Rating: 
Summary: Good book on things Asian but NOT Asian American
Review: A most stimulating read, if one is interested in contemporary ASIAN "influences" in North America. It is rather strange that the staff of a publication dedicated to highlighting ASIAN AMERICA as a unique & distinct way of life unto itself would devote energy to a theme like this, however. ASIAN is not the same as ASIAN AMERICAN.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking forward to future editions.
Review: An excellent broad look into the world of Asian-Americans! Would like to see future, updated editions of the book.
Rating:
Summary: A good introduction to Asian(-American) culture
Review: Fill in the following blanks: Chinese __, Japanese __, Korean __, Indian __, Vietnamese __, and Thai __. How many words can you put in each blank? This book is an excellent guide to solve this puzzle.
Written by editors of a magazine specializing in Asian-American culture, EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST) covers a wide range of topics in detail. In particular, 'FILM AND TELEVISION' chapter covers both old and new animations and movies even natives from those cultures don't know. Also, recognizing great influence of Asian foods, the book spares many pages on them with recipes for some typical dishes.
Besides minor glitches (obvious typos), EST may be a great help to have a common background with your Asian or Asian-American friends.
Rating:
Summary: Title is misleading. Reads like a travel guide to Asia.
Review: I wasn't sure what EST was about but I really wanted to find out. It turned out to be a mixed bag. I don't think A. Magazine or the editors should have marketed the book as a definitive guide to 'ASIAN-AMERICAN pop culture'. It's really a guide to Asian influences in mainstream culture and a guide to popular aspects of Asian culture, namely film and music. While incredibly informative and broad in its scope, as a young politically active Korean-American, I can't say I identified with much in this book. And I don't believe Asian-Americans are meant to read this book and go, 'Wow, that's what I grew up with and how I live'. The opposite, 'Wow, I should buy/wear/eat/learn some of that to get more in touch with my roots and be cool in an Asian way' seems to be more the attitude of this book. In fact, it almost seems more geared toward non-Asians who are interested in 'Asian-ness'. I hate to say it, but this 'definitive work' is guilty of exotifying itself in order to sell. I had to force myself to read the entire thing. There is a huge difference between what is 'ASIAN' and what is 'ASIAN-AMERICAN'. Japanese or Hong Kong new-wave popular culture has almost NOTHING to do with me or my life as an Asian-American. Japanese thrash metal and Korean modern art are not part of a normal 'Asian-American' experience unless one actively seeks them out and thus do NOT constitute 'Asian-American' popular culture. If I have to read a book in order to find out what my relevant 'pop-culture' consists of, then it must not have existed there in the first place. However, it was a good effort, nicely packaged, was an encyclopedia of facts, and since it attempted to be a breakthrough work (and is in theory), I give it 5 stars. I love learning about _other_ cultures but I really hope that next time, there will be something about 'Asian-AMERICAN popular culture'.
Rating:
Summary: Personal agendas aside, this is a great book
Review: I'm surprised by how personal and vicious some of the reviewers of this book got when writing... some of whom seem to have a personal beef with A. Magazine, some of whom have racial issues of their own. Can we just review the book and not our own lives? Based on the book itself, I would have to say that it's excellent--well-researched, very informative, very well-writtten. I couldn't find any other book on the market that offers this comprehensive and in-depth directory of Asian trends and phenomena. This book sold out in bookstores here in Singapore.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Funnest Books I Ever Read
Review: Kudos to the editors and writers at A. Magazine. This totally engrossing tome of factoids was one of the best books I have ever read. The in depth analysis on each topic is amazing! Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world? The origins of "no can do" and "long time no see"? Bruce Lee! Jet Li! Recipes! Excellent! I want more! Volume two please! You guys rock.
Rating: 
Summary: painfully shallow and poorly researched book
Review: The book gets kudos for the variety of topics it touches upon. Unfortunately, in their attempt to cover every aspect of Asian cultural influences, the people of A Magazine have spread themselves way too thin, making for a very shallow reading. This is the book to read if you know next to nothing about Asian culture and want to name-drop and sound erudite about Asian culture. This is also a great book for people who want to exoticize and/or trivialize Asian culture. Anyway, you should have been able to guess how vapid this book would be if you have ever read the fluff-fest that is A. Magazine.Also, in their attempts to be "humorous", the writers often sound condescending and mocking, leading one to suspect the writers are quite ignorant of many of the topics in the book. I'll just cite the example of Japanese noise. The writers approached the topic with a "oh jeez, aren't these Asians kooky and kind of stupid" attitude, when there could easily have been a way of dealing with the topic in a humorous AND intelligent manner. Come on, if the people writing the book are ignorant of a topic, they should have either found someone who does to write the section, or do some actual learning instead of glossing over the topic. This criticism extends to many other topics in the book.
Rating:
Summary: painfully shallow and poorly researched book
Review: The book gets kudos for the variety of topics it touches upon. Unfortunately, in their attempt to cover every aspect of Asian cultural influences, the people of A Magazine have spread themselves way too thin, making for a very shallow reading. This is the book to read if you know next to nothing about Asian culture and want to name-drop and sound erudite about Asian culture. This is also a great book for people who want to exoticize and/or trivialize Asian culture. Anyway, you should have been able to guess how vapid this book would be if you have ever read the fluff-fest that is A. Magazine. Also, in their attempts to be "humorous", the writers often sound condescending and mocking, leading one to suspect the writers are quite ignorant of many of the topics in the book. I'll just cite the example of Japanese noise. The writers approached the topic with a "oh jeez, aren't these Asians kooky and kind of stupid" attitude, when there could easily have been a way of dealing with the topic in a humorous AND intelligent manner. Come on, if the people writing the book are ignorant of a topic, they should have either found someone who does to write the section, or do some actual learning instead of glossing over the topic. This criticism extends to many other topics in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Content saves the day, or does it?
Review: The content of the book definitely makes it worth an afternoon of reading. However, the design of it sucks terribly, and the information is presented very inconsistently. Reading is not only about only the words, but the overall experience of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book attempts to cover culture in ALL of the countries of the "far east", and in doing so has no depth or substance on any one topic. It also has no suggestions for further reading if you are intrigued by a particular topic. A much better book along these lines is the JAPANESE POP CATALOG which does contain fascinating detail, though admittedly it "only" covers japan.
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