The endeavor of the work is to identify and refute both philosophical and innate misconceptions that cloud our perception of the true nature of all phenomena. This is done against a semi-historical background of analyzing the tenets propounded by various Buddhist and Non-Buddhist philosophical schools.

Jam-yang-shay-ba spends precious little time summarizing and discarding the tenets of non-Buddhist schools such as Samkhya and Vedanta before moving on to the so-called four schools of Indian Buddhism. Jam-yang-shay-ba presents these schools as presenting fundamental Buddhist truths on an ascending scale of precision, starting with the imprecise and misleading presentations of the "lower" Vaibashika school and winding up through the most subtle and refined understanding, found in the Prasangika-Madhyamaka school.

As I mentioned previously this work is only partially historical at best, because it does not endeavor to accurately state the positions of the schools of Indian thought (indeed, some tenet systems, such as the Svatantrika-Madhyamaka school, are wholely of Tibetan invention). The idea is instead to reconstruct different possible positions and use logical analysis with history as a sort of touchstone to identify and refute one's own misconceptions.

For this reason, this book says much more about Ge-luk-ba than the schools under analysis. We learn how the Ge-luk-bas interpret and utilize Dharmakirti, for example, in the chapter on the Sautantikas Following Reason, but many of the Ge-luk-ba interpretive positions regarding Dharmakirti are highly contraversial, such as their assertion that Dharmakirti accepted conventionally existent spatially extended objects.

This is not to say that we learn nothing about Indian Buddhism however, for the Ge-luk-ba scholarship is wide ranging, and this work in particular is encyclopedic to a degree rarely rivaled in the Buddhist canon.

The root text itself is relatively short - about thirty pages. Most of the book is a lengthy commentary pieced together by Professor Hopkins from a variety of sources, including Jam-yang-shay-ba's autocommentary, Nga-wang-bel-den's Annotations, and Dzong-ka-ba's Essence of Eloquence. Interestingly, Professor Hopkins also makes extensive use of the Sakya scholar Dak-tsang's Freedom from Extremes through Knowing All Tenets, which is highly critical of Dzong-ka-ba and frequently comes under attack in Jam-yang-shay-ba's work.

Anyone already familiar with the work of Professor Hopkins and his students will find a lot of familiar material in this translation. Nevertheless, this may be because this is the work Professor Hopkins has been working towards for many years. It is extremely valuable resource. Few will be the brave souls who read this work cover to cover, but it will serve the student of Ge-luk-ba as an vast and learned treasure-trove of interpretation and insight. It is a testimony to the astonishing breadth of persistence of Professor Hopkins' study, and his many decades of careful and meticulous study, that he was able to marshal the necessary resources to compile, edit, and ably translate this monumental work, and students of Buddhist philosophy are in his debt.

This book is without any doubt the best english language book on the subject of physical education. It is very good for the sports oriented individual who needs to have a broader and at the same time deeper view on the subject of physical education and sports also it is a very good undergraduate textbook.

This is a brilliant journal. It has plenty of theoretical and experimental knowledge of Vipassana Meditation; history, technique, personal experiences, and even process applying for psychological and psychiatric treatment. If you are a Vipassana meditator, this book encourages your daily practice. And it helps you build or maintain harmonious life whether you are a meditator or not.

The way the author wrote from the perspective of a lonely puffin confused by a poem he heard from a very young age was an interesting twist. I enjoyed how Cid (Sidney L. Cirrhata) helped Al learn how to survive in the real (puffin) world and helped him to discover what it means to be a puffin. My favorite part of this story was at the end, when Alice explains to the worried couple (Al and Cindy) that the fledging of their chick is all a part of the great dance of life. Alice's explanation of the delicate ecosystem they live in is both interesting and informing.

This is an excellent book of past Protestant revivals beginning around 1700. It covers the social, political, economical, and religious climate of each era. Some of the featured revivalist are Edwards, Whitefield, Finney, Moody and Billy Sunday. I checked this book out at the local library, however, after reading I am considering the purchase of my own copy.

The father of Hassidism the saintly Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov along with his foremost student Rabbi Dovber of Mezhirech present in this book, a clear concise manual containing basic guidelines for the service of The Divine.

Discussions of prayer and communion with G-d and how to reach greater levels in these areas and the steps to take in order to deal with the many disturbances and obstacles preventing their attainment are frequent in the text. The book also portrays a deep and penetrating understanding of the human condition in respect to its draw towards evil and provides practical advice through which it may be overcome and channeled for more productive and positive living . Being rendered in non-sophisticated terms makes this book very readable. Annotated by a foremost Torah scholar and Professor of Philosophy Rabbi Jacob Immanuael Schochet makes comprehension of the material richer and more simple for the average reader. The importance of such an accurate guide to the fulfillment of G-d's will is beyond measure. And thus every Synagogue, Jewish Library and Jewish home will benefit greatly from this masterpiece of Jewish literature.

I really, really didn't like this book. It presented good ideas, but I hated the writing style. It seemed preachy and bland. However, the issues that were adressed made up for its dryness.

I read this book for a college class on East Asian History. I don't often enjoy required books, but this was an exception. "Family" filled me with many emotions; while reading it I cried (or would have if I hadn't been in a public library), I was overjoyed, hopeful, despondent. Pa Chin is especially good at showing how his characters influence and are influenced by society. He makes you really care about his characters and believe what they believe. "Family" is a good choice if you like novels that focus on society; for example, "Middlemarch","Vanity Fair", "The Jungle", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". It is indeed a classic.

I had to read this out of print book for Encglish class my junior year in high school and since then have been searching for a copy. The characters are well drawn and it gives an intimate view of daily life in pre-Communist China. It's a book that draws you into the plot and you become engrossed in the characters' lives. Extremely well written and the translation stayed true to how Chinese people would write.

A short and easy read that is incredibly insightful into the psyche of the protagonist. Displays well the troubles of women not only in her position but women in general. Focuses on the gender issue at hand as opposed to the racial one and in doing so makes a statement about the oppression that women have withstood for much longer than the two thousand seasons Ayi Kwei Armah refers to as the period of African oppression. Reads well and is very enlightening to all readers, and especially male. The structure flows well and does not subject itself to a strict ajenda and therefore comes of as very very introspective.

This is a voice you don't hear often. Yes Mariama Ba is an Islamic woman, but what is really fresh for me is the fact that she is Senegalese. I've lived in West Africa and this book captures the slow rhythms, the intense depth of feeling, the understated poignancy that one encounters in those cultures. It is an articulate account of the trauma of multiple marriages and a woman's loss of illusions about love. Other possible readings mentioned by other reviewers (woman in an Islamic society, woman vs man, oppressed vs oppressors) are of less interest to me and should not put you off - this is not a tract or a polemic.

One should note a few negatives: 1) It is a first novel clearly drawn from life experiences so it is autobiography more than fiction. 2) The style is a little schooled at first and she isn't always confident in her voice. 3) She doesn't have enough material and the quality is uneven, in particular when she indulges herself in enumerating the qualities and shortcomings of her children.

Still a poignant, poetic story. Strongly recommended.

"So Long a Letter," by Mariama Ba, is a short novel (only 90 pages), but it is rich in ideas and emotions. According to a note about Ba at the beginning of the book, she was born in the African nation of Senegal and died in 1981. The book has been translated from French by Modupe Bode-Thomas.

This novel is written in the form of a long letter by Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese widow, to her friend Aissatou. Ramatoulaye discusses the lives, marriages and families of both women, and reflects on their friendship. As she writes, the story of her life is fleshed out.

Ba has created a fascinating look at postcolonial life in the former French West Africa. This portrait is decidedly from a woman's perspective and is focused on issues that particularly impact women's lives. Ba explores a multigenerational web that links women and men together.

Ba's subject matter includes motherhood, marriage, religion, education, and politics. Particularly fascinating are her explorations of the role of the "griot" (described in the book's endnotes as "part-poet, part-musician, part-sorcerer") and the practice of cowrie shell divination. A key element in the book is polygamy as practiced in the Muslim African world.

The book deals much with women's relationships--with husbands, with children, with adult female relatives, and with friends. The book is about surviving loss and disappointment; it's also about hope and personal growth...

November 13, 1942 was the turning point of the Pacific war, yet few historians have written extensively about it. Previous writers have merely described that combat as a general melee in which it is impossible to reconstruct the tracts of individual ships. That may be true due to the loss of records, logs, and witnesses, but Hammel has done a credible job of reconstructing plausible positions for the various ships as the battle progressed.

Copyrighted in 1988, Hammel suggests in his Afterward that his reconstructions may be controversial. For example many writers agree that friendly fire from the US cruiser San Francisco hit the US cruiser Atlanta; Hammel is the first that I know of that says unequivocally that Atlanta was actually targeted. Other writers have said that Atlanta drifted into the line of fire. Interestingly enough, subsequent writers have reached the same conclusion as Hammel, or perhaps they have merely accepted Hammel's conclusion.

Most of this book concerns itself with the battle of the night of Nov 13-14. There is also material on the battles of the next two nights that assured the result.

Although this is an excellent book, I penalize it one star because it has only a single track-diagram of the first battle and there is no chronology. I especially miss the latter, because it appears that Hammel actually created a credible chronology yet did not share it. One hopes for a future release of that information.

The book I read was from the library, but I will probably buy a copy for myself.

This is the first book that I have ever read by Eric Hammel. Originally I had checked it out from my local library, but it was so outstanding and difficult to put down, that I purchased this book just to have my own copy. I want to read this book again and again. In fact this book has led me to purchase the Guadalcanal triology authored by Mr. Hammel. All books are now in my possession and a reading adventure that I will enjoy for years to come. Mr. Hammel's writing style and the amount of detail he includes will keep you on the edge of your reading chair late into the night.

Divinations of the turning point of World War Two in East Asia and the Pacific gravitate very readily to the Battle of Midway. However, you may be suprised to know that for a time in late 1942 the U.S. Navy was down to a single operating fleet carrier in the theater, when a protracted naval battle centered about the Solomon Sea and the island of Guadalcanal was fought. This battle was mainly between the destroyers and cruisers of either side, supported by land-based aircraft by day. At night, it was a matter soley for the surface ships; with Japanese tactical proficiency, spotters with keen night vision, and awesome torpedoes set against American advantage in damage control and their possesion of radar. America won this one ugly, largely due to the surprisingly timid nature of the higher-ranking Japanese admirals who sent in forces in dribs and drabs rather than seeking a decisive blow. Failing to win naval superiority about Guadalcanal led to a protracted battle of attrition on the ground as Japanese soldiers were fed into the battle in small batches via destroyer transports at night (the "Tokyo Express").

Faced with a war against Anglo-America and China that was already stretching Japan to its very logisitcal limits, precious cargo ships, destroyers, cruisers, battleships, sailors, airmen, and soldiers were lost for little rational purpose. One gets the sense this battle was largely fought the way it was by the Japanese for internal political reasons: neither the Army nor the Navy wanted to loose face to the other by calling for a pullback, yet neither wished to make a decisive commitment of resources to it. It became a fulminating ulcer upon their war effort.

Hammel's narrative has visceral punch. The night battles come alive in the reader's mind, with the confusion and suprise of formations actually interpenetrating as they trade gunfire at point blank range. The visions of sailors who escaped sinking vessels only to choke on the copious amounts of fuel oil spilled upon the water or be keelhauled by the following friendly vessel in the battle line were very haunting.