Asian history Books

Book SynopsisIn this novel perspective on a much-maligned figure, Michal Biran explains the monumental impact Chinggis Khan has had upon the Islamic World, both positive and negative. Often criticised as a mass-slaughterer, pillager, and arch-enemy of the faith, Biran shows that his constructive influence upon Islam was also considerable - his legacy apparent in Central Asia even today. Covering Chinggis Khan's early career, his conquests, the enduring power of his descendents, and the numerous ways he is presented in different Muslim contexts, this accessible book provides a fascinating insight into one of the most notorious men in history.Trade Review"Michal Biran's study is thorough and extemely thought provoking… As an introduction to its subject, it should be considered as first choice" * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society *Table of ContentsList of Maps, Figures and Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Chinggis? 1: Asia, the Steppe and the Islamic World on the Eve of the Mongols 2: Temüjin’s Mongolia 3: World Conquest: How Did He Do It? 4: The Chinggisid Legacy in the Muslim World 5: From the Accursed to the Revered Father and Back: Changing Images of Chinggis Khan in the Muslim World 6: Appropriating Chinggis: A Comparative Approach Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a large diaspora in Britain and North America, Pakistan is central to the hopes of jihadis and the fears of their enemies. Yet the greatest short-term threat to Pakistan is not Islamist insurgency as such, but the actions of the United States, and the greatest longterm threat is ecological change. Anatol Lieven's book is a magisterial investigation of this highly complex and often poorly understood country. Engagingly written, combining history and profound analysis with reportage from Lieven's extensive travels as a journalist and academic, Pakistan: A Hard Country is both utterly compelling and deeply revealing.Trade Review"his book may be described as the most informed Gazetteer on contemporary Pakistan. Instead of the too often repeated narrative of Pakistan's history and ills, he offers a broader sweep into the condition of the provinces, the climate, the political parties and their personalities--and, in his best chapter, an important discussion of how today's Taliban represent a continuation of similar uprisings a century ago. Dallas Morning News, May 9, 2011 "Since the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last week, it's become increasingly clear that anyone hoping to follow international affairs should perhaps have begun watching that country some time ago. Fortunately, Pakistan: A Hard Country serves as an outstanding primer -- even reading just the introduction is supremely useful... Lieven crafts a lucid and thoroughly fascinating whole from a wealth of information... Lieven's writing is excellent, especially crucial in a book tackling a topic with which many readers are entirely unfamiliar. Moreover, he clearly loves the place and its people. Pakistan: A Hard Country is the work of one of those rare writers able to see his subject in all its complexity, without either turning away or becoming a partisan of one perspective or the other." IBN Live, May 19, 2011 "Yet for drama, colour and complexity, [Pakistan] is hard to beat; and Anatol Lieven captures the richness of the place wonderfully. His book has the virtues of both journalism and scholarship..." Foreign Policy's The AfPak Channel blog, April 11, 2011 "The release of Anatol Lieven's latest book, Pakistan: A Hard Country, could not be timelier. This insightful, comprehensive portrait of Pakistan is the perfect antidote to stereotypical descriptions of the country as the most dangerous place in the world... Pakistan: A Hard Country has the power to dampen the paranoia about Pakistan's security complex, put terrorism in perspective, and humanize Pakistanis." Foreign Affairs, May/June 2011 "Challenging the notion that Pakistan is fragile, Lieven presents in exquisite detail how things actually work, for better or for worse, in that 'hard country.'" Evening Standard, April 21, 2011 Foreign Policy's AfPak Channel, October 13, 2011 "Despite Pakistan's heterogeneity, one aspect of the country that demonstrates some homogeneity is the universal nature of the "clan-based" system of allegiance that is ingrained in most Pakistanis. This system has been recognized for some time, and was articulated recently, and most clearly, by the scholar Anatol Lieven in his book, Pakistan: A Hard Country." Commonweal, September 23, 2011 "Lieven offers historical perspective and a coherent, nuanced picture of the strategic concerns, politics, and occasional paranoia underlying Pakistani actions... The book covers a vast amount of ground and is packed with information, much of it fascinating and laden with significance for Washington policymakers." Independent (UK) "A finely researched and forensic compendium... A penetrating, textured study." Survival "All in all, Lieven presents a subtle and nuanced picture of Pakistan that draws on deep scholarship and direct personal experience. Though by far the longest and most complex of the books reviewed here, if busy policymakers have time to read just one volume, this should be it." SA Global Affairs Irish Times, June 4, 2011 "An insightful book that is part anthropological study, part reportage. Threaded throughout are the voices of ordinary Pakistanis farmers, politicians, spooks, landowners, businessmen, soldiers, judges, clerics and jihadis whose contributions in the form of direct quotes enliven and illuminate this complex yet affectionate portrait of their country. Published just before bin Laden s death, the book does not read as if it has been overtaken by events. Indeed, its textured, penetrating survey of the dynamics shaping contemporary Pakistan could hardly be more timely, given the relative dearth of literature on the subject. Lieven makes a compelling case for why we should pay more attention to what is one of the most important but least understood countries in the world." Small Wars Journal, June 5, 2011 "Anatol Lieven has written an excellent book...It is perhaps the one book to read on Pakistan in 2011, and offers a level of nuance required for those wanting to become true specialists on the complexity of Pakistan's political history." New York Times Book Review, June 26, 2011 "Ambitious...a sweeping and insightful narrative." Washington Times, July 7, 2011 Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2011 "[Lieven] brings an infectious enthusiasm to his task of summarizing the workings of the world's sixth most populous country. In this quest, he ranges effortlessly from a police station in Peshawar to a politician's mansion in the Punjab to the mean streets of Karachi. He dishes up pithy observations while delving deep into the nation's history, politics, culture and institutions... Mr. Lieven's eye for detail, command of subcontinental history and old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting make this in many ways an excellent primer on Pakistan." The Nation, July 18, 2011 "Lieven has written a sensible and thorough exploration of Pakistan's political sphere... Pakistan is a large subject, and an unforgivingly complicated one at that, yet Lieven manages to tackle some of its most obscure problems without losing his cool... Lieven has written a very measured book, no easy task when writing about such a hard country." TotalPolitics.com, summer reading guide, June 28, 2011 "counter-intuitive... [Lieven] argues that the question should be not why Islamist political movements are so strong in Pakistan today, but why they are so weak. Provocative." Kirkus, February 15, 2011 "Lieven breaks down his study by specific region; considers the structures of justice, religion, the military and politics in turn; and, finally, in a skillful, insightful synthesis, addresses the history of and issues concerning the Taliban, both Pakistani and Afghani. A well-reasoned, welcome resource for Western "experts" and lay readers alike." Edward Luce "Everybody nowadays seems to take a view on Pakistan. Very few know what they're talking about. Anatol Lieven is that rare observer - a scholar who writes like the best kind of foreign correspondent about a country that he takes and measures on its own terms. Pakistan, a Hard Country offers an intimate and compellingly relevant portrait of an increasingly pivotal nation to the future of the world, for better or for worse. It fills a large gap in our understanding." Huffington Post, April 3, 2011 "Over the last decade, Lieven has been one of the smartest and most fair-minded commentators on the global situation, and in this important, very timely book, he explains the regions, classes, history, and prospects of Pakistan with equal value for both the neophyte and the expert. Based on Lieven's first-hand knowledge of the country for the past 20 years." Economist, April 7, 2011 "If I had to review the book 'Pakistan: A Hard Country' in one line I would say it is brilliant. The book is well researched, informative, insightful, but most of all for a country that finds itself often in headline news for the wrong reasons, empathetic." The Age, May 20, 2011 "In his fine new book Pakistan. A Hard Country, Lieven argues that while the state is weak, Pakistani society is immensely strong." New Statesman, May 12, 2011 "does much to counter lazy assumptions about the country that proliferate elsewhere" The Spectator, May 13, 2011 "His analysis of networks and systems is precise; his accounts of his travels illuminating as well as entertaining." The Guardian, May 1, 2011 "Lieven's Pakistan: A Hard Country is one such blow for clarity and sobriety... Lieven overturns many prejudices, and gives general readers plenty of fresh concepts with which to think about a routinely misrepresented country." The Independent, May 5, 2011 "Lieven's feat lies in his remarkable, flesh-and-blood portrait of the nation, ranging across demographic swathes and including a chorus of voices from farmers to intelligence officers. The picture is one of a semi-anarchic nation mired in police savagery, institutional corruption, population bulges, water shortages and the risk of catastrophic environmental disaster following last year's floods." The New York Times Book Review, June 26, 2011 "Ambitious...a sweeping and insightful narrative." Newsline Magazine, June, 2011 "Pakistan: A Hard Country manages to be clear-headed and realistic, a welcome respite from the scare-mongering that taints so many western accounts of Pakistan." The Organiser (India), June 26, 2011 "This book is about the best that has been published in recent times about Pakistan." MoneyLife (India), June 18, 2011 "Pakistan-A Hard Country is one of the most detailed accounts of a country which often seems like it is held together by chewing gum (or willpower, if you like)--but what still makes it tick? Anatol Lieven knows, and it shows in this work." "Thanks to Mr. Lieven's sound scholarship and perceptive insights in 'Pakistan: A Hard Country,' readers will come away with a clearer understanding of why it is such a complex, conflicted country and why it will continue to be of vital interest to the United States long after the last American soldier has come home from Afghanistan." Policy Review, August/September 2011 "His experience as a reporter gives Lieven both the tone of an insider and a vast affection for the country, which he credits for giving him "some of the best moments" of his life. In an attempt to explain the world's sixth-most populous nation in under 600 pages, Lieven ranges widely, touching upon everything from the rise and fall of landed families in the Punjab to the sloth of the national police to the garish decor in wealthy homes. To this ambitious task the author brings both thoroughness and an impressive familiarity with his subject." DAWN.com, August 2, 2011 "a thought-provoking and widely influential new book" DAWN.com September 2, 2011 "Lieven's is the one I would most strongly recommend to anyone wishing to learn about Pakistan... The book is shot through with sharp insights and flashes of mordant wit that make it a pleasure to read." "The gulf between...the multiple realities most Pakistanis know - and how outsiders perceive their country is wide and deep. Lieven's book is an ambitious and much-needed attempt to bridge it. The most striking thing about the book is its informed and consistently sensible tone. This tone is not heard much in discussions about Pakistan, and it is refreshing. Lieven writes in an affable, conversational voice, but not a casual one. His observations are precise and judicious." Financial Times, April 22, 2011 "Pakistan, as Anatol Lieven explains in this thorough analysis of the internal sources of this resilience, will not disintegrate easily...He deftly tackles the misperception in the west that Islamist groups might easily sweep through Pakistan." The Nation, April 13, 2011 "This book could hardly be timelier. Lucid and well informed, he deals carefully with Pakistan's well-known problems. He raises hope, avoiding the hysteria and partial judgment that disfigure much contemporary writing on the subject. Above all, he emanates a deep affection bordering on love for the unfortunate, beleaguered, magical Pakistan." The New Republic, May 5, 2011

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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"

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Book SynopsisBefore Western clocks came to Japan, hours shifted in length with the length of the day through the seasons; this book looks at how standard hours arrived and how Japanese life adapted to them.

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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

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Book SynopsisTata is one of the world’s most diversified companies, selling everything from salt to software. Mircea Raianu charts Tata’s 150-year trajectory, through the eras of imperial free trade, protectionist nationalism, and market liberalization and asks what the future has in store for India’s leading brand and for capitalism writ large.Trade ReviewRaianu’s book, the first by an academic historian mining the company’s archives, attempts to explain its rise and longevity without resorting to its own mythmaking…The account of how one conglomerate came to dominate India’s economy for much of the past 150 years makes timely reading for those reflecting on whether capitalism and corporate power in India is entering a new era. -- Benjamin Parkin * Financial Times *Raianu’s book, as he makes clear, is not an exposé or a denunciation of the Tata myth; rather, it is a close analysis of the company’s historical development, particularly the way it was able to weather a series of major political and economic changes, including Indian independence and the rise of state planning. A work of scrupulous historical scholarship…Shed[s] light on the history of capitalism in India—and globally. -- Thomas Crowley * Jacobin *[A] meticulously researched biography of the Tata empire…The influence the conglomerate has on Indian life is all-pervasive and overwhelming…Raianu’s book relies primarily on the company’s archives, and is, as such, unique, for as an outsider he is able to take a step back and see the group from a broader, global context. -- Salil Tripathi * Mint Lounge *Mircea Raianu’s study of the Tatas is an exciting intervention into the business history of India. Using a host of new archival materials, Tata will prove valuable to anyone interested in India’s largest corporation and the history of global capitalism. -- Douglas Haynes, author of Small Town Capitalism in Western IndiaA highly readable work of meticulous scholarship, Raianu’s is the first study of the Tatas by a professional historian. This will be an indispensable book for all who are interested in the rise of Indian capitalism. -- Medha Kudaisya, author of The Life and Times of G.D. BirlaMircea Raianu’s impeccably researched and rigorously argued Tata is the definitive study of the pioneering global corporation without which neither the Indian economy nor the Indian consumer will likely survive. It is also an exemplary model for a new kind of business history that skillfully weaves together reflections on capitalist economics, nationalist politics, corporate culture, and the ethics of entrepreneurship. -- Sumathi Ramaswamy, author of Terrestrial Lessons: The Conquest of the World as GlobeWhat role did India’s storied business house play in the formation of the modern nation state? Mircea Raianu retrieves from the company archives a story that has not yet been told about Tata’s image as the quintessentially Indian entity that is also a thoroughly global company. This superbly researched business history offers a nuanced explanation of the link between the company’s fabled philanthropic legacy and its corporate interests worldwide. -- Tarun Khanna, author of Trust: Creating the Foundation for Entrepreneurship in Developing CountriesWell-researched…the Tata corporation is unique in the history of corporations because it survived through a long history of political economic changes…Raianu navigates both the self-making and the making of India’s leading corporation exploring how Tata achieved this unique outcome…At an important level, this book is a searching exploration of this boundary between corporate and sovereign functions. -- Sheetal Chhabria * International Journal of Asian Studies *

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Book SynopsisExamines tea's origins and development from the eighth century to the Heian and medieval eras. This volume illustrates that modes of thinking and practices now associated with the Japanese Way of Tea can be traced to China - where from the classical period tea was imbued with a spiritual quality.Trade ReviewFills a major gap in the study of tea in English. No other book-length study exists on the origins and development of tea drinking in China and Japan.... [T]he book offers occasional insights into the practice of tea that are true gems, obvious products of a tea master and scholar." —Monumenta Nipponica"Convey[s] eloquently a well-researched history of the tradition, and model[s] the praxis of the tradition in its contemporary form." —Pacific Affairs

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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

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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

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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

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Book SynopsisFeaturing updates and revisions that reflect recent historiography, this new edition of The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500-1700 presents a comprehensive overview of Portuguese imperial history that considers Asian and European perspectives.Trade Review"This masterful history of Europe's first great Early Modern maritime empire goes well beyond the limits of traditional nationalistic and Eurocentric interpretations. Integrating European and Asian sources, Subrahmanyam's new edition is a synthetic, interpretative and at times speculative book that sets the Portuguese Indian Ocean empire in the context of Asian and World history. There is no book in English that provides a better introduction to this topic." (Expofairs.com, 23 October 2013) Table of ContentsAbbreviations x Maps xi Tables xii Acknowledgments xiv Preface to the Second Edition xv Preface to the First Edition xvii Introduction: The Mythical Faces of Portuguese Asia 1 1 Early Modern Asia: Geopolitics and Economic Change 11 Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-century States 13 The Circulation of Elites 22 Towards a Taxonomy 27 Long-term Trends 30 2 Portuguese State and Society, 1200-1500 33 Crown and Nobility 33 In Search of a Bourgeoisie 40 Mercantilism and Messianism 48 Summing Up 55 3 Two Patterns and Their Logic: Creating an Empire, 1498-1540 59 The Early Expeditions 60 From Almeida to Albuquerque: Defining the First Pattern 67 The Second Pattern: East of Cape Comorin 74 The Logic at Work: Portuguese Asia, 1525–40 78 Towards the "Crisis" 83 Notes 85 4 The Mid-Sixteenth-century "Crisis" 87 The Dilemmas of Joanine Policy 88 S´as, Sousas, and Castros: Portuguese Asian Officialdom in the Crisis 96 The Mid-century Debate 104 The Far Eastern Solution 107 The Estado in 1570 113 Notes 114 5 Between Land-bound and Sea-borne: Reorientations, 1570-1610 115 Trade and Conquest: The Spanish View 116 Spain, Portugal, and the Atlantic Turning 120 Girdling the Globe 124 The “Land” Question 130 The Maritime Challenge 141 Concessions and Captains-Major 145 The Beginnings of Decline? 150 6 Empire in Retreat, 1610-1665 153 Political Reconsolidation in Asia, 1570-1610 154 Syriam and Hurmuz: The Beginnings of Retreat 160 Reform and Its Consequences 167 The Decade of Disasters: Portuguese Asia in the 1630s 172 Restoration, Truce, and Failure, 1640-52 181 The Retreat Completed, 1652-65 186 Asians, Europeans, and the Retreat 188 Notes 189 7 Niches and Networks: Staying On, 1665-1700 191 The Cape Route and the Bahia Trade 192 The Vicissitudes of the Estado: The View from Goa 198 Mozambique, Munhumutapa, and Prazo Creation 206 The Portuguese of the Bay of Bengal 211 Survival in the Far East: Macau and Timor 217 The Portuguese, Dutch, and English: A Comparison 222 8 Portuguese Asian Society I: The Official Realm 227 The Problem of Numbers 228 The World of the Casado 236 Networks, Fortunes, and Patronage 243 "Portuguese" and "Foreigner" 250 Rise of the Solteiro 253 The Impact on Portugal 257 9 Portuguese Asian Society II: The Frontier and Beyond 261 Renegades and Rebels 262 Mercenaries, Firearms, and Fifth Columnists 269 Converts and Client Communities 274 A Luso–Asian Diaspora? 279 10 Conclusion: Between Banditry and Capitalism 285 Glossary 295 A Note on Quantitative Data 303 Bibliography 307 Maps 323 Index 333

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Book SynopsisCombining fresh approaches with a historical synthesis, this work presents general history of French Indochina. Focusing on economic, social, intellectual, and cultural dimensions, it treats Indochina's history from its inception in Cochinchina in 1858 to its crumbling at Dien Bien Ph in 1954 and on to decolonization.Trade Review"There is an extraordinary amount of useful information and well-crafted argument in this book; it deserves to be consulted widely." Journal Of Modern History "An excellent book." -- Barney Smith Asian Affairs "[A] finely crafted, well-referenced, and indexed work of almost encyclopedic rage." -- Geoffrey C. Gunn Journal Of Contemporary Asia "It is the first and still the only comprehensive, synthetic text covering the French period in Indochina." -- Melissa Louise Anderson South East Asia Research "The great merit of the authors' undertaking lies not only in their coverage of such a vast array of highly complicated issues... but in their ability to represent." Journal Of World History "A comprehensive and critical account... A rewarding text." -- Xiaorong Han Canadian Journal Of History "A boon for anyone interested in the region." -- Danny Yee Danny Yee's Book Reviews

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Book SynopsisNow in a fully updated edition, this accessible text provides a balanced history of modern China in a global context. Through years of living and research in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Russia, the authors are deeply qualified to understand China’s internal dynamics as well as its foreign relations over centuries. Arguing that modern Chinese history cannot be understood without a deep appreciation of the outside factors that have influenced the country, the authors focus on China’s near neighbors, especially Japan and Russia. They also emphasize the tragic role of almost endless warfare throughout Chinese history. Providing a unique comparative approach, the authors bridge the cultural divide separating Chinese history from Western readers trying to understand it. Specifically geared to the teaching requirements of the semester system, the book is divided into four parts and a total of twenty-eight chapters, corresponding either to two chapters per week in a fourteen-week semester or one chapter per week in a two-semester course.Trade ReviewThis textbook, by two outstanding scholars of China, presents an authoritative overview of Chinese history from 1644, the beginning of China's last dynasty, until the present day. The authors' knowledge of China's neighboring countries enables them to provide a sensitive introduction to the region’s culture. They combine a broad survey with a careful examination of important primary sources. The authors are known not only for their general historical sweep but also for their special knowledge as careful military historians. -- Ezra F. Vogel, Harvard UniversityThis book is an excellent introduction to China’s modern history, from the beginning of the Qing dynasty in 1644 through today. Well written and admirably paced, it provides perspectives absent from other Chinese history textbooks as the authors focus on the centrality of warfare to China’s history, a topic not often treated with the attention it deserves. With a global perspective, it places the recent past and the twentieth century in a deeper context of dynastic power and imperial expansion. -- Tonio Andrade, Emory UniversityNo other textbook synthesizes Western perspectives of Chinese political and comparative history as skillfully and as simply as Elleman and Paine have done. Highly readable and engaging, their narrative is filled with a veritable wealth of maps, timelines, photographs, and cultural highlights that add immense interest and clarity to complex subjects. Modern China is above all a student-friendly guide to understanding China’s position in the global arena today in light of its long and eventful history. -- Carol H. Shiue, University of Colorado BoulderModern China is a feat and a treat: it is a feat of decades of careful thinking and intense scholarship about the course of Chinese history, and it is a treat because of its clarity of presentation. This survey, meant for students with no prior knowledge of Chinese history, is unapologetically but sensibly comparative. Unlike most other surveys, it does not fall to the temptation to shirk detail; events are carefully contextualized, thus making it a valuable reference work for students and even specialists who need a refresher. It is unique in paying due regard to the Russian dimension. At a time when the need to know China's historical trajectory has never been greater, this is the perfect introduction. -- Hans van de Ven, University of CambridgeIn this updated edition of Modern China, Bruce Elleman and S. C. M. Paine have produced a serious book written in a breezy, almost conversational style. Focusing on the concept of ‘culture,’ aimed toward a general audience, and informed by an attunement to the historical importance of military affairs, this book will serve as a valuable reference for anyone interested in the broad patterns of modern Chinese history as well as many of its particulars. -- Richard J. Smith, Rice UniversityTable of ContentsList of Maps List of Features List of Tables List of Figures List of Photographs Preface Acknowledgments Technical Note Introduction: A Cultural Framework for Understanding China Top-Down Characteristics: Confucianism, Militarism, Legalism, and Sinification Radial Characteristics: Sinocentrism, Barbarian Management, and the Provincial System Bottom-Up Characteristics: Daoism, Buddhism, and Poetry Cyclical Elements: Yin and Yang, the Dynastic Cycle, and Historical Continuity Retrospective Elements: Fate and the Sources of Knowledge Conclusions Notes Bibliography PART I: THE CREATION AND MATURATION OF AN EMPIRE, 1644–1842 1 The Creation of the Qing Dynasty The Ming Dynasty The Qing Conquest of Ming China: Nurgaci and His Successors Grafting the Manchus onto Han China under the Shunzhi Emperor Territorial Consolidation under the Kangxi Emperor Institutional Consolidation under the Yongzheng Emperor Conclusions Notes Bibliography 2 The Maximization of Empire under the Qianlong Emperor The Conquest of the Zunghar Mongols The Conquest of the Tarim Basin and Tibet Qing Imperial Administration: The Tributary System Domestic Administration: Central and Local Government The Economy of an Empire: Agriculture, Commerce, and Taxation Conclusions Notes Bibliography 3 Chinese Society at the Zenith of the Qing Dynasty Manchu and Han Society The Four Social Groups: Scholars, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants The Legal System Confucianism as an Ideology Shamanism, Confucianism, and Buddhism as Instruments of Manchu Rule Conclusions Notes Bibliography 4 The Foundations of Knowledge Fidelity to the Past The Confucian Classics Thinking by Historical Analogy Understanding the Natural World The Examination System Conclusions Notes Bibliography 5 The Arrival of the West Early Explorers The Maritime Advance: Portugal, Spain, Holland, and England The Continental Advance: Russia The Legal and Religious Sources of Cultural Conflict The Technological Revolution Conclusions Notes Bibliography 6 Systemic Crisis and Dynastic Decline Government Corruption and Manchu Decadence Population Growth, Ethnic Tensions, and the Miao Revolt The White Lotus Rebellion and the Eight Trigrams Revolt Imperial Overextension Qing Attempts to Restore Governmental Efficacy Conclusions Notes Bibliography 7 Expanding Commercial Relations with the West The Tea Trade and the Silver Inflow The Opium Trade and the Silver Outflow The British Rejection of Sinification Chinese Strategy and the First Opium War The Treaty of Nanjing: Treaty Ports, Tariffs, and North-South Tensions Conclusions Notes Bibliography PART II: DYNASTIC DECLINE AND COLLAPSE, 1842–1911 8 Civil War and Foreign Intervention North-South Tensions and the Origins of the Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Movement The Taiping Capital in Nanjing The Arrow War Manchu-Western Cooperation to Destroy the Taipings Conclusions Notes Bibliography 9 Quelling Domestic Rebellions The Rise of the Empress Dowager Cixi The Nian Rebellion (1851–68) The Panthay Rebellion (1855–73) The Donggan Rebellion (1862–73) The Muslim Rebellion in Xinjiang (1862–78) Conclusions Notes Bibliography 10 The Self-Strengthening Movement and Central Government Reforms Military Reform: Xiang and Huai Armies, Beiyang and Nanyang Navies Financial Reform: The Imperial Maritime Customs Service Foreign Policy Reform: The Zongli Yamen Educational Reform: China’s First Embassy and Western Learning Governmental Restoration: Confucian Rectification Conclusions Notes Bibliography 11 Attacks on Chinese Sovereignty The Burlingame Mission and the Alcock Convention The Tianjin Massacre (1870) and the Margary Affair (1875) Japan and Taiwan (1871–74) Russia and Xinjiang (1871–81) France and Vietnam (1883–85) Conclusions Notes Bibliography 12 The First Sino-Japanese War The Korean Crisis The Hostilities The Settlement The Triple Intervention The Scramble for Concessions Conclusions Notes Bibliography 13 The Attempt to Expel the Foreigners: The Boxer Uprising The Hundred Days’ Reform The Origins of the Boxer Movement The Boxer Uprising The Boxer Protocol and the Economic Impact of the Indemnities The Aftermath: The Russo-Japanese War (1904–5) Conclusions Notes Bibliography 14 The 1911 Revolution The Reform Program of the Empress Dowager Cixi Han Revolutionaries: Sun Yat-sen’s Anti-Manchu Movement The Rights Recovery Movement The New Army and the Wuchang Rebellion The Collapse of the Qing Dynasty Conclusions Notes Bibliography PART III: THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD, 1912–49 15 The Founding of the Republic of China The Republic under Yuan Shikai Relations with Russia, Japan, and Britain The Founding of the Nationalist Party North China Warlord Intrigues The Republic of China Enters the First World War Conclusions Notes Bibliography 16 Versailles and Its Aftermath Political Ferment and New Ideas The Paris Peace Conference Examines the Shandong Question The Shandong Controversy The Beijing Government’s Reaction to the Compromise The Long-Term Impact of the Treaty of Versailles Conclusions Notes Bibliography 17 New Intellectual Currents The New Culture Movement The May Fourth Movement The Karakhan Manifesto and the Comintern The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party The Civil Wars in North China Conclusions Notes Bibliography 18 The Nationalist-Communist United Front South China Diplomacy: The Origins of the First United Front The Reorganization of the Nationalist Party North China Diplomacy: Beijing and Manchurian Warlords The Rise of Chiang Kai-shek and the Northern Expedition The Beginning of the Nationalist-Communist Civil War Conclusions Notes Bibliography 19 The Nanjing Decade Elimination of the Unequal Treaties with the Western Powers The Russo-Japanese Rivalry over Manchuria The Military Side of Nation Building: Uprisings and Encirclement Campaigns The Civil Side of Nation Building: Nationalist and Communist Ideology The Xi’an Incident and the Second United Front Conclusions Notes Bibliography 20 The Second Sino-Japanese War Great Power Rivalries over China The Regional War and the Civil War The Global War Soviet Efforts to Expand Their Sphere of Influence Impact on the Chinese Population Conclusions Notes Bibliography 21 The Civil War: Nationalists versus Communists Renewal of the Civil War U.S. Diplomatic Intervention Soviet Intervention The Nationalist Economic Implosion The Communist Victory Conclusions Notes Bibliography PART IV: CHINA AND TAIWAN IN THE POSTWAR ERA 22 The Communist Victory The Formation of the People’s Republic of China Land Reform and Agrarian Policies The Nationalization of Industry and Commerce Diplomatic Isolation and the Sino-Soviet Alliance Land Reform on Taiwan Conclusions Note Bibliography 23 The Korean War The Outbreak of the Korean War The Chinese Decision to Intervene The Soviet War Protraction Strategy War Termination The Domestic Consequences of the War Conclusions Notes Bibliography 24 Mao’s Quest for World Leadership The Hundred Flowers Campaign The Great Leap Forward The Great Famine (1958–62) The Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Indian War of 1962 Conclusions Notes Bibliography 25 The Cultural Revolution Mao’s Weakened Position The Phases of the Cultural Revolution The PLA and the Restoration of Order The 1969 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict Sino-American Rapprochement Conclusions Notes Bibliography 26 The Deng Xiaoping Restoration The Impending Succession, the Fall of Lin Biao, and the Death of Mao The Rise to Power of Deng Xiaoping The Taiwanese Economic Miracle Deng Xiaoping’s Agricultural Reforms Deng Xiaoping’s Industrial Reforms Conclusions Notes Bibliography 27 From Tiananmen to Xi Jinping The Dissolution of the Soviet Union Tiananmen Demonstrations and Massacre Governance without a Preeminent Leader Rising Nationalism Xi Jinping Leader for Life Conclusions Notes Bibliography 28 The Mandate of Heaven Population and Prosperity Environmental Challenges Energy and Industrial Growth Democracy in Taiwan The Two-China Problem Conclusions Notes Bibliography Conclusion: China in Transition Top-Down Characteristics: Civil-Military-Ideological Underpinnings of Power Radial Characteristics: Relations with the Outside Bottom-Up Characteristics: Education, Globalization, and Han Nationalism Cyclical Elements: The End of the Dynastic Cycle? Retrospective Elements: Fatalism or Choice? Final Words Notes Bibliography Appendix A: Geographical Names by Transliteration System Appendix B: Pinyin–Wade-Giles Conversion Table Teaching References General Historical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Biographical Information Supplemental Readings Movies Websites Photo Credits Name Index Subject Index About the Authors

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is a brilliant book. It is the most innovative contribution to our understanding of Mughal history in my time. As a work of the first importance, and a step change in our knowledge of sixteenth-century India, it must be read by anyone interested in the fields of Islamic kingship, millenarianism, and astrology in the Muslim world and the early-modern world in general. -- Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London Moin deserves the highest praise for venturing into this contested terrain and writing a most interesting book about it. -- Andre Wink American Historical Review he has thrown an entirely new light on how early monarchs of India's greatest dynastic house asserted their claims to royal authority. His book should be read not just by historians of South Asia but equally by those of Central Asia and Iran, as well as by specialists in Islamic studies. -- Richard M. Eaton Journal of Interdisciplinary History In this unusually well written and elegantly carpentered book-he has a rare gift for building argument through narrative-Moin has delivered a major contribution to both Islamic history and the scholarship of sacred kingship. -- Alan Strathern History and Theory Moin outlines a formidable challenge to the conventional narratives of Mughal and, to a lesser extent, Safavid history that is likely to surprise even specialists... A valuable contribution to the field that ought to compel scholars to reevaluate key assumptions regarding kingship and sainthood in Mughal India. International Journal of Middle East Studies Too seldom does a plodding dissertation become transformed into an elegant monograph. This 2010 dissertation is the rare, and welcome, exception... The author has conducted deep archival research with an accent on visual history and astrology... The Millennial Sovereign does deliver on its promise. Journal of Islamic Studies A delightful study that seeks to provide early modern Islamic historical scholarship with a new model to conceive of politics in the pre-modern era... Rich Review of Middle East Studies A fine volume that will enrich the libraries of both scholars of Islam and scholars of early modern Europe. The Sixteenth Century JournalTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration 1. Introduction: Islam and the Millennium 2. The Lord of Conjunction: Sacrality and Sovereignty in the Age of Timur 3. The Crown of Dreams: Sufis and Princes in Sixteenth-Century Iran 4. The Alchemical Court: The Beginnings of the Mughal Imperial Cult 5. The Millennial Sovereign: The Troubled Unveiling of the Savior Monarch 6. The Throne of Time: The Painted Miracles of the Saint Emperor 7. Conclusion: The Graffiti Under the Throne Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow succession in authoritarian regimes was less a competition of visions for the future and more a settling of scoresTrade Review“[Torigian] is less interested in coalitions than the mechanics of transfers. Challenging conventional analyses of how authoritarian leaders are chosen, he argues that factors such as ideology and patronage matter less than brass-knuckle tactics.”—Ian Johnson, New York Review of Books“Do read Torigian’s Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion. . . . It’s great.”—Stuart Lau, Politico“Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion . . . is . . . useful for those interested in understanding how actors in Leninist systems fight for power.”—Martin Laflamme, Los Angeles Review of Books“[Torigian’s] ambitious first book re-examines critical junctures in Soviet and Chinese history, putting up a revisionist case against the consensus view of Deng Xiaoping and Nikita Khrushchev as reformers.”—John Delury, Global Asia“[S]pecialists will find much to ponder in this careful, detailed examination of a critical question in the functioning of authoritarian regimes.”—Mary Elise Sarotte, Engelsberg Ideas“[A] thought-provoking, rigorous contribution to the literature on elite politics under authoritarianism. . . . This book deserves to be widely read by scholars and students of Soviet and Chinese politics, communism, and authoritarianism in general.”—Cheng Chen, Russian Review“A careful and systematic comparison of the dynamics of leadership transition in the post-Stalin Soviet Union and post-Mao China.”—Peter Rutland, Political Science Quarterly“[Torigian’s] work is absolutely outstanding.”—Stephen Kotkin, ChinaTalk“The book makes a compelling case for the value of Sino-Soviet-Russian comparisons. . . . Must-reading for social scientists. . . . A major achievement.”—Thomas P. Bernstein, China Journal“Joseph Torigian makes a major contribution to the literature on authoritarian politics.”—Victor Shih, China Quarterly“There is much to ponder . . . [in] the novelty, analytical rigour and excellence of what is a demanding comparative study.”—S. A. Smith, Slavonic and Eastern European Review“The best account of the transition from Mao to Hua to Deng is Joseph Torigian’s book Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion.”—Neil Thomas, Asia Society Policy Institute“Joseph Torigian’s stellar research and personal interviews have produced a brilliant, meticulous study. It fundamentally undermines what political scientists have presumed to be the way Chinese Communist and Soviet politics operate.”—Dorothy J. Solinger, University of California, Irvine“Joseph Torigian combines history and political science in a remarkably acute and innovative study of leadership politics in the Soviet Union and China. It will help us understand authoritarian regimes today.”—David Holloway, Stanford University

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Book SynopsisAn examination of Japanese contemporary art through the lens of ecocriticism and environmental history Collectively referred to by the word tsuchi, earthy materials such as soil and clay are prolific in Japanese contemporary art. Highlighting works of photography, ceramics, and installation art, Bert Winther-Tamaki explores the many aesthetic manifestations of tsuchi and their connection to the country’s turbulent environmental history, investigating how Japanese artists have continually sought a passionate and redemptive engagement with earth.In the seven decades following 1955, Japan has experienced severe environmental degradation as a result of natural disasters, industrial pollution, and nuclear irradiation. Artists have responded to these ongoing catastrophes through modes of “mudlarking” and “muckracking,” utilizing raw elements from nature to establish deeper contact with the primal resources of their world and expose its unfettered contamination. Providing a comparative assessment of more than seventy works of art, this study reveals Japanese artists’ engagement with a richly diverse repertoire of earthy materialities, elucidating their aesthetic properties, changing conditions, and cultural significance. By focusing on the role of tsuchi as a convergence point for a wide range of creative practices, this book offers a critical reassessment of contemporary art in Japan and its intrinsic relationship to the environment. Situating art within the context of ecology and urbanization, Tsuchi shows artists striving to explore and reprocess raw forms of earth beneath the corruptions of human activity.Trade Review "Tsuchi is a compelling and original book that brings together new insights into the relationships between environmentalism, contemporary art, and the ‘aesthetics of Japanese earth.’ Bert Winther-Tamaki’s interweaving of historical context, close visual analysis, and rich use of Japanese sources make it an outstanding book that will make a lasting impact in the field of Japanese art history and beyond."—Namiko Kunimoto, author of The Stakes of Exposure: Anxious Bodies in Postwar Japanese Art "Tsuchi is a superb key concept that allows us to dig deeper into a rich lode of world art history that is postwar Japan. In his thoughtful study, Bert Winther-Tamaki literally offers us a bottom-up view of what such radical practitioners as Shiraga Kazuo and Nakahira Takuma saw, felt, and experienced with this ubiquitous matter of our planet."—Reiko Tomii, independent scholar "Tsuchi provides an ingenious structure for understanding the visual culture surrounding the very ground we stand on. "—H-Net Reviews "Against the backdrop of the region’s urbanization and intensifying environmental issues, this rigorous text seeks to understand the earth itself as an artistic medium for critiquing the roots of these interconnected crises, and the fusion of ecology and art as a potential path forward."—Hyperallergic Table of ContentsIntroduction: Japanese Cultures of EarthI. The Postwar Silos of Tsuchi Media1. Ceramics: Earth Flavor in Fired Clay2. Photography: Soil Conditions in the Lens3. Avant-Garde Actions: Wrestling and Digging Earthy MaterialsII. Convergence and Proliferation since the 1980s4. The Bubble and Its Aftermath: Containment of Spillage and Blast5. Earth Diving before and after the Triple DisasterEpilogue: Tsuchi in the Contaminated World to ComeAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisHmong story cloths provide a visual documentation of the historical and cultural legacy of the Hmong people from the country of Laos. The Hmong first began making the story cloths during their time in refugee camps, and featured here are 48 vibrant story cloths that provide a comprehensive look at their lives and culture. The creation of a story cloth begins with the selection of fabric and images outlined onto the fabric. Long satin stitches of multi-colored threads fill in the image, while details are applied with intricate satin stitches and borders pieced together and hand-stitched. Topics include history, traditional life in Laos, Hmong New Year, folk tales, and neighboring people. The quality and diversity of content of the story cloths build upon one another to provide a holistic understanding of the Hmong culture and history. Augmented with personal stories and artifacts, this book is perfect for history buffs and textile artisans alike.

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Book SynopsisThe major works by Josephus are History of the Jewish War, from 170 BC to his own time, and Jewish Antiquities, from creation to AD 66. Also by him are an autobiographical Life and a treatise Against Apion.

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Book SynopsisIn this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds--remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic,Trade ReviewHonorable Mention for the 2013 PROSE Award in European and World History, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 "A fantastic book."--President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan "Lost Enlightenment is a remarkable and accessible scholarly tour de force."--David Morgan, Times Literary Supplement "Starr argues rightly that the region's brilliant culture rested on a highly cosmopolitan mix of ethnic groups, languages and religions; a long, rich pre-Islamic intellectual tradition (mainly Buddhist); and prosperity... Starr shines in his core chapters, where he presents the great achievements of the Central Asian philosopher-scientists at a time when their homeland was the creative intellectual capital of the world."--Nature "Starr is that rare scholar with the horsepower to write about the medieval culture of this vast region that is bounded by Persia to the west, and China to the east, and India to the southeast... An indispensable title for scholars, this lively study should prove equally compelling to serious lay readers with an interest in Arabic and medieval thought."--Library Journal, starred review "In this graceful, luxuriant history, Starr recovers the stunning contributions of Central Asia scientists, architects, artists, engineers, and historians during the four centuries that began just before the Arab onslaught of the eight century and lasted until the Mongol siege in the thirteenth century... The book offers a lucid exploration of the era's intricate philosophical and theological debates and a succinct depiction of its poetry and art, enhanced by many illustrations."--Foreign Affairs "Lost Enlightenment is a most amazing book, one with--if we are lucky--the potential to shape global public thinking for decades ahead... Lost Enlightenment is an entirely readable, informative and even entertaining book. Although it might surely serve as an inspiration to the modern inhabitants of Central Asia, it should also serve as a warning to any modern nation and civilization that it is tempted to intolerance."--Dimitry Chen, Asian Review of Books "Starr undertakes a daunting task--the intellectual history of Central Asia through the medieval period. Happily, he succeeds... Starr's book is thorough and well researched, and includes ample supplemental material and sources, so that even novice students will find it instructive and useful without being overwhelming."--Choice "This favorable account of Central Asia's intellectual life will enhance any reader's perception of Central Asia and challenge further investigation."--Isenbike Togan, Bogazici Journal "This book does a marvelous job of highlighting the contributions of medieval intellectuals from Central Asia to the history of world civilizations... It is a very informative and readable book."--Richard Foltz, Fezana Journal "In the book Lost Enlightenment, historian S. Frederick Starr chronicles the long tradition of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and literary intellectuals that flourished in the Iranian- and Turkish-speaking regions of Central Asia."--Noah Smith, Bloomberg View "This book is a must-read for those wanting to understand the development of this vast region of the world and the cultural and religious tides that gave rise to the conflicts we face today."--Carl G. Schuster, Explorers JournalTable of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Preface xiii Dramatis Personae xxi Chronology xxxi Chapter 1 The Center of the World 1 Chapter 2 Worldly Urbanists, Ancient Land 28 Chapter 3 A Cauldron of Skills, Ideas, and Faiths 62 Chapter 4 How Arabs Conquered Central Asia and Central Asia Then Set the Stage to Conquer Baghdad 101 Chapter 5 East Wind over Baghdad 126 Chapter 6 Wandering Scholars 156 Chapter 7 Khurasan: Central Asia's Rising Star 194 Chapter 8 A Flowering of Central Asia: The Samanid Dynasty 225 Chapter 9 A Moment in the Desert: Gurganj under the Mamuns 267 Chapter 10 Turks Take the Stage: Mahmud of Kashgar and Yusuf of Balasagun 303 Chapter 11 Culture under a Turkic Marauder: Mahmud's Ghazni 332 Chapter 12 Tremors under the Dome of Seljuk Rule 381 Chapter 13 The Mongol Century 436 Chapter 14 Tamerlane and His Successors 478 Chapter 15 Retrospective: The Sand and the Oyster 515 Notes 541 Index 611

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Book SynopsisThis collection of short stories, anecdotes, and poems was likely compiled during the 13th century. Tales of romantic loveincluding courtship, marriage, and illicit affairsunify the collection and make it an essential primary source for literary and social history, since official Chinese history sources did not usually discuss family conflict or sexual matters. This volume, the first complete translation of The Drunken Man's Talk (Xinbian zuiweng tanlu) in any language, includes an introduction that explores the literary significance of the work as well as annotations explaining the symbolism and allusions found in the stories.Trade Review"This translation of Zuiweng tanlu deserves a larger audience beyond that of sinologists." -- Jacques Pimpaneau * T’oung Pao *"Inglis’s rendition of The Drunken Man’s Talk is a pleasant and enlightening read and highly recommended to anyone interested in medieval Chinese short stories." -- Xiao Rao, Standford University * Journal of the American Oriental Society *"a valuable contribution to the field of classical Chinese tales and may also be enjoyed by lay readers." * Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR) - Modern *"Discovered in 1940 in a private library in Japan, this long-lost The Drunken Man’s Talk (Xinbian zuiweng tanlu新編醉翁談錄) attracts readers’ attention primarily for two reasons: (1) its initial chap-ter offers a valuable introduction to professional storytelling, and (2) it is a rich collection in Classical Chinese that covers short stories from the Six Dynasties (420–581) to the Southern Song (1127–1279). Through Alister D. Inglis’s exquisite translation, English readers can enjoy these amazing stories today... [I]t provides readers with a full picture of a collection of anecdotal fiction (biji xiaoshuo筆記小說) in middle-period China." * Journal of Asian Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Translator’s Introduction 1. An Account of the Plowmen of the Tongue 2. A Legal Case Involving Illicit Love 3. Romantic Union 4. Women’s Verse 5. Humorous Tales from a Precious Window 6. Veritable Records from the Red-light District 7. Records from the Red-light District 8. Humorous Quips 9. The Characteristics of Ladies 10. Poems About Ladies 11. Romantic Union 12. Extraordinary Encounters with Immortals 13. Virtuous Women of the Inner Quarters 14. Legal Cases Involving Witty Verdicts 15. Felicitous Trysts with Immortals 16. Broken Promises 17. Romantic Betrayal 18. Extraordinary and Predestined Meetings 19. Old Stories of Reunion 1 20. Old Stories of Reunion 2 Appendix Notes Glossary of Chinese Characters Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFocuses on a set of contemporary paintings in the traditional technique by the Nepalese artist Romio Shrestha and his assistants in Kathmandu.Trade Review"Body and Spirit will not only be of great use to teachers and students of Asian studies and global medical history but will also give much pleasure to anyone interested in Asian Art." * Medical History *"…a beautifully produced catalogue…Body and Spirit makes available all seventy-nine paintings, giving a well translated short summary on each of them and an English rendering of all medical terms, drawing on the original seventeenth-century descriptions. Gyatso's erudite introduction adds greatly to the value of the book for academic and general readers alike…. Body and Spirit will not only be of great use to teachers and students of Asian studies and global medical history but will also give much pleasure to anyone interested in Asian art." * Medical History *"This new rendering of the subject has the distinct advantage of being affordable and accessible for a wider audience, including students. The subject is eclectic, and the curious-from medical professionals to scholars of art, culture, and religion-will benefit from exploring this new treatment." * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Map of Tibet Introduction / Janet Gyatso Medical Paintings Glossary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisConsiders how Japan encountered the West and learned about and adopted their arts, culture, and science, and how the West discovered Japanese arts and culture. This book also features works of art from the Kobe City Museum, whose collection focuses on Western-style Japanese art created between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.Trade Review"Featuring a splendid variety of exquisite Japanese works of art from the Kobe City Museum, Japan Envisions the West provides a rare and intriguing window into interactions between Japan and the West." * Nichi Bei Times *"This is a brilliant study of Western influences on the arts and culture of Japan during the Edo period, going far beyond the standard analyses of formal elements such as perspective and three dimensions. . . . This is a crucial purchase for college and university libraries, since it will change considerably readers' understanding of this important period of East/West relations. Essential." * Choice *"Features a splendid variety of exquisite Japanese works of art from the Kobe City museum, proving a rare insight into interactions between Japan and the West for three centuries." * Umbrella *Table of ContentsForeword / Mimi Gardner Gates Curator's Statement / Yukiko Shirahara Introduction: The Painters of Japan and the West / Oka Yasumasa The Reception of Maps between Japan and the West / Onoda Kazuyuki Two Streams of Namban Painting / Narusawa Katsushi The Art Scene in and around Nagasaki / Narusawa Katsushi The Influence of Ransho on Western-style Painting / Katsumori Noriko The Early Copperplate Prints of Shiba Kokan and Aodo Denzen / Tsukahara Akira Hollandisme in Japanese Craftwork / Oka Yasumasa Japan and the West: Export Porcelain and Lacquerware / Christiaane J. A. Jorg The Opening of Japan and Its Visual Culture / Tsukahara Akira Further Reading Acknowledgments / Yukiko Shirahara Index Notes to the Reader

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Book SynopsisThrough the use of storytelling, linguistic analysis and journal entries from turn-of-the-century missionaries and traveling Russians in addition to many varieties of unconventional primary sources, this book explores unfamiliar terrain while examining the culture, identity and regional distinctiveness of the northern region and its people.Trade Review"Sheds light on many aspects of Korean history and culture that have long been ignored. . . . opens doors to further scholarship not only on northern Korean but also on other regions . . . a path-breaking addition to the field of Korean studies." -- Sean C. Kim * The Journal of Asian Studies *“The book is a very welcome addition to the literature about the past of the north of Korea… both as an introduction to the historical northern part of Korea as well as an outstanding example of how regional history can be researched and written. -- Felix Siegmund * New Asia Books *"In our days of jargon-laden publications, the lucidity of the arguments made and the understandable language of all the texts in the volume is noteworthy. One can only congratulate the contributors and the editors for their remarkable success in creating a very informative and approachable book" -- Felix Siegmund * The Newsletter: International Institute for Asian Studies *Table of ContentsMaps, Figures, and Tables Acknowledgments Editor’s Note Introduction: Thinking Through Region Sun Joo Kim 1. Residence and Foreign Relation in the Peninsular Northeast During the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries / Kenneth R. Robinson 2. Choson-Qing Relations and the Society of P’yongan Province During the Late Choson Period / Kwon Naehyun 3. Regional Identities of Northern Literati: A Comparative Study of P’yongan and Hamgyong Provinces / Jan Yoo-Seung 4. The Shadow of Anonymity: The Depiction of Northerners in Eighteenth-Century “Hearsay Accounts” (kimun) / Jung Min 5. P’yongan Dialect and Regional Identity in Choson Korea / Paek Doo-Hyeon 6. Dialect, Orthography, and Regional Identity: P’yongan Christians, Korean Spelling Reform, and Orthographic Fundamentalism / Ross King 7. From Periphery to a Transnational Frontier: Popular Movements in the Northwestern Provinces, 1896-1904 / Yumi Moon 8. Subversive Narratives: Hwang Sunwon’s P’yongan Stories / Bruce Fulton 9. The Missionary Presence in Northern Korea before WWII: Human Investment, Social Significance, and Historical Legacy / Donald N. Clark 10. The Northern Region of Korea as Portrayed in Russian Sources, 1860s-1913 / German King and Ross King 11. Images of the North in Occupied Korea, 1905-1945 / Mark E. Caprio Glossary Bibliography Contributors Index Maps, Figures, and Tables MAPS Korea at the Turn of the Twentieth Century 2.1 Road Used by Choson Envoys to Visit the Qing 11.1 Birth Rates 11.2 Literacy Rates FIGURES 2.1 Illustration of Choson Envoy to Qing 5.1 Dialect and Regional Identity 9.1 Missionary Compound in P’yongyang TABLES 2.1 Qing Embassies to Choson 2.2 Choson Embassy’s Sojourn in Days by Region 2.3 Cultivated Land and Land Tax Revenues by Province in 1807 – 2.4 Silver Presented to Qing Envoys and Interpreters in the Late Eighteenth Century by Province, in Yang 2.5 Central and Provincial Government Silver Loans to Choson Embassies, in Yang 2.6 Shenyang P’alp’o Trade Privileges by Province, in Number of P’alp’o Granted 2.7 Products Traded at the Chunggang Market, by Province 5.1 Editions of the Iryun haengsilto 5.2 Word Comparison Among Three Editions 5.3 Comparison Between the Yongyong and Haeyong Editions 5.4 Editions of the Nogoltae 5.5 Editions of the Yombul pogwonmun 5.6 Word Comparison Between the Tonghwa Temple and Yongmun Temple Editions 5.7 Editions of the Kyongminp’yon 6.1 Contemporary Standard Korea and P’yongan Dialects 9.1 Korean Christian Mission Statistics (as of June 30) 1908

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Book SynopsisVietnam, January, 1968. As the citizens of Hue are preparing to celebrate Tet, the start of the Lunar New Year, Nha Ca arrives in the city to attend her father's funeral. Without warning, war erupts all around them, drastically changing or cutting short their lives. After a month of fighting, their beautiful city lies in ruins and thousands of people are dead. Mourning Headband for Hue tells the story of what happened during the fierce North Vietnamese offensive and is an unvarnished and riveting account of war as experienced by ordinary people caught up in the violence.Trade ReviewThe author's narrative burns with firsthand accounts, her own and those of others who shared their stories, as they all were trapped in blasted houses, churches and makeshift shelters, wounded, starving, sick and overrun by the Communists and their squads of vengeful executioners...[A] searing first-person account of the misery of war visited upon her family, neighbors and countrymen, caught in senseless, chaotic horror...A visceral reminder of war's intimate slaughter. * Kirkus Reviews *Nha Ca relates countless moments of terror she and her extended family members suffered and shares stories told to her by others who faced similarly dire circumstances. It's an intimate—and disturbing—account of war at its most brutal, told from the point of view of civilians trying to survive the maelstrom. * Publishers Weekly *To this day, her harrowing account—of war casualties, searches and arrests, ideological purges—generates intense debates about accountability during war time. * Shelf Awareness *...[A] searing eyewitness account...It makes for an intimate—and disturbing—account of war at its most brutal told from the point of view of civilians trying to survive the maelstrom. * VVA Veteran *This is a worthy addition to accounts that help readers understand the Vietnam War. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *On the whole, scholars will find this memoir invaluable for understanding the American War in Vietnam as an internal civil war between the Vietnamese. * H-Net Reviews H-War *In her translation of A Mourning Headband for Hue, Olga Dror has traversed the terrain of contemporary Vietnamese literature, selected a wonderful gem, Gii Khăn Sô Cho Hu by Nhã Ca, and made it accessible to an English readership. . . . It is simultaneously an account of the experience of civilians trapped in a city under siege and a literary response to the brutalities of war by a leading poet and writer of South Vietnam. * Journal of Vietnamese Studies *Mourning Headband for Hue is Nhã Ca's searing condemnation of the brutality of war. * Michigan War Studies Review *A work of great historical and literary value ideal for use in the classroom, Mourning Headband for Hue highlights overlooked voices and facets of the Vietnam War, meriting inclusion among the classics of wartime fiction. * Southeast Asian Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsNote on TranslationTranslator's IntroductionSmall Preface: Writing to Admit Guilt1. First Hours2. The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer3. Hodge-podge4. On a Boat Trip5. A Person from Tu Dam Comes Back and Tells His Story6. Going Back into the Hell of the Fighting7. Story from the Citadel8. Returning to the Old House9. A Dog in Midstream10. Little Child of, Hue Little Child of Vietnam, I Wish You Luck!

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Book SynopsisThis is the first ethnohistory of Siberia to appear in English, tracing the history of the native peoples from the Russian conquest onwards. James Forsyth compares the Siberian experience with that of the Indians and Eskimos in North America and the book as a whole will provide readers with a vast corpus of ethnographic information previously inaccessible to Western scholars.Trade Review'James Forsyth's work … is very timely. Just when the world is becoming aware of Siberia's peoples, we are presented with a compendium of information relating to them. The scope is vast.' The Historical Association Journal'… (an) extremely useful, introduction to a subject that, as Russia's centre of gravity shifts east, will become very important.' Norman Stone, Aberdeen University Review'Forsyth's book is imperative for anyone interested in Russian or world history, and would appeal to specialists and non-specialists alike.' Canadian-American Slavic Studies'In this ambitious synthetic effort Forsyth has drawn together an impressive array of material hitherto unavailable in English … While Forsyth's narrative and interpretation are unparalleled in English, the illustrations, detailed table of contents, and comprehensive index and bibliography alone make the work an essential reference for Siberian history.' Nationalities Papers'… this book is a considerable achievement and is essential reading for everyone interested in Siberia.' Scottish Slavonic Review'… this is a highly commendable work.' Slavonic ReviewTable of ContentsList of illustrations; List of maps; Preface; Acknowledgements; Note on spellings and terms; 1. Siberia 'discovered'; 2. Siberia invaded: the seventeenth century; 3. Central and north-east Siberia in the seventeenth century; 4. The Mongolian and Chinese frontier in the seventeenth century; 5. Russia's north Asian colony; 6. The eighteenth century; 7. Expansion in the north Pacific; 8. Siberia in the Russian empire: the nineteenth century; 9. Colonial settlers in Siberia: the nineteenth century; 10. The Far East in the nineteenth century; 11. The Russian Revolution and civil war in Siberia; 12. The native peoples, 1917–1929; 13. Soviet Siberia in the 1930s; 14. Soviet Russia's Far East in the 1930s; 15. Soviet Siberia after 1941; 16. The native peoples of Siberia after 1945; 17. Siberia in the 1980s; Bibliography; Index.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on ancient historical writings, the array of information gleaned over years from the study of Hellenistic coins, and startling archaeological evidence newly unearthed in Afghanistan, this book sets out to rediscover the ancient civilization of Bactria. It provides a chronicle of the search for one of the world's enigmatic empires.Trade Review"Holt has done a service in summarizing the scholarship about this outpost of Hellenism. Well written [and] of interest... Recommended." -- K. W. Harl, Tulane University ChoiceTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction: A Lost Civilization 1. The Adventure Begins: Checklist Numismatics 2. A Dangerous Game: Framework Numismatics 3. The Gold Colossus: Novelty Numismatics 4. Telling Tales: Narrative Numismatics 5. Wanted--One Greek City: Archaeology 6. Letters Here and There: Epigraphy 7. A Perfect Storm: Rescue and Revisionist Numismatics 8. A New Beginning: Cognitive Numismatics I 9. Coins and the Collapse of Civilization: Cognitive Numismatics II Conclusion: The Lost World of the Golden King Notes Select Bibliography Illustration Credits Index

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Book SynopsisMaps a series of historical events - since the Raj in the mid-nineteenth century - through which India was made fashionable to Western audiences within the popular cultural arenas of the imperial metropole. This book presents an examination of India as represented in department stores, exhibitions, painting, and picture postcards of the era.Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction. Colonial Patterns, Indian Styles 1. The Indian Village in Victorian Space: The Department Store and the Cult of the Craftsman 2. "To Visit the Queen": On Display at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 3. The Discrepant Portraiture of Empire: Oil Painting in an Expanded Field 4. Collecting Colonial Postcards: Gender and the Visual Archive 5. A Parable of Postcolonial Return: Museums and the Discourse of Restitution Epilogue. Historical Afterimages Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Loyalist Problem in Revolutionary New England explores the struggle of revolutionaries to define the basic meaning of the American Revolution, against stubborn resistance by the Loyalists.Trade Review'Deeply researched and cogently argued, Thomas Ingersoll's The Loyalist Problem in Revolutionary New England brilliantly exposes the roots of the American Revolution in the original settlement of New England. His book is a must-read for any student of the founding of our nation.' Graham Russell Gao Hodges, Colgate University, New York'In this fascinating and provocative contribution, Tom Ingersoll persuasively argues that Loyalism and Loyalists fundamentally shaped the American Revolution. Not only did they push rebels to achieve a high degree of unity, but their continued presence militated for a revolution based on a broad (and admittedly somewhat vague) principles. This interpretation offers readers much to contemplate.' Carla Gardina Pestana, University of California, Los AngelesTable of ContentsIntroduction. History, revolutionary ideology, and the Loyalist problem; Part I. New England in December, 1773: 1. The New England people in their towns on December 16, 1773: a historic mission at risk; 2. Loyalists and Oliver Cromwell's ghost: the problem of the radical tradition in 1773; 3. 'A moral distemper in the British Government': Loyalists, the ruling class, and the mailed fist; Part II. From the Boston Tea Party to the War of Independence: 4. Rebels and Loyalists from December 16th, 1773 to September 1774; 5. 'The attempts of a wicked administration to enslave America': the peace of the towns destroyed and the Loyalist cause, September, 1774 to April 19, 1775; 6. 'Avoid blood and tumult': Loyalist policy during the war; Part III. The Loyalist Problem and Ideology after 1776: 7. The radical critique of Tory oligarchy, slavery, and patriarchy; 8. The 'ugly question' of confiscation; 9. 'A day of strict reckoning' for 'a multitude of subtil enemies'?: New England Loyalists after 1783; Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisAnand Gopal traces the lives of three Afghans caught in America's war on terror. He follows a Taliban commander, who rises from scrawny teenager to leading insurgent; a US-backed warlord, who uses the American military to gain personal wealth and power; and a village housewife trapped between the two sides.

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Book SynopsisDeng Xiaoping joined the Chinese Communist movement as a youth and rose in its ranks to become an important lieutenant of Mao''s from the 1930s onward. Two years after Mao''s death in 1976, Deng became the de facto leader of the Chinese Communist Party and the prime architect of China''s post-Mao reforms. Abandoning the Maoist socio-economic policies he had long fervently supported, he set in motion changes that would dramatically transform China''s economy, society, and position in the world. Three decades later, we are living with the results. China has become the second largest economy and the workshop of the world. And while it is essentially a market economy (socialism with Chinese characteristics), Deng and his successors ensured the continuation of CCP rule by severely repressing the democratic movement and maintaining an iron grip on power. When Deng died at the age of 92 in 1997, he had set China on the path it is following to this day.Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine''s new biography of Deng Xiaoping does what no other biography has done: based on newly discovered documents, it covers his entire life, from his childhood and student years to the post-Tiananmen era. Thanks to unprecedented access to Russian archives containing massive files on the Chinese Communist Party, the authors present a wealth of new material on Deng dating back to the 1920s. In a long and extraordinary life, Deng navigated one epic crisis after another. Born in 1904, Deng, like many Asian revolutionary leaders, spent part of the 1920s in Paris, where he joined the CCP in its early years. He then studied in the USSR just as Stalin was establishing firm control over the Soviet communist party. He played an increasingly important role in the troubled decades of the 1930s and 1940s that were marked by civil war and the Japanese invasion. He was commissar of a communist-dominated area in the early 1930s, loyal henchman to Mao during the Long March, regional military commander in the anti-Japanese war, and finally a key leader in the 1946-49 revolution. During Mao''s quarter century rule, Deng oscillated between the heights and the depths of power. He was purged during the Cultural Revolution, only to reemerge after Mao''s death to become China''s paramount leader until his own death in 1997.This objective, balanced, and unprecedentedly rich biography changes our understanding of one of the most important figures in modern history.Trade ReviewThe best biography of the man who, along with Mao, was China's dominant statesman of the 20th century. * Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Week *Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine have been able to mine the Russian archives for their book, which gives [this biography an] intimate flavour... This is best seen in their description of the crucial relationship between Deng and Mao Zedong. * Times Higher Education, Kerry Brown *This is the best biography of him so far... The book is written in a clear, direct style that leads the general reader painlessly through the thickets of Maxism and Sinology. It is punctuated with neat, vivid anecdotes. It is balanced but unflinching. * Sunday Times, Michael Sheridan *Alexander V Pantsov and Steven I Levine's use of previously closed Soviet archives and a wider range of Chinese sources has informed the most comprehensive biography to date... In changing China, Deng changed the world: since we live with his legacy, this biography is essential reading. * Prospect, Isabel Hilton *A painstaking and worthwhile effort... [the authors] have made extensive use of a hitherto untapped source: once secret archives kept by the Soviet Union... The book contains many interesting details, especially of Deng's career before he became the paramount leader. * Economist *A strong and solid contribution to our understanding of Deng's importance. In particular, Pantsov's impressive access to the Russian archives permits a range of useful insights on Deng's early life and revolutionary career, as well as the sweep of his life... The biography makes a distinctive and welcome contribution to our understanding of Deng, and the style is accessible. * The Times, Rana Mitter *For a critical, evidence-based biography, turn to Pantsov and Levine. * Jeremy Brown, Times Literary Supplement *This biography is the most balanced and well researched to date, combining a lively style with genuine insights derived from many years of close study. * Literary Review, Frank Dikotter *[This books provides] a wealth of detail on Deng's tasks as a CCP organiser ... Pantsov and Levine's life is no whitewash: Deng's centrality to a number of the bloodiest events in the PRC's history is fully documented. In addition to trawling the extensive Soviet archives, they have mined an impressive number of Chinese, Russian and English-language documents and memoirs to reference every possible detail and cross every empirical 't'. * New Left Review *The definitive life of Deng Xiaoping. * Dr Jonathan Chatwin, Asian Review of Books *Deng Xiaoping: A Revolutionary Life, is a rich, full and balanced account of this diminutive but mighty figure. * Martina Steber, Journal of Contemporary History *Table of ContentsCONTENTS ; Cast of Characters ; Note on the Spelling of Chinese Words ; Introduction ; PART ONE ; THE BOLSHEVIK ; 1 Born in the Year of the Dragon ; 2 From Paris to Moscow: The Lessons of Bolshevism ; 3 From Xi'an to Shanghai ; 4 The Guangxi Experiment ; PART TWO ; THE MAOIST ; 5 'The Spirit of Five Fearlessness' ; 6 Master of the Taihang Mountains ; 7 At the Forefront of the New Democratic Revolution ; 8 Chief of the Southwest Region ; 9 The Beijing Hippodrome ; 10 'Critique of the Cult of Personality' and Its Consequences ; 11 'A Great Growing Force' ; 12 Being and Consciousness ; 13 'Yellow Cat, Black Cat' ; 14 'No. 2 Capitalist Roader' ; 15 Arrest and Exile ; PART THREE ; THE PRAGMATIST ; 16 'Soft as Cotton, Sharp as a Needle' ; 17 New Trials ; 18 Practice as the Criterion of Truth ; 19 The Cardinal Principles ; 20 'Let Some Families Get Rich First' ; 21 One Country, Two Systems ; 22 Reforms and Democracy ; 23 The Tiananmen Tragedy ; 24 A Retired Patriarch ; Epilogue ; Acknowledgments ; Illustration Credits ; Bibliography ; Appendix 1: Deng Xiaoping's Chronology ; Appendix 2: Deng Xiaoping's Genealogy ; Notes ; Index

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Book Synopsis The New York Times bestseller Kill Bin Laden is an explosive first-hand account of a Delta Force commando''s hunt for the world''s most wanted man. The mission was to kill the most wanted man in the worldan operation of such magnitude that it couldn''t be handled by just any military or intelligence force. The best America had to offer was needed. As such, the task was handed to roughly forty members of America''s supersecret counterterrorist unit formally known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta; more popularly, the elite and mysterious unit Delta Force. Told by senior ranking military officer Dalton Fury, this is the real story of the operation, the first eyewitness account of the Battle of Tora Bora, and the first book to detail just how close Delta Force came to capturing bin Laden, how close U.S. bombers and fighter aircraft came to killing him, and exactly why he slipped through our fingers. Lastly, this is an extremely r

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Book SynopsisA new perspective on the spatial complexity and plurality of Japanese videogames.Unboxing Japanese Videogames uncovers the complex and plural spatialities of commercial videogames published in Japan between 1985 and 2015. Rejecting the ?boxing? inherent in the phrase ?Japanese videogames,? Martin Roth explores a series of spatialities that unfold in videogame production and distribution. The book develops a notion of spatialization that is applied in the analysis of contents or genre distributions in Japan, the US, the UK, Germany, and France, the distribution of videogame works across different important markets, the geography of actors involved in videogame production and their gradual spatialization over time, and the functional spatialization of game production across a diverse range of platforms.This book is the first English-language study to provide an overview of the subject and also the first to explore the spatial history of FromSoftware games. It stands out because it does so quantitatively, offering a macro-perspective on the field of commercial videogames instead of relying on sales statistics or case studies. In addition to a wide range of related scholarship in English, the book engages actively with scholarship and other relevant resources in Japanese. Over thirty visualizations make the findings of the book tangible and invite the reader to explore the spatial complexity of commercial videogames further.

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Book SynopsisCapturing the unusual cultural character of a formative period and its intellectual ferment across multiple disciplines.Trade ReviewA rich and pathbreaking collection of materials that span the humanistic discipliines, this volume includes key texts that should not be omitted in a sourcebook of this kind as well as many that are available for the first time in English. Its thematic organization encourages new ways of thinking about the period that transcend traditional boundaries. The expert translations and extensive critical matter will make this an indispensable resource on early medieval China. -- Pauline Yu, President, American Council of Learned Societies [An] excellent resource... Highly recommended. CHOICE [A] pioneering handbook. Library JournalTable of ContentsChronological Contents Acknowledgments A Note on the Translations Abbreviations Introduction Part I. The North and the South by Jessey J. C. Choo 1. Return to the North? The Debate on Moving the Capital Back to Luoyang, by Jessey J. C. Choo 2. The Disputation at Pengcheng: Accounts from the Wei shu and the Song shu, by Albert E. Dien 3. Between Imitation and Mockery: The Southern Treatments of Northern Cultures, by Jessey J. C. Choo 4. Literary Imagination of the North and South, by Ping Wang Part II. Governing Mechanisms and Social Reality by Yang Lu 5. Managing Locality in Early Medieval China: Evidence from Changsha, by Yang Lu 6. Classical Scholarship in the Shu Region: The Case of Qiao Zhou, by J. Michael Farmer 7. Ranking Men and Assessing Talent: Xiahou Xuan's Response to an Inquiry by Sima Yi, by Timothy M. Davis 8. On Land and Wealth: Liu Zishang's "Petition on Closing Off Mountains and Lakes" and Yang Xi's "Discussion on Abolishing Old Regulations Regarding Mountains and Marshes", by Charles Holcombe 9. Crime and Punishment: The Case of Liu Hui in the Wei shu, by Jen-der Lee 10. Marriage and Social Status: Shen Yue's "Impeaching Wang Yuan", by David R. Knechtges 11. Religion and Society on the Silk Road: The Inscriptional Evidence from Turfan, by Huaiyu Chen Part III. Cultural Capital by Wendy Swartz 12. The Art of Discourse: Xi Kang's "Sound Is Without Sadness or Joy", by Robert Ashmore 13. Poetry on the Mysterious: The Writings of Sun Chuo, by Paul W. Kroll 14. The Art of Poetry Writing: Liu Xiaochuo's "Becoming the Number-One Person for the Number-One Position", by Ping Wang 15. Six Poems from a Liang Dynasty Princely Court, by Xiaofei Tian 16. Pei Ziye's "Discourse on Insect Carving", by Jack W. Chen 17. Classifying the Literary Tradition: Zhi Yu's "Discourse on Literary Compositions Divided by Genre", by Wendy Swartz 18. Zhong Rong's Preface to Grades of the Poets, by Stephen Owen 19. Book Collecting and Cataloging in the Age of Manuscript Culture: Xiao Yi's Master of the Golden Tower and Ruan Xiaoxu's Preface to Seven Records, by Xiaofei Tian Part IV. Imaging Self and Other by Wendy Swartz 20. Biographies of Recluses: Huangfu Mi's Accounts of High-Minded Men, by Alan Berkowitz 21. Classifications of People and Conduct: Selections from Liu Shao's Treatise on Personality and Liu Yiqing's Recent Anecdotes from the Talk of the Ages, by Jack W. Chen 22. The Literary Community at the Court of the Liang Crown Prince, by Ping Wang 23. Self-Narration: Tao Yuanming's "Biography of the Master of Five Willows" and Yuan Can's "Biography of the Master of Wonderful Virtue", by Wendy Swartz 24. On Political and Personal Fate: Three Selections from Jiang Yan's Prose and Verse, by Paul W. Kroll 25. The Shadow Image in the Cave: Discourse on Icons, by Eugene Wang Part V. Everyday Life by Jessey J. C. Choo and Albert E. Dien 26. Dietary Habits: Shu Xi's "Rhapsody on Pasta", by David R. Knechtges 27. The Epitaph of a Third-Century Wet Nurse, Xu Yi, by Jen-der Lee 28. Festival and Ritual Calendar: Selections from Record of the Year and Seasons of Jing-Chu, by Ian Chapman 29. Custom and Society: The Family Instructions of Mr. Yan, by Albert E. Dien 30. Adoption and Motherhood: "The Petition Submitted by Lady [nee] Yu", by Jessey J. C. Choo 31. Estate Culture in Early Medieval China: The Case of Shi Chong, by David R. Knechtges Part VI. Relations with the Unseen World by Robert Ford Campany 32. Biographies of Eight Autocremators and Huijiao's "Critical Evaluation", by James A. Benn 33. Divine Instructions for an Official, by Stephen R. Bokenkamp 34. Tales of Strange Events, by Robert Ford Campany 35. Texts for Stabilizing Tombs, by Timothy M. Davis 36. Reciting Scriptures to Move the Spirits, by Clarke Hudson 37. Confucian Views of the Supernatural, by Keith N. Knapp 38. Encounters in Mountains, by Gil Raz List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisLooking at the history of communist China as a history of consciousness, this book makes an innovative departure from previous studies. It charts a journey that led from utopianism to nihilism and then to the hedonism and consumerism that pervade China today.Trade Review"Chinese thinkers and western sinologists alike document the corruption and depravity of post-Mao China and survey the cataclysmic events of recent history which brought about that crisis. Ci Jiwei, however, probes its spiritual dimension, and he does it masterfully. . . . He has produced a work of profound philosophical reflection and great analytical sophistication." -- Canadian Journal of HistoryTable of ContentsContents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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Book SynopsisIn Vietnam''s jungle war, only one group of men was feared more than death itself—the Marine Scout Snipers. . . .The U.S. Marine Scout Snipers were among the most highly trained soldiers in Vietnam. With their unparalleled skill, freedom of movement, and deadly accurate long-range Remington 700 bolt rifles, the Scout Snipers were sought after by every Marine unit—and so feared by the enemy that the VC bounty on the Scout Snipers was higher than on any other elite American unit.Joseph Ward''s letters home reveal a side of war seldom seen. Whether under nightly mortar attack in An Hoa, with a Marine company in the bullet-scarred jungle, on secret missions to Laos, or on dangerous two-man hunter-kills, Ward lived the war in a way few men did. And he fought the enemy as few men did—up close and personal.

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Book SynopsisIn a book based on more than three years of fieldwork, Nils Bubandt argues that cannibal witches for people in the coastal, and predominantly Christian, community of Buli in the Indonesian province of North Maluku are both corporeally real and fundamentally unknowable.Trade ReviewIn this intriguing study of witchcraft in a Buli community in Indonesia, [Bunandt] sets out to explore the complex nature of witchcraft in that community as something that exists but is unseen.... Overall,this well-written and welcome book adds to the understanding of witchcraft in anthropology, especially in regard to doubt and modernity. * CHOICE *Bubandt likens the witch-menace to nuclear war on terrorism: 'a threat that is both real and yet often absents itself from daily experience.' Witchcraft is, therefore, a paradox: it's everywhere and nowhere, real and impossible,hauntingly vivid yet intangible and invisible.... Bubandt describes a characteristic of the human mind that is universal yet not always obvious to those proud of their post-Enlightenment heritage. Our brains are simultaneously full of knowing and not knowing,believing and doubting, fearing and rationally dismissing fears. We know these to be incompatible opposites, but can't help having them both in play at any one time. And so we comfort ourselves with the illusion of singularity, and of secular triumph. One thing we know for sure is that we have to appear to know things, when really we may know nothing at all. -- Malcolm Gaskill * Fortean Times *The Empty Seashell never strays far from the scene of witchcraft, from the myths that offer historical and ontological explanations for the close knit between human life and witchcraft in Buli through accounts of individual lives rent apart by accusations or attacks to the destructive ramifications of such occurrences for the community, including how incidents may reverberate across generations as old grudges or suspicions are resurrected to animate new ones.... Bubandt is to be commended for highlighting the precariousness and forces of world-unmaking that are as much a part of social life as the assumed sturdiness that prevails in social scientific works. -- Patricia Spyer * Anthropological Forum *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Shell of the Nautilus 1. Witchcraft, Doubt, and Aporia 2. The Origins of Witchcraft and the Doubts of Tradition 3. Hope, Conversion, and Millennial Politics 4. Christianity and Deception 5. The Viscerality of Witchcraft and the Corporeality of the World 6. New Order Modern 7. Subjectivity, Exchange, Opacity 8. Technology, Money, and the Futures of Witchcraft Conclusion: Witchcraft beyond BeliefNotes Bibliography

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