Reviews for The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Soto Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan (Buddhisms: A...

The average rating for The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Soto Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan (Buddhisms: A... based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-08-28 00:00:00 Robert Mcdougal a book that covers everything else (Soto) Zen did aside from the actual practice of Zen. as the title indicates, the book covers what Soto Zen did in the Tokugawa era but there are also little segments here and there that hint at what shape Zen took in pre-Tokugawa and Meiji eras. while brief, The Other Side of Zen does give the reader a thorough understanding of what Zen did, aside from functioning as a religious practice, though I would've liked to have read more about how the medicinal side of Zen operated instead of the legend behind Zen medicine. special attention is given to how Zen temples functioned as a way to "hunt" Christians and keep track of the Japanese population.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-02-08 00:00:00 Anthony Goins This is a very strong four stars. Empire for Liberty provides an interesting and well told account of the interaction between expansionism and liberal ideals in American foreign policy throughout its history, as encapsulated in six thought leaders in US foreign policy. It is particularly strong in explaining slavery's central effect on foreign policy decisions prior to 1860, and in it's treatment of reconstruction as a foreign policy issue. It's two weakest areas are its selection of Paul Wolfowitz as the final figure - his views may best represent the era which Immerman is talking about in that section but his actual effect on US policy doesn't seem to be on the same level as the other figures he chose - and the fact that it lacks deeper theoretical explanation. These would be most useful in explaining why trends shifted as they did, and the significance of the idea of an "Empire for Liberty" to traditional conceptions of American foreign policy. Overall, this book does a phenomenal job in presenting a grand narrative of US foreign policy, its animating ideals, and leaders' willingness to compromise those ideals, in under 240 pages