The Art of Shen Ku: The First Intergalactic Artform of the Entire Universe

by Zeek

Book Overview

Irreverent and quirky, yet serious and 100% straightforward, The Art of Shen Ku is a unique kind of illustrated survival guide, exploring hundreds of topics and giving ingeniously simple advice on how... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399527257
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: TarcherPerigee
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 2.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.9" x 0.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The index is 41 pages long!

Imagine, if you will, that you are in the company of a man who has travelled the world, seen many things that are NOT in the guidebooks, been in the company of many people both great and small, taken a lot of hard knocks, learned much to prevent repeating any mistakes, and lived to tell about it. This is the book he wrote. Equal parts Boy Scout Handbook, Whole Earth Catalogue and "Junior Woodchuck Guidebook" (the impossably complete reference book that Donald Duck's nephews carried with them), with painstakingly detailed illustrations on each and every page, tinted with Oriental wisdom. Just a sampling of the contents (with randomly chosen pages): "Asian secrets of walking stick combat", "A traveler's guide to self-hypnosis", "Rapid reference accupressure treatments", "Emergency entertainment for bored, whining or fighting kids", "Effective beauty treatments with simple natural ingredients", "How to survive disaster situations", "How to condition for martial art strikes", "Non-violent child control", "Simple and healthy vegetarian recipes", "How to execute classic Kung Fu moves". My friend, this is the one! From boating emergencies to avoiding a fight, from preventing food poisoning to physical fitness information, from natural therapies to preventing bedwetting, from Laws of the Sea to preventing skin problems, from tying knots to yoga postures.... I cannot say enough about this book. Buy it. Better yet, buy two and hide one copy. Someone is bound to "borrow" this from you. (ADDENDUM: I sent a copy to a friend of mine. He has paid me to send him four additional copies to give away as presents.)

Unique indeed, but usefull...

This book surprised me with its vast scope and humorous wit. This book is sort of like an encyclopedia of general, and not so general, knowledge. It has everything from the great importance of clear finger nail polish, general navigation, nuclear radiation treatment, tips about sex, how to fish, health (diet, vitamins, etc.) and on it goes. It is illustrated by the author, who in his own right is an enigma though a very intriguing man. This book has it all in a neat little package. This is not a sit-down-and-read kind of book, but one that should be used for reference. I pick a certain page and try to learn that particular entry for that day. It can broaden your general knowledge greatly.

Pay attention, this will count for 75% of your final grade

In as few words as possible, The Art of Shen Ku is .... a comic book from God. An owner's manual for anything carbon-based. Jackie Chan's cookbook. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" as written by Leonardo Da Vinci. Etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum.But all true.Impressive. I challenge anyone to open this book, and not go home with it.

You Got To See It To Believe It

Absolutely amazing book. It is a "huh" book, you pick it up, ask yourself what is this, until it dawns on you that one person, the anonymous Zeek has put out a idiosyncratic, encyclopedic , wonderful book about a lot of useful things. I bought it for all the Martial Arts advice and techniques he provides ( useful for almost everyone). But there is so much more, from acupressure to determining character from handwriting, from how to really breath right to ways to stay beautiful, storing food and how to beat ...a bully. Full of sometimes bizarre interesting illustrations by the author, commentary that can border on the mystical, the book is artistic, crazy, and very useful all at the same time.

The Real Hitchhiker's Guide

I cannot believe the amount of time and attention to detail that went into this book. Perusing these pages, you will learn how to do just about everything...at least, everything that's truly useful when the chips are down. That's about the only way that I can describe the scope of this tome.Wilderness survival techniques, aromatherapy, acupressure, meditation techniques, exercise programs, knot tying, and even jokes and magic tricks are just a few of the subjects described and amusingly and richly illustrated within these pages. The whole book adheres to an "ancient wisdom of the Orient" theme, and it's hard to tell whether "Zeek" (the author/illustrator) takes this seriously or not. It doesn't really matter, though, as the advice given is generally very useful. Some fringe topics are covered (the existence of "chi", enemas, fasting, etc.) but at least the author concedes that with health matters, it's best to seek the advice of professionals.Keeping with the Asian wisdom theme, there is a strong focus in this book on the martial arts. As a martial artist myself, I appreciated this focus and hope that it will inspire readers to investigate a style or two with a qualified instructor. But one need not be a karateka to draw more than enough inspiration and information from these pages, on a wide variety of topics.This fascinating, unusual book is jam-packed with detailed illustrations on every page. Put a copy on your coffee table or in the bathroom, and your guests are sure to take a genuine gem of wisdom home with them, if they don't take the whole book.