Favorite Bonsai Books?

[grouper52]

Old thread, might as well try to bring it back to life and see if there are any other good book suggestions...

I really like Yee-sun Wu's Man Lung Artistic Pot Plants book. I have the 1976, 2nd edition. Bought it at Powell's in Portland. Believe it was the Hawthorne shop. I would love to eventually buy a copy of the 1969 first edition, and maybe learn to read Chinese, specifically whichever variation it is written in.

I'll sell you mine if you make me an offer I can't refuse. Pristine condition except a handwritten, "Library of Richard J. Kramer" inside the back/front cover. It comes with the original mailing box from the Wing Lung Bank LTD in Hong Kong, postage stamp dated "3 IV 71" addressed to "Richard J. Kramer, Dept. of Biology, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 24401, U.S.A." Inside the book is a letter from the bank dated "1 Apr 1971" explaining how the book came to be sent, and requesting that the recipient sign and return a receipt for the book. The Chinese is, if I am not mistaken, written in traditional/classical characters, but - coming from Hong Kong - there are also solid English translations throughout.

I'm not interested in haggling over low-ball offers: If you're interested, send me a PM/Notification with your best offer, and I'll say yes or no.

 

[rockm]

"Richard J. Kramer, Dept. of Biology, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 24401, U.S.A"

Small world. I dated Mary Baldwin girls back in the 80's...lived about ten miles from there.

 

[John Romano]

Old thread, might as well try to bring it back to life and see if there are any other good book suggestions...

I really like Yee-sun Wu's Man Lung Artistic Pot Plants book. I have the 1976, 2nd edition. Bought it at Powell's in Portland. Believe it was the Hawthorne shop. I would love to eventually buy a copy of the 1969 first edition, and maybe learn to read Chinese, specifically whichever variation it is written in.

Coincidentally one was posted on ebay this morning if you're interested:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-Rare-Ch...ultDomain_0&hash=item4167bef296#ht_500wt_1176

john

 

[Hoosteady]

@grouper: thanks, mulling over an offer. I've seen a few online but I don't think the condition compares to yours. Also neat to have the accompanying letter.

@john: much appreciated. There was another one on eBay I saw last night, looked beat up. Also saw one on amazon. They're out there, but the conditions vary so much. Thanks again for the heads up!

 

[grouper52]

"Richard J. Kramer, Dept. of Biology, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 24401, U.S.A"

Small world. I dated Mary Baldwin girls back in the 80's...lived about ten miles from there.

Even smaller world: I did too in 1970-71 when I did my Rat Year at VMI. We had periodic formal dances called "mixers" with the girls . . . ahem - "young ladies" . . . from Mary Baldwin, Southern Seminary, and a third one I can't recall the name of, had "holly' in it somewhere, "Hollyhock" or something. The girls from Southern Sem were the most fun, but I, unfortunately, was already betrothed early in the year by a powerful upperclassman, and his wealthy alumni donor father, to his young lush sister. It amounted to a form of hazing, IMO, since it was made quite clear to me that my life would be made quite miserable if I declined the wonderful offer. The family came down from Winchester for every football game, dance and big event throughout the year, and rented a nice hotel room in which they all sat or lay around the entire time drinking themselves into oblivion. The sister was not a bad sort in many ways, and she liked to kiss, but was horrible at it, and even if her folks stepped out for a while she never wanted to do more than that , no matter how much she drank - and she could drink a LOT. I didn't drink hardly at all, so it gave me a wonderful opportunity each time to study the fine art of deeply considering my fate looking down the various roads ahead. As soon as told her I would not be returning to VMI the next year, she had no interest in even speaking to me again. I dodged that bullet. No regrets: when I think of her, I smell Southern Comfort, and there's no comfort there.

 

[Hoosteady]

Even smaller world: I did too in 1970-71 when I did my Rat Year at VMI... No regrets: when I think of her, I smell Southern Comfort, and there's no comfort there.

If ever there is a Grouper memoire or autobiography written, I'm certain this will be in it.

Decent details and narration for something that occurred so many moons ago. You sir must be blessed with a good memory.

 

[grouper52]

If ever there is a Grouper memoire or autobiography written, I'm certain this will be in it.

Decent details and narration for something that occurred so many moons ago. You sir must be blessed with a good memory.

A good memory - and mostly good memories as well. Thanks for the kind words.

I have occasionally thought of writing some sort of memoir. Growing up I enjoyed discovering Alexander King's four memoirs in my father's library. I liked the form, though I think few do it well.

Another quasi-memoir, maybe not really a memoir at all, caught my fancy a few years later when I was a shipboard Hospital Corpsman sitting in unbearable heat in the deadly still waters of the Gulf of Siam, waiting for two months for Cambodia to fall. I brought lots of books along to keep me sane on WestPac cruises, and turned at that time for some reason to Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." The beauty of her writing, and the philosophical musings intertwined with her observations of nature in my old haunts in western Virginia were just what I needed at that time. I wrote to her through her publisher and told her so, and thanked her. Phnom Penh eventually fell. We headed back to Subic Bay for some R&R, but just a few hours after we went ashore the trucks with loud speakers came through the streets - paved mostly by that time - calling us all back immediately to our ships. Saigon was falling, a much bigger deal than Phnom Penh, and we sailed to the coast there at full speed. Then we waited two weeks until it fell, involved after that in the chaos of the evacuation and the boat people. I've written somewhere about some of my adventures there - not sure where those stories are. When we got back to Subic again a nice letter from Annie Dillard was waiting for me, full of simple thanks and well-wishes and "stay safe" thoughts. It was a good letter to receive just then, and though I never contacted her again, nor went back and re-read her book, I sometimes remember with fondness the place in my heart where her book and her letter reside. If I could write something like that, I would write.

 

[Hoosteady]

"If I could write something like that, I would write."

Absolutely start writing, you won't regret it, nor will your family/friends down the road. No matter how irrelevant you might think some of your memories or writings are, someone much later on might find them to be the most fascinating thing in the world. What's the worst that comes of it? Wasted ink and a cramped hand? You might even consider having someone else compile, reword and rewrite if need be to create a more refined, publish worthy book if you feel you aren't capable of finding the time or energy to do so.

In the meantime, keep teaching me crap about bonsai via this forum.

 

[rockm]

"I did too in 1970-71 when I did my Rat Year at VMI."

Even smaller world. My brother is VMI Class of 83...

 

[robert gardner]

Hey all you book nuts I am trying to find a copy of Sailing in an Ocean of Art published in 2012 by the
Chinese Forestry Publishing Co. Written bu Liu Chuan Gang. it has a isbn #97875033867064.
I found two copies overseas but they wanted over $250.00 per each way to much for an old retired bonsai nutcake.
Any help would be really appreciated. Willing to pay around $80.00 for a copy, used is alright.

 

[Ambientone]

Is there a good book specifically on pines?

 

[sorce]

@Brian Van Fleet PDF on black pine is certainly worth the $.

Worth as much is his recommendation for another book I reckon.

The North American Pine Book isn't written yet.

Sorce