Search Details

Word: shaplen (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first (reverse)


Usage:

...there is one problem with this book, however, it is the chapter on China--problem, because Shaplen has decided not to write one. In his conclusion, where he assesses China's impact on the surrounding nations in a scant ten pages. Shaplen offers us a weak-kneed rationalization. To discuss the mainland, he insists, would require an entire book. But elsewhere, he eagerly tackles Japan in less than 100 pages and the Philipines in even fewer. While one might expect this--American reporters' access to the mainland has been extremely limited--it leaves a gaping hole. A Turning Wheel...

Author: By Robert O. Boorstin, | Title: Shaplen's Asian Notebook | 10/20/1979 | See Source »

...times, Shaplen sacrifices style for comprehensiveness, and A Turning Wheel degenerates into an encyclopedic rendition of facts and events. A tendency toward run-on sentences packed with references and acronyms may deter the novice. But if Shaplen has only written the encyclopedia of modern Asia, it is a reference work that is desperately needed. As one might expect, the author is at his best in relatively uncharted territory; the chapters on Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia are not only fascinating, but promise to fill gaps in most people's knowledge...

Author: By Robert O. Boorstin, | Title: Shaplen's Asian Notebook | 10/20/1979 | See Source »

...Shaplen takes an awesome expanse of history and personalizes it. A Turning Wheel is a giant reporter's notebook, crammed with essential details and one-of-a-kind observations. When he injects himself into the story--his feelings on seeing Nagasaki five hours after the bomb was dropped; his conversations with Mao and Marcos--the story comes to life...

Author: By Robert O. Boorstin, | Title: Shaplen's Asian Notebook | 10/20/1979 | See Source »

Reviewing Shaplen's book is like reviewing 11 books: each chapter has a life of its own. On the Philippines. Shaplen is obsessed with Marcos; on Indonesia, he relies too heavily on economic figures rather than trends and on Korea, his history is hackneyed. But Shaplen surprises you when you least expect it. "More clearly than ever," he concludes, "the solution in Korea, difficult as it may be to achieve, remains unity, not two Koreas...

Author: By Robert O. Boorstin, | Title: Shaplen's Asian Notebook | 10/20/1979 | See Source »

...where Shaplen has chosen to write, he has done a spectacular job. For the expert on the Vietnam war or the student who has never heard of Kuala Lumpur. A Turning Wheel is required reading. Shaplen's ability to preach without being pretentious and to find the personal thread among the sweep of revolution is extraordinary. If his vision of Asia's future is hesitant, then he has learned more than most writers and journalists

Author: By Robert O. Boorstin, | Title: Shaplen's Asian Notebook | 10/20/1979 | See Source »

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Next