Författarbild
9 verk 92 medlemmar 2 recensioner

Om författaren

Colin Mason has been Chief Correspondent in Asia for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a diplomat, a senator and leader of his party in the Seriate.

Inkluderar namnet: Colin J. Mason

Verk av Colin Mason

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For anyone looking to get more than just a glance at some gorgeous history, this is a great starting point. Although the book claims to be a short history, one should already have a decent understanding of at least one of the countries in which to weave this intricate web of history around. In my case, my focus is Korea.

Allow this book to be the launching point in which to study a specific region or country. It lays the groundwork for future study by being brief yet detailed. The author holds your attention just long enough to paint a beautiful portrait.

Speaking of the author, if anyone should be qualified to write this book, it's Colin Mason. His journalistic approach to writing is elegant, thoughtful and diplomatic. Not to mention his personal stories that accompany some of the most interesting moments in modern Asian history. He keeps his opinions fairly grounded and objectively presents a striking history.

The book's faults include a horribly messy map, a small handful of unrelated photos and an occasional reference of huge importance that gets only two sentences. Otherwise, this chronological look at Asia is well worth your time.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
matthew254 | Nov 20, 2011 |
Although Mason notes in the introduction that he is trying to cover enough ground in this book while still writing for the layperson, meaning that he will not delve deeply into details of problems, I found this to be quite disappointing. His short chapter on science, for example, says that science must above all be pursued only when useful for the world's purposes, but does not explain how "usefulness" can be determined in advance of actual scientific experimentation. He leaps from issue to issue, idea to idea very quickly, and too quickly for my own liking. I skipped whole chapters that didn't interest me (the one on religion, for example), because I thought that Mason's proposed solutions would not even be worth reading, due to his oversimplification. He suggests that we simply need to be on the same philosophical page to easily implement solutions, and in no way addresses the divergence of will, opinion, or culture as possible barriers to this common understanding. He makes loose connections between different problems, and I often had problems following his train of thought. In the end, this book didn't spark my imagination.… (mer)
½
 
Flaggad
allison.sivak | Jan 2, 2010 |

Priser

Statistik

Verk
9
Medlemmar
92
Popularitet
#202,476
Betyg
½ 3.3
Recensioner
2
ISBN
31

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