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<p style="text-align:justify">With razor sharp prose, the author dissects the vulnerability and cruelty of human relations. When a society is content to find excuses for poor mothering &ndash; even inventing wounds to justify it &ndash; perhaps the implication is that we just aren&rsquo;t ready to see women in their full range of possibilities. The author believes we must bid farewell to this formula if we are to truly understand gender inequality and the subtle influences that inform gender. The author is attempting to contemplate a world that is far from perfect, in which there will always be people we cannot understand, and questions that are difficult to answer. To the author, the true oppression of women is any image of women, or motherhood, that flattens out our individual differences.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Written over the past several decades, Ping Lu&rsquo;s <em>The Taiwan Histories Relived Trilogy</em> has launched an iconic new &ldquo;Taiwan&rdquo; novel style distinct from the classic roman-fleuve-inspired works of the last century. Apart from their disconnected time flows, neither the characters nor stories in these three novels are presented in anything resembling a sequential manner. However, their narratives similarly center on difficult situations and how characters interpret them and muddle through. Also, each of the narratives regularly cycles between &ldquo;past&rdquo; and &ldquo;present&rdquo;, using the present to better understand the past to quench conflicts that have festered and grown over time.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p> <p>It may be said thusly: Ping Lu has fostered in her <em>The Taiwan Histories Relived Trilogy</em> not a common perspective on history but rather a common humanity shaped and guided by a shared heritage of suffering. Put another way, the history in <em>The Taiwan Histories Relived Trilogy</em> is told not for its own merit but for the deep and meaningful importance it has for us today.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Reading <em>Joyland Above</em> is not unlike indulging in a hot pepper. Each bite, while inflicting fiery discomfort, invariably entices you back for more.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">This rainy, earthquake-prone island, where even the location of a new garbage dump triggers a heated debate, is nevertheless deeply beloved by many, with those who leave often making excuses to return. What is it with this island? <em>Joyland Above</em> frankly shares with readers the many apocalyptic bogeymen that have visited this island&hellip;from epidemics and natural disasters to the devastation of war; from the death of a nation to self-obliteration. What on its face seems a bloody tragedy, is portrayed by the author as subtly ironic. The fairy-tale airs of this work craftily rework warnings of a doomed nation into a bedside story.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Considering our present-day reality, should <em>Joyland Above</em> be read as a prophetic warning of apocalyptic doom or a fairy tale in which, true to form, a happy ending awaits? Who can say?</p>

Yashi no Hakage (Under the Shade of Coconut Fronds) is an early twentieth-century compilation of diary entries made by Taiwan Sotokufu Museum’s first director Kawakami Takuya during his travels through the South Pacific and East Indies. This book, compelling to Taiwanese readers in translation today, is a classic from colonial-era Taiwan offering insight into the ecological landscape and natural history of contemporary Southeast Asia. A considerable translation and editing effort in more recent years created a Chinese version of this work that brought this work to light among Taiwan readers.

 

Paying tribute to Kawakami’s work, Archived Shadows, centering on the life of Hosokawa Takahide, leverages delightful prose and vivid illustrations to capture the thrill and excitement surrounding botanical field work during the first half of the twentieth century. This ostensibly non-fiction effort touches on many historical places and scenes. Also, the author’s occasional metaphysical side journeys detract not a whit from the rigor invested in creating this serious literary work.

Few countries are more aware of the realities and serious nature of geopolitics than Taiwan. After the Second World War, Taiwan, at the center of the first Western Pacific island chain, stood firmly on the frontlines of the global Cold War, its position further complicated by unresolved animosities with its neighbor, the People’s Republic of China. Now, well into the 21st century, Taiwan, in upholding its sovereignty and helping secure this strategically vital island chain, must persistently strategize to survive in a landscape defined now more than ever by great power conflict.

 

This book brings an invaluable Taiwanese perspective to East Asian politics and regional military affairs, with firsthand observations and opinions provided by relevant experts. Should global conflict erupt again, this island chain, with Taiwan at the center, will undoubtedly be a key battleground. Readers may appreciate this work as an informative, much easier-to-understand 21st century update to Sun Zi’s The Art of War that not only reveals the likely nature of future conflict in the region but also shows how peace may be sustained. This is an excellent work for all readers interested in international affairs and geopolitics.

This encyclopedic work on railways of the world was organized and written over two and a half decades, during which time the author traveled regularly in search of anything and everything train related. His dedication proves without a doubt that one dedicated individual can indeed craft a world-class encyclopedia of world railway history and knowledge.

 

The author, a self-styled “biologist”, led numerous field surveys worldwide targeting railway-related individuals and infrastructure. “Samples” collected by the author, categorized, verified, analyzed, were finally compared with Taiwan's own railway heritage to show the country’s position in worldwide railway heritage and highlight the unique aspects of its railway culture. The author concisely explains relevant principles as well as curates his own railway experiences over the years to help readers clearly understand the history and import of railways globally and in Taiwan.