Ann Gaines

In 600 A.D. a warrior Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma traveled from India to China, where he promoted the study of martial arts as a key not only to strength, but also to self-confidence, health, and peace of mind. Bodhidharma's combination of breathing, meditation, and physical fighting techniques formed the foundation for all martial arts.

Over the centuries as the practice of martial arts spread throughout Asia, each region developed its own specialty, from karate to judo, jiujitsu, tae kwon do, kung fu, tai chi, and aikido. The martial arts proved to be an influential and enduring form of exercise, self-defense, and self-improvement.

Promoted in recent years by action film stars such as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, martial arts today are practiced by millions of people worldwide who seek a connection between the powers of the body and the powers of the mind.

Contents

Chapter 1 Fighting bulls with empty hands
Chapter 2 The history of martial arts
Chapter 3 Kung fu
Chapter 4 Jiu-jitsu and judo
Chapter 5 Tae kwon do
Chapter 6 Aikido
Chapter 7 The martial arts
Chronology
Glossary
Further reading (bibliography)
Index… (mer)

More detailed than a children's book, appropriate for the young adult section, but awfully dry. Published in the '90s, with black and white photographs as illustrations, except a middle photo-essay with color pictures of Egyptian art.

Some of the Egyptian art is enjoyable: their is one double page spread of an enormous Tutankhamun with the help of some regular size Egyptian soldiers, absolutely destroyed a foreign army with his regal prowess. All preposterous, of course, but very lively.

The book is barely about Herodotus at all. To a great extent it describes military expeditions which also resulted in discoveries about other lands. Alexander of Macedon's march almost to India revealed a lot that had not been known to the ancient Greek civilization. Interestingly, Hannibal's march across the Pyrenees and Alps and the intervening country is also viewed as a voyage of exploration, rapidly superseded by the Roman conquest of those regions, converting the unknown into Roman colonies with really good roads. The Anabasis gets a mention.

There is a great emphasis on the development of trade routes as well as the voyages of Carthaginian explorers around Africa.

Full of interesting detail, but confusing. The choice to use photographs of mediaeval illustrations of classical events does not make sense to me. I'm just not interested in fanciful depictions of Alexander of Macedon, wearing the armor of a knight, attacking a medieval castle, as medieval art is not the subject of this book.

There are also some mistakes in astronomy; the sun is _not_ always over the equator.

There is one illustration of a bas relief that purports to show a Greek phalanx, but the soldiers look to me a whole lot more like Sumerians.… (mer)

The book is truly a work of art. With all of its historical content, it is one that can be use anywhere but especially in the classroom. It has lots of actual photographs along with information that depicts the life of Ronald M. Reagan, our 37th president. There are also bolded words in red ink, which can be used in the classroom to help students better understand the history behind Reagan's presidency. The vivid colors are what would get students engaged even if this is not a topic that particularly interest them.… (mer)