Internet archivist seeks every book written

RICHMOND (AP) ― Tucked away in a small warehouse on a dead-end street, an Internet pioneer is building a bunker to protect an endangered species: the printed word.Brewster Kahle, 50, founded the nonprofit Internet Archive in 1996 to save a copy of every Web page ever posted. Now the MIT-trained comp

Aug. 2, 2011

A look at Asia in U.S. culture

Although the comics publisher DC Comics is now co-headed by Jim Lee, an Asian-American, for many decades American comics regularly featured racist depictions of Asians as inscrutable masterminds and devious coolies, among other stereotypes.A new exhibition at New York University (NYU), titled “Marve

Aug. 1, 2011

Peace or prosperity in East Asia: Which came first?

Global AsiaVolume 6, No. 2, Summer 2011East Asia FoundationThe year 1979 ought to be studied one day as perhaps the pivotal point in East Asia’s history. In South Korea it is remembered as the year in which the dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated, ending his 18-year rule and heralding the tumultuous ‘80s, in which the people fought the government for greater liberties. Also in 1979, the last

July 29, 2011

Author Park’s life rendered in fiction

Who Ate Up All the Shinga? An Autobiographical Novel By Park Wan-suhTranslated by Yu Young-nan and Stephen Epstein(Columbia University Press)Among the many novels by the late author Park Wan-suh, who wrote a great deal on the brutality of the Korean War, Korea’s ordinary families and women’s issues, her 1992 novel “Who Ate Up All the Shinga?” explores Park’s own family, whose fate was deeply affec

July 29, 2011

Author gives insights into shoplifting and its costs

Trying on shoes at a department store, I was struck by how long it took for the salesperson to return from the stock room.“Where did he go?” I asked author Rachel Shteir, my new shopping companion.“Now, if you wanted to steal those, you would just take the pair you came in with and place them in the box, and wear the new ones right out the door,” Shteir whispered. “The Steal: A Cultural History of

July 29, 2011

Dorothea Benton Frank talks about life in the Lowcountry

In her life and in 12 novels, writer Dorothea Benton Frank never hesitates to put her broad sense of humor on display and show she can deliver a punchline.Frank’s newly published book, “Folly Beach.”Such as her impassioned answer to this question: What impressions has she formed of her fans from hundreds of book-tour appearances over the years?“This is the honest-to-god truth ― my readers are good

July 29, 2011

Gerritsen’s most personal novel

The Silent Girl: A Rizzoli & Isles BookBy Tess Gerritsen(Ballantine Books)Tess Gerritsen’s latest novel featuring homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli and coroner Maura Isles gives readers another great thrill ride with her two popular characters.A woman’s hand is found near a trash bin and the rest of her remains are up on a roof in a building in Boston’s Chinatown. The evidence at the scene stumps Ri

July 22, 2011

Realistic view of adventurer

Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness ExplorerBy David Roberts(Broadway Books)Those with a soft spot for adventuresome romantics will find it difficult not to be beguiled by young Everett Ruess after reading David Roberts’ noteworthy book.A thorough biographer and determined detective, Roberts also explores the reasons that people remain intrigued by

July 22, 2011

Lives in the urban center

Seoul-1964-winterBy Kim Seung-ok(Hollym)Seoul in the 1960s was going through many changes. It was recovering from the war, experiencing rapid industrialization under the authoritarian government, and receiving growing number of people from the countryside who were looking for more opportunities in the nation’s capital. It was also the period where its residents first became to be aware of individu

July 22, 2011

Larry Flynt book bares politicians’ scandalous lives

Weary of sex scandals that have rocked all portions of our government in recent years, there’s a lot of talk on the campaign trail about getting back to the principles of our nation’s Founding Fathers. Publisher Larry Flynt attends the 2008 Directors Guild of America Honors at the DGA Theater in New York City, Oct. 16, 2008. Flynt and historian David Eisenbach have a new book, “One Nation Under Se

July 22, 2011

California author publishes her first mystery novel

For Kathryn Gualtieri one of the toughest tasks in writing her first novel was suppressing her natural instincts as a historian.“The hardest part was not putting in too much history,” the Capitola resident said. “You don’t move the story along like that.”Her mystery novel, “Murder in the Pines,” still packs in a lot of historical references, and much of the plot revolves around real events. Depot

July 22, 2011

Secrets of Somali pirates revealed in new book

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ― The pirates were nervous. A rookie author ― a white man from Canada ― had unexpectedly arrived in their cliff-top Somali village to ask about the captured ship anchored offshore.Locals fearing a showdown quietly melted away into a small collection of shacks.The encounter with the deadly gang forms the final chapter of “The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World,” a fir

July 19, 2011

Book turns Princess Diana’s story into happy ending

Monica Ali’s first novel, “Brick Lane,” made waves in 2003. Some hailed it as a realistic portrait of Bangladeshi life in London, while others condemned it as exaggeration and fabrication. Her fourth book, “Untold Story,” makes no pretense at realism. Instead of drawing back the curtain on immigrant lives, Ali writes a happy-ish ending for that most tragic of English roses: Princess Diana.What if

July 15, 2011

The gray zone in life

ContradictionsBy Yang Gui-ja(Cornell East Asia Series)Among many popular novels in the late 1990s, author Yang Gui-ja’s 1998 best selling novel “Contradictions” has managed to be an easy read while delving into the contradictions of the human condition.Jin-jin, a woman in her late 20s, is deeply influenced by the lives of her mother and her aunt. The twin sisters, who used look just like one anoth

July 15, 2011

K.C. Hyatt skywalks’ collapse changed many lives forever

Thirty years is a long time to live in the shadow of a tragedy.Those who survived the collapse of the Hyatt skywalks or who treated victims or lost a loved one have managed in their own ways to move on from that night.But for many, it has not been easy.Some escaped death, only to live a life of physical or emotional pain that challenged their spirits and altered the course of their lives.Some who

July 15, 2011

Love does not dominate but serves: Ko Un

Poet Ko Un speaks to reporter Claire Lee of The Korea Herald near Nowon Art Center in northern Seoul on Friday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Highly acclaimed poet publishes his first collection of love poemsDressed in a sky blue blazer and wearing his signature glasses with black plastic frames, poet Ko Un could not hide his spontaneous, child-like nature on Friday afternoon. “Let’s do this int

July 10, 2011

Love does not dominate but serves: Ko Un

 Poet Ko Un speaks to reporter Claire Lee of The Korea Herald near Nowon Art Center in northern Seoul on Friday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) Highly acclaimed  poet publishes his first collection of love poemsDressed in a sky blue blazer and wearing his signature glasses with black plastic frames, poet Ko Un could not hide his spontaneous, child-like nature on Friday afternoon. “Let’s do this

July 10, 2011

Life of an unusual ex-criminal

Your Friendly Neighborhood CriminalBy Michael Van Rooy(Minotaur Books)Montgomery “Monty” Haaviko knows a lot about the criminal life, and he’s slowly learning about the straight life. But he does backslide.As if Haaviko, the hero of Michael Van Rooy’s “Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal,” isn’t busy enough. He baby-sits by day, and he’s trying to ward off a drug dealer who wants to take over a ro

July 8, 2011

Chilling thriller on haunted past

You’re NextBy Gregg Hurwitz(St. Martin’s Press)Gregg Hurwitz delivers a chilling look at one man’s efforts to save his family from his haunted past in “You’re Next.”Mike was left at a foster home when he was 4. His last memory was his father promising to return. He never did.Flash-forward to the present: Mike has an amazing wife and a wonderful 8-year-old daughter. He runs a construction company t

July 8, 2011