Triumph Of The Sparrow

Triumph of the Sparrow

Shinkichi Takahashi is one of the truly great figures in world poetry. In the classic Zen tradition of economy, disciplined attention, and subtlety, Takahashi lucidly captures that which is contemporary in its problems and experiences, yet classic in its quest for unity with the Absolute. Lucien Stryk, Takahashi's fellow poet and close friend, here presents Takahashi's complete body of Zen poems in an English translation that conveys the grace and power of Takahashi's superb art. "A first-rate poet . . . [Takahashi] springs out of some crack between ordinary worlds: that is, there is some genuine madness of the sort striven for in Zen." -- Robert Bly; "We visit places in Takahashi that we once may have visited in a dream, or in a moment too startling to record the perception. . . . You need know nothing of Zen to become immersed in his work. You will inevitably know something of Zen when you emerge." -- Jim Harrison, American Poetry Review

Sparrow's Tears

Green Beret Captain James Ross travels to Kuala Lumpur for a routine military training conference and unwittingly finds himself set up as the patsy in an insidious terrorist plot. "Sparrow's Tears" is an exciting military-espionage thriller taking place throughout exotic Thailand and Malaysia. Ross is an intelligence officer with Special Forces sent to Kuala Lumpur to attend the CARAT conference held this year at the Petronas Twin Towers. Accompanying Ross is his old C.I.A. colleague from Bangkok, Randal Kloet. Once in Malaysia, Ross is assigned Miss Lin Sparrow as his official interpreter. The lovely and intriguing Miss Sparrow proves an extremely capable young woman. Of Amerasian descent with the gift of clairvoyance, Lin uses what some call her witchcraft skills in an attempt to pull Ross out of his deeply disturbing family past. Ultimately, Ross and Lin cross destinies with rogue C.I.A. agent Julius Creedmoor who has sold out his country to Abu Sayyaf. Someone in Abu Sayyaf is using an education in psychology and PTSD to erode the American soldier psyche. Their plan is to destroy the Petronas Towers and bring the financial infrastructure of Southeast Asia to its knees. Blame will be placed squarely on the United States unless Ross and Lin can stop them.

Triumph of the Sparrow