Asian history Books

Book SynopsisThe Ling Shu, also known as the Ling Shu Jing, is part of a unique and seminal trilogy of ancient Chinese medicine, together with the Su Wen and Nan Jing. It constitutes the foundation of a two-thousand-year healing tradition. This is an English translation of all eighty-one chapters, and notes on difficult-to-grasp passages.Trade Review"Seasoned familiarity with the text from decades of study, and the rich battery of critical tools supplied in these publications mark a profound turning point." East Asian Science, Technology, and MedicineTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION 1. A New World View, a New Healing 2. Huang Di—The Yellow Thearch 3. The New Terminology 3.1 fa 3.2 ming 3.3 shen 3.4 zheng, xie 4. The Holism of Politics and Medicine 5. Morphology—Substrate and Classification 6. The Causes of Illness 7. Diagnosis 8. Conditions of Illness 9. Therapy 10. About the Translation Abbreviations and Literature quoted ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF LING SHU Chapter 1 The Nine Needles and the Twelve Origin [Openings] Chapter 2 To Consider the Transportation [Openings] as the Foundation Chapter 3 Explanatory Remarks on the Small Needles Chapter 4 The Physical Appearances of Diseases resulting from the Presence of Evil qi in the Long-term Depots and Short-term Repositories. Chapter Root and Connection Chapter 6 Longevity, Early Death, Hardness and Softness Chapter 7 The Official Needles Chapter 8 To Consider the Spirit as the Foundation Chapter 9 End and Beginning. Chapter 10 The Conduit Vessels Chapter 11 The Conduits and their Diverging [Vessels] Chapter 12 The Conduit/Stream Waters Chapter 13 The Conduits and their Sinews Chapter 14 The Measurements of the Bones Chapter 15 The 50-fold Circulation Chapter 16 The Camp Qi Chapter 17 The Measurements of the Vessels Chapter 18 Camp [Qi] and Guard [Qi] – Generation and Meeting Chapter 19 The Four Seasonal Qi Chapter 20 The Five Evils Chapter 21 Cold and Heat Disease Chapter 22 Peak-illness and Madness Chapter 23 Heat Diseases Chapter 24 The Receding [Qi] Diseases Chapter 25 The Diseases and their Roots Chapter 26 Various Diseases / 315 Chapter 27 Circulation Blockage-illness Chapter 28 Oral Inquiry Chapter 29 The Transmissions from the Teachers Chapter 30 Differentiation of the Qi Chapter 31 Intestines and Stomach Chapter 32 A Healthy Person Ends the Ingestion of Grain Chapter 33 On the Seas Chapter 34 The Five Disturbances Chapter 35 On Swelling Chapter 36 The Separation of the Five //Protuberance-Illnesses// Jin and Ye Liquids Chapter 37 The Five Observation Points and the Five Emissaries Chapter 38 Movements Contrary to and in Accordance with the Norms, Being Well Nourished and Being Malnourished Chapter 39 The Blood Network [Vessels] Chapter 40 Yin and Yang [Qi], Clear and Turbid [Qi] Chapter 41 The Ties between Yin and Yang [Qi] and Sun and Moon Chapter 42 The Transmission of Diseases Chapter 43 Excess Evils release Dreams Chapter 44 The Qi Moving in Accordance with the Norms Divide a Day into Four Time Periods Chapter 45 The Assessment from Outside Chapter 46 The Five Modifications Chapter 47 To Consider the Long-term Depots as Foundations Chapter 48 Prohibition and Appropriation Chapter 49 The Five Complexions Chapter 50 On Courage Chapter 51 The Transport [Openings] on the Back Chapter 52 The Guard Qi Chapter 53 On Pain Chapter 54 Years Given by Heaven Chapter 55 Movement Contrary to and in Accordance with the Norms Chapter 56 The Five Flavors Chapter 57 Water Swelling Chapter 58 The Robber Wind Chapter 59 When the Guard Qi Lose their Regularity Chapter 60 The Jade-Tablets Chapter 61 The Five Prohibitions Chapter 62 Transports Chapter 63 On Flavors Chapter 64 The Yin and Yang [Categorization] and the 25 Human [Types] Chapter 65 Five Tones, Five Substances Chapter 66 The Generation of the Hundreds of Diseases Chapter 67 The Application of the Needles Chapter 68 Upper Barrier Chapter 69 Grief, Rage, and Speechlessness Chapter 70 Cold and Heat Sensations Chapter 71 Evil Visitors Chapter 72 To Penetrate Heaven Chapter 73 Function and Competence Chapter 74 Discussing Illness; Examining the Foot-long Section Chapter 75 Piercing to Regulate True and Evil [Qi] Chapter 76 The Movements of the Guard Qi Chapter 77 The Nine Mansions, the Eight Winds Chapter 78 On the Nine Needles Chapter 79 The Dew of the Year Chapter 80 On Massive Confusion Chapter 81 Obstruction- and Impediment-Illnesses GLOSSARY

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Ingram's writes engagingly . . . [and] Revival from Below offers an insightful, compelling narrative that is a pleasure to read." * Religious Studies Review *"Ingram has brought remarkable clarity and theoretical nuance to contextualize the Deoband movement as a global phenomenon." * American Journal of Islam and Society *"Ingram has given us a brilliant and unprecedented account of the transnational entanglements of the Deobandi school that will go far toward re-emphasizing the centrality of South Asian Islam in the modern world." * Die Welt des Islams *"Ingram writes engagingly and is always clear about the book’s parameters and trajectory. Overall, Revival from Below offers an insightful, compelling narrative that is a pleasure to read." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. A Modern Madrasa 2. The Normative Order 3. Remaking the Public 4. Remaking the Self 5. What Does a Tradition Feel Like? 6. How a Tradition Travels 7. A Tradition Contested Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction PART ONE: MEDIUM 1. Painting and Its Medium 2. The Art of the Book in Medieval South Asia PART TWO: VISION 3. Visions on the Move 4. A Garland of Visions PART THREE: COLOR 5. Color as an Encoding Tool 6. Color to Matter: A Material History of Indian Painting Epilogue Notes Selected Bibliography Illustrations Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on Pronunciation Introduction 1. Nannaya Entering the Mahabharata Udanka and the Snakes 2. Nannecoda On Poetry in Telugu How to Make God Fall in Love 3. Palkuriki Somanatha The Brahmin Widow and the Untouchable God 4. Tikkana The Slaying of Kicaka 5. Mañcana The Brahmin Who Kept His Wife in the Basement Quick Wit The Obliging Husband 6. Errapragada Vena and Prthu 7. Nacana Somanatha Naraka and Urvasi 8. Srinatha A Definition of Poetry Burning the Three Cities The Birth of Sukumara 9. Bammera Potana Visnu the Dwarf The Rescue of Gajendra 10. Annamayya Songs for the Lord of the Hills 11. Allasani Peddana The Brahmin Meets the Courtesan Sanskrit and Telugu 12. Krsnadevaraya The King’s Dream Visnu-citta of Villiputtur 13. Nandi Timmanna Satyabhama Kicks Krsna 14. Dhurjati The Story of Natkira 15. Tenali Ramakrsna On Becoming a Frog 16. Nutana-kavi Suranna Beauty or Wealth? 17. Pingali Suranna Beauty Unadorned 18. Appakavi On Poetry and Grammar On Good Books 19. Ksetrayya Courtesan Songs 20. Satakas Dhurjati. Kalahastisvara-satakamu Kañcarla Gopanna [Ramadasu]. Dasarathi satakamu Kasula Purusottamakavi. Andhra-nayaka-satakamu 21. Catu Verses 22. Sahaji Take My Wife 23. Samukhamu Venkatakrsnappa Nayaka The Love of Indra and Ahalya 24. Muddupalani How to Read a Book Radha Instructs Ila, Krsna’s New Bride, in the Arts of Love 25. Tyagaraja I Can’t See You Smile Take Me for Your Guard What Did You Give Them? Reach Him Through Music Won’t You Remove the Screen? Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Moving City is a rich and intimate account of urban transformation told through the story of Delhi's Metro, a massive infrastructure project that is reshaping the city's social and urban landscapes. Ethnographic vignettes introduce the feel and form of the Metro and let readers experience the city, scene by scene, stop by stop, as if they, too, have come along for the ride. Laying bare the radical possibilities and concretized inequalities of the Metro, andhow people live with and through its built environment, this is a story of women and men on the move, the nature of Indian aspiration, and what it takes morally and materially to sustain urban life. Through exquisite prose, Rashmi Sadana transports the reader to a city shaped by both its Metro and those who depend on it, revealing a perspective on Delhi unlike any other.Trade Review"The Moving City is an important contribution to the growing literature on urban infrastructure. It is evocative and shows us the variegated ways in which mobility is mediated by aspirations, fears, exclusions and political negotiations." * Contributions to Indian Sociology *"The vignettes captured by the author, constituting in effect a collection of ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the floating world,’ is a delightful and interesting twist on ethnographic writing and representation. . . Sadana’s book offers a very special approach to the study of urban infrastructure and demonstrates how these little floating scenes of everyday life can tell us something about big and complex social issues." * Asian Anthropology *"The strength of this book lies in what it has to offer as a method of encountering urban spaces. . . .This ethnography would be a welcome addition to courses in urban anthropology, anthropologies of gender, class, South Asia, and ethnographic method." * Anthropological Quarterly *"Vivid and rich with detail. . . .Sadana…emphasizes the uniqueness of the Delhi Metro by centering the voices of the many people who make up its daily life." * Metropolitics *"[A] beautifully crafted account of how life in Delhi becomes narrated through the Metro as it joins and cuts across disparate urban spaces." * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *"A radical work that throws open established modes of Indian anthropological writing." * Biblio: A Review of Books *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I Crowded The Train to Dwarka Mandi House Vanita The Image of the City Metro Bhawan Space and Matter Red Line Resident Welfare Okhla Station Naipaul on the Metro Nukkad Natak Mumbai Urban Hazards Ramlila Maidan From Badarpur Yellow Line Drishti A Developed Country Social Space Seelampur Station Pressure Cooker Blue Line Delhi-6 Bus Rapid Transit The Bicycle Fixer Part II Expanding A Road's Geography The Gangway Spontaneous Urbanism Nehru Place Rupali Chief Minister City of Malls Violet Line Metal and Plastic Appropriate Architecture Chawri Bazar Ajay and Gita Ring Road Grievance and Governance Morning Commute Orange Line The Play about the Metro Aspirational Planning Renu and Shiv Layers and Sediment Green Line Cycle Rickshaw-wala Metro Mob The Techno-cosmopolitan The Politics of Speed Part III Visible World Class Strike Bus Infrastructure by Example Magenta Line Radhika Posture Integration The Photo That Went Viral Voids and Solids Beauty Salon Suicide Multiple Choice Jahnavi Café Coffee Day Looks Street Survey Aasif E-rickshaws Love Marriage and a Head Injury Fare Hike At Home in Dakshinpuri Dilli Haat Pink Line City Park Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 221 BC the First Emperor of Qin unified what would become the heart of a Chinese empire whose major features would endure for two millennia. In the first of a six-volume series on the history of imperial China, Lewis highlights the key challenges facing court officials and scholars who set about governing an empire of such scale and diversity.Trade ReviewMark Lewis’s mind-opening and readable book reminds us of the enduring but changing realities of China. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Times Literary Supplement *The Early Chinese Empires is a brilliant example of nuanced, responsible popularization. As the first in a series of six volumes that will cover all of Imperial China, it sets a very high standard. -- Grant Hardy * The Historian *Inaugurating a six-volume series on the history of imperial China, this volume holds that characteristics of the first Chinese empire broadly endured for the succeeding 2,000 years… [Those] planning to acquire the entire series mustn’t omit Lewis’s solid foundation. -- Gilbert Taylor * Booklist *The standard multivolume history of China has long been the magisterial, exhaustive Cambridge History of China. Now Harvard University Press has announced a six-volume series that will cover the rise, development, and decline of dynastic China from the second century B.C.E. through the early 20th century in an up-to-date, compact, and approachable way. This opening volume by Lewis foretells that the series will become the new gold standard, as the author explains in clear and telling detail how the Qin dynasty ruthlessly defeated a succession of rivals to unify briefly what we now call China in 221 B.C.E. We then see how the succeeding Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.) combined social engineering and political savvy to institutionalize control and form a ‘classical’ era parallel to the Greeks and Romans in the West. Han imperial structures, including religion, literature, and law, were quite different from what evolved out of them, but Lewis convincingly argues that later societies cannot be understood without understanding this classical foundation. -- Charles W. Hayford * Library Journal (starred review) *As the first volume in the History of Imperial China, The Early Chinese Empires sets an authoritative, reliable tone that bodes well for this important new series. The book meets a high standard of historical accuracy and covers an impressively broad range of topics. Accessible to a wide audience, it will appeal to anyone interested in the foundations of the Chinese imperial tradition. -- Victor H. Mair, University of PennsylvaniaThis series on China, brilliantly overseen by Timothy Brook, is a credit to Harvard University Press. Above all, it encourages us to think of China in different ways. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Literary Review *Table of Contents* Introduction * The Geography of Empire * A State Organized for War * The Paradoxes of Empire * The Imperial Capital * Rural Society * The Outer World * Kinship and Gender * Religion and Cults * Literature * Law * Conclusion * Dates and Usage * Acknowledgments * Notes * Bibliography * Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter the collapse of the Han dynasty, China divided along a north-south line. Lewis traces the changes that underlay and resulted from this split in a period that saw China's geographic redefinition, more engagement with the outside world, significant changes to family life, literary and social developments, and the introduction of new religions.Trade ReviewAn original, useful, and very timely book, China between Empires is arguably the first single-volume comprehensive treatment for general readers of Chinese history between AD 220 and 589. Lewis writes clearly and with conviction and marshals an impressive array of evidence--historical, religious, technological, literary, and archaeological. It is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the extreme complexity of the period. -- Lothar von Falkenhausen, University of California, Los AngelesThe book is wide-ranging in scope and interspersed with interesting ideas. -- V. C. Xiong * Choice *This series on China, brilliantly overseen by Timothy Brook, is a credit to Harvard University Press. Above all, it encourages us to think of China in different ways. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Literary Review *Table of Contents* Introduction * The Geography of North and South China * The Rise of the Great Families * Military Dynasticism * Urban Transformations * Rural Life * China and the Outer World * Redefining Kinship * Daosim and Buddhism * Writing * Conclusion * Dates and Dynasties * Pronunciation Guide * Notes * Bibliography * Acknowledgements * Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs the rest of the world worries about what a future might look like under Chinese supremacy, Luttwak worries about China’s own future prospects. Applying the logic of strategy for which he is well known, he argues that the world’s second largest economy may be headed for a fall unless China’s leaders check their military ambitions.Trade ReviewNational security strategist Edward Luttwak's provocative and insightful analysis of the 'logic of strategy' provides a well-documented, contrarian assessment of whether China's 'rise' will be peaceful or polarizing. He stresses the paradox that China's economic strength and territorial aggrandizement are inciting opposition by a growing coalition of states determined to weaken Beijing's power and influence. Luttwak asserts that only by maintaining Deng Xiaoping's policy of 'low posture' development, and downplaying military modernization, can China avoid international 'geo-economic resistance' and attain the domestic growth and global stature it seeks. -- Richard H. Solomon, former President of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Senior Fellow at the RAND CorporationLuttwak presents a rich, persuasive, and lucid analysis of the strategic implications of China's rise and of the anxieties it generates. China's foreign policy and military investments are raising concerns that require the sort of well-informed, precise argumentation that Luttwak delivers. Based on a long-term view of China's strategic inclinations and extensive research on current developments, this book offers medium-term predictions of the likely outcomes that the 'logic of strategy' may dictate, and thus explains with great clarity the issues at stake. Luttwak's work is a must-read for laymen and specialists alike, and an essential contribution to the political debate. -- Nicola Di Cosmo, Institute for Advanced Study, PrincetonWith muscular behavior and rhetoric on the uptick and China pouring money into its military, political strategists have begun to consider Chinese military dominance of the Pacific and a concurrent American decline as foregone conclusions. So it is refreshing to see Edward Luttwak take a different tack in The Rise of China vs. the Logic of Strategy and argue that Chinese military dominance in the Pacific is 'the least likely of outcomes.' China can't simultaneously enjoy a burgeoning economy and a rapidly growing military, he contends, because countries will band together to protect themselves, using military coalitions and trade protectionism to counter China's rise. -- Mary Kissel * Wall Street Journal *Most commentators on China focus on its seemingly inexorable rise and the threat that this poses to other world powers. In this well-argued book, Luttwak takes a different view. He questions whether China's rising power is sustainable. China's continued and rapid growth in economic capacity and military strength and regional and global influence cannot persist, he argues, because of the mounting opposition it is evoking. -- Frank Dillon * Irish Times *Luttwak detects a fundamental conflict between China's search for continuing economic growth, which the Communist Party has made its prime claim to rule, and its quest for military expansion combined with increased foreign policy assertiveness...Luttwak's book, which includes a refreshing put-down of the supposed superiority of traditional Chinese statecraft so admired by Henry Kissinger among others, is timely, coming as it does amid the current maritime confrontations in East Asia. -- Jonathan Fenby * Times Higher Education *The Rise of China vs. The Logic of Strategy is a sober book. Staying with the evidence, it avoids flights of fancy but grips readers' attention all the way through. Here, finally, is an expert on China who knows what he's talking about. -- Caleb Nelson * World *Luttwak's contribution to the China debate is to be welcomed. We need informed outsiders to weigh in with their views, and he has spent years visiting the country and talking to the Chinese, including the People's Liberation Army. Written with his customary panache, his vigorous and highly readable contribution will challenge congealed thinking. -- George Walden * Bloomberg.com *Over the past few decades, Edward Luttwak has gained a reputation as the bad boy of strategic theory and historical scholarship. This time, he has outdone himself. He has debunked Sun Tsu, the Clausewitz of the East and much beloved by teachers of military theory for decades...In The Rise of China vs. the Logic of Strategy, Luttwak goes beyond an attack on Sun Tsu. He argues that the dominant strategic and cultural arrogance of the Han people--the largest ethnic group in China--could undermine efforts to lift the Middle Kingdom to the ranks of true superpower status. Luttwak further argues that this assumption of cultural and intellectual superiority is driving China's neighbors into a camp of strategic containment similar to what Germany created for itself in the years leading up to World War I...It will be interesting to see whether the book is read with interest or banned once it is translated and made available on the Chinese mainland. It is a cautionary tale that deserves Chinese attention. -- Gary Anderson * Washington Times *[Luttwak's] thesis is sensible and not to be discounted lightly. * The Economist blog *Edward Luttwak's book on the limitations of China's ascent to power blends careful observation of recent events with an understanding of its past...The explanatory innovation that lifts Luttwak's book above the ruck of recent books on China's rise is his use of geo-economics--an expression he coined in 1980--to explain global resistance to Beijing's march. He argues that countries across the world, without explicit coordination, will resist China's export-oriented strategy to generate wealth and military power. This "invisible hand" explanation is in refreshing contrast to the usual containment and other political explanations about what may happen in East China in the coming years. -- Siddharth Singh * Mint *Entertaining and provocative...A bold book that flatly predicts that China won't successfully rise as a superpower, indeed that it cannot in its current incarnation...If accurate, Luttwak's theory means Americans don't have to worry too much. China will essentially self-destruct, at least diplomatically. And the list of problems facing China make it seem that this could well be happening right now. -- Ian Johnson * New York Review of Books *[A] though-provoking book. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Prospect *

Read more less

Book SynopsisNo one in the twentieth century had a greater impact on world history than Deng Xiaoping. And no scholar is better qualified than Ezra Vogel to disentangle the contradictions embodied in the life and legacy of China's boldest strategist-the pragmatic, disciplined force behind China's radical economic, technological, and social transformation.Trade ReviewA masterful new history of China's reform era. It pieces together from interviews and memoirs perhaps the clearest account so far of the revolution that turned China from a totalitarian backwater led by one of the monsters of the 20th century into the power it has become today...Vogel has a monumental story to tell. His main argument is that Deng deserves a central place in the pantheon of 20th-century leaders. For he not only launched China's market-oriented economic reforms but also accomplished something that had eluded Chinese leaders for almost two centuries: the transformation of the world's oldest civilization into a modern nation...[An] illuminating book. -- John Pomfret * Washington Post *Ezra Vogel's new biography portrays Deng as not just the maker of modern China, but one of the most substantial figures in modern history...[A] meticulously researched book...Vogel knows China's elites extremely well, not least because of his years as an intelligence officer in East Asia for the Clinton administration. This book is bolstered by insider knowledge and outstanding sources, such as interviews with Deng's interpreters...The definitive account of Deng in any language. Vogel eloquently makes the case for Deng's crucial role in China's transformation from an impoverished and brutalized country into an economic and political superpower. * The Economist *A lively portrait of the man...Vogel provides a wealth of fascinating material, from vivid accounts of Deng's political and organizational skills in reviving the economy in the mid-1970s to his up-and-down relations with Vietnam and its leaders. The author also offers astute insights into the reformist roles played by Hua Guofeng, Mao's immediate successor after his 1976 death, and by two of Deng's own associates, both ultimately purged by him, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. The book is at its best in portraying the tense interplay of personal relations and ambition among Mao's many lieutenants. On the surface, lockstep Communist ideology prevailed during Mao's rule, but behind the walls of Zhongnanhai, Beijing's central leadership compound, the dual drive for self-preservation and advancement fed a kind of political nihilism. -- Howard French * Wall Street Journal *When Chinese historians are able one day to ply their subversive trade without control or censorship, their judgment will surely be that their country should revere Deng Xiaoping way above his predecessor Mao Zedong...Ezra Vogel's massive biography assembles the case for Deng (1904-97) with narrative skill and prodigious scholarship. -- Chris Patten * Financial Times *Vogel has gone to enormous lengths to document his subject...Vogel's painstaking research provides plenty of fascinating detail. The description of the period after Tiananmen, for example--when the octogenarian was forced to call on a lifetime's accumulated political wiles to defeat an attempt by conservatives to almost completely reverse his reforms--is eye-opening. The pages in which Deng effectively threatens to have then Communist Party Secretary Jiang Zemin dismissed unless he throws his support behind renewing the reform drive are very nearly worth the price of the book alone...On the ways through which Deng set about the enormous task of rebuilding the gutted economy, shattered by decades of turmoil under Mao Zedong, Vogel is exhaustive. -- Simon Elegant * Time *Ezra Vogel's encyclopedic Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China is the most exhaustive English retelling of Deng's life. Vogel, an emeritus professor at Harvard, seems to have interviewed or found the memoirs of nearly every person who spoke with Deng, and has painstakingly re-created a detailed and intimate chronology of Deng's roller-coaster career. -- Joshua Kurlantzick * The Nation *A virtue of Vogel's book is that it collects and organizes a huge amount of material on the struggles within the elite power circles in China over several decades. In these accounts we learn how Deng tried to protect his allies and how he sought to undermine his enemies; he fell, rose, fell again, then rose again to the pinnacle position in the second generation of the Communist dynasty. Vogel's materials will be very useful to students of elite power struggles in China. -- Fang Lizhi * New York Review of Books *One of the virtues of Vogel's analysis is that he understands the thinking of Deng's rivals as well as he does Deng's own...Deng was infatuated with everything he viewed as modern, and wanted China to have it all. By entering into Deng's vision, Vogel helps readers see how the person who forged the world's most successful example of modernizing authoritarianism believed that such a combination would work. -- Andrew J. Nathan * New Republic *[An] exhaustive biography...Vogel's book is an encyclopedic look at Deng's career. -- Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore * The Independent *Deng was perhaps the most intriguing leader that I met while traveling with Mr. Blumenthal and President Jimmy Carter. I had to wait another 30 years, however, before a definitive biography would be written about Deng, arguably the most globally transformational leader of the 20th century. This year Ezra Vogel delivered it with Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. -- Richard W. Fisher * Wall Street Journal *Vogel, one of the world's preeminent Asia scholars, has produced the most comprehensive and authoritative account of Deng's career as a revolutionary, party leader, and architect of China's reform. Meticulously researched and highly readable, the book is not a typical biography. It does not dwell much on Deng's personal life. Instead, the focus of the book is Deng's unusual career trajectory, his unique style of rule, and the strategic choices he made during and after the Cultural Revolution...This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the domestic and international dynamics that have led to China's rise as a great power. -- Yanzhong Huang * Foreign Affairs *If anybody still nurtures the illusion that Deng was a closet liberal, this book will bring them back to reality. For all the changes he championed and the vicissitudes of his life, the diminutive, blunt Deng has received much less biographical attention than Mao, which makes Ezra Vogel's huge account particularly welcome. The product of 10 years of work by a leading China scholar, it is essential reading for anybody who wants to understand the evolution of China to the status it occupies today. It offers an enormous compendium of material about the lifelong Communist whose story, even more than that of Mao, reflects the dramatically varying fortunes of his nation in the 20th century...Vogel is an admiring biographer who presents a treasure trove of new information that will delight modern China scholars for years to come. -- Jonathan Fenby * Times Higher Education *Deng [is] a fit subject for a weighty, probing and judicious biography, which is just what Ezra F. Vogel has produced...Vogel is the master of this complex material. He had access to many who knew and worked with Deng, including Jiang Zemin. Deng selected him as Party leader in 1989 to succeed Zhao Ziyang, who had been sacked and disgraced because of his opposition to the use of force in Tiananmen Square. Vogel also spoke to two of Deng's children. The documentary sources are copious and, in terms of access to material, this study is unlikely to be bettered until the Party opens its most sensitive archives--which could be a long wait. It is hard to disagree with much of what Vogel writes and there is much to admire, particularly his judicious contextualization of Deng's motives. -- Graham Hutchings * Literary Review *A major biography of the man who may turn out to have done more to transform the world than any other leader of the 20th century. Deng's market Leninism has massively increased China's wealth, while repressing democracy. Vogel's portrait is sympathetic, although not uncritical. * Financial Times *This is the most ambitious biography of Deng Xiaoping by a western scholar so far. Drawing on numerous Chinese sources, including the Deng family, it tells the story of a man who, the author says, may have had more impact on world history than anyone else in the 20th century...This is a monumental work, carried out in the author's retirement and intended to cap a distinguished career in Asian studies. His diligent use of official papers and his privileged access to members of the Chinese Communist elite make this biography of Deng Xiaoping the most complete we are likely to have under the present ruling order. -- Michael Sheridan * Hong Kong Economic Journal *Deng led a long and remarkable life, packed with drama and global significance, one that deserves to be dissected in detail. So we must be thankful to Harvard professor Ezra Vogel for devoting a large chunk of his academic career to compiling a prodigious biography, Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, the most ambitious account of the man so far. In writing this volume, Vogel has done an enormous amount of work. He appears to have absorbed the documents from every single Chinese Communist Party plenum since 1921...There have been several Deng biographies before this...but Vogel's can be regarded as the most comprehensive and informative of the lot...There's no question that Vogel has gone farther than anyone else to date in telling Deng's story. For that he is to be applauded; there is a whole hoard of valuable material here that we probably would not have gained otherwise. -- Christian Caryl * Foreign Policy *China scholars might think they have read enough about Deng Xiaoping. After all, at least three biographies of Deng were available prior to the release of this massive new book. But Vogel, one of the world's preeminent Asia scholars, has produced the most comprehensive and authoritative account of Deng's career as a revolutionary, party leader, and architect of China's reform. Meticulously researched and highly readable, the book is not a typical biography. It does not dwell much on Deng's personal life. Instead, the focus of the book is Deng's unusual career trajectory, his unique style of rule, and the strategic choices he made during and after the Cultural Revolution. Vogel considers the extent to which Deng fundamentally and irreversibly transformed China's society, governance, and relations with the outside world...This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the domestic and international dynamics that have led to China's rise as a great power. -- Yanzhong Huang * Foreign Affairs *The big picture is the key to this book. Those hoping for hidden secrets and untold stories about Deng in Vogel's book will be disappointed. Comprehensive as it is, the book is not an expose. But it does ring with authority. The Harvard professor spent most of the 10 years lining up interviews with people who had first-hand experience of Deng. In the end he spoke to dozens, if not a hundred, of people who knew something about the man...As a result, his depiction of Deng is rich, balanced and colorful. Vogel portrays a Deng who is determined, resourceful, at times uncompromising and difficult, but always pragmatic...This is where the strength of Vogel's book lies. It is all about the grand historic view. And that is fitting: out of all of Deng's amazing qualities, it is his grasp of a broad perspective and his keen sense of history that enabled him to achieve what so many had deemed impossible. -- Chow Chung-yan * South China Morning Post *If you're going to read one book about modern China in the period after Mao, then this is the book you should read. Though the book is framed around the rise of Deng Xiaoping and his reforms that transformed China into an economic powerhouse, Ezra Vogel's compelling biography examines how China went from being a desperately poor country to certainly one of the two most important countries in the world today. -- Bill Gates * Gates Notes *From arguably the most important scholar of East Asia, this is an important book on the force behind China's transformation in the late twentieth century, whose full fruits are visible only today. Deng ordered the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, but he was also the person most responsible for modernizing China and opening it to trade with the West. Again and again he survived threatening challenges in the Chinese political bureaucracy, to emerge at the top in the late 1970s. His role in subverting Chinese orthodoxy from the inside is comparable to that of Gorbachev with respect to the Soviet Union--and he deserves sustained attention such as this landmark book offers. -- Anis Shivani * Huffington Post *Not just a definitive biography of a world-class leader, but also the most authoritative and riveting account of the secretly contrived U.S.-Chinese strategic accommodation of 1978 and of how that in turn facilitated China's domestic transformation. -- Zbigniew BrzezinskiThis is an impressive and important biography of one of the most important men of the twentieth century. Deng Xiaoping transformed China economically, politically, and socially. One of the most significant achievements for his and my country was the establishment of diplomatic relations between us. The book provides an excellent account of this historic event. -- President Jimmy CarterVogel offers a nuanced portrait of China's great reform leader Deng Xiaoping and a shrewd analysis of the political maneuvers by which he made such a large mark on history. By entering deeply into Deng's vision for China, Vogel shows how the person who forged the world's most successful example of modernizing authoritarianism understood how such a system could work. And he shows how a major leader can steer a huge country in a new historical direction. A terrific accomplishment. -- Andrew J. Nathan, Columbia UniversityA multilayered study of change and adaptability. At the core is one man's response to the dangers of a complex revolution. Around him is the transformation of the largest political entity in history from rural disarray and helplessness to an industrial and manufacturing giant. In between are ambitious and bewildered people in search of leadership. Vogel has made Deng Xiaoping's vision convincing, the Chinese maze comprehensible, and even the bit actors come alive. -- Wang Gungwu, National University of SingaporeDeng Xiaoping's skill, vision, and courage in overcoming seemingly insuperable obstacles and guiding China onto the path of sustained economic development rank him with the great leaders of history. And yet, too little is known about the life and career of this extraordinary man. In this superbly researched and highly readable biography, Vogel has definitively filled this void. This fascinating book provides a host of insights into the factors that enabled Deng to triumph over repeated setbacks and lay the basis for China to regain the wealth and power that has eluded it for two centuries. -- J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to ChinaDeng could be tough, but he was direct and engaged. He was a person we could do business with, and I liked him a lot. He played an extraordinary role, bringing the world's largest nation into the modern world. We are fortunate that Vogel, one of our foremost China scholars, has now brought the man alive in this uniquely researched biography. -- Brent ScowcroftA thorough picking-over of Deng Xiaoping's record and accomplishments, setting him firmly as the linchpin linking an antiquated authoritative thinking to modern growth and acceleration...Vogel meticulously considers all facets of this complex leader for an elucidating--and quite hefty--study. * Kirkus Reviews *[An] impressive and exhaustively researched biography...Vogel reminds readers that it was under this pragmatic politician's watch that the party made three moves that helped it outlast so many other Leninist organizations. -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom * Miller-McCune.com *This intensely researched doorstop delivers a step-by-step political biography of the man who gets most of the credit for China's spectacular rise to an economic juggernaut. Vogel recounts how Deng (1904–1997), a leading figure from the 1950s on, was banished when his preference for practicality over class struggle angered Mao Zedong during the disastrous 1969–1975 Cultural Revolution. Returning to power after Mao's 1976 death, he eliminated the anti-intellectualism and chaotic policy swings that characterized Mao's rule while opening the nation to Western ideas. The result was China's emergence as the world's most dynamic economy, with a free market but still with a disturbing absence of political freedom (he gives a nuanced analysis of the Tiananmen Square massacres)...Scholars will value it. * Publishers Weekly *If you want to understand China today, you must understand Deng Xiaoping (1904–97)...Deng shared Mao's ambition to make China a strong nation under party leadership, but he cannily built an unassailable position within the party to take it in new directions. Vogel interviewed dozens of leaders and China experts, as well as Deng's family, did exhaustive documentary research, and mines the scholarly literature (a good deal of it by his former students) to analyze Deng's initial success in building China's economy and international position, frustration in the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, and ultimate legacy...Massive but fascinating, this is highly recommended for those with a serious interest in modern China. Indispensable in understanding Deng, what he accomplished, and where he fell short. -- Charles W. Hayford * Library Journal *In an authoritative biography of Deng, Harvard sociologist Ezra F. Vogel, a renowned specialist on China and Japan who rose to international prominence in 1979 with the publication of Japan as Number One: Lessons for America, has attempted the difficult task of providing a comprehensive look at the experiences and influences that shaped this remarkable individual. He has succeeded superbly...Vogel's book provides extensive insights into how Deng was able to use his experience, his network of associations among China's aging revolutionaries, and the force of his personality to direct China's course, all while allowing others to hold the top government and party titles...For those of us who as U.S. government officials participated in or monitored many of the developments in China and in the bilateral relationship Vogel describes, he has illuminated events in ways that would have been invaluable to us had we had such a clear picture at the time. The transformation of China that Deng set in motion is likely to confront the United States with its most significant foreign-policy challenge over the next several decades. We are fortunate indeed that Vogel has written this timely and highly informative biography of Deng Xiaoping, which provides a wealth of insights into one of history's great leaders -- J. Stapleton Roy * Wilson Quarterly *Deng Xiaoping is one of the most influential men in modern history and here his dramatic story, one intertwined with elite intrigues in the Chinese Communist Party, is recounted in detail by one of the most eminent scholars of Asia...Regarding the debate over whether Deng was more despot than reformer, Ezra Vogel emphasizes the successful consequences of his economic reforms, but does not shy from criticizing his failures. The portrait that emerges is of a visionary authoritarian who helped his nation overcome the self-inflicted wounds of Mao Zedong and achieve enormous economic advances. -- Jeff Kingston * Japan Times *This monumental book, not so much biography as political history, is overdue. -- Rowan Callick * The Australian *As one of the foremost scholars of modern China, Vogel is an appropriate authority to pen such a thorough account of Deng Xiaoping's tumultuous journey from political exile to paramount leader of China. A detailed study into Deng's dedication to the Chinese establishment of the People's Republic, to his reemergence as unrivaled decision-maker of the Chinese people, the book details how Deng's policies continue to shape the nation, and how it will most likely require a number of generations before scholars can fully appreciate his impact. In capturing the most turbulent period in the modern 20th century in this 928-page tome, Vogel contributes an important piece to the historiography of Chinese history. -- A. Cho * Choice *[A] masterful biography. -- Arun Maira * Indian Express *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review[An] important book… Ayesha Jalal has been one of the first and most reliable [Pakistani] political historians [on Pakistan]… The Struggle for Pakistan [is] her most accessible work to date… She is especially telling when she points to the lack of serious academic or political debate in Pakistan about the role of the military. -- Ahmed Rashid * New York Review of Books *Perceptive and learned… [Jalal] shows that Pakistan never went off the rails; it was, moreover, never a democracy in any meaningful sense. For its entire history, a military caste and its supporters in the ruling class have formed an ‘establishment’ that defined their narrow interests as the nation’s… While it is tempting to blame the generals for everything that has gone wrong in Pakistan, Jalal makes it clear that the civilian leadership has been corrupt, petty and small-minded, putting politics above the principle of civilian supremacy, especially when opponents are in power… The Struggle for Pakistan traces Pakistan’s decline all the way up to the present. -- Isaac Chotiner * Wall Street Journal *Jalal offers a clear, chronological account of how the army, in competition with civilians, has misruled Pakistan. * The Economist *Ayesha Jalal’s many-years-in-gestation magnum opus… She is more surgical than most Pakistanis in her diagnostic observations. -- Khaled Ahmed * Newsweek *The book deserves to be translated into many languages… This a heartfelt account, as well as an erudite one. -- Nadya Chishty-Mujahid * Dawn *There are few books that trace Pakistan’s contemporary history in a readable fashion. Jalal, therefore, has presented all the arguments and key developments from the imposition of martial law by President Iskander Mirza in 1958, the rise of Ayub Khan, the 1971 civil war and creation of Bangladesh, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s populism and the damaging decades of 1980s and 1990s that shape today’s Pakistan and its woes… Provide[s] a useful background to the global audience to Pakistan’s complex history… In a country where the discipline of history has vanished and replaced by state propaganda, Jalal’s book is a layered account that aims to undertake a much-needed correction of ‘national’ histories. -- Raza Rumi * Express Tribune *How to restore that collective sense of identity, and its commitment to Pakistan is a challenge, which needs further analysis. Additionally, how to create a similar South Asian identity, and a commitment towards that is another key challenge. This book, particularly its attempt to reflect on the interface of politics and history, provides some clue about striving towards such a goal. Scholars of South Asia will profit from reading The Struggle for Pakistan, which excels in the art of writing simultaneously about the politics and history of a country whose normal life is vital for global peace. -- Shaikh Mujibur Rehman * Hindustan Times *The Struggle for Pakistan will be the definitive history of Pakistan for decades to come. The author’s prose is clean, the book is thoughtfully structured, and the research is as close to exhaustive as one could imagine… Anyone attempting to see into Pakistan’s future or better understand its complex past should read The Struggle for Pakistan… Jalal has accomplished something remarkable in presenting the history of Pakistan in such an engaging, comprehensive, and readable manner. -- Zachary Stockill * PopMatters *Jalal offers a comprehensive history of Pakistan since its inception in 1947, with an eye toward its defining post-colonial element: military rule… Jinnah’s early death in 1948 left an unfortunate leadership vacuum and a perpetual internal debate over Pakistan’s national identity. Jalal delineates painstakingly how, in the decades that followed, Pakistan, unlike India, was unable to build institutions of participatory democracy and instead moved toward a centralization of power ‘under the auspices’ of military and bureaucracy… Tracing key events—the initial imposition of martial law by President Iskander Mirza in 1958, the 1971 civil war that created Bangladesh, the rise and fall of populist leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and one assassination after the other—Jalal brings us to the present day, where Pakistan, despite being called a failing or failed state, continues to hope for change. * Kirkus Reviews *For many in the West, Pakistan is an enigma, a Muslim homeland that seems to have lost its way into a wilderness of perpetual crisis, extremism, and nuclear standoff with India. The Struggle for Pakistan is a perceptive look at the idea and reality of Pakistan, its history and future in the context of the global order, by one of the most preeminent scholars of South Asia. Well written and brimming with fact and insight. -- Vali Nasr, author of The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in RetreatWritten by the world’s most respected, prolific, and authoritative historian of Pakistan, The Struggle for Pakistan provides a thorough analysis of the country’s politics from its creation to the present. It is the most useful point of departure for anyone who seeks to better understand Pakistan’s military, religious, regional, and international politics today. -- David Ludden, author of India and South Asia: A Short History

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe description for this book, The Languages of China, will be forthcoming.Trade Review"In producing a book on China as a linguistic area, the ideal is a comprehensive and accurate account that places China's linguistic diversity in a meaningful historical, geographical, and social context. Ramsey has succeeded admirably in achieving this end."--Jerome L. Packard, The Journal of Asian Studies "... a unique and brilliant work... Ramsey integrates nearly all of the gains of modern research on the Chinese language and skillfully presents the results in a concise, interesting, and comprehensible manner."--Charles N. Li, American Anthropologist "... I find The Languages of China a pleasure in virtually all respects. It is extremely easy to read, full of useful information, and beautifully produced."--Victor H. Mair, Pacific Affairs "[This] is a volume that provides a feeling of depth while still being accessible to the general reader: I recommend it to anyone at all interested in Chinese history or comparative linguistics."--Danny Reviews

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Fortune Best Book of the Year""The Last Embassy is rare in the field of academic history, in that it works just as well as a story as it does as a work of significant historical investigation. The story of the Dutch embassy to Beijing—the last to the Imperial Chinese court—has everything: competing protagonists, trials and tribulations, and imperial pomp and circumstance. Andrade’s work is a wonderfully written work about a neglected event in diplomatic history."---Nicholas Gordon, Fortune"One of the best academic studies in terms of both scholarship and writing-style I have read in ten years or more. . . . [A]n accessible, exciting, and illuminating book, written with consummate verve and enthusiasm."---John Butler, Asian Review of Books"An animated account."---Peter Neville-Hadley, South China Morning Post Magazine"Its lively writing, quick chapters, and the descriptions of the various parts of the empire that the embassy travels through, give readers a panoramic view of the empire at its height."---Reid Wyatt, World History Connected"An excellent entry point for readers seeking a nuanced under­standing of China’s global presence in the eighteenth century, and a useful cor­rective to those specialists who still tend to regard Qing relations with Britain as the totality of Qing relations with the ‘West.’"---Pamela Kyle Crossley, Journal of Early Modern History

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the 2011 Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Book Prize, Association for Asian Studies, South Asia Council""One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009""This brilliant book does many things well, but two stand out. It is an overview of the art, especially architecture and architectural decoration, of what is now northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries--from the arrival of Islam to the eve of the Mongol conquests. It is also a trenchant essay of interpretation, substituting a richly textured consideration of cultural dynamics and cultural change on a theoretical level for the traditional dichotomy of Hindu versus Muslim. . . . Nothing is comparable to this deeply learned, engrossing, and well-written albeit often challenging work, which is full of compelling discussions of important monuments. It deserves a wide readership."---L. Nees, Choice"[A] brilliant, far-ranging study. . . . This book is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the medieval 'Hindu-Muslim' encounter."---John E. Cort, Religious Studies Review"Flood's is an outstanding book and its level of scholarship is far in excess of any other work on medieval Indian history that I am aware of. It is a book that gladdens one's heart as much as it enriches one's mind."---Harbans Mukhia, Medieval History Journal"This book will not only be of interest to scholars of material culture, art and architectural history, religion, and medieval history, but is also entirely relevant to scholars of modern South Asia. In its insistence on mobility--of objects, people, and ideas--and resistance to boundaries, Flood's book is a timely reminder that global mobility is hardly a new phenomenon."---Preeti Chopra, Contemporary South Asia"This book is a most welcomed addition to the still meager though growing number of studies in Islamic art and material culture, which are based on theoretical premises and on a close, comparative scrutiny of multiple visual objects and texts. . . . [D]ue to its rich material and novel ideas, this book is a necessary asset in the library of historians and art historians of the Muslim world and India, and a useful text-book in academic teaching, hard to read but fully rewarding."---Rachel Milstein, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of a 2018 Gourmand World Cookbook Award, U.S. National Winner in “Tea”""Winner of the 2018 PCCBS Book Prize, Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies""Co-Winner of the 2018 ASFS Book Award, Association for the Study of Food and Society""Winner of the 2018 Jerry Bentley Prize in World History, American Historical Association"

Read more less

Book SynopsisA visual journey through the state of Rajasthan in India to explore and awaken your creativity in the arts and crafts

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"The subtitle says it all: 'Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation.' Indonesia expert Hannigan offers a highly readable and entertaining narrative that highlights the many personalities who have shaped the nation -- and our perception of it. English pirates, Indian mystics, Chinese pilgrims, American surfers, Dutch spice barons join a cavalcade of Javanese royals, Balinese dancers and more." --Lonely Planet"…[Tim Hannigan's] books are charmingly free of pre-conceived notions of specialization. They entertain readers while offering sharp insights into Asian history." --PopMatters Magazine"Tim Hannigan presents Indonesia as a place of high drama, with a past marked by European trade battles, explorers like Magellan and Christopher Columbus, and waves of immigrants. He guides the reader through the reign of Sukarno (1945-1967) and others of lesser, but no less corruptible, reputation, to settle with guarded optimism with the current president, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi." --Foreword Magazine

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comprehensive, yet entertaining look at China's history through a modern lens.Trade Review"A go-to guide for anyone seeking to get up to speed on China quickly. With a focus on memorable characters and stories, A Brief History of China is ideal for tourists, students and businesspeople looking to understand this emerging superpower." --Julie Makinen, former China Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times"…a powerful, engaging and balanced account of the vast span of China's history…The reader can approach this book with confidence and--thanks to its well-chosen reading recommendations--use it as a springboard for deeper engagement with China, its culture and its people." --Ellis Tinios, Honorary Lecturer in East Asian History, University of Leeds"Clements' spare prose, bad-boy wit and encyclopedic knowledge of Asian facts, gossip and trivia put paid to any misgivings about uttering 'history' and 'page-turner' in the same breath. This succinct chronicle of China's rise to global power is essential reading for businessmen, politicians and creatives." --J. Christopher Westland, Author of Red Wired: China's Internet Revolution and Overseas Chair Professor / Thousand-Talents Plan Scholar at Beihang University

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A highly readable and enjoyable book that will serve as an excellent way in to Korean history for anyone with an interest in the country." --Daniel Tudor, Author of Korea: The Impossible Country and North Korea Confidential"Michael Seth has written a compact and concise but informative and invigorating book on Korean history. A Brief History of Korea is a welcome and welcoming port of entry." --John Lie, C.K. Cho Professor, University of California, Berkeley"If you need get caught up on Korean history in a hurry Michael J. Seth's A Brief History of Korea is the book that you should read. It is an informative, accessible, and gracefully written account of Korea's past from its mythical origins to the present. No other book on Korea covers so much ground so succinctly and with such erudition." --Gregg Andrew Brazinsky, Professor of History and International Affairs & ESIA Asian Studies Program Director, The George Washington University

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBring the glory of the outdoors into your home with colorful, stylish, frame-worthy paintings!In this lushly illustrated book, master painter and art teacher Hidenari Kobayashi provides step-by-step instructions to show you how to create attractive drawings and paintings in the popular French botanical style. He details all the tools and materials needed, describes the techniques you'll use, and walks you through the creative process of drawing and painting 18 different botanical subjects. A Step-by-Step Guide to Botanical Drawing & Painting provides everything you need to learn this charming style of artistic expressionfrom first sketch to final brushstroke!Detailed step-by-step lessons show you how to draw and paint a wide variety of subjects, including:Lovely flowers, such as velvety roses, satiny tulips, frilly hydrangeas, exotic lilies and festive wildflowersFamiliar vegetables, fruits and nuts such as red onions, green peppers, lemons, kumquats and walnutsVarious other interest

Read more less

Book SynopsisStephen R. Platt received his PhD in Chinese history at Yale and teaches Chinese history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His work has been supported by the Fulbright program, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation.Trade ReviewEngaging and exciting ... Finely written * Literary Review *Lucid and gripping ... Highly recommended for anyone interested in China * TES *An impressive, gracefully written account * Wall Street Journal *A splendid example of finely calibrated historical narrative ... It is a tragic and powerful story -- Jonathan Spence, author of The Search for Modern ChinaA refreshing and gripping account ... Powerful, dramatic and unforgettable * San Francisco Chronicle *A marvellous account of a largely forgotten but major event. Combines great scholarship with a driving narrative and sharp characterisation -- Jonathan Fenby, author of The Penguin History of Modern ChinaStephen Platt brings to vivid life a pivotal chapter in China's history that has been all but forgotten ... A fascinating work by a first-class historian and superb writer -- Henry Kissinger

Read more less

Book SynopsisWilliam of Rubruck was a Franciscan friar who wrote the first great travel book about Asia. In 1253-55 he made the journey from the Holy Land to the court of the Great Khan Mongke at Qaraqorum in Mongolia and back again. His account is particularly vivid because he related to the individual people he met. This title offers translation of the text.Trade Review"In short, the Jackson-Morgan work captures the excitement and illuminates the background of Rubruck's journey." --Morris Rossabi, The Journal of Asian Studies"[A] gem . . . Jackson's emendations are judicious, his translation reads well. . . . The exemplary work of Peter Jackson and David Morgan will remain indispensable to all interested in the wealth of information contained in Rubruck's report." --Denis Sinor, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

Read more less

Book SynopsisAuthors of Forbidden Archeology present evidence of ancient human existence, challenging mainstream scientific beliefs. Over 2 centuries, researchers found bones and artifacts suggesting humans lived millions of years ago. The scientific community has dismissed this evidence due to conflicting views on human origins and antiquity.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis title is not about the exotic land itself, but rather the hidden glory of Vaishnavism. It may not be the most well-known form of Hinduism but it is India's richest and most significant religious tradition. This book focuses on the Vaishnava tradition and its contemporary manifestations.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Magisterial' - The Financial TimesAn updated edition of Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi with new material that explains the major events, policy shifts and controversies of the past decade, placing them in their proper sociological and historical context and setting out the author's justifiable concerns for the decline of democracy in India.Born against a background of privation and civil war, divided along lines of caste, class, language and religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united and democratic country. Ramachandra Guha’s hugely acclaimed book tells the full story – the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories – of the world’s largest and least likely democracy.While India is sometimes the most exasperating country in the world, it is also the most interesting. Ramachandra Guha writes compellingly of the myriad protests and conflicts that have peppereTrade ReviewFinally, here is a history of democratic India that is every bit as sweeping as the country itself. A magisterial work * Financial Times *Guha has given democratic India the rich, well-paced history it deserves * Washington Post *An insightful, spirited and elegantly crafted account of India since 1947. * Times Literary Supplement *India after Gandhi is a magnificently told history of the world's largest democracy. It is a riveting story with unforgettable characters and towering challenges, immense greatness and extraordinary venality, soaring hopes and profound disappointment. * India Today *It is a formidable undertaking to write in a single volume a history of this vast country ... Keeping in proportion the separate elements of so huge and sprawling a history calls for the finest judgement .... Guha rises noble to the challenges: his history is as comprehensive, balanced and elegantly crafted as any reasonable reader could expect. * Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA History of Southeast Asia: Critical Crossroads presents a comprehensive history of Southeast Asia from our earliest knowledge of its civilizations and religious patterns up to the present day.Trade Review"Among the book’s many virtues is Reid’s ability to break down the two thousand years he had to cover in order to guide the reader through space and time. ...Written in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, the book will be accessible to many, with judiciously chosen quotations to enliven the story." (Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1 November 2015) “Understanding the region is therefore not just a matter of intellectual curiosity but also of considerable topical importance. Despite its textbook-like appearance, History is eminently readable. It succeeds at both providing a broad-brush overview of this complex region, presenting it from within, identifying and tracing major themes, while at the same time delivering a wealth of fascinating and intriguing detail.” (Asian Review of Books, 25 November 2015) “Reid’s comprehensive survey covers all of the major societies and many of the minor ones from Burma to the Philippines throughout the centuries. The thematic approach, interpretative insights, useful bibliography, and almost encyclopaedic wealth of information will make Reid’s History of Southeast Asia an exceptionally valuable, even indispensable, resource and reference book for other scholars… this book is a splendid contribution that can and should be read and discussed with interest by scholars and teachers of Southeast Asian studies as well as world and Eurasian history.” (Asian Studies Review)"A splendid contribution that can and should be read and discussed with interest by scholars and teachers of Southeast Asian studies as well as world and Eurasian history." - Craig A. Lockard, Asian History Review no. 41 (Nov. 2016, pp.167-8)Table of ContentsList of Tables xi List of Maps xii List of Illustrations xiii Series Editor’s Preface xiv Preface xvii Glossary xxii Abbreviations xxv 1 People in the Humid Tropics 1 Benign Climate, Dangerous Environment 1 Forests, Water, and People 4 Why a Low but Diverse Population? 6 Agriculture and Modern Language Families 10 The Rice Revolution and Population Concentration 13 The Agricultural Basis of State and Society 16 Food and Clothes 18 Women and Men 21 Not China, not India 26 2 Buddha and Shiva Below the Winds 30 Debates about Indic States 30 Bronze, Iron, and Earthenware in the Archaeological Record 32 The Buddhist Ecumene and Sanskritization 34 Shiva and Nagara in the “Charter Era,” 900–1300 39 Austronesian Gateway Ports – the Negeri 45 Dai Viet and the Border with China 47 The Stateless Majority in the Charter Era 49 Thirteenth/Fourteenth‐Century Crisis 53 3 Trade and Its Networks 57 Land and Sea Routes 57 Specialized Production 59 Integration of the Asian Maritime Markets 62 Austronesian and Indian Pioneers 63 The East Asian Trading System of 1280–1500 65 The Islamic Network 69 The Europeans 71 4 Cities and Production for the World, 1490–1640 74 Southeast Asia’s “Age of Commerce” 74 Crops for the World Market 76 Ships and Traders 80 Cities as Centers of Innovation 81 Trade, Guns, and New State Forms 85 Asian Commercial Organization 91 5 Religious Revolution and Early Modernity, 1350–1630 96 Southeast Asian Religion 97 Theravada Cosmopolis and the Mainland States 98 Islamic Beginnings: Traders and Mystics 101 Polarizations of the First Global War, 1530–1610 106 Rival Universalisms 111 Pluralities, Religious Boundaries, and the “Highland Savage” 114 6 Asian European Encounters, 1509–1688 120 The Euro‐Chinese Cities 120 Women as Cultural Mediators 125 Cultural Hybridities 130 Islam’s “Age of Discovery” 133 Southeast Asian Enlightenments – Makassar and Ayutthaya 135 Gunpowder Kings as an Early Modern Form 139 7 The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century 142 The Great Divergence Debate 142 Southeast Asians Lose the Profits of Long‐Distance Trade 144 Global Climate and Local Crises 149 Political Consequences of the Crisis 152 8 Vernacular Identities, 1660–1820 157 Eighteenth‐Century Consolidation 157 Religious Syncretism and Localization 158 Performance in Palace, Pagoda, and Village 167 History, Myth, and Identity 172 Consolidation and its Limitations 175 9 Expansion of the Sinicized World 177 Fifteenth‐Century Revolution in Dai Viet 177 Viet Expansion, Nam Tien 179 Cochin‐China’s Plural Southern Frontier 183 The Greater Viet Nam of the Nguyen 185 The Commercial Expansion of a “Chinese Century,” 1740–1840 188 Chinese on Southern Economic Frontiers 191 10 Becoming a Tropical Plantation, 1780–1900 196 Pepper and Coffee 197 Commercialization of Staple Crops 198 The New Monopolies: Opium and Tobacco 200 Java’s Coerced Colonial Agriculture 204 Plantations and Haciendas 207 Mono‐crop Rice Economies of the Mainland Deltas 209 Pre‐colonial and Colonial Growth Compared 211 11 The Last Stand of Asian Autonomies, 1820–1910 213 Siam as “Civilized” Survivor 214 Konbaung Burma – a Doomed Modernization 219 High Confucian Fundamentalism – Nguyen Viet Nam 224 “Protected” Negeri 227 Muslim Alternatives in Sumatra 230 Bali Apocalypse 233 Mobile “Big Men” in the Eastern Islands 235 The Last State Evaders 237 12 Making States, 1824–1940 240 European Nationalisms and Demarcations 240 From Many to Two Polities in Nusantara 241 Maximal Burma, Viable Siam 246 Westphalia and the Middle Kingdom 250 Building State Infrastructures 251 How Many States in Indochina? 255 Ethnic Construction in the New Sovereign Spaces 256 States, not Nations 260 13 Population, Peasantization, and Poverty, 1830–1940 261 More People 261 Involution and Peasantization 263 Dual Economy and the Absent Bourgeoisie 266 Subordinating Women 268 Shared Poverty and Health Crises 272 14 Consuming Modernity, 1850–2000 276 Housing for a Fragile Environment 276 The Evolution of Foods 278 Fish, Salt, and Meat 279 Stimulants and Drinks 281 Cloth and Clothing 284 Modern Dress and Identity 286 Performance, from Festival to Film 289 15 Progress and Modernity, 1900–1940 295 From Despair to Hope 296 Education and a New Elite 302 Victory of the National Idea in the 1930s 306 Negotiating the Maleness of Modernity 314 16 Mid‐Twentieth‐Century Crisis, 1930–1954 319 Economic Crisis 319 Japanese Occupation 323 1945 – the Revolutionary Moment 331 Independence – Revolutionary or Negotiated? 341 17 The Military, Monarchy, and Marx: The Authoritarian Turn, 1950–1998 347 Democracy’s Brief Springtime 347 Guns Inherit the Revolutions 350 Dictatorship Philippine Style 358 Remaking “Protected” Monarchies 359 Twilight of the Indochina Kings 364 Reinventing a Thai Dhammaraja 367 Communist Authoritarianism 370 18 The Commercial Turnaround, 1965– 373 Economic Growth at Last 373 More Rice, Fewer Babies 376 Opening the Command Economies 378 Gains and Losses 380 Darker Costs – Environmental Degradation and Corruption 384 19 Making Nations, Making Minorities, 1945– 390 The High Modernist Moment, 1945–1980 390 Education and National Identity 394 Puritan Globalism 400 Joining an Integrated but Plural World 405 20 The Southeast Asian Region in the World 413 The Regional Idea 414 Global Comparisons 419 References 423 Further Reading 431 Index 436

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents the history of Japan from c 8000 BC to the present day. This title covers a range of subjects, including geology, climate, agriculture, government and politics, culture, literature, media, foreign relations, imperialism, and industrialism.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations. Conventions Used. Acknowledgements. Preface. Maps. Introduction. Part I: Beginnings:. 1. Geology, Climate, and Biota. 2. From Origins to Agriculture. Part II: The Age of Dispersed Agriculturalists (400 BCE - 1250 CE):. 3. Political Consolidation to 671 CE. 4. Establishing the Ritsuryô Order (672-750). 5. Ritsuryô Adaptation and Decay (750-1250). 6. Classical Higher Culture (750-1250). Part III: The Age of Intensive Agriculture (1250-1890):. 7. The Centuries of Disorder (1250-1890). 8. Medieval Higher Culture (1250-1550). 9. Establishing the Bakuhan Order (1550-1700). 10. The Age of Growth (1590-1700). 11. Stasis and Decay (1700-1850). 12. Crisis and Redirection (1800-1890). Part IV: The Age of Industrialism: Early Decades (1890-Present):. 13. Early Imperial Triumph (1890-1914). 14. Early Imperial Society and Culture. 15. Later Imperial Politics and Economy (1914-1945). 16. Later Imperial Society and Culture (1914-1945). 17. Drift to Disaster (1914-1945). 18. Entrepreneurial Japan: Politics and Economy (1945-1990). 19. Society and Environment (1945-1990). 20. The Culture of Entrepreneurial Japan (1945-1990). Epilogue: Japan Today and Tomorrow. Endnotes. Appendices. A. Tables I-X. B. Chinese Words: Wade-Giles & Pinyin Orthographies. C. Glossary of Japanese Terms. D. Supplemental. Readings. Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA real-life detective story, tracking down the man responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the killing fieldsTrade Review'Nic Dunlop's remarkable journey into the dark, suffering heart of Cambodia is a revelation' John Pilger 'Nic Dunlop's search for the holy grail - the understanding of how (rather than why) good men become evil - makes this into a harrowing book' Gitta Sereny 'Nic Dunlop's book, a vivid, highly personalised account of his quest for comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer, interrogator and butcher, leads us deep into this ideological heart of darkness' Sunday Telegraph 'His book vividly depicts the war, the meticulous records kept by the KR of their victims, their horrible tortures and the effect of the tragedy on Cambodians today. It is a tough and brilliant read' Irish Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2013''As taut and richly embroidered as a great novel . . . a masterpiece'' Sunday Telegraph''Dazzling'' Sunday Times ''Magnificent'' Guardian ''Sparkling'' Daily TelegraphA towering history of the first Afghan War by bestselling historian William Dalrymple.In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk.On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain''s greatest military humiliation of the nineteenth century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed byTrade ReviewThis sorry saga has been recounted many times, but never that I can recall as well as by Dalrymple. He is a master story-teller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Enchantingly written . . . In Dalrymple’s usual happy style of historical narrative, applied to a fascinating, neat and highly suggestive series of events, this long and involved book will be a great success, and bring the famous story to a large new audience -- Philip Hensher * Spectator *Of the books swooped into being by his scholarship (to which he himself has applied the adjective “obsessive”), this one is the most magnificent . . . His account is so perceptive and so warmly humane that one is never tempted to break away . . . This book would be compulsive reading even if it were not a uniquely valuable history, which it is, because Dalrymple has uncovered sources never used before -- Diana Athill * Guardian *Brilliant . . . Those who have read his White Mughals and The Last Mughal will know what to expect: a readable style, a deep humanity and, above all, an extraordinary skill in evoking the lost worlds of Mughals and Afghans . . . His pen-portraits are a masterpiece . . . Return of a King is much the fullest and most powerful description of the West's first encounter with Afghan society -- John Darwin * New York Times *A major contribution to the historiography of south-west Asia and of the British empire . . . Return of a King will come to be seen as the definitive account of the first and most disastrous western attempt to invade Afghanistan. Dalrymple's afterword should be put on college syllabuses on both sides of the Atlantic -- Sherard Cowper-Coles * New Statesman *Splendid and absorbing . . . William Dalrymple tells this tragic story with verve, skill, and - unexpectedly in the circumstances - some humor. Using unknown or underused sources from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he recounts the tale from both sides, shifting the scenes, using eyewitness accounts, quoting at length heroic epic poems . . . A fine book -- David Gilmour * New York Review of Books *William Dalrymple is a master storyteller, who breathes such passion, vivacity and animation into the historical characters of the First Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-42 that at the end of this 567-page book you feel you have marched, fought, dined and plotted with them all: once I had finished I turned straight back to the beginning * Independent *Brilliant . . . even 170 years later, the events described in Return of a King still have the power to shock - and so they should. It is to be hoped that any future British leader contemplating intervention in Afghanistan, or any other part of the Muslim world, will read Dalrymple's book * Financial Times *Mr. Dalrymple's writing is sly, charming and clever. His histories read like novels . . . This latest book delights and shocks as he points the finger at both sides for their deceit treachery and cruelty . . . Magnificent * Wall Street Journal *Definitive . . . Return of a King, like a great classical tragedy, grips the reader's attention from start to finish . . . not just a riveting account of one imperial disaster on the roof of the world; it teaches unforgettable lessons about the perils of neocolonial adventures everywhere -- Piers Brendan * Literary Review *By turns epic, thrilling, suspenseful, and utterly appalling, at once deeply researched and beautifully paced, Return of a King should win every prize for which it's eligible * Bookforum *Dazzling . . . Dalrymple is a master storyteller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers . . . Almost every page of Dalrymple's splendid narrative echoes with latter-day reverberations -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Outstanding . . . Dalrymple has emerged as a superb historian of the British Raj . . . He excels at character, scene setting, and shifting between multiple points of view . . . His use of sources is stunning, particularly the trove of Persian-language material - epic poems, court histories and other accounts - he found in Kabul. No other western historian has given such a complete account of the other side * National *William Dalrymple's phenomenal achievement is to combine a steady overview of his broad canvas with a magpie's eye for detail and a film-maker's sense of when to shift the mood and focus. His writing is ebullient, but his conclusion is timely and grave. Any attempt to subjugate Afghanistan must, as one witness of that first invasion noted, be 'temporary and transient and terminate in catastrophe' * Intelligent Life *A powerful account of Britain's deluded occupation . . . A superlative achievement * Scotland on Sunday *Dalrymple is something of a secret national treasure; a travel writer and narrative historian of Britain's relations with India . . . an enthralling, definitive account * The Lady *Masterful . . . Dalrymple makes an important contribution by including recently discovered Afghan accounts of the war * Washington Post *This hefty and extraordinary book may be [Dalrymple's] masterwork . . . Dalrymple's assiduous scholarship and travel-writer's ease with language makes this not only an incredibly well-researched book, but something of a page-turner * Big Issue *This is vintage Dalrymple: warp-speed historical narrative, meticulously researched . . . My only regret reading this wonderful history is that it was not published a decade earlier * Evening Standard *Dalrymple is a writer who can make the most recondite historical issues come alive and with each successive book he becomes a more entertaining and enlightening companion . . . Return of a King is simply quite brilliant -- Alexander McCall Smith * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Probably the best known British historian of India . . . this is the book he was born to write * Economist *Sensationally good . . . Dalrymple writes the kind of history few historians can match . . . Drawing on Afghan, Russian, and Indian sources, [Dalrymple] tells a truly epic story of imperial ambition and hubris with profound lessons for our own times . . . I doubt that I'll read a better written or more important history book all year * Scotsman *

Read more less

Book SynopsisGeorgina Howell began working in magazine journalism at the age of seventeen. She was Fashion Editor of the Observer, Features Editor of Vogue, Deputy Editor of Tatler and a principal feature writer for the Sunday Times. Georgina Howell died in January 2016.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'The product of many years of detailed archival research, Wilson’s book is without question the best one-volume history of the Raj currently in print.' - William Dalrymple, The Guardian‘The core of the book is a virtuoso takedown of cherished shibboleths of Raj mythology’ Financial Times ‘A forceful reminder that Britain has its own messy past to come to terms with’ Guardian  In the nineteenth century, imperial India was at the centre of Britain’s global power. But since its partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, the Raj has divided opinion: some celebrate its supposed role in creating much that is good in the modern world; others condemn it as the cause of continuing poverty. Today, the Raj lives on in faded images of Britain’s former glory, a notion used now to sell goods in India as well as Europe. But its real character has been poorly Trade Review‘This is an inspirational book, a challenging source of controversy and an invaluable corrective to the many histories of British India that have scarcely escaped the self-reverential platitudes of imperial rule’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘Wilson understands the complexities of India, illuminating the cultures of the courts, the rivalries of the Marathas, the emergence and destinies of Pindari gangs of peasant-warriors.’ * Literary Review *‘The core of the book is a virtuoso takedown of cherished shibboleths of Raj mythology.’ * Financial Times *‘Conquest comes in many forms and Jon Wilson’s polemical India Conquered is a forceful reminder that Britain has its own messy past to come to terms with.’ * Guardian *‘He delves into every aspect of Indian life, from law to religion, the economy to education, to show how the interaction between rulers and the ruled played out in unexpected and often calamitous ways’ * Guardian *‘It’s a neat and modern telling that feels as necessary as a bucket of water in the face after a dizzying trip to the bazaar.’ * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER‘Stands out for its judicious and unsparing look at events from a British perspective’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesBetween January and August 1947 the conflicting political, religious and social tensions in India culminated in independence from Britain and the creation of Pakistan; in Partition, Barney White-Spunner shines a light on those turbulent months. This period saw the end of ninety years of the British Raj, and the effective power of the Maharajahs, as the Congress Party established itself, commanding a democratic government in Delhi. It also witnessed the rushed creation of Pakistan as a country in two halves whose capitals were 2000 kilometres apart. From September to December 1947 the euphoria surrounding independence dissipated into shame and incrimination; nearly one million people died and countless moreTrade Review'This book is at its most powerful in its month-by-month narrative of how Partition tore apart northern and eastern India, with the new state of Pakistan carved out of communities who had lived together for the past millennium.' -- Zareer Masani * BBC History magazine *‘A highly readable account’ * Times Literary Review *

Read more less

Book Synopsis ‘This is history bursting at the seams with English eccentrics and Indian gentry…the charm of Tunzelmann’s approach is to restore her cast to full and vital life’ Observer‘A compelling narrative, sometimes controversial, occasionally perverse, never boring or unintelligent’ SpectatorFully revised and updated for the 70th anniversary. The stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947 liberated 400 million Indians from the British Empire. One of the defining moments of world history had been brought about by a tiny number of people, including Jawaharlal Nehru, the fiery prime minister-to-be; Gandhi, the mystical figure who enthralled a nation; and Louis and Edwina Mountbatten, the glamorous but unlikely couple who had been dispatched to get Britain out of India without delay. Within hours of the midnight chimes, however, the two new nations of India and Pakistan would descend into ana

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A learned, wise, wonderfully written single volume history of a civilisation that I knew I should know more about' Tom Holland'Masterful and engrossing...well-paced, eminently readable and well-timed. A must-read for those who want – and need – to know about the China of yesterday, today and tomorrow' Peter FrankopanChina’s story is extraordinarily rich and dramatic. Now Michael Wood, one of the UK's pre-eminent historians, brings it all together in a major new one-volume history of China that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand its burgeoning role in our world today.China is the oldest living civilisation on earth, but its history is still surprisingly little known in the wider world. Michael Wood's sparkling narrative, which mingles the grand sweep with local and personal stories, woven together with the author’s own travel journals, is an enthralling account of China&rsqu

Read more less

Book SynopsisElidor Mëhilli has produced a groundbreaking history of communist Albania that illuminates one of Europe's longest but least understood dictatorships. From Stalin to Mao, which is informed throughout by Mëhilli's unprecedented access to previously restricted archives, captures the powerful globalism of post-1945 socialism, as well as the unintended consequences of cross-border exchanges from the Mediterranean to East Asia. After a decade of vigorous borrowing from the Soviet Unionadvisers, factories, school textbooks, urban plansAlbania's party clique switched allegiance to China during the 1960s Sino-Soviet conflict, seeing in Mao's patronage an opportunity to keep Stalinism alive. Mëhilli shows how socialism created a shared transnational material and mental culturestill evident today around Eurasiabut it failed to generate political unity. Combining an analysis of ideology with a sharp sense of geopolitics, he brings into view Fascist Italy's involvement in Albania,Trade ReviewAn important contribution to our understaning of socialist Albania, especially in a transnational context.... An engaging, thought-provoking work that will be of use to historians of the Cold War, communism, Eastern Europe, and Albania for years to come. * H-Net *Mëhilli's case study of Albania under communist rule presents several interesting points.... Albanian communist leaders turned to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and China over the decades for patronage and financial support to build up its industries, housing, and infrastructure. Mëhilli effectively uses the evidence of this Soviet material culture and points to the Albanian architects and construction workers who built much of modern Albania. * Choice *Transcending national history, offering glimpses into the lives of party leaders, expatriate experts and peasants and bringing forward many stimulating thoughts, From Stalin to Mao is a significant contribution to the emerging body of scholarship on transnational history of communism. * HSozKult *Mëhilli's book is a crisply written, well organized, and well supported account of a Soviet connection with a greater attraction and then a greater rejection than in the rest of Eastern Europe. * Journal of Modern History *Mëhilli's book is a must read for students of Communism and the Cold War, both between West and East and inside the Eastern bloc. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *Mëhilli has proven himself to be not only a first-rate scholar, but an excellent writer, too. For years to come, From Stalin to Mao will be the definitive work on Albanian economics from 1945 to the end of Marxism in the early 90's. * Slavic and East European Journal *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe title says it all, really, Robots Won't Save Japan, but do read the book if you want to be convinced, because you will be. The author, anthropologist and science and technology studies (STS) scholar James Wright, has adopted this title in reaction to a Japanese book from a generation ago, Robots Will Save Japan (Nakayama 2006). * Anthropology & Aging *Robots Won't Save Japan is a vivid example for how ethnographic research can enrich and deepen our understanding of complex social and political problems * Contemporary Japan *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Crisis and Care Robots 2. Developing Robots and Designing Algorithmic Care 3. Portrait of a Care Home 4. Hug: Reconfiguring Lifting 5. Paro: Reconfiguring Communication 6. Pepper: Reconfiguring Recreation 7. Beyond Care Robots

Read more less

Book SynopsisReceived wisdom has it that Buddhism disappeared from India, the land of its birth, between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, long forgotten until British colonial scholars re-discovered it in the early 1800s. Its full-fledged revival, so the story goes, only occurred in 1956, when the Indian civil rights pioneer Dr. B.R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with half a million of his Dalit (formerly "untouchable") followers. This, however, is only part of the story. Dust on the Throne reframes discussions about the place of Buddhism in the subcontinent from the early nineteenth century onwards, uncovering the integral, yet unacknowledged, role that Indians played in the making of modern global Buddhism in the century prior to Ambedkar's conversion, and the numerous ways that Buddhism gave powerful shape to modern Indian history. Through an extensive examination of disparate materials held at archives and temples across South Asia, Douglas Ober explores Buddhist religious dynamics in an age of expanding colonial empires, intra-Asian connectivity, and the histories of Buddhism produced by nineteenth and twentieth century Indian thinkers. While Buddhism in contemporary India is often disparaged as being little more than tattered manuscripts and crumbling ruins, this book opens new avenues for understanding its substantial socio-political impact and intellectual legacy.Trade Review"This is the first comprehensive study in any language of the revival of interest in Buddhism in nineteenth and twentieth-century India. It transforms the way we view modern Indian religious and political life. Through careful archival investigation, Douglas Ober uncovers numerous sources and topics that have been ignored or dealt with in piecemeal fashion. He uses this array of materials to create a compelling argument for the vital of importance of Buddhism in modern Indian religious life, politics, intellectual history, and culture. By highlighting the contributions of Indian scholars, advocates, and practitioners to the revival of Buddhism in twentieth-century India, Ober gives us a much more accurate picture of modern global Buddhism. This is a major, foundational contribution to religious and Buddhist history."—Richard Jaffe, author of Seeking Sakyamuni: South Asia in the Formation of Modern Japanese Buddhism"This is a book I've been waiting for—a powerful account of the contestations and challenges that marked the return of Buddhism to the public sphere. It forces us to think of the role of human agency in shaping the present and future in India—perhaps even in the world."—Uma Chakravarti, author of The Social Dimensions of Early Buddhism"It is a fantastic read, almost like a detective novel in parts, and you turn the page wondering how Buddhism was discovered, how it fared in various contexts. Douglas Ober's mastery of sources, his adept linking of various geographies, ideas, and events are so effortlessly done that they belie the immense labor and reading and writing that have no doubt gone into the making of this book."—V Geetha, author of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Question of Socialism in India "This splendid book overturns the standard but faulty story of Buddhism's supposed disappearance from India by the thirteenth century. It completely recasts our understanding of modern Buddhism and its role in nineteenth and twentieth-century India. A marvelous combination of history, philosophy, and story-telling, Dust on the Throne is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand Buddhism in our world today."—Evan Thompson, author ofWaking, Dreaming, Being andWhy I Am Not a Buddhist"An engrossing and lively account of how modern India 'rediscovered' and re-engaged with Buddhism in the last two centuries, featuring a cast of compelling historical characters.Going far beyond standard assumptions and understandings about the decline and revival of Buddhism in India,Dust on the Throne is a must-read for all who are interested in south Asian history, both recent and ancient."—Tony Joseph, author of Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From"Dust on the Throne offers a new perspective on the history of Buddhism in India during the colonial period and early years of Independence. Marshalling an array of evidence that foregrounds the role of individuals and institutions (some known, some forgotten) in the context of subcontinental and global networks, it dispels many long-cherished notions about Buddhism's decline and revival in its homeland, offering a convincing alternative narrative."—Upinder Singh, author of History of Ancient and Early Medieval India"Douglas Ober's Dust on the Throne weaves a fascinating history of individuals, institutions, and events that animated modern Buddhism. The book provides rare insights into a range offorgotten Indianswhose contributions were as impressive as those of better-known colonials.Its exploration of the footprint of Buddhist discourses among the masses is equally captivating. This will remain a definitive study on the many streams that constituted the quest for Buddhism inModern India."—Nayanjot Lahiri, author of Ashoka in Ancient India"[Dust on the Throne] is vast and dense, shining light on many of the Indian historians, scholars, translators, ethnographers, and laborers whose engagement with ancient and modern Buddhism galvanized 19th- and 20th-century public discourse. Rather than fragmented, however, the confluence of geographies, perspectives, and demographics demonstrate how dynamic and complex local expertise and agency in the resurgence of Buddhism within India have been."—Liesl Schwabe, Los Angeles Review of Books"Ober's exhaustive survey assembles Buddhism's disparate histories from different regions of modern India and contextualizes the formation of its multiple stands. He effectively dismantles the idea of European discovery of Buddhism and challenges the overemphasis on the contribution of Dharmapala and Ambedkar's scholarship."—Abishek Singh Amar, Tricycle"Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India, an erudite study by the historian Douglas Ober, is an exception to the brahmin-centric trend, and an outstanding intervention for many reasons. Right from its thoughtful title – which captures the deep history and 'revival' of the region's Buddhist past – the book tells us a different story than the brahmin-centric narratives of so much other scholarship. Ober shows how the widespread notion that Buddhism in the Subcontinent had died by the thirteenth century or earlier, and showed no trace of life into the modern period, is at most a 'useful fiction', if not a foolish conclusion outright."—Gajendran Ayyathurai, Himal SouthasianTable of Contents0. Introduction 1. The Agony of Memory 2. Dispelling Darkness 3. Banyan Tree Buddhism 4. Brahmanizing Buddhism 5. The Snake and the Mongoose 6. When the Buddha met Marx 7. The Buddha Nation Conclusion: Conclusion

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Indian government, touted as the world's largest democracy, often repeats that Jammu and Kashmir—its only Muslim-majority state—is "an integral part of India." The region, which is disputed between India and Pakistan, and is considered the world's most militarized zone, has been occupied by India for over seventy-five years. In this book, Hafsa Kanjwal interrogates how Kashmir was made "integral" to India through a study of the decade long rule (1953-1963) of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the second Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Drawing upon a wide array of bureaucratic documents, propaganda materials, memoirs, literary sources, and oral interviews in English, Urdu, and Kashmiri, Kanjwal examines the intentions, tensions, and unintended consequences of Bakshi's state-building policies in the context of India's colonial occupation. She reveals how the Kashmir government tailored its policies to integrate Kashmir's Muslims while also showing how these policies were marked by inter-religious tension, corruption, and political repression. Challenging the binaries of colonial and postcolonial, Kanjwal historicizes India's occupation of Kashmir through processes of emotional integration, development, normalization, and empowerment to highlight the new hierarchies of power and domination that emerged in the aftermath of decolonization. In doing so, she urges us to question triumphalist narratives of India's state-formation, as well as the sovereignty claims of the modern nation-state.Trade Review"Colonizing Kashmir offers a brilliant rethinking of how sovereignty and secularism work to obscure the colonizing projects of postcolonial states. For India, Kanjwal argues, the colonial occupation of Kashmir is not an aberration nor a residual of the past, rather pivotal to the formation of the newly independent state. Scholars of religion, settler colonialism, secularism, and anyone interested in the varied and unexpected modalities through which territorial control functions will gain tremendously from the sharp conceptual interventions in this meticulously researched book."—Jasbir K Puar, Rutgers University"Hafsa Kanjwal brilliantly illuminates how India consolidated its occupational control over Kashmir through state-level practices across multiple institutional domains – development, tourism, film production, economic policies, culture, and law. Through archival and interpretative analysis of a rich variety of previously unexamined primary source historical materials, Kanjwal demonstrates how India cemented Kashmir's accession over time and, in effect, domesticated the international dispute. Her fine-grained analysis of processes of integration, normalization, and bureaucratization reveals how state-building operates as a mechanism for building, entrenching, and sustaining an architecture of colonial occupation in a 'space of political liminality' such as Kashmir."—Haley Duschinski, Ohio University"Colonizing Kashmir is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the region. Its diligent analysis and exhaustive documentation deftly incorporates the perspectives of Kashmir's political consciousness and memory. In doing so, the book challenges and disrupts existing historiographical frameworks pertaining to Kashmir and its politics. The work holds considerable resonance with the present and future trajectory of Kashmir."—Haris Zargar, Middle East Eye"Historically invasive, theoretically cutting edge, and written in prose at once mellifluous and purposeful, this book is nothing short of a wonderfully mesmerizing intellectual earthquake in the fields of South Asian history and contemporary politics more broadly."—New Books Network"Colonizing Kashmir enables us to understand the repetitious discourse of development and normalcy through a historicization that allows for understanding the present forms of India's colonization of Kashmir as settler-colonial."—Goldie Osuri, The Contrapuntal"Kashmir's people have had a troubled history since 1947. Kanjwal presents a scholarly, impassioned historical analysis of the Indian-occupied Kashmir Valley during the crucial, decade-long regime of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad.... Recommended."—M. H. Fisher, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Genealogies of Colonial Occupation and State-Building: Becoming Khalid-i-Kashmir 2. Narrating Normalization: Media, Propaganda, and Foreign Policy amid Cold War Politics 3. Producing and Promoting Paradise: Tourism, Cinema, and the Desire for Kashmir 4. Developing Dependency: Economic Planning, Financial Integration, and Corruption 5. Shaping Subjectivities: Education, Secularism, and Its Discontents 6. Jashn-e-Kashmir: Patronage and the Institutionalization of Kashmiri Culture 7. The State of Emergency: State Repression, Political Dissent, and the Struggle for Self-Determination Conclusion

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Every so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well.' – James Holland, The Sunday Telegraph'A work of singular importance . . . balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting' – Philippe Sands, author of East-West Street'Always engrossing . . . a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history' – History TodayA landmark, magisterial history of the postwar trial of Japan’s leaders as war criminals, and their impact on the modern history of Asia and the world.In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the victorious powers turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For the Allied powers, the trials were an opportunity both to render judgment on their vanquished foes and to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was no more than victors’ justice.Gary J. Bass' Judgement at Tokyo is a magnificent, riveting story of wartime action, dramatic courtroom battles, and the epic formative years that set the stage for the postwar era in the Asia–Pacific.'A comprehensive, landmark and riveting book' – The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023'Trade ReviewThis important book . . . Magisterial' -- Max Hastings, The Sunday TimesEvery so often, a new work emerges of such immense scholarship and weight that it really does add a significant difference to our understanding of the Second World War and its consequences. Judgement in Tokyo is one such, a monumental work in both scale and detail, beautifully constructed and written, leaving the reader not only moved but disturbed as well. -- James Holland, The Sunday TelegraphA work of singular importance – balanced, original, human, accessible, and riveting. It is of huge relevance to our times. -- Philippe Sands, author of East-West StreetMagisterial . . . A well-crafted, warts-and-all account from which almost no one emerges unscathed. * Financial Times *A meticulously researched and authoritative account -- The Economist, 'The Best Books of 2023'Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself. * The Observer *This magisterial account – long but never sprawling; thick with detail yet always engrossing . . . This is a breathtakingly ambitious and well-executed piece of history, unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the trials and their place in postwar global history. -- Christopher Harding, History TodayFascinating -- The New Yorker, 'Best Books of 2023'Comprehensive, landmark and riveting. . . . Bass employs the complexities of the trial as a fulcrum to sketch a wide canvas. . . . Fascinating * The Washington Post, 'The 10 Best Books of 2023' *Immersive -- The New York Times, 'Notable Books of 2023'Magnificent . . . Vivid . . . Profound * Foreign Affairs *Magisterial . . . Bass is a marvelous writer. * Air Mail *In this superb work of transnational history, Gary Bass uses the Tokyo trial to illuminate the making of the modern world. -- Ramachandra Guha, author of India After GandhiTo understand the dynamics of post-World War II Asia, Gary Bass’s Judgement at Tokyo is fascinating, essential reading. -- Barbara Demick, Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North KoreaGary Bass has written nothing less than a masterpiece. With epic research and mesmerizing narrative power, Judgement at Tokyo has the makings of an instant classic. -- Evan Osnos, US National Book Award-winning author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New ChinaA vivid and meticulously crafted account, rich in detail, fair-minded, superbly nuanced. -- Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s VietnamDestined to become a classic, Judgement at Tokyo is meticulously researched and elegantly written: it is also a necessary book. -- Anna Sherman, author of The Bells of Old Tokyo

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A revolutionary book' Sunday Times 'A pulsating account' Peter Frankopan *A SPECTATOR AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR* How did the People’s Republic of China transform from a backwater economy in the 1970s into the world superpower of today? Drawing on hundreds of previously unseen archival documents, award-winning historian Frank Dikötter recasts our understanding of an era that both the regime and foreign admirers alike celebrate as an economic miracle. In a fascinating tale spanning five decades, he examines the country’s economic transformation alongside the regime’s determined suppression of dissent, its increasing hostility towards the West and its development into a thoroughly entrenched dictatorship led by Xi Jinping – one equipped with a sprawling security apparatus and the most sophisticated surveillance system in the world. ‘Essential reading for anyone who wants to know what has shaped today’s China and what the Chinese Communist Party’s choices mean for the rest of the world’ New Statesman ‘A blow-by-blow account of the uneven, reactive and sometimes chaotic course of economic policies . . . An important corrective’ Financial Times ‘Dikötter has been mining Chinese primary sources for decades . . . A clear-eyed and detailed account’ ObserverTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE PEOPLE'S TRILOGY: Together, these three books constitute a major contribution to scholarship on modern China, one that is unequalled, certainly in the English language * Literary Review *Harrowing and brilliant ... This is the book that changes your life -- Ben Macintyre * The Times *Dikötter's achievement in this book is remarkable * Sunday Times *A brilliant and powerful account ...This excellent book is horrific but essential reading for all who want to understand the darkness that lies at the heart of one of the world's most important revolutions * Guardian *Powerful ... Bold and startling ... Dikötter must be admired for the manner in which he puts a human scale on the enormous barbarities of the communist takeover of China. We cannot begin to understand modern China without being aware of the blood-drenched tale Dikötter so ably relates -- Kwasi Kwarteng * Evening Standard *A mesmerizing account of the communist revolution in China, and the subsequent transformation of hundreds of millions of lives through violence, coercion and broken promises. The Chinese themselves suppress this history, but for anyone who wants to understand the current Beijing regime, this is essential background reading -- Anne ApplebaumDikötter performs here a tremendous service by making legible the hugely controversial origins of the present Chinese political order -- Tim Snyder A remarkable work of archival research. Dikötter rarely, if ever, allows the story of central government to dominate by merely reporting a top-down directive. Instead, he tracks down the grassroots impact of Communist policies ... In so doing, he uncovers astonishing stories of party-led inhumanity and also popular resistance ... Dikötter sustains a strong human dimension to the story by skillfully weaving individual voices through the length of the book * Financial Times *Startling ... Dikötter's work has aimed to demolish almost every claim to truth or virtue the Chinese Communist party ever made. He combines a vivid eye for detail with a historian's diligence in the archives. Powerful ... Dikötter is unsparing in his account of the effects of the communist rule * Observer *Magnificent ... This brilliant book leaves no doubt that Mao almost ruined China and left a legacy of paranoia that still grips its modern dictatorship under the latest autocrat, Xi Jinping -- Michael Sheridan * Sunday Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Korean War is journalist and military historian Sir Max Hastings’ compelling account of the forgotten war.'The best narrative history of the Korean conflict' – GuardianOn 25 June 1950 the invasion of South Korea by the Communist North launched one of the bloodiest conflicts of the last century. The seemingly limitless power of the Chinese-backed North was thrown against the ferocious firepower of the UN-backed South in a war that can be seen today as the stark prelude to Vietnam.Max Hastings draws on first-hand accounts of those who fought on both sides to produce this vivid and incisive reassessment of the Korean War, bringing the military and human dimensions into sharp focus. Critically acclaimed on publication, republished with an introduction from the author, The Korean War remains the best narrative history of this conflict.'A brilliant tour-de-force' – Times Literary Supplement'Excellent, readable history by a master of the genre' – Daily Mail'This book establishes him as one of the leading British military historians.' – New York TimesTrade ReviewThe best narrative history of the Korean conflict * Guardian *Excellent, readable history by a master of the genre * Daily Mail *A brilliant tour-de-force * Times Literary Supplement *A brilliant and compelling book which must rank, even by the standards Max Hastings has set, as a masterpiece. -- Professor Michael Howard * London Review of Books *This book establishes him as one of the leading British military historians. * New York Times *A balanced, perceptive reckoning of what was won and lost in an important clash of arms that excited precious little interest or passion on home fronts. * Kirkus *

Read more less

Book SynopsisMore than forty years after its initial publication, William Hinton's Fanshen continues to be the essential volume for those fascinated with China's revolutionary process of rural reform and social change. A pioneering work, "Fanshan" is a marvelous and revealing look into life in the Chinese countryside, where tradition and modernity have had both a complimentary and caustic relationship in the years since the Chinese Communist Party first came to power. It is a rare, concrete record of social struggle and transformation, as witnessed by a participant. "Fanshen" continues to offer profound insight into the lives of peasants and China's complex social processes. This classic volume includes a new preface by Fred Magdoff.Trade Review"One of the most important books about China which has been written since the Revolution.... For anyone who wants to understand anything important about the Chinese revolution of our time, the reading of this book is an absolute necessity." JOSEPH NEEDHAM, London Tribune "A vivid and compelling 'grassroots' account of life in the village precisely during the period in which the new Communist power was establishing itself....[A] unique contribution to our understanding of life in a northern Chinese village on the eve of the Communist takeover." BENJAMIN SCHWARTZ, New York Times Book Review "Fanshen is an extraordinary book. It will dispose of many myths, both those of the Left and of the Right." C. P. FITZGERALD, The Nation "Fanshen is an important book.... It is an arresting narrative [on] the agonizing story of rural China in turmoil...told with a remarkable evenness of temper and a rare understanding of human weaknesses and strengths. The lessons of Long Bow village, so movingly and compassionately recorded...should be studied and restudied by all." C. T. HSU, Saturday Review"

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe legend of Mulan--the daughter who disguises herself as a man, dons her father's armor, and heads off to war in his place--remains one of the most popular Chinese folktales despite (or because of) its lack of supernatural demonstrations or interventions.This volume offers lively translations of the earliest recorded version of the legend and several later iterations of the tale (including the screenplay of the hugely successful 1939 Chinese film Mulan Joins the Army), illustrating the many ways that reinterpretations of this basic story reflect centuries of changes in Chinese cultural, political, and sexual attitudes.An Introduction traces the evolution of the Mulan legend and its significance in the history of Chinese popular culture. Annotation explaining terms and references unfamiliar to Western readers, a glossary, and a comprehensive bibliography further enhance the value of this volume for both scholars and students.Trade ReviewIdema's scholarship . . . [and his] ability to translate popular texts into comparably idiomatic English are outstanding achievements.--Hugh R. Clark, Ursinus CollegeThe plots and the elaborations of the Mulan narratives reproduced (and summarized) here demonstrate the many ways in which the Mulan figure has spoken to succeeding generations with differing heroic characteristics and in the idiom that each audience understood; they offer excellent texts for a deep background for any consideration of Mulan in contemporary culture. For scholars of European fairy tales, the narratives offer striking points of comparison with European crossdressing heroines of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.--Ruth B. Bottigheimer, Stony Brook University

Read more less

Book SynopsisAvailable in one or two volumes, this accessible, yet rigorous, introduction to the political, social, and cultural history of China provides a balanced and thoughtful account of the development of Chinese civilization from its beginnings to the present day.Each volume includes ample illustrations, a full complement of maps, a chronological table, extensive notes, recommendations for further reading and an index.Volume 1: From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire (10,000 BCE—1799). Volume 2: From the Great Qing Empire through the People's Republic of China (1644—2009).Trade ReviewA solid, clearly written and up-to-date account of China's dynastic history, taking note of recent research, and with attention to cultural developments and economic practice. An accessible read, even for first-comers to this highly complex subject; this is an excellent introduction to China that instructors will welcome and students will enjoy. --Michael Loewe, University Lecturer in Chinese Studies, University of Cambridge 1963-1990; Emeritus Fellow of Clare Hall.Tanner has written an excellent text on Chinese history which offers a fine balance between the traditional and the modern. He also charts a good balance between studies of the elite, government, philosophy and diplomacy and, on the other hand, analyses of ordinary people, economic institutions, social patterns, and folk religion. The book provides a comprehensive view of Chinese culture, including developments in literature and the arts. A generous selection of illustrations facilitates comprehension of and pleasure in the visual arts. Finally, Professor Tanner's consideration of Western contact with China and the attendant problems and gains is judicious and informative. --Morris Rossabi, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York . . . . Tanner writes attractively . . . . He tells many stories of villains and heroes, of tragedy and comedy, of high culture and coarse humour, of wealth and poverty, of feast and famine, of poignant suffering, all of which keep the reader's interest and indeed fascination. It is a heroic tale that he tells and he does this superbly, rejecting myths and misunderstandings that have beset Western views of a complex country. --G.R. Batho, The Historical Association Reviews

Read more less