Shattering the Myths by Laurence Eyton is a collection of opinion pieces on Taiwan politics that were written in English, but appeared weekly in Chinese in the Taiwan Daily newspaper. The book has both Chinese and English versions of the articles.
The author continues to write for them and you can read his work on Thursdays.
Thanks! This is a must get for me.
Laurence Eyton’s publisher had a book launch this afternoon at the Howard Plaza Hotel. About 100 people attended along with Peng Ming-min being the luninary.
[quote]Prof. Peng Ming-min, born in 1923, was the former chairman of the department of political science of National Taiwan University before he was arrested in 1964 for drafting a manifesto calling for a new democratic constitution and Taiwan independence. In 1970 while under surveillance he eluded the secret police and escaped abroad.
He returned to Taiwan in 1992 after two decades of exile in the United States. Prof. Peng’s has significant support in the academic community. Many of his former students are now prominent university professors. He has gained some name recognition from speaking in political rallies and frequent press interviews.[/quote]
For now, Eyton is the foreigner darling boy of the DPP, it seems. If the pan-blues come to roost, however, he may have to enter the witness protection program. 
He gave a fine speech at the news conference which I can probably post at some later date, if anyone is interested.
I am not sure when the thing hits all the book stands, but it ought to be soon.
Here is the CNA Chinese story:
外籍記者艾頓新書展對台灣觀察 彭明敏推薦
︵中央社記者陳蓉台北十五日電︶外籍記者艾頓來台十
多年，針對他長期對台灣政治的觀察，提出他的看法，
並陸續發表於報章上，今天他將這些文章集結成書，推
出﹁打破神話─台灣人的認同與國民黨殖民遺害﹂新書
，總統府資政彭明敏親自出席介紹，他談到，透過艾頓
一位外國人觀察，可以不同角度提供台灣民主化參考。
艾頓Laurence Eyton是英國人，目前任職於英文﹁
台北時報﹂副總編輯，自一九九五年起為英國﹁經濟學
人﹂雜誌擔任台灣事務主要撰稿人，長期觀察並關心台
灣發展。
今天他推出第一本中英文對照的﹁打破神話﹂新書
，尤其在選舉前一週推出，吸引很多希望能了解這位外
國人對台灣民主看法的讀者前往參加；彭明敏提到他第
一次看到台灣日報上登出艾頓的文章，對這位外國人卻
對台灣情形觀察如此深入感到好奇，並約他出來見面。
彭明敏指出，英國在民主發展過程中有上百年的歷
史，而透過艾頓的文章可以了解這位英國人對台灣民主
化的看法，可提供我們另個角度的參考。
艾頓指出，對一位英國人來說，當初他來到台灣感
到很熟悉，他認為台灣多年來就是國民黨的﹁殖民地﹂
；台灣不應這裡有很多大陸人，就認為是大陸的一省，
就像紐西蘭有很多英國移民，但不能就視為是英國一省
一樣。
在書中，艾頓從國際觀點評析台灣政治，透過台灣
和其他國家平行對照，論證台灣政治問題的根源，在於
後殖民社會的本質；他認為，要解決台灣內部衝突與獨
立障礙，首要之務就是要打破殖民神話，建立台灣人的
自我認同。930315
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 2003102648
Full Taipei Times story here.
So it’s about as unbiased as the Taipei Times.
Pity, it sounded interesting enough to buy otherwise.
Well, Wolf did specify that it was a collection of opinion pieces.
Oh yeah, so he did 
I guess I paying attention to the name of the book and was hoping it would be educational.
He could have said it in bigger letters thought. 
I tried to buy a copy at that super new Taipei 101 book store last Friday, but the clerk couldn’t find any record of it in their computer database. No wonder, as it’s only just been published this week! Anyway, I’m keen to get my hands on it as soon as possible, so I’ll go back to 101 to try again at the first opportunity.
Read this laughable review of Lawrence Eyton’s Chinese-language book on Taiwanese politics:
taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar … 2003108129
This is a good example of reviewing a book without reading it first. The book is in Chinese and unless the reviewer must have spent half the night with a dictionary on this lap to go over the text, it’s fawning and dishonest.
In the review, Winterton wrote:
The author, Bradley Winterton even had the gall of comparing Taipei Times Associate Editor in Chief to William Cobbett, Winston Churchill, and Samuel Johnson.
The only similarities I see here between these figures and Eyton is
- Cobbett was an Englishman: Eyton is an Englishman.
- Winston Churchill liked brandy: Eyton is a drunk.
- Samuel Johnson is fat: Eyton is fat. (Samuel Johnson was also a drunk and an Englishman, therefore, he is the one closest to Eyton.)
The comparisons end here.
The book contains all articles in Chinese and English.
But it’s okay to review a book review without reading the book first? 
Bradders does tend to gush in his reviews, but better a gusher than a slagger any day.
SCL Wrote:
I don’t have the book in front of me but, this is from the great reviewer himself:
It’s not okay to review a book without reading it first, but it’s okay to review a book review of a book without having reading that book.
Exqueeze me?
Whiskas2, I’m not quite sure what you mean in your most recent post. The book is in Chinese and English – as the quote you give confirms.
I think Whiskas2 means he has difficulty understanding plain English. 
In any case, I’m looking forward to reading Eyton’s book. After all, the undisputable fact that the reviewer cannot write his way out of a wet paper bag doesn’t reflect on the book itself.
I finished reading the book last night, and I’ve got to say it was very stimulating. He articulated a lot of thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for years now. At 380NT, it’s a very good bargain. Being written in CHinese AND English, it’s a great book to lend out to your less politically-aware friends - Taiwanese, Chinese OR western.
So Maoman, since it hasn’t been noted in previous posts – where did you get your copy?
Eslite. The Living Hell Mall branch was sold out, but the main branch at Anhe & Dunhua still had some copies.
A very good and exciting read indeed. I lost my copy shortly after my misus saw it - think it;s circulation among the outlaws now.
Some posters here might not like it, but no matter what political hue, you can learn a lot from it.
What are the major myths which this book shatters? Could anyone provide a listing of the important ones?