# Recommend some books (not "how to" books please!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Kung Fu Forum\ **Created:** [June 25, 2007, 10:09am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281 "2007-06-25T10:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kal](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/kal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 10:09am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/1 "2007-06-25T10:09:09Z")
Hi, I’m looking for some recommendations for books about CMA (including Shaolin). I’m not looking for technique or “how to” books, but rather books that are discussions about the various arts as well as history. Definitely only want books that are supported by proper research and are free of the typical BS and hyperbole. For example, the best one I have read to date is “Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals” by Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo. I’ve also liked the online articles I’ve read by Stanley Henning, Jarek Szymanski and Sal Canzonieri. I also like Adam Hsu’s books. Any recommendations of books that are in a similar vein would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Takuan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/takuan/32/780_2.png) [@Takuan](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/Takuan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 11:05am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/2 "2007-06-25T11:05:24Z")
The Making of a Butterfly - Phillip Starr Great book! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kal](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/kal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 11:35am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/3 "2007-06-25T11:35:45Z")
Already got it! And yes it is a great book. What I’m really looking for are books that deal more with history of the various arts. ---
**Author:** ![MasterKiller](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/masterkiller/32/407_2.png) [@MasterKiller](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/MasterKiller)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/4 "2007-06-25T13:14:01Z")
Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey [http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576](http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576) ---
**Author:** ![Ben\_Gash](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/ben_gash/32/34_2.png) [@Ben\_Gash](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/Ben_Gash)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/5 "2007-06-25T13:44:15Z")
He lists that one in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kal](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/kal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/6 "2007-06-25T13:46:00Z")
[QUOTE=MasterKiller;772883]Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey [http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576[/QUOTE]](http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Martial-Arts-Training-Manuals/dp/1556435576%5B/QUOTE%5D) Thanks, but I have got that one too. It is definitely brilliant and I hope it’s an indication of the “new generation” of CMA books that we can expect – I’m looking for similar books. ---
**Author:** ![MasterKiller](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/masterkiller/32/407_2.png) [@MasterKiller](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/MasterKiller)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/7 "2007-06-25T13:47:53Z")
[QUOTE=Ben Gash;772888]He lists that one in the OP.[/QUOTE] My bad. I just skimmed the post. ---
**Author:** ![kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kal](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/kal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/8 "2007-06-25T14:05:59Z")
I’ve heard that a Prof. Meir Shahar will be publishing a book on Shaolin later this year. Does anyone know anything about it? ---
**Author:** ![TenTigers](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/tentigers/32/74_2.png) [@TenTigers](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/TenTigers)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/9 "2007-06-25T14:25:15Z")
The Sword Polisher’s record-Adam Hsu Chinese Masters and Methods-Robert W. Smith ---
**Author:** ![ittokaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ac8455/32.png) [@ittokaos](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/ittokaos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/10 "2007-06-25T19:17:27Z")
Meir Shahar I don’t think anyone really knows the status of that book. I would really love to know when and how much. ---
**Author:** ![sanjuro\_ronin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/sanjuro_ronin/32/793_2.png) [@sanjuro\_ronin](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/sanjuro_ronin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/11 "2007-06-25T19:19:08Z")
Martial Musings by Robert Smith. While alot of it is, well…bias, there are some very good anecdotes in there. ---
**Author:** ![BruceSteveRoy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/brucesteveroy/32/681_2.png) [@BruceSteveRoy](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/BruceSteveRoy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/12 "2007-06-25T19:33:16Z")
not sure what anyone else has to say about it but i found the “art of shaolin kung fu” by wong kiew kit to be an interesting read. i don’t remember a whole lot about it other than that at the time i liked it but then again i read it when i was still very new to CMA. I wonder if my perspective of the book would change after all this time. ---
**Author:** ![PangQuan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9f8e36/32.png) [@PangQuan](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/PangQuan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/13 "2007-06-25T20:33:20Z")
[QUOTE=BruceSteveRoy;772986]not sure what anyone else has to say about it but i found the “art of shaolin kung fu” by wong kiew kit to be an interesting read. i don’t remember a whole lot about it other than that at the time i liked it but then again i read it when i was still very new to CMA. I wonder if my perspective of the book would change after all this time.[/QUOTE] Thats always a fun thing to do. Re-read books on the subject when you are no longer a beginner. I’ve re-read all of the books I read when I first started kungfu. Each one is looked at in a different light later on, by my experience anyway. its a fun thing to do though. ---
**Author:** ![msg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@msg](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/msg)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/14 "2007-06-25T21:14:04Z")
dunn.F as some good books him and robert smith have writen books together .that book asian fighting arts is a good one by dunn.F it has good history ---
**Author:** ![kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kal](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/kal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/15 "2007-06-25T22:00:44Z")
[QUOTE=BruceSteveRoy;772986]not sure what anyone else has to say about it but i found the “art of shaolin kung fu” by wong kiew kit to be an interesting read. i don’t remember a whole lot about it other than that at the time i liked it but then again i read it when i was still very new to CMA. I wonder if my perspective of the book would change after all this time.[/QUOTE] I had that book, but I tossed it in the bin when I saw Chang San Feng mentioned in the section in taijiquan. ---
**Author:** ![BlueTravesty](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/bluetravesty/32/468_2.png) [@BlueTravesty](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/BlueTravesty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/16 "2007-06-25T22:37:16Z")
I picked up Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts last week. It contains various stories and anecdotes from Tim Cartmell, Fong Ha, James Wing Woo, Luo De Xiu, Paul Gale, Bruce K. Frantzis, Tony Yang, and others. It’s published by North Atlantic Books (I think that’s the same publisher as Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: An Historical Survey) If nothing else, it’s an interesting look at the opinions of those who teach the internal martial arts. I like Tim Cartmell and Tony Yang’s sections the best, though James Wing Woo’s rant about Bruce Lee is pretty funny. Gabriel Chin’s section highlights some of the outright bitterness and infighting that seems to rear its ugly head every once in a while in the IMA community (just like any other martial arts subcommunity.) I was simultaneously amused :rolleyes: and appalled :eek: by his assertion that Chen Style Taiji is a sham created by the Communists. Uhhh, right… to his credit though, he taught/teaches free of charge. ---
**Author:** ![sanjuro\_ronin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forum.kungfumagazine.com/sanjuro_ronin/32/793_2.png) [@sanjuro\_ronin](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/sanjuro_ronin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 12:15pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/recommend-some-books-not-how-to-books-please/40281/17 "2007-06-26T12:15:58Z")
[QUOTE=msg;773009]dunn.F as some good books him and robert smith have writen books together .that book asian fighting arts is a good one by dunn.F it has good history[/QUOTE] You mean Donn Draeger.