Fortunately??!!!
The authors present a clear comparison between the histories of North and South Korea, based on fairly extensive expertise for Westerners. The authors are a former U.S. security official/political scientist and a political economy professor, and it reads like it. It is clear and concise, but dry. It also needs better editing in several places. In summary, read for the info/analysis, not for a gripping read or great writing.
The for-me part of my #bookhaul from Washington State. I also, of course, bought books for my niblings. Not all of these are from Village Books and Paper Dreams. Top two are from Barnes & Noble and Mark For Everyone is from a little Christian book store in Lynden.
Um, I might be missing something, but 2,000 x 5 is actually 10,000? Which technically is over 5,000, I guess?
Not super impressed by the editing in this book, even before I came across this.
Random tiny detail, but I love the little dog-walker strolling through the book!
The author was a journalist and it shows in his writing. He is clear and factual in his analysis of Southeast Asian politics and society. It also shows that his heart is breaking for this region that has been his life‘s work, first as a journalist and then as a mediator. Overall, a very depressing pick. Also, it should be noted that this book was published in 2017, so obviously some things have changed.
What?! What nonsense is this?
So, today I learned that
a. Mt. Everest was named for, but not by, George Everest.
b. George Everest was actually a proponent of learning the local name of mountains he surveyed, rather than coming up with new English names.
and c. He hated it when people pronounced his name Ever-est, rather than Eve-rest.
“We instinctively think of mountains as eternal, but they‘re not. They are falling to bits and being remade like the rest of nature - like us.”
Just a #prettycover appreciation post before I dive into this re-read. The end papers even match the floral design of the letters:)