Category: Non-fiction 5 out of 5s

Sahana Singh’s — The educational heritage of ancient India *****

Sahana Singh’s — The educational heritage of ancient India *****

This book explores the many universities that flourished all over India from the 6th century onwards, and how students travelled from many parts of Asia to study in these prestigious institutions. At its height, universities specialized in subjects from mathematics, medicine and logic to the arts and military training. Much of this knowledge was translated into Arabic and then from Arabic into European languages where the knowledge was claimed as their own.

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Susan Morgan’s — Bombay Anna *****

Susan Morgan’s — Bombay Anna *****

This is a fascinating biography of Anna Leonowens who pretended to be British, covered up her past, even from her children, and became the nanny to the King of Siam’s children. She travelled the world, then settle in Canada to raise her family during the Victorian era when women stayed at home.

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Mark Sakamoto’s — Forgiveness

Mark Sakamoto’s — Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a memoir to two Canadian families — the Sakamotos from Vancouver and the MacLeans from the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence. When war breaks out, Ralph MacLean enlists, and not long after he arrives in Hong Kong he is captured, and spends most of the war in a prison camp. Meanwhile, the British Columbian government is eager to remove the prosperous Japanese community from Powell Street and expels them from their homes into the B.C. interior as farm labour. A generation later, these two families come together when their children marry.

This is an emotional journey, beautifully written that I didn’t want to end.

Janice P. Nimura’s — Daughters of the samurai *****

Janice P. Nimura’s — Daughters of the samurai *****

Five Japanese girls were sent by their government to the U.S.A. in 1871 to learn Western ways. While they were raised traditionally at home, they grew up as typical schoolgirls in their new country. Three of the girls: Sutematsu, Shige and Ume; returned after ten years to try to change women’s education. Continue reading “Janice P. Nimura’s — Daughters of the samurai *****”