December 21, 2012

Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram - translated by: Andrew X. Pham (2007)

The diary of a young and pretty Vietcong doctor who was shot and killed by American soldiers during the Vietnam occupation. The diary is unique in that it was salvaged (illegally) by a US intelligence officer from papers that were supposed to be destroyed as having "no military value". Only recently (in 2005) did that officer return the diary to Thuy Tram's family, and had it translated and published (without Vietnamese censorship) as well. It became a best seller in Vietnam instantly, and a valuable insight into the "war" for anyone interested in seeing past both Uncle Sam's and Uncle Ho's version of things.

Magic and Mystery in Tibet - by: Alexandra David-Neel (1932, 2014)

This is one of those rare books that exposes another culture in a way that really opens it up an lets the reader glimpse for themselves what...