It is not possible to fully understand contemporary politics between China and the Dalai Lama without understanding what happened in the 1950’s. The third volume in Melvyn Goldstein's History of Modern Tibet series; The Calm before the Storm; examines the critical years of 1955 through 1957. During this period; the Preparatory Committee for a Tibet Autonomous Region was inaugurated in Lhasa; and a major Tibetan uprising occurred in Sichuan Province. Jenkhentsisum; a Tibetan anti-communist émigré group; emerged as an important player with secret links to Indian Intelligence; the Dalai Lama’s Lord Chamberlain; the United States; and Taiwan. And in Tibet; Fan Ming; the acting head of the CCP’s office in Lhasa; launched the “Great Expansion;†which recruited many thousands of Han Cadres to Lhasa in preparation for beginning democratic reforms; only to be stopped decisively by Mao Zedong’s “Great Contraction†which sent them back to China and ended talk of reforms in Tibet for the foreseeable future. In Volume III; Goldstein draws on never-before seen Chinese government documents; published and unpublished memoirs and diaries; and invaluable in-depth interviews with important Chinese and Tibetan participants (including the Dalai Lama) to offer a new level of insight into the events and principal players of the time. Goldstein corrects factual errors and misleading stereotypes in the history; and uncovers heretofore unknown information on the period to reveal in depth a nuanced portrait of Sino-Tibetan relations that goes far beyond anything previously imagined.
#70280 in Books 2009-09-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .60 x 6.00l; .75 #File Name: 0520261747248 pages
Review
83 of 84 people found the following review helpful. "Bang the casserole against the ground;" an instruction from one of the recipes in Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World (p.135)By a reader"Bang the casserole against the ground;" an instruction from one of the recipes in Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World (p.135). (Kids; do not do this at home!)The book was written in French; translated to Italian; and from the Italian into English; that is a long journey to take for a text dealing with medieval Islamic cookery written originally in Arabic. The book; nevertheless; generally makes a smooth read; with the exception of some instances where the reader is left puzzled whether the translation; the writer or the original Arabic texts and recipes are indeed to blame. Some things did get lost in translation; all right.There are places where ingredients are wrongly identified and sentences not accurately construed. For instance; according to a recipe; the dish is presented by stacking chicken pieces on top of each other (p.64); whereas in reality; the recipe asks the cook to arrange the pieces (tunadhdhad) on the platter. A medieval pot called dast is inaccurately translated as a `jar.' Jam; once again; is rendered as a jar (196); whereas; in the medieval culinary lingo it is actually a platter. Pickled lemons kept in brine (musayyar); the signature condiment of the North African cuisine then and now; is erroneously rendered as `candied lemon' (p.67); or `lemon coated with salt' (p. 138). The flavor of one of the dishes in a recipe is described as "sweet and sour flavor that influences the mood of the person who eats it (p. 81);" whereas the original recipe simply suggests that the sweetness and sourness of the dish is to be determined by the eater's mizaj temperament; in modern terms; "adjust to taste." The green seeds in one of the recipes are not cardamom as rendered (p. 130); but terebinth berries. The quince and onions that have been "chopped but not cut up into pieces;" (p. 139) - does not make sense at all; are in fact to be "slashed into sections; but not all the way down" as the original Arabic recipe instructs. Some of the statements sound rather funny; a condiment recipe; for instance calls for "locusts that have returned from hunting" (p. 140); which should be "locusts that have just been caught;" 140). Or; the recipe instructs the cook to "bang the casserole against the ground" (135)- sounds like the medieval cook was under a lot of stress! In fact; the cook is asked to put the pot on the ground away from the fire; and beat the cooking dessert vigorously. There are also some inaccurate generalizations; such as fish was mostly consumed dried in the eastern medieval Islamic world.The best part in the book is the first; dealing with background of the medieval Arab cuisine. It is well researched; although I find it strange that there is no bibliography. It would have been nice to see the sources that contributed to the research put together at one place; as I do not think the inclusion of a bibliography would have made the book less appetizing to the `general reader.' In the third part; which entirely focuses on modern North African dishes; the writer's own cuisine; I felt the need; especially when in a lazy mood; for a brief note telling me where in the second part (dealing with the original medieval recipes) a given modern recipe has its counterpart. Besides; medieval weights are not explained; neither are we given the modern equivalents; except for the pound; which is mentioned alongside the dirham and uqiyya; which does not help much.I also find it odd that the back flap of the dust jacket; while it includes a brief description of the writer and the forwarder; the translator; who; besides working on the text and has; in his own words; "made a great many changes to the organization of the Italian edition while also adding a good deal of material to the text; glossary and notes" was left out. As a reader; I am entitled to know something about him; as well.All things considered; the book after all is what it claims to be; a concise history. It is smartly packaged and priced; visually appealing with some color medieval illustrations. So; all in all; it can be a fair deal.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Well written recipes that are easily followed. Interesting historical informationBy SeekingWell written recipes that are easily followed. Interesting historical information; but it is difficult to tell quickly the actual source and time period of the individual recipes is. It would be 5 stars if this was more easy to discern as you looked at each recipe.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. adventures in foodBy Nancy M. ParkerFascinating history of Islamic cookery from Persia to Spain; recipes are translated exactly but clearly. A glossary of untranslated terms is provided but could have been improved by a simple table of equivalent measures. The reader is left mostly to his own devices when finding modern substitutes for medieval seasonings though there is some discussion of what they would have tasted like. (trust me; you don't want to make kamakh; but thinning bleu cheese with milk should come close enough)
