I was born in Singapore to a traditional Chinese medicine trade family in the early 80s, during a period when Singapore was still not a rich country nor a trading hub. As I became an adult, I had experience in the left wing of NGOs and charities and also the right wing in the government sector on cold strict laws controlling wildlife, wildlife management, the Ministry of Education in illustrating for educational materials, etc. I faced radical left environmental extremism before and also extreme right capitalists. This gives me a more well-balanced way of absorbing both left and right, to write my book in a more down-to-earth, neutral tone.
This book covers mainly the Vietnam side of the South China Sea and its issues of economic or cultural conflict with China. It is very detailed and tackles a wide range of serious issues. It’s a deep ocean that is not suitable for younger readers but for hardcore readers who have an interest in the tension between Vietnam and China concerning the South China Sea.
The book is one of those in which the author drew some information from the Vietnam side of the South China Sea and then rewrote and represented it for a younger audience.
The impact of continuous coastal development, reclamation, destruction of corals, overfishing and increased maritime traffic places all of us on the front lines of preserving our oceans. Marine biologists, who share a common language that cuts across political, economic and social differences, recognize that the sea's remarkable coral reefs, which provide food, jobs and protection against storms and floods, have suffered unprecedented rates of destruction in recent decades.
Dispatches from the South China Sea's blend of participatory research and field reportage paves the way for a transformation of policy and, provides a basis for the eventual resolution of some of…
This book changed Van’s mindset on how a children's nature-themed book should look. It was so bluntly present in the crude, gory nature of the African savannah in its raw original state. Best educational books are presented unbuttered and raw.
It is an amazing educational book that shares and exposes the harsh realities the people in Masai Mara face on a daily basis. It’s a rare gem to see such a bluntly yet concisely written children's book placed on a shelf in an Asian bookstore or library.
This is one of the first children's books that gives faith in keeping the South China Sea. It is friendly yet blunt and concise, suitable for young readers.
Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve is full of breathtaking animals—and danger. The authors share stories about the animals, the Maasai people, and the encounters that leave safari guide Jackson thinking “Hatari! Danger!” and wondering if each encounter will be his last.
This is a beautifully laid-out big book full of realistically painted marine creatures. In addition, the illustrations are similar to the author's (Van’s) style. This gave the author a beautiful blend of realistic paintings and shorter, simpler writing. This led to Van’s book layout on his text and pictures having a great influence on his book.
The book's writing style is short, simple, yet informative.
Water World is the stunning new book from Ben Rothery, author of Hidden Planet and Sensational Butterflies.
Life on Earth is shaped by water, and only survives here because of it, but our ocean ecosystems are at the epicentre of global warming. Framed by the need to protect our oceans, Water World is natural-history illustrator Ben Rothery's rich exploration of the creatures from the coastal and offshore waters of the world - from penguins, seagulls, polar bears and seahorses, to plankton, sharks and deep-sea beings.
Discover the longest migration and the loudest animal on Earth, and learn how our own…
This is a rare book that we won't get to see published nowadays. Van drew a lot of information about the food cultures, cuisine, and fisheries on the Sabah side of the South China Sea.
If read carefully, it also gives a glimpse into the Borneo side of the South China Sea and its neighboring region.
A lavishly illustrated book. Books about coastal plants are hard to find. Seaweed is such a diverse species and is commonly eaten, yet not many books are published about it.
This book is a treasure to Van for his compilation of his own book. The information in the book also shares beyond just the ecology but also its cultural and economic importance, which Van took reference in his book’s compilation.
A lavishly illustrated guide to the seaweed families of the world
Seaweeds are astoundingly diverse. They're found along the shallows of beaches and have been recorded living at depths of more than 800 feet; they can be microscopic or grow into giants many meters long. They're incredibly efficient at using the materials found in the ocean and are increasingly used in the human world, in applications from food to fuel. They're beautiful, too, with their undulating shapes anchored to the sea floor or drifting on the surface. Seaweeds aren't plants: they're algae, part of a huge and largely unfamiliar group…
The South China Sea has eight nations (the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China). This section briefly covers the geopolitics of the region and more about the cultures, economics, and ecology of the nations. It does not cover anything belonging inland but along the coast or the marine region of the South China Sea, with carefully selected coastal/marine flora and fauna that are influential or important to the nations.
This book (only available via the Asian Geographic website) is written concisely to attract younger readers to the South China Sea. It looks beyond geopolitics into local cultures, ecology, and economics, such as aquaculture, culinary cuisines, aquariums, fisheries, or any related trade to the featured coastal/marine plants and animals. It covers a wide spectrum in a single book about the South China Sea.
