Asian history Books
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Korea A Walk Through the Land of Miracles
Book Synopsis
£16.14
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Japan: The Burden of Success
Book SynopsisOn publication in France, Bouissou's depiction of modern Japan was acclaimed as `the best of its kind', and this translation has been updated to cover events up till 1999, and augmented by an overview of the Japanese historical legacy before 1945. In the tradition of French scholarship, which rejects a too narrow focus, this textbook encompasses all the aspects of the transformation that raised Japan from the ashes of defeat to the status of `an economic model'. Bouissou closely relates economic growth to social change and politics - of which he gives a particulary detailed account. He shows how these upheavals affected the Japanese value system, collective mind, way of living and culture, illustrating his argument from post-war Japanese literature and cinema. The combination of this broad approach, and provocative analysis which emphasises social dislocation rather than the much-vaunted Japanese predilection for social harmony, distinguishes this textbook from others in the field.Trade Review`Bouissou's book [...] is well informed and his judgments show good sense. His coverage is impressively broad.' (Richard Sims, SOAS)Table of ContentsJapan In 1945: Historical Background - Japan, State and Nation - The First Japanese Miracle, 1868-1931 - Japan Under Military Control, 1931-45 - The Occupation: Democratisation Within Limits - Punishment Plans Cut Short - Democratisation - Reforms and Social Change - Political Change - The End of the Occupation - Japan after the Occupation - Laying The Foundations Of The Miracle (1952-62) - Politics: Confrontation and Stabilisation - The Economy: Foundations Laid for the Miracle - Social Conditions in the Growth Period - New Ways of Thinking? - Foreign Policy: Japan Returns to the International Scene - The Great Boom And Its Other Side (1962-72) - The Decade of the Economic Miracle - The Other Side of the Miracle - New Struggles - Parties and the Political System in a Time of Change - Pressure Groups in the Political System: Corporatist Trends - Foreign Policy - End of the Sato Government, July 1972 - A Shock-Absorber Economy (1972-80) - A Nation in Crisis, 1972-76 - Economic Recovery - The Conservative Comeback, 1977-80 - An Impotent Opposition - Conservative Trends in Society - Foreign Policy - The Dilemmas Of Power (1980-92) - After the Conservative Monopoly, Blockages and Challenges to the System - The Economy: Explosion of Power - Society - Japan's Search for a Role in the World Order - The End Of The `Japanese Model'? (1992-2000) - Japan and Globalisation: Challenge to the Economic and Social Model - Politics: Decline and Rearrangement - Return to Contestation and Changes in Thinking - Japan's International Position)
£16.14
University of California Press Race for Empire
Book SynopsisOffers a profound reinterpretation of nationalism, racism, and wartime mobilization during the Asia-Pacific war. This book demonstrates that the United States and Japan became increasingly alike over the course of the war, perhaps most tellingly in their common attempts to disavow racism even as they reproduced it in new ways and forms.Trade Review"[A] monumental history... This magisterial book will be indispensable reading for historians of the United States, Japan, and Korea." -- Kornel S. Chang, Rutgers University Jrnl Of American History "[This book] is very important and should be read and studied by all serious students of Asian studies, Japanese American studies, and the Pacific War... Highly recommended." Choice "Truly impressive archival work and rigorous conceptualization... Provides compelling narratives and analyses of Japanese colonialism in Korea." -- Henry Em, Yonsei University Cross Currents: East Asian History & Cultural ReviewTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Note on Romanization and Naming Commonly Used Acronyms Introduction: Ethnic and Colonial Soldiers and the Politics of Disavowal Part One: From Vulgar to Polite Racism 1. Right to Kill, Right to Make Live: Koreans as Japanese 2. "Very Useful and Very Dangerous": The Global Politics of Life, Death, and Race Part Two: Japanese as Americans 3. Subject to Choice, Labyrinth of (Un)freedom 4. Reasoning, Counterreasonings, and Counter-conduct 5. Go for Broke, the Movie: The Transwar Making of American Heroes Part Three: Koreans as Japanese 6. National Mobilization 7. Nation, Blood, and Self-Determination 8. The Colonial and National Politics of Gender, Sex, and Family Epilogue: "Four Volunteer Soldiers" Notes Selected Bibliography Index
£27.00
University of California Press Hanois Road to the Vietnam War 19541965
Book SynopsisBasing on inaccessible Vietnamese materials as well as French, British, Canadian, and American documents, this book examines the internal debates and other elements that shaped Hanoi's revolutionary strategy in the decade preceding US military intervention, and resulting domestic and foreign programs.Trade Review"Highly recommended." CHOICE "Excellent new [work] on the Vietnam War." -- Geoffrey C. Stewart Cross-Currents "Outstanding... Illuminating." Proceedings "A valuable contribution to any discussion of North Vietnam's road to war, and the origins of the American stage in the Vietnam War." -- Tal Tovy H-Net "Asselin's excellent study ... will remain an indispensible source for students of Vietnam, the Cold War, and twentieth-century world history for many years to come." -- Jessica Elkind The Journal of American History "This authoritative and compelling book fills a long-felt need for a scholarly treatment of policy making in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. Pierre Asselin has conducted careful and exhaustive research into available Vietnamese and Western archival sources and consulted widely secondary writings on his topic. The result is a meticulously researched, lucidly written, and highly revealing volume on a previously obscure aspect of the Indochina conflict... Asselin pushes the frontier of our knowledge about Hanoi's strategic thinking and diplomatic maneuver during the Indochina conflict further than anyone else." Journal of American-East Asian RelationsTable of ContentsForeword by the series editors Acknowledgments Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Introduction 1. Choosing Peace, 1954--1956 2. Changing Course, 1957--1959 3. Treading Cautiously, 1960 4. Buying Time, 1961 5. Exploring Neutralization, 1962 6. Choosing War, 1963 7. Waging War, 1964 Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
£999.99
University of California Press India 4th Edition
Book SynopsisOffers an introduction to India. This title gives a panoramic overview of the continent on which the world's most fascinating ancient civilization gave birth to one of its most complex modern democratic nations. It includes sections on the country's global economic development, the national elections, and on its international relations.Trade Review"Wolpert is a masterful storyteller... The work reflects [his] wisdom and global vision." -- Pamela Lothspeich Journal Of Contemporary AsiaTable of ContentsPreface to the 2009 Edition 1. The Environment The River Heat Monsoon Rains Mountain Walls 2. Historical Prologue Pre-Aryan Urbanization Aryan Conquests and Emerging Synthesis Ancient Imperial Unification and Its Limits Islamic Conquests Westernization and Modernization Young India's Revolutions and Reforms The Impact of Mahatma Gandhi 3. Religion and Philosophy Yoga and Shaivism Mother Goddess Worship Nonviolent Buddhism and Jainism Laws of Action and Reincarnation Devotional Vaishnavism Higher Hindu Philosophy Islam in India Sikhism Modernist Religious Movements 4. Society Caste and Class Untouchability The Family Roles of Women Village Life The Urban Revolution 5. Arts and Sciences Dance, Drama, and Music Worship in Bronze and Stone Caves, Temple and Regal Art, and Architecture The Art of Literature Scientific Contributions 6. Polity and Foreign Policy Kingship and Democracy Economic Planning and Development Foreign Policy Indo-U.S. Relations Indo-Pak Relations Sino-Indian Relations Indo-Sri Lankan Relations Afghanistan The Future Notes Suggested Additional Reading Index
£27.00
University of California Press Selling Women
Book SynopsisTraces the social history of early modern Japan's sex trade, from its beginnings in seventeenth-century cities to its apotheosis in the nineteenth-century countryside. Drawing on legal codes, diaries, town registers, petitions, and criminal records, this title describes how the work of selling women transformed communities across the archipelago.Trade Review"An important book... Illuminates governance and economic change in early modern Japan... Highly recommended." -- S. A. Hastings, Purdue University Choice "Vivid and engaging... A compelling and meticulously researched piece on the evolving place of prostitutes in Early Modern Japanese culture." -- Sam Bieler, Urban Institute Criminal Law & Crim Justice Bks / Criminal Justice Abstracts "Fascinating and often tragic... Stanley's writing style is both exact and fresh... This book satisfies more than the academic." -- Kris Kosaka, Hokkaido International School Japan Times "An exceptionally sophisticated and extensive study ... A careful and nuanced retelling ... lively, insightful, and unique." -- David Eason Monumenta NipponicaTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword, Matthew H. Sommer Acknowledgments A Note on Currency and Prices Introduction Part One: Regulation and the Logic of the Household 1. Adulterous Prostitutes, Pawned Wives, and Purchased Women: Female Bodies as Currency 2. Creating "Prostitutes": Benevolence, Profit, and the Construction of a Gendered Order 3. Negotiating the Gendered Order: Prostitutes as Daughters, Wives, and Mothers Part Two: Expansion and the Logic of the Market 4. From Household to Market: Child Sellers, "Widows," and Other Shameless People 5. Glittering Hair Ornaments and Barren Fields: Prostitution and the Crisis of the Countryside 6. Tora and the "Rules of the Pleasure Quarter" Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£56.80
University of California Press Imperial Heights
Book SynopsisIntended as a reminder of Europe for soldiers and clerks of the empire, the city of Dalat, located in the hills of Southern Vietnam, was built by the French in an alpine locale that reminded them of home. This book uncovers the strange 100-year history of a colonial city that was conceived as a center of power.Trade Review"In the masterly hands of Eric Jennings, the history of Dalat becomes, not just a case study of a colonial holiday site, but a window into the dreams, fears and tension of colonialism." Canadian Journal Of History "An outstanding book... In a riveting sequence of chapters, the author develops a multilayered analysis of life in Dalat." American Historical Review "An excellent work... Jennings' book testifies to his prominent position in the field of French colonial history." -- Michael Vann Reviews In History "[A] remarkable book, which is impeccably researched... An eye-opening, eminently readable, highly impressive work." H-Net Reviews "Professor Jennings of the University of Toronto is a specialist in French colonial history and this work reflects his expertise in the subject." -- Michael Kyle Asian AffairsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Escaping Death in the Tropics 2. Murder on the Race for Altitude 3. Health, Altitude, and Climate 4. Early Dalat, 1898--1918 5. Colonial Expectations, Pastimes, Comestibles, Comforts, and Discomforts 6. Situating the "Montagnards" 7. A Functional City? Architecture, Planning, Zoning, and Their Critics 8. The Dalat Palace Hotel 9. Vietnamese Dalat 10. Some Colonial Categories: Children, European Women, and Metis 11. Divine Dalat 12. The Maelstrom, 1940--1945 13. Autonomous Province or Federal Capital? 14. Dalat at War and Peace, 1946--1975 Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography Index
£27.00
University of California Press Between Two Worlds
Book SynopsisThis volume looks at the rise of the Ottoman Empire - the longest-lived political entity in human history - showing the transformation of a tiny frontier enterprise into a centralized imperial state that saw itself as both leader of the world's Muslims and heir to the the Eastern Empire.Table of Contents PREFACE CHRONOLOGY Introduction Background and Overview Identity and Influence in the History of Nations The Moderns The Rise of the Ottoman State in Modern Historiography The Wittek Thesis and Its Critics 2 The Sources Gaza and Gazis in the Frontier Narratives of Medieval Anatolia The Chronicles of the House of Osman and Their Flavor: Onion or Garlic? 3 The Ottomans: The Construction of the Ottoman State Strategizing for Alliances and Conflicts: The Early Beglik Into the Limelight and the Rise of Tensions Epilogue: The Creation of an Imperial Political Technology and Ideology LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS NOTES SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
£24.30
NUS Press Bandung Revisited: The Legacy of the 1955
Book SynopsisThe 1955 Asia-Africa conference (the ""Bandung Conference"") was a meeting of 29 Asian and African nations that sought to draw on Asian and African nationalism and religious traditions to forge a new international order that was neither communist nor capitalist, and led six years later to the non-aligned movement. Few would dispute the notion that the inaugural meeting in 1955 was a watershed in international history, but there is much disagreement about its long-term legacy and its significance for present-day international affairs. Was it a post-colonial ideological reaction to the passing of the age of empire or an innovative effort to promote a new regionalism? Were its principles of peaceful coexistence a rhetorical flourish or a substantive policy initiative? Did the Conference help define North-South relations? And in what way did the Conference contribute to the regional order of contemporary Asia?The authors in the present volume argue that the Bandung Conference had a lasting normative influence on the contemporary regional order of Asia, and that it underlies the diplomatic principles and loosely defined normative framework that characterize present-day Asian international relations.
£17.06
Blacksmith Books The Mercenary Mandarin: How a British adventurer
Book Synopsis
£13.29
Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies Estonian Textbook
Book Synopsis
£18.89
Harvard University, Asia Center Ancestors Virgins and Friars
Book SynopsisIn the 16th century, European missionaries brought a foreign religion to China. Converts transformed this religion into a local one. Focusing on the still-active Catholic communities of Fuan county in Fujian, this project's implications extend to the fields of religious and social history and early modern history of global intercultural relations.Trade ReviewIn this rich reconstruction of the Dominican mission to Fujian, Menegon exposes the delicate maneuverings by which ordinary people managed a major cultural divide. His intimate portrait shows us how, in one community, Christianity became an indigenous, and resilient, Chinese religion four centuries ago. -- Timothy Brook, University of British ColumbiaCombining a thorough mastery of Spanish missionary records and profound knowledge of Chinese sites and their sources, this book sets a new standard for the study of Catholic missions and cultural encounter in Late Imperial China. -- R. Po-chia Hsia, Pennsylvania State UniversityIn this elegant and erudite book, Menegon uncovers the lost history of a four-hundred-year-old Catholic community in China, showing brilliantly how Christianity has become localized, how it has become Chinese, how it has become part of local life. The book convincingly undermines the widespread notion that what is most important about Christianity in China is its foreignness. It needs to be read not only by scholars of Christianity but also by all scholars of late imperial China, who ignore Christianity at the expense of a full understanding of religious life. As the number of Christians grows explosively in China today, this book offers an invaluable account of the past and useful material for reflecting on the future. -- Michael Szonyi, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsMaps and Figures Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction: "Truly Unfathomable"? 1. Fuan Literati, Jesuits, and Spanish Friars 2. Becoming Local: Conflict with Gods and Ancestors, 1634-1645 3. The Golden Age of Opportunity, 1645-1723 4. Suppression and Persistence, 1723-1840s 5. The Christians of Fuan 6. Christian Religious Fellowship in Mindong: Priests, Rituals, and Lay Institutions 7. Filial Piety, Ancestral Rituals, and Salvation 8. Virginity, Chastity, and Sex Conclusion-Ruptures: Fuan After the Opium Wars Notes on Sources Bibliography Index
£35.66
Harvard University, Asia Center War and Faith
Book SynopsisIn the sengoku era in Japan, warlords and religious institutions vied for supremacy, with powerhouses such as the Honganji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism fanning violent uprisings of ikko ikki, bands of commoners fighting for various causes. Tsang delves into the complex and often contradictory relationship between these groups.
£30.56
Harvard University Press Political Violence in Ancient India
Book SynopsisGandhi and Nehru helped create a myth of nonviolence in ancient India that obscures a troubled, complex heritage: a long struggle to reconcile the ethics of nonviolence with the need to use violence to rule. Upinder Singh documents the tension between violence and nonviolence in ancient Indian political thought and practice, 600 BCE to 600 CE.Trade ReviewAnyone who has accepted at face value the notion that India, as a civilization, from ancient times up till Mahatma Gandhi, was devoted to an ideal of nonviolence should read Upinder Singh’s monumental Political Violence in Ancient India. Even a few pages will suffice to dispel the illusion. Indian history is as bloody as anywhere else’s…She documents some three millennia of more or less continuous warfare as well as the ever-present coercive and punitive violence of the state. But in some sense, this work by one of India’s finest historians…is more about India’s present than about its long past. Perhaps that is always true of good historical thinking. -- David Shulman * New York Review of Books *A superb history of ideas, covering a wide array of themes, from statecraft and kingship to metaphysics and morality to environmental history…Providing a premodern, non-Western, perspective on violence in the age of terror, [Singh’s] study deserves to be read as widely outside India as at home. -- Ramachandra Guha * Times Literary Supplement *Upinder Singh’s new book, intended as a foray into the history of political ideas in ancient India, is a pioneering attempt. It seeks to puncture the myth perpetrated by leaders like Gandhi and Nehru in their various writings that non-violence was embedded in Indian tradition and culture…She draws on a corpus of texts—inscriptions, literary and discursive texts—to illuminate and substantiate her arguments. The result is a book with a layered and complex argument which will make readers rethink their views about ancient India, its political praxis and the project to theorize that praxis…Singh’s book displays a sheerness of touch in the way she interprets her sources and through them constructs a cogent narrative. This book will stand the test of time. -- Rudrangshu Mukherjee * The Hindu *The belief that non-violence was a major part of India’s ancient history does not stand up to scrutiny, especially when scrutiny comes with the rigor that Singh brings. It is part of a modern myth-making, which Singh tells us was helped along by Gandhi and Nehru who were trying to establish the nationalist struggle on nonviolent principles…Some of the material here will surprise readers. There is much to be learned from this book, and…it is made pleasant to read by a very polished style of writing. -- Aakar Patel * Business Standard *Upinder Singh’s erudite, engaging and compelling book takes one entry point into the problem of political violence in ancient India: the problem of kingship. It is not a reflection on the problem of violence in general; nor is it an empirical study of violence. But it is a landmark study of thinking about and representations of political violence in ancient India. It ranges over a wide range of sources: the epics, literary texts, texts in the Arthashastra tradition, and more creatively, representations of violence in epigraphic evidence and art. There is no comparable study that brings together these sources in one synthetic gaze and the result is impressive…What you get in this book is a fascinating intellectual and literary history of a culture wrestling with the problem of kingship, making its peace with violence, and finding its most powerful intellectual resources unable to cope with the depth of evil in the world. -- Pratap Bhanu Mehta * Indian Express *Authoritative…It is an unembellished title and the language of the book follows this pattern, offering a 1,000-year overview of how violence and its philosophical corollary, non-violence, were treated and reconciled by thinkers many centuries ago…Singh sets out, in a very balanced fashion, to challenge a basic principle many of us have, over years of schooling and nation-building, systematically absorbed: that India has been an eternal beacon of non-violence and harmony…What Singh offers in Political Violence In Ancient India is a thought-provoking intellectual history of our dealings with violence, demonstrating that 2,000 years ago, Indians were as full of questions as they are today, and that we would only be letting down our best traditions if now we were to suddenly stop asking them. -- Manu S. Pillai * Mint *Fascinating. -- Supriya Nair * Mumbai Mirror *Few topics are as central to the political and moral philosophies of India as violence, and its counterpart non-violence or ahiṃsā. Yet, Upinder Singh’s is the first comprehensive book-length study of this topic. In a thorough survey of literature and inscriptions spanning over a millennium from 600 BCE to 600 CE, Singh aims to recover the historical realities of both violence and non-violence and the intellectual debates about their respective value that took place in ancient India. The depth and theoretical sophistication with which Singh handles the material makes this a tour de force and a valuable source for all students of Indian cultural history. -- Patrick Olivelle, author of King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya’s ArthaśāstraIn this deeply researched and erudite work, Upinder Singh illuminates a complex intellectual and political universe in which the category of violence was an especially rich subject of debate. This is a major work of scholarship on ancient India, and on political thought in general, written by an eminent historian. -- Thomas R. Trautmann, author of Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History and Arthashastra: The Science of Wealth
£37.36
Harvard University, Asia Center Ancestors Kings and the Dao
Book SynopsisAncestors, Kings, and the Dao outlines the evolution of musical performance in early China, first within and then ultimately away from the socio-religious context of ancestor worship. The focus of this study is on excavated texts; it is the first to use both bronze and bamboo narratives to show the evolution of a single ritual practice.
£35.66
MP-KAN Uni Press of Kansas The Cambodian Campaign
Book SynopsisWhen American and South Vietnamese forces attacked Cambodia in 1970, the invasion ignited a firestorm of violent anti-war protests in the US. Based on research and analysis of the Cambodian invasion's objectives, planning, organization, and operations, this study encourages respect for one of America's genuine military successes during the war.
£41.36
Columbia University Press The Book of Swindles
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£999.99
Harvard University Press Printing a Mediterranean World Florence
Book SynopsisIn 1482 Francesco Berlinghieri produced the Geographia, a book of over 100 folio leaves describing the world in Italian verse interleaved with lavishly engraved maps. Roberts demonstrates that the Geographia represents the moment of transition between printing and manuscript culture, while forming a critical base for the rise of modern cartography.Trade ReviewThrough Berlinghieri's The Seven Days of Geography (1482), Roberts provides a highly original focus on the book as material artifact and contests prevailing views of its place in the history of geography and cartography. Most compellingly, his account of the book as a cultural go-between leads to a critique of models of Italian–Ottoman exchange current in early modern studies over the past decade. -- Stephen Campbell, John Hopkins UniversityThrough his meticulous study of Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia, Roberts deftly touches on some of the most timely and topical areas of recent research in the field of early modern studies: Artistic agency, materiality, patronage, print culture—and the nature of 'the Renaissance' itself. -- Giancarlo Casale, University of MinnesotaRoberts’s account of Berlinghieri’s intellectual biography is informed and rewarding. It uncovers the distinctive quality of fifteenth-century geography, and reveals the characteristic combination of classical geography, mythology, medieval history and legend found in The Seven Days of Geography. His discussion of the Renaissance reinvention of Ptolemaic mapping reflects his awareness of the recent paradigm shift in the history of cartography and of science. The old progressivist vision of history and universal concept of objectivity has no place in Sean Roberts’s exposition. This book has a good chance of becoming a classic on the subject. -- Alessandro Scafi * Times Literary Supplement *
£45.86
Princeton University Press The Greek Experience of India
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Longlisted for the Runciman Award, Anglo-Hellenic League""A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""The question of what influences Greeks and Indians might have had on each other in the centuries that followed Alexander the Great is one that has always simultaneously fascinated and frustrated historians – so huge gratitude is due to Stoneman for shedding as much light on the issue as anyone is ever likely to do."---Tom Holland, BBC History Magazine"Excellent, and very readable. . . . The Greek Experience of India is the best book ever written on ancient Greek relations with India, and ought to be required reading for global historians of any era."---Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement"Drawing on a vast array of research, [Stoneman] has compiled a magisterial overview of 'the Indo-Greek era', beginning with Alexander’s crossing of the Hindu Kush mountain range in 327 BC and ending with the severing of contact about three centuries later. [The Greek Experience of India is an] intriguing and valuable book."---James Romm, New York Review of Books"This is a magisterial work with plenty to complement and enrich the writings of those like W.W. Tarn, A.K. Narain and Jean W. Sedlar."---Stephen Kern, Classics for All"[Stoneman has] such a direct narrative skill that the casual reader will hardly realise this is a solid scholarly thesis. This is an excellent introduction to the relevant source materials and their authors, and destined to be a valued reference."---Bob Rickard, Fortean Times"To those who, like me, want to explore other ancient cultures beyond the Mediterranean basin, this is an excellent book. Stoneman has provided a familiar frame for an unfamiliar place in the world that will surely endure as required reading for any student of Alexander, the Indo-Greeks, and Ancient India."---Owain Williams, Ancient History Magazine"Stoneman’s narration of a complex subject is a worthy addition to the numerous works of Indo-Roman and Indo-Greek interaction providing a comprehensive review of the time immediately following Alexander’s presence in Indian subcontinent.—Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, American Journal of Philology"---Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, American Journal of Philology
£38.00
Princeton University Press Warriors of the Cloisters The Central Asian
Book SynopsisShows how the key cultural innovations from Central Asia revolutionized medieval Europe and gave rise to the culture of science in the West. This title traces how the recursive argument method was first developed by Buddhist scholars and was spread by them throughout ancient Central Asia.Trade Review"[W]arriors of the Cloisters convincingly establishes the Central Asian origins of both the scholastic method and the university."--Choice "To follow Beckwith is an enjoyable journey through many countries, civilizations, cultures and religions. This book is well worth reading for those who are interested in the spread of ideas and the interweaving of cultures, ideas and beliefs."--John Bowman, Middle Way "[T]his is a major work of great significance."--Jeremy Black, European Review of HistoryTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations and Transcription of Foreign Languages xvii Chapter One Introduction 1 Chapter Two The Recursive Argument Method of Medieval Science 11 Chapter Three From College and Universitas to University 37 Chapter Four Buddhist Central Asian Invention of the Method 50 Chapter Five Islamization in Classical Arabic Central Asia 76 Chapter Six Transmission to Medieval Western Europe 100 Chapter Seven India, Tibet, China, Byzantium, and Other Control Cases 121 Chapter Eight Conclusion 147 Appendix A: On the Latin Translations of Avicenna's Works 167 Appendix B: On Peter of Poitiers 171 Appendix C: The Charter of the College des Dix-huit 186 References 187 Index 199
£31.50
Museum Tusculanum Press Acts of the Seventh International Conference of
Book Synopsis
£85.00
Cornell University Press Planning for Empire
Book SynopsisThe origins and evolution of technocratic fascism in wartime Japan.Trade ReviewDrawing on a wealth of largely untapped primary materials and journals, the work focuses specifically on a group of elite bureaucrats, predominantly graduates of Tokyo Imperial University, and army staff officers who were the driving force behind the reorganization of the Japanese economy in the late 1930s and 1940s... Mimura's is the first English-language synthesis that traces the history of central planning in Japan from its inception in the corridors of power in Tokyo, through the experimentation period in Manchuria, to its final implementation in Japan. Mimura’s contribution is particularly valuable precisely because it deals with men who were in a position to put their ideas into practice. -- Christopher W.A. Szpilman * Monumenta Nipponica *Mimura writes, moreover, with great economy, pinpoint clarity, and without embellishment or hint of hyperbole. If Planning for Empire does not, thus, aspire to 'best in show' honors for recent analyses of the Japanese empire, it deserves accolades as likely the most influential of the lot for its measured yet powerful confirmation of several critical trends in the study of early twentieth-century Japanese empire and war... it is a must read for all serious students of modern Japanese history. -- Frederick Dickinson * Journal of Japanese Studies *Mimura's detailed examination of the administration of Manchuria/Manchukuo offers a useful counterweight to Driscoll's portrayal of Kishi and Ayukawa as little more than misogynisticexploitative brutes... Mimura’s dissection of Japanese techno-fascism—of its appeal across traditional political dividesof its incremental ideological genesis and of its ultimate failure—makes Planning for Empire a welcome addition to a new body of scholarship that has sought to resurrect fascism as an analytical tool for our understanding of mid-twentieth-century Japan. -- Martin Dusinberre * Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History *Roles played by the Japanese civilian bureaucracy in the course of Japan's militarization before WW II have attracted little attention in academia, in contrast with scholars' heavy focus on the Japanese military. Mimura fills this void with this first in-depth English-language analysis of the Japanese "reform bureaucrats" who, as prominent advocates of "techno-fascism," endeavored to realize their vision of a "managerial state" and "controlled economy" in prewar Japan.... Highly recommended. * CHOICE *'Fascism' is a term of abuse today, but once it was an idea with a future, as Mimura shows in Planning for Empire. * The Japan Times *Anyone interested in the role of reform bureaucrats in Japan and the perpetual debate over fascism will want to read this well-researched, informative, and stimulating monograph. * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. Japan's Wartime Technocrats 2. Military Fascism and Manchukuo, 1930–36 3. Bureaucratic Visions of Manchukuo, 1933–39 4. Ideologues of Fascism: Okumura Kiwao and Mori Hideoto 5. The New Order and the Politics of Reform, 1940–41 6. Japan's Opportunity: Technocratic Strategies for War and Empire, 1941–45Epilogue: From Wartime Techno-Fascism to Postwar ManagerialismBibliography Index
£999.99
MB - Cornell University Press Chinese Economic Statecraft Commercial Actors
Book SynopsisIn Chinese Economic Statecraft, William J. Norris introduces an innovative theory that pinpoints how states employ economic tools of national power to pursue their strategic objectives. Norris shows what Chinese economic statecraft is, how it works, and why it is more or less effective.Trade ReviewAn impressive scholarly addition to our study of the contemporary Chinese foreign policy. It should be of great interest to both China Studies scholars as well as anyone interested in foreign policy analysis and international political economy. * Journal of Chinese Political Science *Norris’ new book is one of the first to focus on Chinese state-directed economic activities and their political effectiveness.... Norris sets a very ambitious research objective by not only selecting and examining seven extremely different cases, but also trying to build a new analytical framework based on principal-agent theory. * PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICS *Table of ContentsPart I ON ECONOMIC STATECRAFT 1. What Is Economic Statecraft? 2. The Challenge of State Control 3. Economics and China's Grand Strategy Part II SECURING STRATEGIC RAW MATERIALS 4. "Going Out" and China’s Search for Energy Security 5. Rio Tinto and the (In)visible Hand of the State Part III CROSS-STRAIT ECONOMIC STATECRAFT 6. Coercive Leverage across the Taiwan Strait 7. Interest Transformation across the Taiwan Strait Part IV CHINA’S SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS 8. State Administration of Foreign Exchange 9. What Right Looks Like 10. The China Investment Corporation Concluding Implications
£37.05
Johns Hopkins University Press Backfire
Book SynopsisHe reveals how Vietnam changed American culture today, from the successes and failures of the Washington bureaucracy to the destruction of the traditional military code of honor.Trade ReviewBaritz's emphasis on the underlying assumptions that motivated American policy makers and the vigor and unconcealed emotion with which he writes give these pages an impact they would not otherwise have... It reminds us with eloquence, power and passion that war is a form of intercourse with other peoples that unveils the deepest assumptions that a nation makes about itself and its relationship to the outside world. Los Angeles TimesTable of ContentsPreface, 1998PrefacePart I: Tinder: The Myths we Take to WarChapter 1. God's Country and American Know-HowPart II: Fire: Decisions That Made the WarChapter 2. The Chain to VietnamChapter 3. The Invention of South VietnamChapter 4. War by the NumbersChapter 5. The Politics of EgoPart III: Backfire: Bureaucracy at WarChapter 6. Enabling IgnoranceChapter 7. The WarriorsChapter 8. The American LullabyNotes Index
£31.11
Tulika Books Developmental Modernity in Kerala – Narayana
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£19.80
Silkworm Books / Trasvin Publications LP Letters from Thailand: A Novel
Book SynopsisWhen the original Thai version of Letters from Thailand appeared in Bangkok in 1969, it was promptly awarded the SEATO Prize for Thai Literature. This new English translation reveals it as one of Thailand’s most entertaining and enduring modern novels, and one of the few portrayals of the immigrant Chinese experience in urban Thailand. Letters from Thailand is the story of Tan Suang U, a young man who leaves China to make his fortune in Thailand at the close of World War II, and ends up marrying, raising a family, and operating a successful business. The novel unfolds through his letters to his beloved mother in China. In Tan Suang U's lively account of his daily life in Bangkok's bustling Chinatown, larger and deeper themes emerge: his determination to succeed at business in this strange new culture; his hopes for his family; his resentment at how easily his children embrace urban Thai culture at the expense of the Chinese heritage which he holds dear; his inability to understand or adopt Thai ways; and his growing alienation from a society that is changing too fast for him.Trade Review"The deft and at times hilarious comedy of these letters lies in the slow but relentless erosion of Tan Suang U's principles, under the balmy influence of a sunnier, lazier land." * The New York Review of Books *"This is a fascinating book, and I heartily recommend it to all Westerners who know and love Thailand." * Bangkok Post Sunday Magazine *Table of ContentsTranslator's Introduction Prologue Letters
£999.99
University of Pennsylvania Press Japanese Gardens and Landscapes 16501950
Book SynopsisIn Japanese Landscapes and Gardens, 1650-1950 Wybe Kuitert presents a richly illustrated survey of the gardens and the people who commissioned, created, and used them and chronicles the modernization of traditional aesthetics in the context of economic, political, and environmental transformation.Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. Landscape Enjoyed at Ease Chapter 2. Garden Stuff and Blueprints for the Masses Chapter 3. Time and Space in a Cup of Tea Chapter 4. Defining the Japanese Garden: Science, Vacuum, and Confusion Chapter 5. Passion and Emotion in the Meiji Landscape Chapter 6. Reforming the Tradition Chapter 7. Everybody's Landscape Epilogue. The Cricket Cage Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments
£62.90
Stanford University Press After Empire
Book SynopsisAfter Empire offers a new analysis of how Chinese thinkers constructed a modern constitutional state in place of the age-old imperial state at the turn of the twentieth century, and the revolutionary processes thereby engendered.Trade Review"[F]inely argued and cogently presented . . . Peter Zarrow's book is a welcome addition to the study of the modern transformation in Chinese history, and without doubt will remain one of the most authoritative researches on the development of Chinese political ideas for many years to come."—Zhijun Ren, Histoire Sociale/Social History"The result of this detailed historiographic study is a volume written both for the curious student and for expert historians of modern China. While the former will be intrigued by the chronologically compact minutiae of the transition from the Qing empire to the Republic of China, the latter will appreciate the unceasing analysis of historical interpretation, most fruitfully discussed in Zarrow's endnotes . . . In summary, After Empire is an important contribution to the historical discourse of China's imperial-republican transition and should also be widely welcomed by non-specialists with an interest in China."—Lars Peter Laamann, Journal of Northeast Asia History"Zarrow challenges us to think about political developments in China from an indigenous framework or worldview."—Kendrick Kuo, E-International Relations"In a familiar intellectual-biographical vein, [Zarrow] analyzes the evolving thought of such seminal and influential advocates as Kang Yuwei and Liang Qichao, and, to a lesser extent, Tan Sitong, Zhang Binglin, Yan Fu, and the less well-known Yang Du. Careful re-examination and comparative analysis of their ideas, and the foreign sources on which they drew, yields the best and most carefully nuanced survey currently available of the logical necessities and possibilities governing the debates about national identity and constitutional forms, the roles of culture and ethnicity, and processes and prospects of nation-building. The discourse analysis based on these well-known iconic figures is further reinforced by Zarrow's fresh readings and wide-ranging citations of the contemporary public media . . . [I]nterdisciplinary historians and the modern China field will be grateful to Zarrow for this major contribution."—Don C. Price, Journal of Interdisciplinary History"After Empire: The Conceptual Transformation of the Chinese State, 1885-1924 is a welcome and highly recommended core addition to personal, community, and academic library Chinese History collections."—Midwest Book Review"This is a deeply researched and intellectually ambitious work. Zarrow speaks with the authoritative and convincing voice of one who knows his subject deeply and has thought long and hard about the issues."—Henrietta Harrison, Harvard University
£22.49
The History Press Ltd The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945
Book SynopsisIwo Jima was the United States Marine Corps'' toughest ever battle and a turning point in the Pacific War. In February 1945, three Marine Divisions stormed the island''s shores in what was supposed to be a ten-day battle, but they had reckoned without General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the enemy commander. ''Do not plan for my return,'' wrote Kuribayashi in one of his many letters to his wife, Yoshii. He knew that he and his garrison could not defeat the Marines, but he was determined to exact a fearful toll in American casualties. In the 36-day battle for Iwo Jima, which eclipsed all that had gone before, the Marines lost nearly 6,000 men and the Japanese garrison was virtually wiped out.
£12.34
Edinburgh University Press The Mongol Empire
Book SynopsisThis book explores the rise and establishment of the Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan, as well as its expansion and evolution under his successors. It also examines the successor states (Ilkhanate, Chaghatayid Khanate, the Jochid Ulus (Golden Horde), and the Yuan Empire) from the dissolution of the empire in 1260 to the end of each state.
£28.49
Random House USA Inc Utters Battalion
Book SynopsisIn May 1965, the entire 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment--lock, stock, and barrel--embarked for Vietnam. Captain Alex Lee was there. . . .Now combat-veteran Marine captain Alex Lee brings to gritty life the full tour of 2/7. From the search-and-destroy missions to the sudden violent ambushes in the hills and valleys west of Qui Nhon, Lee describes how Marines battled monsoons, malaria, and the enemy as they crept through terrain infested with Viet Cong caves and hideouts.After paving the way in Qui Nhon for the arrival of more American military, 2/7 was assigned to Chu Lai, where the battalion fought its most bitter, deadly battles. With the scalding ring of truth, Lee captures the conditions of the bone-weary 2/7 Marines as they slogged through jungles and spent night after night in dreary, rain-filled foxholes.Although they faced a life of constant danger and occasional mindless confusion, in their seemingly endless marathon of effort, agony, and sacrifi
£6.99
Cambridge University Press Kashmir
Book SynopsisOn the seventieth anniversary of Indian independence, Partition, and the creation of Pakistan, this ground breaking collection brings together fourteen cutting-edge scholarly essays on multiple aspects of both the region and the issue of Kashmir. While keeping the political dimensions of the dispute over the territory in focus, these innovative essays branch out from the high politics of the conflict to consider less well-known aspects and areas of Kashmir. They examine the continuities and ruptures between Kashmir's past and its present situation; reevaluate the contemporary political scenario from the perspective of gender, economic and political marginality, everyday experiences, and governance; and analyze the ways in which the region of Kashmir and its people are represented and (re)present themselves in films and literature through their regional and religious identities, and commodities. This volume aims to understand the limitations of postcolonial nationalism and citizenship aTable of ContentsAcknowledgements; Map 1. Pre-partition Jammu and Kashmir; Map 2. Contemporary Kashmir; Introduction: new directions in the study of Kashmir Chitralekha Zutshi; Part I. History: 1. To 'tear the mask off the face of the past': archaeology and politics in Jammu and Kashmir Mridu Rai; 2. Contesting urban space: shrine culture and the discourse on Kashmiri Muslim identities and protest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Chitralekha Zutshi; 3. The rise and fall of new Kashmir Andrew Whitehead; 4. Kashmiri visions of freedom: the past and the present Shahla Hussain; Part II. Politics: 5. Azad Kashmir: integral to India, integrated into Pakistan, lacking integrity as an autonomous entity Christopher Snedden; 6. 'Not part of Kashmir, but of the Kashmir dispute': the political predicaments of Gilgit-Baltistan Martin Sökefeld; 7. Law, gender and governance in Kashmir Seema Kazi; 8. 'Survival is now our politics': Kashmiri Pandit community identity and the politics of homeland Haley Duschinski; 9. Beyond the 'Kashmir' meta-narrative: caste, identities and the politics of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir Mohita Bhatia; 10. Contested governance, competing nationalisms and disenchanted publics: Kashmir beyond intractability? Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay; Part III. Representation: 11. Embedded mystics: writing Lal Ded and Nund Rishi into the Kashmiri landscape Dean Accardi; 12. Producing paradise: Kashmir's shawl economy, the quest for authenticity and the politics of representation in Europe, c.1770–1870 Vanessa Chishti; 13. The Kashmiri as Muslim in Bollywood's 'new Kashmir films' Ananya Jahanara Kabir; 14. The witness of poetry: political feeling in Kashmiri poems Suvir Kaul; Notes on contributors; Index.
£25.64
Harvard University Press Cold War Democracy
Book SynopsisDuring the occupation American policymakers identified elections and education as the wellsprings of a democratic consciousness in Japan. But as the extent of Japan’s economic recovery became clear, they placed prosperity at the core of a revised vision for their new ally’s future, as Jennifer Miller shows in this fresh appraisal of the Cold War.Trade ReviewExhaustively researched and incisively written, Miller’s book is a model of historical scholarship that will be essential reading for scholars and students of 1950s Japan and broader United States–Japan relations. -- Nick Kapur * Diplomatic History *[An] impressive book. Miller’s original thesis, her prodigious research, and her ability to connect her topic to the broader international setting and move its focus from grass roots organizing to high policy will make Cold War Democracy the standard treatment on this important but relatively neglected period in the U.S.-Japan relationship. -- Marc Gallicchio * Passport *Insightful…This most valuable book provides an innovative and significant contribution to the understanding of the democracy-building process in Japan in the postwar years and, more broadly, it can be considered a fundamental reading for scholars and students of US-Japan relations in the Cold War. -- Felice Farina * European Journal of East Asian Studies *By far one of the best books on nation building and democratization…superbly written. * Choice *Cold War Democracy may sound like a contradiction in terms. But as Miller’s nuanced, deeply researched interpretation of postwar relations between the United States and Japan shows, ‘democracy’ provided a flexible vocabulary for both architects and critics of this rapprochement. An innovative study of one of the most durable and significant relationships to have shaped the world since 1945. -- Susan L. Carruthers, author of The Good Occupation: American Soldiers and the Hazards of PeaceHow could the Cold War United States, so publicly and noisily committed to democracy, have supported repression and curbs on free speech while attacking others’ allegedly pernicious neutralism? Using U.S. relations with Japan as her case study, Miller explores this seeming paradox with great insight and deep research, including Japanese-language sources. This is a superb book with big ambitions, fully realized. -- Andrew Rotter, author of Hiroshima: The World’s BombIn this book Miller deftly examines the ideological core of the Japanese–American relationship during the Cold War and shows how it continues to shape international relations to this day. With subtlety she explores the contested and paradoxical meanings of democracy whereby order, unity, stability, spiritual renewal, economic growth, and geopolitical power often subsumed and eclipsed concerns for freedom, equality, individual rights, and peace. This is a book that inspires deep thinking about what democracy-promotion has meant and should mean. -- Melvyn P. Leffler, author of Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism: U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 1920–2015Cold War Democracy is a stellar book. Relying on a treasure trove of English- and Japanese-language sources, Miller elucidates the complex—and oftentimes contentious—interplay of politicians, policymakers, intellectuals, labor activists, and grassroots protestors as they shaped a new transpacific relationship after World War II. Anyone interested in diplomatic and international history will gain a lot from this fascinating study. -- Hiroshi Kitamura, author of Screening Enlightenment: Hollywood and the Cultural Reconstruction of Defeated Japan
£35.66
Basic Books Fierce Enigmas
Book SynopsisIn Fierce Enigmas, prize-winning historian Srinath Raghavan argues that we cannot understand the US''s entanglement in South Asia without first understanding the long sweep of American interaction with the nations and peoples who comprise it. Starting with the first attempts by Americans in the late eighteenth century to gain a foothold in the India trade, Raghavan narrates the forgotten role of American merchants, missionaries, and travelers in the history of region. For these early adventurers and exploiters, South Asia came to be seen not just as an arena of trade and commerce, but also as a site for American efforts-religious and secular-to remake the world in its own image. By the 1930s, American economic interests and ideals had converged in support for decolonization; not only should the peoples of the region be free to determine their own governments and futures, but they should be fully integrated into a liberal capitalist global order. These dreams were part
£28.80
University of Arizona Press Musuis Story
Book Synopsis
£18.66
University of Minnesota Press The Anime Machine A Media Theory of Animation
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Combining superb scholarship, a palpable passion for his subject, and a singular sensibility for the art of the moving image, Thomas Lamarre has produced a landmark work in cultural theory and media history. The Anime Machine navigates the intercultural and transmedia complexities of the worlds of anime with expertise and originality. Everyone from the anime enthusiast to the philosopher will come away with a heightened appreciation of one of the defining art forms of our era.” —Brian Massumi, author of Parables for the Virtual“With the help of thinkers such as Deleuze and Guattari, Thomas Lamarre identifies in anime an originary machinic force, one that traverses both animation and cinema, with a capacity for heteropoeisis through technological practices. This is an inspiringly sophisticated and imaginative book.” —Rey Chow, author of Sentimental Fabulations, Contemporary Chinese FilmsTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: The Anime Machine Part I. Multiplanar Image 1. Cinematism and Animetism 2. Animation Stand 3. Compositing 4. Merely Technological Behavior 5. Flying Machines 6. Full Animation 7. Only a Girl Can Save Us Now 8. Giving Up the Gun Part II. Exploded View 9. Relative Movement 10. Structures of Depth 11. The Distributive Field 12. Otaku Imaging 13. Multiple Frames of Reference 14. Inner Natures 15. Full Limited Animation Part III. Girl Computerized 16. A Face on the Train 17. The Absence of Sex 18. Platonic Sex 19. Perversion 20. The Spiral Dance of Symptom and Specter 21. Emergent Positions 22. Anime Eyes Manga Conclusion: Patterns of Serialization Notes Bibliography Index
£17.99
Duke University Press The Maoism of PRC History
Book SynopsisContributors to this special issue investigate the current state of People's Republic of China (PRC) history, positing that the methods Anglophone, non-Chinese scholars have developed and deployed over the last several decades led to important misreadings of the historical record. The contributors argue that Chinese people have, from the rise and fall of Maoist ideology to the subsequent post-disillusionment era, produced political subjectivities and revolutionary upheavals that challenged traditional societal and pedagogical systems. Therefore, producing better scholarship requires taking seriously the way PRC history is necessarily and profoundly political. Essay topics include the unattainable and unfilled aspirations that Maoism engendered, the problems that mark the practice of PRC history to this day, and the ideological approach that frames both how we read Mao-era sources and understand Maoist politics in general. Other topics include how US academia writes the history of the P
£10.99
Duke University Press Art for a Modern India 19471980
Book SynopsisA look at how prominent Indian visual artists created modern art for the postcolonial nation in the years between India's independence in 1947 and 1980.Trade Review“[R]ecommended for libraries with graduate programs in art history and for others looking to expand their modern and non-Western art history collections.” - Melissa Aho, ARLIS/NA Reviews“An interesting contribution, this book will be useful in general and undergraduate libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/ researchers; general readers.” - E. Findly, Choice“Bringing together a range of disparate but linked examples, Brown's text makes for stimulating reading–an essential text for any student of the arts, postcolonialism, and the interaction of science and arts in the postcolonial context.” - Aparna Sharma, Leonardo“Rebecca Brown’s elegant and conceptually driven account of modernism focuses on the decades following Independence. . . . Brown’s approach is highly satisfying. By cutting across media and juxtaposing artists whose aesthetic commitments and backgrounds are presented as incommensurate within the internal debates of the Indian art world, Brown challenges the specialist. But she also gives the general reader an overarching sense of what conceptual problems faced Indian artists and, just as importantly, why those problems emerged as such. It is a particularly fitting approach for a period of art history that is dominated by studies focusing on single artists, artist groups, and institutions.” - Karin Zitzewitz, Art History“Rebecca M. Brown weaves a rich and layered narrative of Indian postindependence art, connecting painting with a wide range of references that include the architecture of Charles Correa, the ‘high’ cinema of Satyajit Ray, and the demotic art of Bollywood. All the while she balances theoretical sophistication with penetrating insights into the singular achievements of these artists as they negotiate the predicament of local versus global modernism. In the process, she unravels the indebtedness of modernity to colonialism. There has long been a crying need for such a work, and Brown’s pioneering opus fulfills this admirably.”—Partha Mitter, author of The Triumph of Modernism: India’s Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1922–1947“[R]ecommended for libraries with graduate programs in art history and for others looking to expand their modern and non-Western art history collections.” -- Melissa Aho * ARLIS/NA Reviews *“An interesting contribution, this book will be useful in general and undergraduate libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/ researchers; general readers.” -- E. Findly * Choice *“Bringing together a range of disparate but linked examples, Brown's text makes for stimulating reading–an essential text for any student of the arts, postcolonialism, and the interaction of science and arts in the postcolonial context.” -- Aparna Sharma * Leonardo Reviews *“Rebecca Brown’s elegant and conceptually driven account of modernism focuses on the decades following Independence. . . . Brown’s approach is highly satisfying. By cutting across media and juxtaposing artists whose aesthetic commitments and backgrounds are presented as incommensurate within the internal debates of the Indian art world, Brown challenges the specialist. But she also gives the general reader an overarching sense of what conceptual problems faced Indian artists and, just as importantly, why those problems emerged as such. It is a particularly fitting approach for a period of art history that is dominated by studies focusing on single artists, artist groups, and institutions.” -- Karin Zitzewitz * Art History *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: The Modern Indian Paradox 1 One. Authenticity 23 Two. The Icon 45 Three. Narrative and Time 75 Four. Science, Technology, and Industry 103 Five. The Urban 131 Epilogue. The 1980s and After 157 Notes 163 References 171 Index 187
£76.50
Blacksmith Books The Last Tigers of Hong Kong: True stories of big
Book Synopsis
£13.29
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Pakistan Adrift: Navigating Troubled Waters
Book SynopsisAsad Durrani served as a three star general in the Pakistan army, and later headed the Inter-Services Intelligence agency from 1990 to 1992. His time in service encompassed the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and dissolution; shifting regional and international alliances, particularly with the US; and contending with India’s economic recovery. On the home front, Pakistan passed through a transition from military rule to a democratic order. As an intelligence chief, General Durrani dealt with many critical issues at home and abroad. Here he reflects on his time in office -- refined by distance and by diplomatic stints in Germany and Saudi Arabia, his assessment of the challenges faced by Pakistan in the last decades is both novel and informed. Though critical of the country’s civil and military leadership -- also conceding some of his own flaws -- he argues that the real causes of Pakistan’s travails differ from what international observers have come to believe. This insightful book concludes by offering new perspectives on Saudi involvement in and reaction to 9/11 and on the Kingdom's shifting foreign policy goals following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Trade Review'Author, diplomat, soldier, spy: Lieutenant General Asad Durrani has been it all. This is an unprecedented memoir, the first by a Director-General of the ISI, providing an outstanding and candid insight into the political intrigues of Pakistan and the region.' -- A.S. Dulat'With dry wit, Asad Durrani provides an illuminating glimpse into the world of Pakistan's "establishment". The insight that much bloodshed can result from petty human interactions at the highest levels is well worth pondering.' -- Barnett Rubin'A deep insight into Pakistan's political power game. Highly recommended.' -- Zahid Hussain'A fascinating and courageous account of contemporary Pakistan packed with rare insights.' -- Happymon Jacob'Durrani’s combination of memoir and reflection is among the most important works to have emerged from the Pakistani Army since independence. Its dry wit and wealth of anecdote also make it a pleasure to read.' -- Anatol Lieven, author of 'Pakistan: A Hard Country'
£999.99
Hku Museum and Art Gallery Yinggelishi: Jonathan Stalling's Interlanguage Art
£999.99
Duke University Press The Cow in the Elevator
Book SynopsisTulasi Srinivas uses the concept of wonder—feelings of amazement at being overcome by the unexpected and sublime—to examine how residents of Banglore, India pursue wonder by practicing Hindu religious rituals as a way to accept and resist neoliberal capitalism.Trade Review"[The Cow in the Elevator] teased me into questioning what Srinivas has so beautifully and chillingly thought through for decades—wonder as an ethical practice." -- Dhruv Ramnath * The Citizen *"Srinivas provides a lively lesson in religious originality with applications and implications far beyond Bangalore or India." -- Jack David Eller * Reading Religion *"The central contribution of this book is its presentation of wonder as a new category of anthropological inquiry, and its interdisciplinary approach of parsing wonder from the vantage points of ritual and liturgical lives, socioeconomics, and aesthetic and creative spheres. Srinivas’s deployment of these specific categories by no means limits its readers; on the contrary, the book inspires readers to revisit their own field experiences, and look for the moments of wonder." -- Arthi Devarajan * Anthropology News *"Tulasi Srinivas does us a service in identifying important insights arising from her study of ritual practice that will help us to better understand wonder. Hopefully, her work will prompt other scholars to use an anthropological approach to better understand the dynamics of wonder from the perspective of the interlocutors they study." -- Steve Derné * Asian Anthropology *"The Cow in the Elevator captures in lovely detail and theory-rich rumination, the evolution and dynamism of Hindu ritualism in modern Bangalore, calling attention to the unstable and creative dimensions of ritual, and the ethical possibilities and challenges it opens up within this rapidly changing city. Scholars of Hinduism and South Asian urbanism will find much to ponder in this book, as will anthropologists interested in ritual theory and practice." -- Andrew C. Willford * Pacific Affairs *"I treasure The Cow in the Elevator for its sparkle and its positive news about hope and creativity in often bleak circumstances. Rich in original analytic insights, this book is not a tidy package but a cornucopia from which all kinds of sweet and bitter products may be extracted, tasted, consumed, and transformed: high-powered caloric fuel for interpretive intellectual energies. . . . Daring, insightful, and highly engaging, The Cow in the Elevator offers so much that its capacity to provoke unanswered questions in no way detracts from its invaluable qualities. Certainly, no other book on religion in urban India so effectively conveys the ways that ritual excess works wonders." -- Ann Grodzins Gold * American Ethnologist *"In this intriguing and richly-textured book, Tulasi Srinivas immerses us in the world of contemporary Hindu ritual practice in Malleshwaram, a suburb of the South Indian city of Bangalore. . . . The Cow in the Elevator is a deeply insightful work that offers us a glimpse of the creativity and wonder that sustain Hindu ritual life in the concrete jungles of modern, neoliberal India." -- Tracy Pintchman * Anthropos *"I found much of value in this book. . . . The writing displays a lively sense of wonder. The autoethnography is deft, and the homage to M. N. Srinivas, as father and anthropologist, very moving." -- Soumhya Venkatesan * Anthropological Quarterly *"A stunning and provocative book.… Srinivas's experienced and eloquent prose gives this book a rare combination of provocativeness and accessibility.… The Cow in the Elevator provides an intensely real and nuanced account of urban life in the twenty-first century." -- Deonni Moodie * The Revealer *Table of ContentsA Note on Translation xi Acknowledgments xiii O Wonderful! xix Introduction. Wonder, Creativity, and Ethical Life in Bangalore 1 Cranes in the Sky 1 Wondering about Wonder 6 Modern Fractures 9 Of Bangalore's Boomtown Bourgeoisie 13 My Guides into Wonder 16 Going Forward 31 1. Adventures in Modern Dwelling 34 A Cow in an Elevator 34 Grounded Wonder 37 And Ungrounded Wonder 39 Back to Earth 41 Memorialized Cartography 43 "Dead-Endu" Ganesha 45 Earthen Prayers and Black Money 48 Moving Marble 51 Building Wonder 56 Interlude: Into the Abyss 58 2. Passionate Journeys: From Aesthetics to Ethics 60 The Wandering Gods 60 Waiting . . . 65 Moral Mobility 69 Gliding Swans and Bucking Horses 70 The Pain of Cleaving 74 And the Angry God 80 Full Tension! 84 Adjustments 86 Life and . . . 91 Ethical Wonders 92 Interlude. Up in the Skyye 95 3. In God We Trust: Economies of Wonder and Philosophies of Debt 99 A Treasure Trove 99 Twinkling Excess 107 The Golden Calf 111 A Promise of Plenitude 114 "Mintingu" and "Minchingu" 119 "Cash-a-carda?" Philosophies of Debt 128 Soiled Money and the Makings of Distrust 131 The Limits of Wonder 133 4. Technologies of Wonder 138 Animatronic Devi 138 Deus Ex Machina 140 The New in Bangalore 142 The Mythical Garuda-Helicopter 143 Drums of Contention 152 Capturing Divine Biometrics 157 Archiving the Divine 159 Technologies of Capture 162 FaceTiming God 164 Wonder of Wonders 169 5. Timeless Imperatives, Obsolescence, and Salvage 172 "Times have Changed" 172 The Untimeliness of Modernity 175 Avelle and Ritu 178 Slipping Away 181 When Wonder Falls 183 Time Lords 187 Dripping Time 188 The Future, The Past, and the Immortal Present 204 Conclusion. A Place for Radical Hope 206 Radical Hope 206 Amazement in Turmeric 210 The Need for Wonder 213 Afterword. The Tenacity of Hope 216 Notes 219 References 247 Index 265
£25.19
University of Notre Dame Press The History and Culture of Iran and Central Asia
Book SynopsisThis volume examines the major cultural, religious, political, and urban changes that took place in the Iranian world of Inner and Central Asia in the transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic periods.One of the major civilizations of the first millennium was that of the Iranian linguistic and cultural world, which stretched from today's Iraq to what is now the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. No other region of the world underwent such radical transformation, which fundamentally altered the course of world history, as this area did during the centuries of transition from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic period. This transformation included the religious victory of Islam over Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and the other religions of the area; the military and political wresting of Inner Asia from the Chinese to the Islamic sphere of primary cultural influence; and the shifting of Central Asia from a culturally and demographically Iranian civilization to a TurTrade Review“The History and Culture of Iran and Central Asia makes substantial new contributions to our understanding of a transitionary period.” —Jamsheed K. Choksy, author of Conflict and Cooperation"The contributions to this volume are uniformly of high quality, representing commendable international collaboration between Asian, European, and American scholars based in six different countries. Anybody pursuing the history of Central Asia in the first millennium CE will find material of interest in this volume."—Journal of the American Oriental Society * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. D.G. Tor, Introduction: The Enduring Significance of the Iranian World in the First Millennium CE: Transformation and Continuity I. Iranian Central Asia in Late Antiquity 2. Frantz Grenet, “Types of town planning in ancient Iranian cities: new considerations” 3. Nicholas Sims-Williams, “The proto-Sogdian inscriptions of Kultobe: New fragments and new reconstructions” 4. Etsuko Kageyama, "Xian Temples of the Sogdian Colonies in China" 5. Yutaka Yoshida, “Three scenarios for the historical background of the Xi’an Sino-Pahlavi inscription — Post Sasanian Zoroastrian traders?” II. From the Pre-Islamic to the Islamic 6. Michael Shenkar, “The Arab Conquest and the Collapse of the Sogdian Civilization” 7. Minoru Inaba, “Wukong’s itinerary towards India: Central Asia in the mid-eighth century” 8. Rocco Rante, “Evolution of the habitat in Paykend” 9. Arezou Azad, “Notes on Islamisation Narratives in the Faḍāʾil-i Balkh” III. The Transformation of the Pre-Islamic Past 10. Sören Stark, “The New Garden of the Amir: Samanid Land-Development at the Borders of the Bukhara Oasis” 11. Louise Marlow “Al-Thaʿālibī’s Iranian Past: Assimilation and Aesthetics” 12. Gabrielle van den Berg, “Representations of the Pre-Islamic Past in Early Persian Court Poetry” 13. Dilnoza Duturaeva “From Turkistan to Tibet: The Qarakhanids and the Tsongkha Tribal Confederation”
£62.90
University of Washington Press Ancient Egypt and Early China State Society and
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A} trail-blazing work that will inspire more comparative studies, whether or not between Egypt and China, for the author has demonstrated the exciting result and the rich potential of comparative history." * Journal of Chinese History *"[T]hought-provoking and challenging, and it certainly will encourage further research. Indeed, Barbieri-Low’s work is an important step in Sino-Egyptian studies." * American Journal of Archaeology *"This is a book of great integrity. Solidly grounded in primary sources and informed by voluminous secondary scholarship in all relevant European languages, it is innovative in its approach, strong on analysis, and very engagingly written: a true masterpiece. It must be read by anyone interested in either China or Egypt or in comparative ancient historiography." * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Far too much history is written with an ideographic lens, looking at one state or people in isolation from others. It is only the nomothetic lens that allows us to discern difference and novelty. Barbieri-Low has risen to the challenge, producing a first-rate comparison of two great ancient states that hopefully will inspire similar approaches." * Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Chronology of China Chronology of Egypt Introduction 1. The Landscapes of the Nile and Yellow River 2. Empire and Diplomacy 3. Akhenaten, Wang Mang, and the Limits of Reform 4. Legal Principles and the Administration of Justice 5. Scribal Culture in Life and Death 6. Providing a Model Afterlife (coauthored with Marissa A. Stevens) 7. Gaming the Way to Paradise Epilogue Glossary of Chinese Names and Terms Glossary of Egyptian Names and Terms Notes Works Cited Index
£52.14
HarperCollins Publishers The Gate to China A New History of the Peoples
Book Synopsis
£18.75
PublicAffairs,U.S. Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of
Book SynopsisThis global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China''s role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." We in the West routinely ask: "What does China want?" The answer is quite simple: the superpower status it always had, but briefly lost. In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization. More important, we come to see how this unique Chinese history of the world shapes China''s economic policy, attitude toward the United States and the rest of the world, relations with its neighbors, positions on democracy and human rights, and notions of good government. As the Chinese see it, for as far back as anyone can remember, China had the richest economy, the strongest military, and the most advanced philosophy, culture, and technology. The collision with the West knocked China''s historical narrative off course for the first time, as its 5,000-year reign as an unrivaled superpower came to an ignominious end. Ever since, the Chinese have licked their wounds and fixated on returning their country to its former greatness, restoring the Chinese version of its place in the world as they had always known it. For the Chinese, the question was never if they could reclaim their former dominant position in the world, but when.
£15.19
Silkworm Books / Trasvin Publications LP The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha: The
Book SynopsisThis is the first complete English translation in over a century of the ten great jātaka tales covering the Bodhisatta’s final adventures in the human realm before his ultimate life and enlightenment as the Buddha. Introductory comments to each story provide background and analysis. A general introduction explores themes and the stories’ role in Buddhist art and practice. Color images show the stories’ centrality in the Buddhist visual landscape of Southeast Asia.These definitive new translations reestablish the stories as ancient literary treasures of South Asia. Readers will be delighted by their magic and intrigue, philosophical insight, and deep roots in the religious and cultural world of the Buddha.
£90.00
Tulika Books A People′s History of India 7 – Society and
Book Synopsis
£9.49