This is the best travel map I've seen for the Philippines. Very detailed, lots of information and great quality paper. It is much better than the Globetrotter map I bought earlier. Globetrotter doesn't even show the provinces of the Philippines on the map...

When traveling to new areas or countries it nice to have the best information at your hands. Thats why I like Periplus Maps. Good detailed information and inserts to help with larger metro areas. With 7107 islands, foreign names, get the information quick and easy off Periplus Travel Maps.

This book is on the "Recommended Reading List" of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 295, Indianapolis, Indiana

Two hundred Vietnam vets (women and men both) ranked this book among the top five "oral histories" from the war, and those five oral histories among the top fifteen books from the Vietnam War period. The other four? EVERYTHING WE HAD (Santoli), NAM (Baker), CASUALTIES (Brandon) and BLOODS (Terry). All offer women-vet voices as moving as Walker's collection. (Comments by the author of DREAM BABY.)

i read this book so many years ago, but i can still remember
how good it is. this book is not only about the underwater
world but also about the goings-on in a typical barrio in
the philippines. it has a socio-economic aspect to it that i
found quite realistic, having been born and raised in that very
same third world country. it amazed and pleased me that a
foreigner like hamilton-paterson could,quite accurately, capture
the very essence of filipino rural life---like the old woman who

he suspects isnt so aloof and taciturn as she seems
and the children of the barrio who frolick in the water and
in their humble amusements, oblivious of the shortcomings of a
third world upbringing. the book is an unusual stew of underwater
adventure and an unpatronizing account of a life among the natives.

Paterson is living on a small island in the Philippines and he is joining the natives in diving (i.e. fishing) for a living. We scuba-divers, as we only come for 1-2 week vacations, often are not experiencing the reality around our dive sites. Paterson's book was helping me understanding more of the countries I was visiting. Very instructive are his personal insights about ecology in a third world country and the connections to the economical and social structure. I found it very valuable that the insights do not follow the well known beaten paths about the third world but are rather well founded, personal observations. This makes this book a much more interesting read than any other book about the subject that I have ever read before.

"The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia" is abrilliant, riveting and invaluable expose that details the CIA's involvement in drug-running. Through McCoy's analysis, one can follow the CIA's drug-running trail from right after WWII, through the French Connection in Marseilles, to the golden triangle in Laos and Burma and on into Afghanistan.

"The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia" reveals the purpose behind the CIA's incolvement in drugs: at least since 1954 in Guatemala, the US has been involved in massive international terrorism throughout Central America. being clandestine, the CIA needed untraceable money and brutal thugs, so the CIA turned to narco-traffickers - like Manuel Noriega (long on the CIA payroll before his demise).

"The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia" remains one of the more important, relevant (in light of US involvement in the euphamism called a drug war in Columbia) yet obscure books of the previous quarter-century - a book that ultimately posits the question of whether the CIA, as an instrument of state policy, reflects the values of the American populace. Fascinating reading.

This in-depth academic study researches the central role that opium plays in the economy, politics, and wars of the region. It follows the trial from the highlands of Laos, where the opium is grown and harvested by the Hmong tribespeople, to the Golden Triangle, where it is refined into heroin. Published in 1972, this was the first printed account of the USA's massive engagement in a "secret" war in Laos. It documented the use of CIA helicopters to bring Laotian opium to market in Vietnam (where, ironically, it was sold to addicted US soldiers.) This was done to finance weapons for the army of Hmong highlanders, being led by CIA "advisors", who were fighting the Laotian communists.

There was only one edition of this book; immediately after its first printing, the entire publisher was bought by the U.S. government, and all warehoused copies were destroyed. However, with a bit of luck it can still be found in used bookstores.

After having read many books on the POW/MIA subject, it was immediately clear to me that after reading "POW/MIA - America's Missing Men - The Men We Left Behind", this book is the definitive encyclopedia on the subject.

Covering World War 2, Korea, Vietnam, and the first Gulf War (with major emphasis on Vietnam), it is clear to see that this book is exceptionally well researched and compiled.

Among some of the superb material is major statistics of the Vietnam war, a huge list of unaccounted for U.S. servicemen with supporting intelligence information, and a timeline overview through the years that shows exactly what has been accomplished by the United States, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos concerning the continuing POW/MIA issue.

Finishing off the book are 126 riveting photographs of American servicemen held in captivity. These photos, not easy to look at, are heart wrenching in their portrayal of the pain, suffering, and hardship suffered by our servicemen.

For the best possible material on POW/MIA's (predominantly in Vietnam), this is the book for you. It comes hugely recommended to everyone interested in this material.

Over a period of time reviewing books has it perks. I get to choose my topics and read what I like. Chimp Robertson has made it easy to be a reviewer with this book POW/MIA America's Missing Men.

One of the most controversial subjects in U.S. History is the MIAs and POWs, and this book uncovers the truth about what really happened to those men. I was deeply moved by the enormous tragedy of the whole thing.

Not written in storybook fashion, this book you'll read gripping tales of horrific conditions by those that lived the nightmare and returned to talk about it. You'll also read about those that were as fortunate.

Most impressive was the way the book is detailed and well researched. Even more impressive is the work the author is doing to help bring back those still left behind. This book should be dedicated to the real heroes of the Vietnam War - the soldiers.

I read the book before going to Burma and really enjoyed it. It gives you a good idea of the way people live, and the problems they have. A very nice story.

A comment to the ones that already read the book :

When I entered the Shan State and saw the Orange plantation a few teardrops went through my face.!

Have seen on Austrian Television a documantary film on the life of Mrs/HHPrincess Inge Sargeant called 'Die himmlische Prinzessin'.. am so deeply touched and impressed with a life led there under the hardest of circumstances and trying now to help refugees from Burma as such. Am an Austrian myself and have lived uproad (Africa), so feel a bit the more for her formidable life led there and a special graciousness and truly wish I'd be able to meet her real in life some day..

Great book about the dreamers of the South Pacific. It is a collection of short stories of important and not so important dreamers who have wanted to make a name for themselves in the South Pacific. Stories range from brutal mutiny to the early history of the Hawaiian Islands.

I read this book several times and would recommend it to any one interested in the history of the South Pacific. I have read most of his books, and found it to be one of his best. I enjoyed Tales of the South Pacific, but his non-fiction work was very informative.

Mr. Dix has written an exciting book full of timeless information. Particularly pertinent now, in the face of what is happening in Afghanistan, he brilliantly illustrates the effective use of indigenous forces inside a mostly hostile country. A country where most Americans would be unable to fit into. This is not the sort of book I usually read, but I was struck by the timeless, unconventional and utterly logical methods of warfare Mr. Dix used to bring about successful campaigns. Without pointing fingers or complaining about what went wrong with the Vietnam War, he merely states how he made his own campaigns successful. What is evident, between these lines lacking in self-pity, is a loss of innocence. For this brave, unique man, he was only doing a job, albeit proudly. A very exciting account, if somewhat understated. At times, his dry wit shines through and makes me smile. Thank you, Mr. Dix, for being the man you are. For setting an example for other people. For saving lives. For any young man desirous of becoming a member of our very honored Special Forces - any branch - this should be required reading. History repeats itself. Let's learn from it.

This is truly a fascinating account of what one man went through during the war. His heroics are impressive and almost unbelievable. I am amazed that he survived. He deserved the medal for what he did. This book should be read by anyone who is interested in war and what heroes are made of.

This is a very well thought-out text. The author states that it is not intended for self-study, but if you have a facility for languages, have studied an inflection-driven language such as Latin and have had a year of a modern language that uses the Devanagri writing system, you should be ok. The format is similar to that of Moreland and Fleischer's Latin text, with brief lessons covering single-serving chunks of morphology, followed by vocabulary and exercises in translation and composition.

Given that the book is a part of the "Michigan Papers on South and South-East Asia", I was a bit apprehensive about it being too scholarly and unsuitable for a beginner like me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it otherwise. The author has the rare combination of an authentic grooming in the traditional Sanskrit learning and a long experience of teaching the language in the West to western students, and this shows in the book to the reader's advantage. Nevertheless, it is a book that demands diligence and effort from the reader. I liked the way the book provides a set of relevant words in every chapter which are used immediately afterwards in the exercises, for this allowed me to quickly refer to them for their meanings. The exercises are also very well thought out, though I wish the author had provided answers to them so that a student could bolster his confidence by verifying his answers immediately, but all in all, the book is well worth the money I spent on it.

A very revealing work. Gives the anatomy of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong units, as well as their operational applications. Discloses the broader regional political objectives of the North Vietnamese communists as it relates to subjugating Laos and Cambodia, and in doing so verifies the "domino theory" that so many critics of the war were quick to label as "fabricated." "Secrets" is a good military "X's and O's" of how a "just cause" was allowed to suffer from geopolitical naivete, and the ultimate price that was paid.

This is definitely the most thorough book that I know of on Viet Cong tactics, doctrine, weapons, etc. Especially tactics. The section on the "prepared battlefield" is especially illuminating.