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Customer Reviews (3)

A Truly Pathetic WWII Atlas
When you open an atlas on the Pacific war and there are no references to the attack on Pearl Harbor, you know something is remiss.Be forewarned. The maps only show ground operations. There is no index or table of contents to locate a particular map. You could go through the entire manual and never guess that the Air Force or Navy ever participated in the Pacific theatre. The large sized maps appealed to me and I got suckered in by the 5 star review.This atlas is related to a West Point textbook and is a little use to a World War II buff.Shop elsewhere.

Not For Me
Good ---- if you want a textbook for a course in military history. Not good ---- if you're looking for a good read or coffee table book.

Excellent Tool or Just For Thumbing Through!
This is an excellent tool for research or even for more casual perusal...Make no mistake, this is an atlas, but it is an atlas of the militarycampaigns without peer. A great visual companion to those readingtext-heavy accounts of the war. ... Read more

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This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the role of nuclear weapons in Asia since 1945, its implications for regional and global security, and the conditions under which more Asian countries might seek to acquire a nuclear capability in the future.

It focuses in particular on understanding the nuclear proliferation networks that enabled small and middle ranking powers such as Pakistan and North Korea to pursue nuclear weapons programs. Three networks are included:

• the Soviet network which allowed for the proliferation of nuclear technologies to India, and also to North Korea
• the Chinese network which provided missile technology to North Korea, and nuclear technology to Pakistan
• the A.Q. Khan network which transferred nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan to North Korea, and missile technology from North Korea to Pakistan.

Chung Min Lee considers the pressures upon other Asian powers to go nuclear, particularly Japan and South Korea as a response to the North Korea nuclear program, and Taiwan as a response to China; the role of key forces including the rise of new asymmetrical military capabilities in Asian militaries, and the complex interplay between failing states, weapons of mass destruction and transnational terror groups.

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An insight into the political and economic future of Pacific Asia, an area currently undergoing violent changes. The author speculates as to how stability might be introduced into the region by an alliance between its countries, similar to the EC and NAFTA. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Basic Primer on Asia Pacific
Clearly the only reason Mr. Dobbs-Higginson wrote this book was to include the lengthy introduction explaining to the reader what a cool guy he is.Otherwise, it is a basic primer that devotes a chapter to each of the major countries in Asia.A useful introduction to the region perhaps.

Projecting the New Asia
As the 20th century draws to a close, the Asia-Pacific region is establishing itself as a leading economic powerhouse. Half a millennium ago, the world's economic centre shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Today, it has moved again; this time to the Asia-Pacific region. Asia Pacific: Its Role in the New World Disorder provides a contemporary insight into a much misunderstood region. The Asia-Pacific region, according to M.S. Dobbs-Higginson, includes China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Brunei, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, and excludes Canada, the United States, Mexico and Latin America. With the passing of the Cold War and of the superpower rivalry since World War II, we are now grappling with "a completely new set of operating conditions that most people haven't really begun to comprehend the ramifications, either in political or, more importantly, in economic terms." The circumstances facing the region in the 1990s and beyond will be different from those encountered in the past. The region must therefore respond and adapt to changing circumstances by embracing new and innovative measures. Basing his views on the history, culture and politics, rather than on the economics, of the countries in the region, Dobbs-Higginson colours them with his Buddhist philosophy of balance. He sees the world "in terms of whether or not it is balance .... Everything one does, or the world does, affects and is also affected by whether the world, and oneself within it, is in a state of balance or not. Unless one understands oneself within oneself, oneself within the world, and then the world around one, how can one possibly achieve this balance in order to live (and work) effectively? Without proper balance, considerable energy needs to be used either to compensate for such imbalance or to attempt to achieve such balance .... with proper balance, considerable energy is freed up and can be used productively for achieving other, more rewarding, internal and external goals of both a spiritual and worldly nature." Dobbs-Higginson provides an historical overview of each country's business culture. He intertwines anecdotal asides with bold analyses of the political and social developments over the recent years, and outlining each country's strengths and weaknesses. Besides developing a detailed argument on how and why the countries of the region should come together to create a regional forum, he alludes to the reasons each country would benefit from supporting such a forum and the consequences of not doing so. He believes that Southeast Asian countries, especially Asean countries, will play a catalytic role in uniting the region in the future. With the end of communism and the fading away of opposing ideologies, and increased communication amongst countries within the region, opportunities for co-operation have become wider. Dobbs-Higginson demonstrates how much each country can benefit by participating in a union with the rest of the region. The best way for Asia to present a common voice and be heard in the world on matters related to trade, security and human-rights issues is to construct a structure similar to that of the European Union. "Trade liberalisation, essential though it is, is not enough in itself ... There must be some other political dynamics as well. There should be fundamental cooperation in regional security, but also in many other fields. Asia Pacific needs permanent institutions to guarantee the future: a rotating presidency, perhaps some form of parliament, a council of ministers, a secretariat, and a structure for dealing with legal disputes." These structures could emanate from ASEAN, which he believes is the region's most mature political organisation. Dobbs-Higginson reiterates that Asia could forge this integration because of two distinct reasons: growing economic linkages, especially intra-regional trade, and common cultural heritage. Though Asia is divided by language, religion, culture, belief and past animosity, it is nevertheless united by common historical experiences and shared values and social institutions. Such differences may not be as profound, but they nevertheless exist. Differences should be grounds for unity more than divisiveness: "... the countries in this area are too diverse, too hostile to one another, and too geographically separated ever to come together as a coherent regional force. However, it is not often recognised that far from being divided, the region's peoples have benefited from a gradual blending of ethnic groups over the last two millenniums .... Despite their variety, the religions and other philosophical beliefs of Asia Pacific share the same ideas of kinship, discipline, tolerance, and death .... Although there still remain significant barriers of understanding and there are many different national objectives, far less now divides Asia Pacific than ever before." He identifies these changes and suggests how remaining barriers are eroding in such a way that some of these national objectives have or will become common ones soon. Dobbs-Higginson does not fall short when it comes to argumentation and recommendations; not only does he raise crucial questions, he also thinks them through thoroughly. A more contemporary analysis of the Asia-Pacific region couldn't have come at a better time than now, when economic prowess, not military might, are the determinants of national strength. ... Read more

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"The Vanishing Ainu" are still there !
Sometimes the way things repeat themselves is uncanny.Just as the American literature of the early 20th century reflected the idea that the Native Americans would soon vanish, and writers in Australia and New Zealand pontificated on similar lines on their aboriginal neighbors, so in Japan, the aboriginal Ainu have long since been labelled "mysterious, but vanishing".To tell the truth, I thought they had already gone by the 1980s.I was wrong.Here is an autobiography, written by Kayano Shigeru, an Ainu of around 60 when he originally wrote, that informs us that the Ainu are far from gone.Kayano is personally responsible for building up a collection of Ainu artifacts, for preserving a great number of `yukar' or epic poems, for writing an Ainu-Japanese dictionary, for helping establish Ainu language primary schools in Hokkaido, and working in the political sphere to improve the lot of Japan's only aboriginal people.This memoir tells in very simple, matter-of-fact style about his early years of grinding poverty, the hardships suffered by all his fellow villagers, about being a draft laborer, about life hunting, fishing, and logging in the deep forests of Japan's northernmost island.Kayano's life is not specifically "Ainu", it is life in a mixed world of changing conditions.Japanese, Ainu, and even Western cultural strands mingle, but the author never tries to separate them.Whatever Ainu people of his generation faced, that, for him, is Ainu life.This is very effective in a way, though foreigners without much knowledge of Japan will be hard-pressed to figure out what is unique here.Kayano tells a straightforward tale, but natural reticence and perhaps lack of higher education mean that he does not delve much into psychology, he seldom develops other characters.A few sentences at most suffice.He often reports events with little comment.His feeling for his land and for his people's condition come straight from the heart, though.Nobody can remain unmoved by that.

OUR LAND WAS A FOREST reminds me very much of Native American memoirs, though in this case there is no attempt whatsoever to play up "mystical" aspects or try to be a "wise, traditional guru".The Ainu experience has been close to that of other aboriginal peoples from Siberia to Sydney, from Boston to Buenos Aires.The harmony of their life in nature was disrupted by the coming of greater numbers of more organized, materialistic peoples.The book is easily read and contains a number of useful black and white photographs.If you need much background knowledge on the Ainu, this might not be the place to begin, but if you are looking for an interesting book on a little heard-from people, choose this one.

Toward Understanding of Aboriginal People
Shigeru Kayano gives candid and passionate voice to anaboriginal people.The breath of the Ainu pour fromeach page as he narrates his life ...from the snow on hisskin as small boy playing in his native homeland of Ainu Mosir (lit: Peaceful Land of the Ainu), to hisgrandmother's lessons and father's disillusionment,through naive comments of tourists at bear-sendingceremonies, and finally to his political ascent as thefirst Ainu elected to the Japanese Diet.

More then a memoir, Kayano records Ainu traditions, language and sentiment along side of the oppression thatsucked the lives of able bodied Ainu into 'draft labor'and almost drove the Ainu culture into forgottenunwritten history.

Our Land Was a Forest is the courageously humblesaga of an aboriginal people written by theharbinger of traditional revival. ... Read more

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This series shows the distribution of mineral deposits and occurrences in the countries of the Asia and Pacific region irrespective of their economic significance and provides information on their contained commodities, reserves, geographic locations, their relation to the geological environment and other characteristics. ... Read more

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This cultural critique of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes targetting sex tourism industries in Southeast Asia posits a new place for a speaking sex worker subject. It will be vital up-to-date research for scholars in many disciplines. ... Read more

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Human trafficking is widely considered to be the fastest growing branch of trafficking. As this important book reveals, it has moved rapidly up the agenda of states and international organisations since the early-1990s, not only because of this growth, but also as its implications for security and human rights have become clearer.

This fascinating study by international experts provides original research findings on human trafficking, with particular reference to Europe, South-East Asia and Australia. A major focus is on why and how many states and organisations act in ways that undermine trafficked victims' rights, as part of `quadruple victimisation'. It compares and contrasts policies and suggests which seem to work best and why. The contributors also advocate radical new approaches that most states and other formal organisations appear loath to introduce, for reasons that are explored in this unique book.

This must-read book will appeal to policymakers as well as advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of criminology, human rights law, gender studies, political science and international studies. ... Read more

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This collection of essays provides readers with specialist knowledge of terrorist organisations, their modus operandi and the threat they pose. It helps the reader to look at the multidimensional character of terrorism as well as the general and specific responses of regional states. It will also offer an unsurpassed platform to learn from an international panel of experts and gain firsthand knowledge of terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, this book will also provide: special knowledge of terrorist groups active in the region; the maritime terrorism threat; country specific threats; potential for terrorist attacks in the future. ... Read more

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The Asian financial crisis and its aftermath provide a crucible in which Chinese diaspora capitalism has been tested, and a prism through which its strengths and weaknesses may be seen in a different light. The papers collected in this volume are in many ways still tentative. Some represent work-in-progress reports on as yet uncompleted research. In other cases, outcomes explored are still unclear or have not even yet fully unfolded. The aim is to focus on the consquences for diaspora Chinese capitalists and to start trying to identify losers and winners in the new landscape, re-evaluating their business culture, strategies and modes of operation, and their likely future direction and potential. The book begins by setting the scene for the Asian crisis and the achievements of the "Asian miracle".It then goes on to examine the causes of the financial crash, the firms that were able to ride the crisis, the Taiwanese economy as a whole, the fortunes of diaspora ventures in China, the small and medium enterprises at the heart of Chinese diaspora capitalism, the impact of the crisis on large Chinese business groups, and finally, the book debunks the theory that the rise of East Asia was initiated by Japan. ... Read more

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A study of the Taiwan issue after the Cold War, with the focus on the changes in mainland China's Taiwan policy in the period between Lee Teng-hui's 1995 US tour and his "two-states" theory in 1999. It discusses how the Taiwan Strait crises of 1995 and 1999 started. ... Read more

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Worldwide urbanization has already reached unprecedented levels in the estuarine and coastal zone. This is particularly the case in the Asia Pacific region where mega-cities and mega-harbours have developed and are still growing. As a result environmental degradation is significant and growing. This book details how science can provide solutions so that economic and social developments can be ecologically sustainable. This book demonstrates the different solutions and pitfalls, successes and failures in a large number of ports and harbours in the Asia Pacific Region, and this will be based on science and aimed at management.

Twelve sites are discussed in detail, integrating physics and biology. These are Tokyo Bay, the Pearl Estuary, Hong Kong, Shanghai and the Yangtze delta, Klang, Manila Bay, Jakarta Bay, Pearl Harbour, Ho Chi Minh City and the new harbour on the Thi Vai River, Bangkok and coastal waters of the upper Gulf of Thailand, Singapore and Darwin. This is the shoreline of about 50 million people and the coastal waters of about 500 million people. The social, economic and environmental problems are pressing and call for science-based solutions that are addressed by this challenging book. Thirty internationally recognised, prominent scientists and engineers in universities and research centres in all these cities wrote the chapters in this book.

The dominant scientific approach that will be demonstrated is understanding and quantifying how the impacted estuarine and coastal waters work by focusing on the links between physical and biological processes, and between science and engineering. In turn these are linked to economic and social issues.

The book highlights the individual experiences at these different sites, with many similarities and dissimilarities brought upon by different scientific and management approaches, governance and socio-economic issues and different levels of development. This advancement in science was made possible by the local experts – who are actually also the authors of the chapters. These experts provide hints of long-term solutions to enable socio-economic developments while maintaining, or restoring, the vital ecosystem services provided by the estuarine and coastal waters.

The lessons from this book about the Asia Pacific Region find applications worldwide wherever coastal urbanization and the growth of mega-harbours occur.

The chapters are peer-reviewed to ensure highest quality science. The editor, Dr. Eric Wolanski, is an internationally recognized coastal oceanographer. He is a fellow of the Belgian Academy of Overseas Sciences, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the Institution of Engineers Australia. He was awarded an Australian Centenary medal for services in estuarine and coastal oceanography and he is a Leading Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science with more than 270 publications.

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This important new book explores the influences of global environmental discourses and local traditions and practices in twelve countries in the Asia-Pacific region. ... Read more

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As the twenty-first century commences, the countries of Pacific Asia are grappling with the impact of regional development, industry, and growth on their increasingly acute environmental problems. International Environmental Cooperation: Politics and Diplomacy in Pacific Asia brings together innovative and insightful studies of international environmental politics in this increasingly critical part of the world.

The first section of the book examines many of the issues and actors impacting international environmental cooperation, highlighting important themes such as cooperation between developed and developing countries, international justice, and regional environmental security. This section also illustrates key features of specific multilateral environmental agreements and the competing interests of important national bodies, international organizations, multinational corporations, and nongovernmental entities. The second section focuses on environmental diplomacy and regime-building in Pacific Asia, examining issues such as acid rain, nuclear waste, deforestation, and conflict over regional seas. Contributors from Asia, Europe, and North America bring an international perspective to questions of environmental cooperation.

International Environmental Cooperation provides policymakers, citizens, scholars and students with essential information for understanding and addressing some of the world’s most significant environmental problems. ... Read more

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The world in the last two decades of the twentiethcentury fundamentally and radically changed at a speed and on a scalenever before witnessed. The challenge posed at the beginning of thethird millennium is enormous for governments and people the worldover. Globalization, along with globalism, continues its unrelentingand accelerating march as it draws more countries, cities, and peoplecloser into interdependent relationships. Globalization and NetworkedSocieties attempts to tease out some of the salient elements of thisprocess, especially as it has affected urban centers in Pacific Asiaover the past twenty years. Globalization and rapid economic growthhave transformed the region and its cities on varied spatial scales,bringing new opportunities and challenges for governments, the privatesector, and individuals. All countries in Pacific Asia are covered inthis work, with special attention given to Hong Kong and to China, alate bloomer in the Asia scene but nevertheless one that hasexperienced phenomenal growth and accelerated globalization in recentdecades. The empirical analyses reveal the outcome, dilemmas, andmeanings of globalization in the urban-regional scene. ... Read more