Collection of Suiseki of Ninh Huu Hiep. Privately published, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. 84 pages, no ISBN. No price given

Vietnam is known for its impressive limestone karst formations and large abstract-shaped limestone rocks similar to those found in China. However, the global stone appreciation community is largely unaware of the darker Japanese-like stones found in many Vietnamese rivers. This gap will begin to change with the publication of this book. The Beauty of Nature illustrates 80+ stones, mainly from Vietnam but with a few stones from Japan, Italy, China, and the Philippines in this private collection.

Ninh Huu Hiep and his wife have collected stones throughout Vietnam for many years and have assembled an impressive collection. They have been influenced by the Japanese style of stone appreciation more than the Chinese practices. This volume’s layout and design follow the format used for the Japan Suiseki Exhibition catalogs. The majority of the 65 Vietnamese stones illustrated have an entire page with a plain background dedicated to each stone. As a result, it is possible to study the detailed features of each stone. A description in Vietnamese and English accompanies each stone.

The Beauty of Stones is a significant contribution to the growing number of books from different countries on viewing stones. As the first book on Vietnamese viewing stones to be published in Vietnamese and English it provides a standard for future works on aesthetically pleasing stones from this country.