“The Pacific Century: America and Asia in a Changing World”, by Frank B. Gibney

596 pages, Scribner Book Company, ISBN-13: 978-0684193496

The Pacific Century: America and Asia in a Changing World is a broad, rich survey of the Pacific that is well-written, insightful about all the major issues of economics, society and politics, rooted in history, full of scholarly references and lavishly illustrated with photographs. The author – who has written five books on Asia – is a veteran observer of East Asia who has spent a lifetime traveling in and writing about the region. He is now president of the Pacific Basin Institute in Santa Barbara, California, and one of America's foremost experts on the region.

A definable image of the Pacific Basin would include, on the eastern shore of the ocean, the principal states of North America: Canada, the United States, and Mexico. On the western shore we have China, Japan, Russian Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, both South and North Korea, Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos included), and the ASEAN group: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei. Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands round out the list.

Lavishly illustrated, with hundreds of black-and-white and color photographs, The Pacific Century traces the past one 150 years of the Pacific Basin region, from colonialism to nationalism, from military clashes to economic ones. The book also examines in depth the future of the Pacific Basin – its social problems, pollution, population growth, trade friction, and immigration – as well as the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific nations. As the author notes, “our Pacific interconnections mark our common destiny.”

This volume should become a standard text for college courses on East Asia and for the general reader interested in going deeper than the usual journalistic survey. It needs also to be read by the “Atlanticists” in the U.S. foreign policy establishment, who have consistently neglected a region that is destined to play a much greater role in shaping world affairs.

“Seven Ages of Paris”, by Alistair Horne

476 pages, Vintage, ISBN-13: 978-1400034468

One of the most beautiful cities in the world has finally found a worthy biographer in Alistair Horne. Paris has always held a fascination for most, being a center of not only political and commercial interest, but also home to the art and culture known throughout the world. Horne’s book describes the history of the city, with particular interest on the architectural changes, by highlighting seven different time periods, beginning with an introduction of the early beginnings of the city culminating in the late 1960’s riots which shook Paris. Wonderfully written, with snippets of information hard to find elsewhere. For example, I often wondered why St. Genevieve was the patron saint of the city; Horne supplies that information that very early during the history of the city an attack was feared from the invaders of the west and as the city prepared to flee, young Genevieve had a vision that the attack would not take place and halted the evacuation. Its little pieces of information such as this, which made the book an exceptionally fun as well as educating read.

Special attention is also paid to other significant historical events, especially those after the 1600’s. What really strikes the reader is one thing: the number of uprisings (the French Revolution of 1789 was only one in a series) that had struck the city, most of them organized on a grass roots level. This also helps explains why the cobblestones of the streets have now been cemented into place: they make very good missiles for those fed up with the weak administration of the city. That is another point that the author stresses: sanitation and city planning came very late to Paris, and this led to unimaginable squalor in various quarters of the city.

The reader is also introduced to some of the great figures of French history, particularly Henri IV (famous for his “Paris is well worth a mass”) and Emperor Napoleon III (who fled the country immediately following the defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian war). Other notables include Haussmann who reinvented the look of the city we now see.

This is a superbly written history of Paris, as well as of France. It is at once well researched and scholarly, and highly readable and entertaining. While the history is focused on Paris, Horne skillfully weaves in the history of France as well. One thing that makes this such a good book is that Horne not only provides the reader with the political history, but weaves in descriptions of social issues, how the average Parisian lived, descriptions of the different social classes, information on the arts and culture, entertaining anecdotes, interesting portrayals of the important persons in the history of Paris and France, etc. In essence, he provides the reader with a full, comprehensive portrayal of Paris and France in a highly engaging writing style. My only very minor criticisms of the book are that maps of Paris should have been included, and not all of the very limited use of French was translated. Nevertheless, this is a must read for anyone interested in Paris and France.

“Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt”, by Joyce A. Tyldesley

320 pages, Basic Books, ISBN-13: 978-0465009404

In our odd culture of changing values where truth is often misrepresented, it is no surprise that the commonly-accepted story of Cleopatra is so wrong. Based upon Hollywood’s depiction of Roman historical drama, how could it possibly be otherwise? Thankfully, in Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley combines her scholarly precision with a warmth and wit to tell the true tale of a really remarkable woman. Calculating and charming, sagacious and seductive, intellectual and ingenious, a mother and a monarch – all of these describe the fascinating character of a queen who was ahead of her time. Dispelling the myths, mischaracterizations and motives attributed by Roman historians who were hostile to her influence on their home-grown heroes, Dr. Tyldesley’s Cleopatra emerges as a more complete and admirable stateswoman who seems more modern than ancient. In this case, truth is not stranger than fiction, it is simply better.

Unfortunately, Ms. Tyldesley has decided to write a book that is replete with digressions. She flies through Cleopatra's early life but then takes two chapters discussing the layout of Alexandria and how Cleopatra actually looked between the birth of Caesarian and the death of Caesar. There was a point where I despaired of finishing the discussion of diadems and triple uraei and getting back to the compelling story of the ultimate Roman conquest of Egypt.

This book is complimentary towards Cleopatra, but is not a hagiography. Ms. Tyldesley clearly is sympathetic towards her subject, but is clear that Cleopatra was, first and foremost, an ambitious leader in a cruel age. Her affairs with Caesar and Antony are presented as events that served mutual political agendas and not (as they so often appear in cinema) as the product of lust. Since there is no way to ever know the true nature of the relationships, Ms. Tyldesley's theory is as valid as any other, but those looking for the romance of the age will be disappointed.

The flaws of the book are, at the end of the day, relatively minor. The strengths – Ms. Tyldesley's prose, her setting of the entire episode into the proper historical context, and her willingness to look beyond the sordid Elizabeth Taylor version of history – are significant. This is likely not a book for academics or romantics, but if the general reader can work through the digressions they will find a book worth reading.