Khmers Tigers, and Talismans: From History and Legends of Mysterious Cambodia [Hardcover]

Jewell Coburn (Author), Nena Grigorian Ullberg (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 93 pages
• Publisher: Burn Hart & Co (June 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918060028
• ISBN-13: 978-0918060020
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,350,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful tales from a country that has recently suffered, February 19, 2006

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Khmers Tigers, and Talismans: From History and Legends of Mysterious Cambodia (Hardcover)

Every culture has its legends and by reading them, you can learn a great deal about the collective history and thoughts of the people. This collection of stories about the Khmer, the people of Cambodia, is entertaining and educational. The environment of the jungle: the heat, humidity and the creatures who live there are an integral part of the stories.

My favorite is the tale about the caterpillar and the crow. As the crow is about to devour the caterpillar, it offers up a riddle. If the crow can answer the riddle, the caterpillar will willingly consent to be eaten. However, if the crow is unable to give the correct answer, it will fly away and leave the caterpillar unmolested. Since the crow thinks it is smarter than the caterpillar, it agrees to the contest. There were four parts to the riddle:

*) Name the sweetest thing on Earth.

*) Name the bitterest thing on Earth.

*) Name the most putrid thing on Earth.

*) Name the most fragrant thing on Earth.

The crow answers:

*) Sugar and honey are the sweetest things on.

*) Vinegar and lemons are the bitterest things.

*) Manure and dead bodies are the most putrid things.

*) The blooms on the Champa tree are the most fragrant.

When the crow then moves to eat the caterpillar, it informs the crow that it did not answer the questions correctly. The correct answers are:

*) Loving words uttered in sincerity are the sweetest things.

*) Hurtful, wounding words uttered unjustly are the most bitter things.

*) An evil reputation or a bad name is the most putrid.

*) A good name, a reputation for integrity and honesty is the most fragrant.

The chastised crow then departs, leaving the caterpillar undisturbed.

Written at the level of the middle school student, this book can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The people of Cambodia have suffered much over the last four decades. From this book you can learn many of the beautiful aspects of that ancient culture.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations, December 15, 2007

By 

R. Kos - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Khmers Tigers, and Talismans: From History and Legends of Mysterious Cambodia (Hardcover)

The stories in this book are supposed to be derived from the history of Cambodia. The stories have to do with Jayavarman II and Angkor Thom. The illustrations are beautiful sketches. The book is less than 100 pages long. There are no obvious chapter distinctions except throught the table of contents.