Asian history Books

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  • Forgotten Books Yedo and Peking

    15 in stock

    15 in stock

    £22.48

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    £20.90

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    £21.90

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    £22.09

  • Forgotten Books Burma Through the Centuries Classic Reprint

    15 in stock

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    £20.66

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    £21.54

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    £23.32

  • Encyclopedia of East Asian Design

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Encyclopedia of East Asian Design

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisHaruhiko Fujita is Professor of Aesthetics and Design History at Kobe Design University, and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics at Osaka University, Japan.Christine Guth led the Asian design history strand in the V&A / RCA History of Design Programme from 2007 until 2016.Trade ReviewThis volume is a rich compendium of knowledge about East Asian design. Contributions from multiple authors help to establish the importance of design from this region to the field's world history. * Victor Margolin, Professor Emeritus of Design History at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA *Bloomsbury’s new Encyclopedia of East Asian Design provides a very welcome impetus for achieving a wider and more informed understanding, knowledge and awareness of the histories, cultures, politics, economics, and meanings of design in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macao, Mongolia and Taiwan. Edited by established East Asian specialists Hirohiko Fujita and Christine Guth, the volume contains essays by more than 100 researchers and scholars, many of them emerging voices in the history of design set alongside more widely known and established academics and curators drawn from around the world. Importantly, indigenous scholars from each of the countries covered have made a significant number of these contributions. Since the 1990s considerable energies have been spent in extending the focus of the cartography of design beyond a largely Anglophone and European dominated perspective. This significant volume marks another stage in so doing. * Jonathan M. Woodham, Professor Emeritus of Design History at the University of Brighton, UK *I was so pleased to hear about the publication of the Encyclopedia of East Asian Design. From a Japanese perspective it is easy to think that our clothes and crafts are unique to Japan, but of course they have many influences and origins from the rest of the Asian continent. This encyclopedia explores the transition of such design from a broad and encompassing perspective, and I have great hope that further research will develop as a result of this volume. * Akiko Mabuchi, Director General of the National Museum of Western Art, Japan *Table of ContentsIntroduction - Haruhiko Fujita, Osaka University, Japan, Christine Guth, Royal College of Art, UK, Jae-Joon Han, Seoul Women’s University, South Korea, Chae Lee, Seoul Women’s University, South Korea and Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada China A historical background of pre-modern China - Jessica Tsui-Yan Li, York University, Canada Traditional ideas, religion and aesthetics for design in pre-modern China - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Traditional cultures of China - Jessica Tsui-Yan Li, York University, Canada Traditional colors, forms and patterns of China - Yi-Hsin Lin, independent, UK Painting in pre-modern China - Malcolm McNeill, SOAS, University of London, UK Chinese calligraphy - Sarah Ng, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong The design of the Chinese woodblock printed book - Lucille Chia, University of California, Riverside, USA Silk textiles and clothing in pre-modern China - Helen Persson, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK Ceramics in pre-modern China - Luisa Elena Mengoni, British Library, UK Metalwork in pre-modern China - Mélodie Doumy, British Library, UK Carvings (stone and jade) in pre-modern China - Eileen H. L. Lam, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Foundations of ancient Chinese wooden architecture - Kwong-Chiu Chiu, Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, Hong Kong Interior design and furnishing in pre-modern China - Kwong-Chiu Chiu, Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, Hong Kong Architecture in pre-modern China - Puay-Peng Ho, National University of Singapore, Singapore Gardens in pre-modern China - Shuishan Yu, Northeastern University, USA Contemporary city planning and environmental design in China - Shirley Surya, M+ Museum, Hong Kong Modern design in China (before 1911) - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada and Jackie Kwok, Independent Scholar, Hong Kong Modern design in China between 1911 and 1949 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada and Jackie Kwok, Independent Scholar, Hong Kong Modern design in China between 1949 and 1979 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Modern design in China between 1980 and 2000 - Jennifer Wong, M+ Museum, Hong Kong Contemporary communication design in China since 1979 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Contemporary fashion design in China - Christine Tsui, independent, China The development of craft and product design in China between 1949 and 2010 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Contemporary architecture and interior design in China - Jing Xiao, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Charlie Q. L. Xue, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Chinese comics, animation and digital game design - Jun Xu, Nanjing College of Information Technology, China China and popular culture - Kang Liu, Duke University, USA Contemporary design organisations and societies in China - Gigi Chang, California State University Fullerton, USA China and design education (since 1949) - Christine Tsui, independent, China Autonomous regions of China Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Uyghur, Guangxi Zhuang, Ningxia Hui and Tibet - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Hong Kong Nature, society, tradition and historical background (with a design focus) of Hong Kong - King-Chung Siu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong History of design in Hong Kong before 1945: form follows freight - Matthew Turner, Edinburgh Napier University, UK History of design in Hong Kong, 1945 to 1989: design for design for design - Matthew Turner, Edinburgh Napier University, UK History of design in Hong Kong, 1945 to 1989: design for design for design - D. J. Huppatz, Swinburne University, Australia Contemporary communication design in Hong Kong - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Apparel and fashion design in Hong Kong - Wessie Ling, Northumbria University Newcastle, UK Contemporary jewellery design in Hong Kong - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada The development of craft and product design in Hong Kong between 1945 and 2010 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Contemporary architecture and interior design in Hong Kong - Charlie Q. L. Xue, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Contemporary city planning and environmental design of Hong Kong - Peter Cookson Smith, Urbis Ltd, Hong Kong Contemporary interaction / interactive / interface / motion design in Hong Kong - Huaxin Wei, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong and Kenny K. N. Chow, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Hong Kong Manhua 1945 – 2000 - Victor Ming Hoi Lai, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Design education, curation and infrastructure in Hong Kong - Kin Wai Michael Siu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong and Yi Lin Wong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Contemporary design organisations and societies in Hong Kong - Grace Lau, Hong Kong Federation of Design Associations, Hong Kong Japan Natural and social environment and historical background of Japan - Keisuke Takayasu, Osaka University, Japan Religious and traditional ideas of Japan (with design focus) - Takashi Murakami, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan Aesthetics categories and changing ideas of ‘design’ - Haruhiko Fujita, Osaka University, Japan Traditional culture of Japan - Tomoko Hata, Museum of Kyoto, Japan A history of Japanese approaches to colour - Monica Bethe, Medieval Japanese Studies Institute Kyoto, Japan Traditional Japanese forms and patterns - Hiroko Kurokawa, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan Drawing and painting in Japan (before 1868) - Miriam Wattles, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA Calligraphy in Japan – Noriko Kaya, Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan Printing in pre-modern Japan - Ellis Tinios, SOAS, University of London, UK and Christine Guth, Royal College of Art, UK Japanese paper -Christine Guth, Royal College of Art, UK Textiles and clothing in pre-modern Japan - Mary M. Dusenbury, University of Kansas, USA Ceramics in pre-modern Japan - Rupert Faulkner, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK Metalwork of pre-modern Japan – Hiroko Kurokawa, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan Carving and sculpture in pre-modern Japan - Patricia J. Graham, independent, USA Woodwork in pre-modern Japan - Kenji Suda, Tokyo University of the Arts, USA Interior and furnishing in pre-modern Japan -Izumi Kuroishi, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan Architecture in pre-modern Japan - Mira Locher, University of Utah, USA Gardens of pre-modern Japan - Koji Kuwakino, Osaka University, Japan City planning and urbanism in pre-modern Japan - Carola Hein, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Performance and spectacle in Japan - Sean H. McPherson, Bridgewater State University, USA Modern design in Japan (1868 – 1912) - Toyoro Hida, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Japan Modern design in Japan (1912 – 1930) - Kazuto Kasahara, Kyoto University of Technology, Japan Modern design in Japan (1930 – 1957) - Takuya Kida, Musashimo Art University, Japan Modern design in Japan (1957 – 1973) - Yasuko Suga, Tsuda College, Japan Modern design in Japan (1973 – 1990) - Yasuko Suga, Tsuda College, Japan Contemporary communication design in Japan - Kiyonori Muroga, IDEA Magazine, Japan Contemporary textiles and fashion design in Japan - Mikiko Tsunemi, Kyoto Women’s University, Japan Contemporary craft design in Japan - Hitomi Kitamura, National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, Japan Contemporary product design in Japan - Makoto Watanabe, Chiba University, Japan Interaction / interactive / interface design in Japan - Kenta Ono, Chiba University, Japan Contemporary interior design in Japan - Keiko Hashimoto, Kindai University, Japan Contemporary architecture in Japan - Daiki Amanai, Shizuoka University of Art and Culture, Japan Contemporary environmental design in Japan - Seiko Goto, Nagasaki University, Japan Solution and service design in Japan - Takayuki Higuchi, Chiba University, Japan Popular culture in Japan - Hiroshi Narumi, Kyoto Women’s University, Japan Character design in Japanese manga, anime and gaming - Ulrich Heinze, University of East Anglia, UK Design curation and education in Japan - Yuko Hashimoto, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Japan Design organisations in Japan - Yuko Hashimoto, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Japan Design legislation and governmental organisations of Japan - Eri Mitsui, independent, Japan Korea The natural and social environment and historical background of Korea - Kay Jun, independent, South Korea Religious and traditional ideas of Korea in design - Hyun-Shin Jo, Kookmin University, South Korea Aesthetic categories and changing ideas of ‘design’ in Korea - Bum Choi, independent, South Korea Traditional culture of Korea - Gong-Ho Choi, Korean National University of Cultural Heritage, South Korea Traditional forms, colours and patterns of Korea - Hyun-Taek Park, National Museum of Korea, South Korea Drawing and painting in pre-modern Korea - Young-Soo Kim, Hongik University, South Korea Calligraphy in pre-modern Korea – Hyun-Taek Park, National Museum of Korea, South Korea Printing in pre-modern Korea - Byung-Geol Min, Seoul Women’s University, South Korea Textiles and clothing in pre-modern Korea - Woo Hyun Cho, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea Woodwork, ceramics and metalwork in pre-modern Korea - Gong-Ho Choi, Korean National University of Cultural Heritage, South Korea Architecture and city planning in Korea - Mi-Kyung Choi, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea Concepts of modern design in Korea since the 20th century - Chang-Sup Oh, Konkuk University, South Korea North Korea Society, tradition and modern history in North Korea - Mary S. Ginsberg, independent, USA Design and culture in modern North Korea - Mary S. Ginsberg, independent, USA South Korea Society, tradition and modern history in South Korea - Sang-Kyu Kim, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, South Korea Contemporary communication design in South Korea - Chae Lee, Seoul Women’s University, South Korea Contemporary fashion design in South Korea - Juhee Park, Kookmin University, South Korea Contemporary craft design in South Korea - Gong-Ho Choi, Korean National University of Cultural Heritage, South Korea Contemporary product design in South Korea - Sang-Kyu Kim, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, South Korea Contemporary interior design in South Korea - Soo-Jung Kim, Daegu University, South Korea Contemporary architecture in South Korea - Hyungmin Pai, University of Seoul, South Korea Contemporary environmental and social design in South Korea - Hyun-Shin Jo, Kookmin University, South Korea Popular Culture in South Korea - Youngchul Kim, AGI Society, South Korea Design education and infrastructure in South Korea - Hyeon Joo Kang, Inha University, South Korea Design legislation, organisations, societies and policy - Jong-Kyun Kim, Korean Intellectual Property Office, South Korea Macao The historical background and social environments of Macao - Zhidong Hao, University of Macau, Macau Culture and design in Macao - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Mongolia Natural environment, social context and historical background in Mongolia - Yuki Konagaya, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan Traditional culture, colours, forms, patterns and aesthetics in Mongolia - Isabelle Charleux, American Center for Mongolian Studies, USA Painting, printing and book culture in Mongolia - Uranchimeg Tsultemin, independent, USA Textiles and clothing in Mongolia - Isabelle Charleux, American Center for Mongolian Studies, USA Metalwork and woodwork in Mongolia - Isabelle Charleux, American Center for Mongolian Studies, USA Carving and sculpture in Mongolia - Uranchimeg Tsultemin, independent, USA Architecture and urbanism in Mongolia - Isabelle Charleux, American Center for Mongolian Studies, USA Contemporary design and popular culture in Mongolia - Mayuko Okamoto, University of Tokyo, Japan Taiwan Taiwan: Nature, society, tradition and historical background - Hsin-Tein Liao, Australian National University, Australia A history of arts, crafts and design in Taiwan before 1895 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Modern graphic design development in Taiwan 1895 – 1945 - Tsun-Hsiung Yao, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan Modern design in Taiwan after 1945 - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada The evolution of contemporary Taiwanese graphic design - Li-Min Chen, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan Apparel and fashion design in Taiwan - Wessie Ling, Northumbria University Newcastle, UK Contemporary jewellery and accessories in Taiwan - Tan-Chi Chao, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan Contemporary craft and product design in Taiwan - Wendy Siuyi Wong, York University, Canada Contemporary architecture, interior design and city planning in Taiwan - Ya-Chun Chiang, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan and Wei-Hsiu Chang, National Taiwan University, Taiwan The development of Taiwan Manhua - I-Yun Lee, National Taipei University, Taiwan The transition of design education in Taiwan - Chien-Tu Jeff Lai, Pennsylvania State University, USA Design organisations and societies in Taiwan - Ken-Tsai Lee, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

    1 in stock

    £280.25

  • Portraits of Confucius

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Portraits of Confucius

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisPortraits of Confucius presents a major collection of Western perspectives on Confucius and Confucianism, stretching from the Catholic missions of the sixteenth century to the dawn of modern cross-cultural scholarship in the early-twentieth century. For scholars and students interested in the life, work, and teachings of Confucius and the West''s reception of Chinese philosophy, this is an indispensable reference resource. With selections from over 100 figures covering the 1560s to the 1960s, this two-volume work features writing from three continents, with sources including Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Max Weber, Bertrand Russell, and Ezra Pound. Arranged chronologically, they represent methodologies that span philosophy, political science, religious studies, sociology, anthropology, economic theory, linguistics, missionary texts, and works of popular moralism. Together they reveal important ideological trends in Western attitudes toward China.

    5 in stock

    £375.25

  • Empire in Asia A New Global History

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Empire in Asia A New Global History

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    1 in stock

    £114.00

  • Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Histories of Health and Materiality in the Indian

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisIntroducing materiality into the study of the history of medicine, this volume hones in on communities across the Indian Ocean World and explores how they understood and engaged with health and medical commodities. Opening up spatial dimensions and challenging existing approaches to knowledge, power and the market, it defines therapeutic commodity' and explores how different materials were understood and engaged with in various settings and for a number of purposes. Offering new spatial realms within which the circulation of commodities created new regimes of meaning, Histories of Health and Materiality in the Indian Ocean World demonstrates how medicinal substances have had immediate and far-reaching economic and political consequences in various capacities. From midwifery and umbilical cords, to the social spaces of soap, perfumes in early modern India and remedies for leprosy, this volume considers a vast range of material culture in medicinal settings to better understand thTrade ReviewGerritsen and Cleetus’ volume provides an excellent and wide-ranging contribution to the material history of medicine, showcasing the diverse uses and meanings that medicinal objects adopted as they travelled to, and from, the Indian Ocean World. * Elise Smith, Assistant Professor in the History of Medicine, University of Warwick, UK *Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations 1. Health, Medicine, and Trade in the Indian Ocean World: A Material Culture Approach, Anne Gerritsen (University of Warwick, UK) and Burton Cleetus (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) 2. 'Europe does not want you’: Natural History, Materia Medica and the Empire, Pratik Chakrabarti (University of Manchester, UK) 3. In Pursuit of a Healing Eden: Exploring the Medico-Botanical Networks of Knowledge Circulation in the Indian Ocean Region with Special Reference to South India, 1600-1800 CE, Malavika Binny (SRM University Amravati, India) 4. Rhubarb in the Indian Ocean World: The Entangled Itinerary of a Material Complex, Anne Gerritsen (University of Warwick, UK) 5. Perfumes in Early Modern India: Ephemeral Materiality and Aromatic Mobility, Amrita Chattopadhyay (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) 6. Letters to the Vaidyan: The Circulation of Ayurvedic Drugs and Knowledge from Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala to South-East Asia, Burton Cleetus (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) 7. Toxic Trading: Poisons and Medicines in British India, David Arnold (University of Warwick, UK) 8. ‘The All-Cleansing Soap’? History of Soap in Keralam, c. 1880-1950, Greeshma Justin John (University of Hyderabad, India) 9. Chaulmoogra: Trading Indian Ocean World Leprosy Remedies in the South Pacific, Jane Buckingham (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) 10. Bodies in Circulation: Determining Age and Regulating Health of Transported Convicts to the Andamans, c. 1860s–1920s, Suparna Sengupta (Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, India) 11. From Tribal Knowledge to Ayurvedic Medicine: Transition of Arogyapacha, the Wonder Herb of Kerala, Girija K.P. (Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla) 12. Of Miracle Drugs, Captain Hooks and Colonialism 2.0: Bioprospecting, Biopiracy and the Patenting of Tribal Bioresources and Medicinal Knowledge, Kaushiki Das (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) 13. Privileging the Body: The Bio-materialisation of Medicine and the Asymmetrical Production of Pluralism, Harish Naraindas (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) Bibliography Index

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • Kenkoku University and the Experience of

    Bloomsbury USA 3pl Kenkoku University and the Experience of

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisYuka Hiruma Kishida is Assistant Professor of History at Bridgewater College, USA.Trade Review[The] book goes beyond the institutional history of Kenkoku University: the microhistory approach offers fresh insights into the historiography of the relationship and tensions between the universalism of Pan-Asianist idealism and the particularism and power hegemony created by notions of Japanese privilege and supremacy within the imperial context … Hiruma Kishida’s book is an example of the sophistication and maturity in the historiography of Japanese imperialism and Pan-Asianism. * The Journal of Japanese Studies *Yuka Hiruma Kishida has written a thoroughly researched and informative book ... Kishida makes a significant and unique contribution which adds to previous scholarship ... The book ultimately deepens our understanding of the complex incentives for personal and national advancement provided within the framework of the Japanese empire, the conditions forging a spectrum of political worldviews, which had lasting impact in the region, and the nuanced gray areas between collaboration and resistance. * Social Science Japan Journal *Kishida’s study offers fascinating insight into the disillusionments, agonized choices, and occasional satisfactions, that resulted when youths resolved to devote themselves to genuine ethnic equality and pan-Asianist coprosperity within a hierarchical system dominated by Japan. This thoroughly documented inquiry lays bare the ideological contradictions that inhered throughout Manchukuo and the entire wartime Japanese empire. * J. Victor Koschmann, Professor of History, Cornell University, USA *I expect Butler’s work will inspire many important conversations … This work should be read widely. In addition to all practitioners and scholars of transhumanism, Black theology, and philosophy of religion, it will be of interest to many, including those in the fields of cognitive science of religion, critical theory and critical race theory, posthumanism, contemplative studies, new materialisms, and spirituality studies. * Reading Religion *This impressive study presents intriguing conclusions regarding the dissemination and reception of pan-Asian thought at grass-roots level. It is a valuable addition to the growing literature on the history of regionalism in East Asia. * Sven Saaler, Professor of Modern Japanese History, Sophia University, Japan *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Dreaming Big About Pan-Asianist Education: From ‘Asia University’ to ‘Kenkoku (Nation-Building) University’ 3. Exploring the Meanings of Pan-Asia: Japanese Students’ Experiences at Kenkoku University 4. Calling Asia a New Home: Korean and Taiwanese Students’ Experiences at Kenkoku University 5. Learning to Become ‘Chinese’ at a Japanese School: Chinese Students’ Experiences at Kenkoku University 6. Building a Utopia Together: Kenkoku, a Juku Periodical, as a Window into Kenkoku University’s Institutional Practice of Pan-Asianism 7. Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

    1 in stock

    £31.99

  • Workplace Relations in Colonial Bengal

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Workplace Relations in Colonial Bengal

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book connects the history of labour movements with the transformation of workplace relations in South Asia from the late 19th century to the 1930s. Contending that labour conflicts in the Bengal jute industry must be understood against the backdrop of a radical change in the organisation of work in this period, Sailer shows how this led to a rupture in worker's relations in the workplace and beyond. Moving away from polarities such as class/culture or modernity/tradition and reconsidering the context around industrial conflicts in this period, Workplace relations in Colonial Bengal offers a new framework to analyse the changing organisation of work in colonial India, and identifies the implications for worker relations both inside and outside the factory. Focusing on a major colonial era industry, this book opens up new perspectives n the history of workers and colonial capitalism in modern India.Trade ReviewThis book reminds us that we must know what happens on the shop-floor to understand the factory. In South Asian labour historiography, we have theorized capitalist strategy without paying sufficient attention to the actual work process. It is also blindingly obvious, as the author of this book points out, that workers’ everyday experience of work is critical to their politics. * Samita Sen, Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History, Cambridge University, UK *[This book] highlights the importance of work relations and the organisation of work – conventionally known as labour process theory – in our understanding of the Jute Industry, its working population and its political economy between the 1870s and the 1940s in Calcutta…The discussion presented in the monograph is illuminating and analytically valuable. * Dhiraj Kumar Nite, Social Scientist, Ambedkar University Delhi, India *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Sets, Squads, and Shifts: The Emergence and Development of the 'Multiple Shift' System 2. Uninterrupted hours of work and frequent breaks: The modalities of shared work and excess employment at the shopfloor 3. Defending the spaces and rhythms of the workplace: Labour conflicts over the change in shift systems 4. ‘Various Paths Are Today Opened’: Working class politics and the General strike of 1929 5. 'Fight to finish': Labour Conflicts in the Bengal Jute Belt in the 1930s

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • The Emergence of BrandName Capitalism in Late

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Emergence of BrandName Capitalism in Late

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book examines the emergence of professional advertising in western India during the interwar period. It explores the ways in which global manufacturers advanced a brand-name capitalism' among the Indian middle class by promoting the sale of global commodities during the 1920s and 1930s, a time when advertising was first introduced in India as a profession and underwent critical transformations. Analysing the cultural strategies, both verbal and visual, used by foreign businesses in their advertisements to capture urban consumers, Haynes argues that the promoters of various commodities crystalized their campaigns around principles of modern conjugality. He also highlights the limitations of brand-name capitalism during this period, examining both its inability to cultivate markets in the countryside or among the urban poor, and its failure to secure middle-class customers. With numerous examples of illustrated advertisements taken from Indian newspapers, the book discusses campaiTrade ReviewA landmark contribution in the history of global capitalism, Haynes crafts an aesthetic visual archive of the modern professional advertising world in colonial western India. The book’s phenomenal textual analysis of advertisements in various languages and cities is indispensable for scholarship on urban middle classes, modern conjugality, gender relations, consumption practices, masculinities, medicine and sexual sciences. * Charu Gupta, Professor of History, University of Delhi, India *By showing how advertisements for consumer products drew upon and reinforced ideas about family and conjugality, Haynes connects the history of business with the making of a middle class in India. This is a path-breaking book, not least for the novel material analysed with insight and elegance. * Tirthankar Roy, Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics, UK *In this rich cultural history, Haynes traces how advertisers in India interwove global commodity trends and localized concerns, responding to and shaping new ideas of gender and family. Where other scholars have analyzed individual ads to explore ideas of health, modernity or class, Haynes draws out in compelling detail where and why ads took the form they did, connecting culture and commerce, capital and politics. * Abigail McGowan, Professor of History, University of Vermont, USA *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1. Brand-name Capitalism and Professional Advertising in India 2. Consumers: European Expatriates and the Indian Middle Class 3. Tonics and the Marketing of Conjugal Masculinity 4. Advertising and the Female Consumer: Feluna, Ovaltine and Beauty Soaps 5. Lever Brothers, Soap Advertising, and the Family 6. The Invention of a Cooking Medium: Cocogem and Dalda 7. Electrical Household Technologies: Fracturing the Ideal Home Chapter VIII: Conclusion: Interwar Advertising and India’s Contemporary ....................... Bibliography Index

    1 in stock

    £90.25

  • The China Journals

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The China Journals

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThese private journals, made available here for the first time, record Hugh Trevor-Roper's visit to the People's Republic of China in the autumn of 1965, shortly before the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution, and describe the controversial aftermath of his journey on his return to England.The visit was a catalogue of frustrations, which he relates with the verve and irony of a master narrator who relished the human comedy. His efforts to meet the real life and mind of China, in whose history and politics he had long been interested, were blocked at every turn by the resources of state propaganda and the claustrophobic attention of sullen Party guides. The visit was arranged by the London-based Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which was ostensibly committed to the impartial interchange of culture and ideas. It proved to be run by a Communist claque whose ruthless methods of control outwitted the well-connected membership.Back in England, and with help from MITrade ReviewEnjoyable for the human comedy and high quality of Trevor-Roper's prose. * The Spectator *Expertly edited, with touches of wit, but with pathos, too... The China Journals is a book as suitable for relishing Trevor-Roper's bitchy brilliance as it is for its fascinating insight into a China about to change forever. * History Today *Scholarly, incisive and omniscient, Davenport-Hines has done another wonderful job … Consistently entertaining. * Literary Review *These diaries are as much about the forgotten world of Britain's intellectual and academic élite in the Cold Wars as they are about China. They offer unusual light on the cultural Cold War underway in the West between fellow travellers of the Communist regimes, then apparently on the rise, and Western anti-Communists of various strains. * The Oldie *Table of ContentsA Note on the Text List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. China, 1965 2. London and Oxford, 1965 3. History of a Front Organisation, 1966 4. Taiwan and Cambodia, 1967 Appendix A. Through Others' Eyes: Peking and London Appendix B. Trevor-Roper's Companions in China Acknowledgements Bibliography Index

    5 in stock

    £15.19

  • Thailand

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Thailand

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisBenjamin Zawacki was a visiting fellow in the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School in 2014-15, and a term member on the Council on Foreign Relations through 2016. He was Amnesty International's Southeast Asia researcher for five years, and served as a policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter and two other Elders in Myanmar. A regular contributor to the media in Southeast Asia, he has lived in Thailand for 15 years.Trade ReviewExhaustively researched ... an excellent contribution to understanding American and Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia. * Bangkok Post *Presents a clear-eyed and well-informed analysis of a critical moment, in which ideals of democracy and human rights, never deeply rooted, are giving way as Thailand increasingly sees its future tied to a rising China. * Seth Mydans, Southeast Asia correspondent for The New York Times *Zawacki deftly unpacks Thailand’s complex and evolving relationships with the United States and China, and issues a wake-up call to U.S. policymakers. * Elizabeth Economy, Director of Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations *A must-read for those concerned by Chinese ascendency in Southeast Asia and its implications on human rights in the coming decades. * Tyler Giannini, Human Rights Program Director, Harvard Law School *An important book at a pivotal moment. Zawacki brings clear eyes and rigorous research to one of America’s most complicated and historically important Asian relationships. * Shawn W. Crispin, Southeast Asia Editor, Asia Times *Zawacki skillfully tells the story of America’s oldest Asian ally, exploring how equivocation in Washington and dysfunction in Bangkok is allowing a resurgent China to extend its talons into a disturbingly authoritarian Thailand. * Charlie Campbell, Beijing correspondent for TIME *Zawacki’s carefully documented and balanced analysis lifts the curtain on a gradual, often invisible, but seemingly inexorable geopolitical shift. It provides a thorough explanation of the circumstances that have led Thailand, once seen as an unequivocally staunch U.S. ally, to lean increasingly toward a pragmatic and strategically assertive China. * Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University *Presents a powerful counter-argument to the conventional wisdom that China's economic rise alone explains Thailand's pivot from the US to China. In thoroughly researched detail, the book traces a sorry trail of US condescension and clumsy diplomacy. * Daniel Fineman, author of A Special Relationship: The United States and Military Government in Thailand *Now comes the rare American deeply informed of a “faraway country” of whose people “we know nothing”, in a profoundly disturbing study of how the world-changing US-China dynamic unfolds in Thailand. Read and weep. * Jeffrey Race, author of War Comes to Long An: Revolutionary Conflict in a Vietnamese Province *An important contribution to the field of Thailand's foreign relations. * Contemporary Southeast Asia *The US has failed to reliably present democracy and human rights as alternatives to the China Model. It has allowed its ‘interests’ to override its ‘values,’ and hence is vulnerable to accusations of hypocrisy. Zawacki argues that the US must correct for these two failures and make the kind of commitment to Asia that Obama promised but never delivered. * New York Review of Books *Benjamin Zawacki’s book on Thailand is a fine, deeply researched study of a critical pivot state that gets less attention than it deserves. It is an example of blending area expertise with political philosophy: the best kind of book. * Robert D. Kaplan, author of Monsoon and Asia’s Cauldron *The expanded second edition of Benjamin Zawacki’s superb study reveals not only Thailand’s continued maneuvering between China and the United States, but the growing gravitation of Bangkok more fully into Beijing’s regional orbit. Crucial reading for understanding the geopolitics of Southeast Asia. * David Shambaugh, George Washington University, and author of Where Great Powers Meet: America & China in Southeast Asia *In his authoritative history, Zawacki shares a poignant, accessible, and ultimately heartbreaking tale of U.S. foreign policy blunders and opportunities lost. Those unfamiliar with Thailand will come away informed. Current officials should find Zawacki's analysis cautionary and instructive. * Frank Jannuzi, President and CEO, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation *The release of a new edition of Zawacki's analysis of how the U.S. ‘lost’ Thailand to China comes at a propitious moment: just as a new administration has taken over in Washington and is figuring out how to re-engage strategically-located Southeast Asia. * Murray Hiebert, author of Under Beijing’s Shadow: Southeast Asia’s China Challenge *Zawacki is a resourceful and knowledgeable guide through the past half-century of Thai history, and helps illuminate how the country’s labyrinthine politics has been reflected in its shifting international alignments. An essential examination of Thailand’s position in an era of American drift and resurgent Chinese power. * Sebastian Strangio, author of In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Points of Departure Part I 1. The Fog of Peace (1945?1949) 2. Means of Power (1949?1957) 3. War Comes to Thailand (1957?1973) 4. Experiments Interrupted (1973?1980) 5. Policy Drift (1980?1988) 6. The Thai Spring (1989?2001) Interface Part II 7. A Thaksin for Turning (Thailand and China, 2001?2006) 8. Another American War (Thailand and the US, 2001?2006) 9. China’s Pivot (2006?2014) 10. Continental Drift

    1 in stock

    £21.99

  • Fighting Stars

    Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Fighting Stars

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisKyle Barrowman is Adjunct Professor of Media and Cinema Studies at DePaul University, USA. He has published widely on film studies and philosophy, on subjects ranging from authorship, camera movement, and martial arts to skepticism, perfectionism, and ordinary language philosophy.

    5 in stock

    £65.00

  • The Dynamics of Modern Asian Design

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dynamics of Modern Asian Design

    5 in stock

    5 in stock

    £71.25

  • Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Figures of Buddhist Diplomacy in Modern Asia

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisJack Meng-Tat Chia is the Foo Hai Associate Professor in Buddhist Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he serves as the founding chair of the Buddhist Studies Group.

    10 in stock

    £98.91

  • Chinas World

    Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Chinas World

    Book SynopsisA concise and readable analysis of China's foreign policy, from one of the world's leading experts on the subject.

    £13.29

  • Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) South Asian Resistances in Britain 18581947

    Out of stock

    Book SynopsisRehana Ahmed is Lecturer in English Studies at Teesside University, UK. She specialises in postcolonial literature.Sumita Mukherjee is an historian of South Asia and the British Empire. She is the author of Nationalism, Education and Migrant Identities: The England-Returned (2009).Trade ReviewThis fine volume engagingly reveals the experiences and aspirations of diverse South Asian men and women who lived and worked in Britain during the British Raj. Highlighting the varied nature of Asian resistance to racism and other forms of oppression, the editors and contributors present us with the latest insights and developments of the field. -- Michael H. Fisher, Danforth Professor of History, Oberlin College, USAll of the essays in this volume are thoroughly scholarly, well-written, and fascinating. They combine fresh and deep archival research with a clearly articulated analysis of their significance in the light of contemporary (then and now) contexts, and the book as a whole brings a significant new understanding of how various individuals, classes, and groups creatively and productively resisted British imperial culture and politics...This volume is an important intervention in historical and cultural scholarship about Britain and postcolonial studies. -- Lyn Innes, Emeritus Professor of Postcolonial Literatures, University of Kent, UKTable of Contents1. Introduction (Rehana Ahmed and Sumita Mukherjee); 2. 'Horrorism' in the heart of empire: theorising violence as anti-colonial resistance at India House 1905-1909 (Alex Tickell); 3. The Caxton Hall assassination of Michael O'Dwyer (Florian Stadtler); 4. Censorship and the Indian soldiers in Britain during the First World War (Prabhjot Parmar); 5. Littoral struggles, liminal lives - Indian merchant seamen's resistances (Georgie Wemyss); 6. Ghulam Rasul's travels - migration, recolonization and resistance in inter-war Britain (Laura Tabili); 7. Class, cosmopolitanism and narratives of resistance - the Irish League and its East End branch (Rehana Ahmed); 8. Indo-Irish resistances in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s (Kate O'Malley); 9. Herabai Tata and Sophia Duleep Singh - suffragette resistances for India and Britain 1910-1920 (Sumita Mukherjee); 10. Royal relationships as avenues of social resistance - the case of Duleep Singh and Abdul Karim (A. Martin Wainwright); 11. Epilogue (Antoinette Burton).

    Out of stock

    £999.99

  • The Dawn of Tibet

    Rowman & Littlefield The Dawn of Tibet

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis unique book reveals the existence of an advanced civilization where none was known before, presenting an entirely new perspective on the culture and history of Tibet. In his groundbreaking study of an epic period in Tibet few people even knew existed, John Vincent Bellezza details the discovery of an ancient people on the most desolate reaches of the Tibetan plateau, revolutionizing our ideas about who Tibetans really are. While many associate Tibet with Buddhism, it was also once a land of warriors and chariots, whose burials included megalithic arrays and golden masks. This first Tibetan civilization, known as Zhang Zhung, was a cosmopolitan one with links extending across Eurasia, bringing it in line with many of the major cultural innovations of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Based on decades of research, The Dawn of Tibet draws on a rich trove of archaeological, textual, and ethnographic materials collected and analyzed by the author. Bellezza describes the vast network ofTrade ReviewThis fascinating read is an effort to bridge the gap between prehistory and history and resurrect the long-lost cultural links between Central Tibet and Upper Tibet. In chronicling this long-lost civilization, Bellezza braves the challenges of inclement weather and rugged terrain and assiduously explores the mountains, lakes, rivers, tombs, citadels, shrines, and temples that define the geography and rituals of the remote highlands of the Tibetan frontier. Notwithstanding the paucity of historical details, Bellezza maps the region by drawing upon oral traditions, decoding religious texts, exploring remote archaeological sites, and narrating/memorializing fantastic folk literatures to reveal the central characteristics of the land and its people. In showing the linkages between the Lamaist traditions of Central Tibet and the Eternal Bon practices of the Tibetan highlands, the author encourages the renegotiation of the roots of Tibetan identity and self-understanding. The true value of this research can be assessed in light of the damages wrought by environmental changes, the policies and neglect by the People's Republic of China, and the unsavory activities of opportunists in the highlands of Tibet. This admirable addition to the field of Tibetology is a plea to preserve the ancient archaeological sites of Upper Tibet before they are lost to posterity. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, researchers, and anyone interested in Tibetan studies. * CHOICE *John Vincent Bellezza’s lifelong project to explore and document the religion and culture of Tibet’s earliest, pre-Buddhist civilization, is uniquely ambitious. In a series of publications he has used the techniques of archaeology, anthropology and textual scholarship to shed light on this world, obscured as it is by the passage of time and the dominance of Buddhism in Tibetan culture for the last thousand years. Bellezza is particularly interested in the civilization known to Tibetan tradition as Zhang Zhung, which was based in western Tibet, also known as Upper Tibet. . . .The Dawn of Tibet is the best introduction to his work so far. * The Silk Road *The Dawn of Tibet presents the cumulative efforts and progression of a seasoned scholar going beyond what archaeology is able to provide, armed with the support of literature, history, religion, and ritual customs. This is a work for a general audience.... The Dawn of Tibet takes the reader on a journey that is not one of linearity, but one that spreads out in several directions until meeting at one point. It also has much to offer the scholar with its insights on Tibetan civilization and thus stretches beyond the confines of the familiar, creating a complex journey of discovery. * Asian Highlands Perspectives *John Bellezza is one of a vanishing breed of scholars, an independent archaeological explorer whose work is pioneering in the truest sense of the word. His expeditions over the course of decades to the remotest and least-known regions of Tibet have unearthed a precious body of evidence for the interpretation of Tibet before Buddhism, with profound consequences for our understanding of the Tibetan world. -- Stephen Jenkins, Humboldt State UniversityFor over two decades John Bellezza has supplied the scientific community with spectacular findings from the historically little-explored world of Upper Tibet. His unique contacts with locals through many years of extensive travels throughout the western and northern plateau have given him access to hundreds of cultural sites, many of them clearly of prehistoric origin. Comparative analysis of these sites has led him to the recognition of an advanced early Metal Age civilization in Upper Tibet going back to c.1000 BCE. Regardless the caution of some researchers concerning the author’s suggested shared genealogy of this complex with the entities of the historical Zhang Zhung and Bon, these meticulously recorded discoveries remain outstanding testimonies to Tibet’s prehistoric cultural history. This insightful book recapitulates the key points of Bellezza’s long survey of this ancient world. Combining extensive references to later, mainly non-Buddhist or Zhang Zhung-related textual sources and ethnographic details of the traditional life of Upper Tibet’s nomadic communities, The Dawn of Tibet is a must for anyone interested in the cultures of the Tibetan highlands beyond their Buddhist horizons. -- Guntram Hazod, Austrian Academy of Sciences, ViennaTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Discovering the First Civilization of Tibet Chapter 2: The Great Sky Realm: The Land of Upper Tibet Chapter 3: Tillers and Herders, Warriors and Saints: The People of Upper Tibet Chapter 4: From Sky to Earth: The History of Zhang Zhung Chapter 5: Touching the Sky: The Citadel and Temples of Zhang Zhung Chapter 6: Penetrating the Earth: The Burial Grounds of Zhang Zhung Chapter 7: Flesh, Blood, and Bones in Stone: The Artistic Treasures of Zhang Zhung Chapter 8: Father Sky Eagle and Mother Earth Serpent: The Religion of Zhang Zhung Chapter 9: Horned Heroes and Turquoise Maidens: The Cultural Life of Zhang Zhung Chapter 10: My Ancestors, My Gods: Zhang Zhung Reigns in Contemporary Upper Tibet Conclusion Bibliography

    1 in stock

    £78.85

  • Meet Me in Venice

    Rowman & Littlefield Meet Me in Venice

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhen Ye Pei dreamed of Venice as a girl, she imagined a magical floating city of canals and gondola rides. And she imagined her mother, successful in her new life and eager to embrace the daughter she had never forgotten. But when Ye Pei arrives in Italy, she learns her mother works on a farm far from the city. Her only connection, a mean-spirited Chinese auntie, puts Ye Pei to work in a small-town café. Rather than giving up and returning to China, a determined Ye Pei takes on a grueling schedule, resolving to save enough money to provide her family with a better future. A groundbreaking work of journalism, Meet Me in Venice provides a personal, intimate account of Chinese individuals in the very act of migration. Suzanne Ma spent years in China and Europe to understand why Chinese people choose to immigrate to nations where they endure hardship, suspicion, manual labor and separation from their loved ones. Today all eyes are on China and its explosive economic growth. With the rise oTrade Review'For hundreds of years, Qingtian’s biggest export has been people,' journalist Ma writes in her sharp-eyed look at Chinese immigration. Ma focuses her examination on the aforementioned county of Qingtian and the plight of one particular immigrant, Ye Pei, whose family left Qingtian to make their fortune in Italy. Though it is Pei’s father, Shen, who decides to move the Ye family to Italy, his wife Fen’s visa comes through first. Fen is promised work in Venice, but the job evaporates when she arrives, so she finds work at a factory in Padua. It takes five years and a change of job before her family can join her. At 17, Pei is reluctant to leave her boyfriend in Qingtian but also excited by the prospect of the canals of Venice. Though the farm her mother works on and the Solesino coffee bar where Pei eventually secures work are far from the glamorous Venetian life she imagined, her optimism about making a better life in Italy remains undiminished. Based on years of communication and interviews with Pei, her family, and other Chinese immigrants, Ma’s unique study is essential reading for anyone seeking insight into Chinese immigration and the mind-set of those who seek better fortunes abroad. * Booklist, Starred Review *Chinese Canadian journalist Ma tackles the hot subject of immigration with her sensitive portrayal of a young woman who makes her way to northern Italy from Qingtian, a barren mountain town in the Zhejiang Province of China. According to the author, many Qiantianese are 'drawn to Italy’s textile and manufacturing industries' centered in Prato, 'home to the highest percentage of Chinese in Europe,' where they are the linchpin of factories owned and run by fellow Chinese émigrés. With 300,000 registered Chinese, they now rank as the fourth largest immigrant group in Italy. Ma connects with Ye Pei in 2011 when she’s a 16-year-old high school student in China and follows her to the Italian town of Solesino where she endures long hours working at a bar resolving to earn money for her parents to retire. Ma reconstructs Pei’s move to Italy, recounting the bumps of culture shock such as the struggle of mastering a new language with a different writing system. The author, who grew up in Chinese household but identifies as a Western, includes her own personal grappling with identity and cultural heritage. However she is most compelling when recounting Ye Pei’s story of self-sacrifice is the strength that she derives from the nuclear family as it reunites in a new country. That said, the reader will never view the 'Made in Italy' label in the same way again. * Publishers Weekly *A Chinese teenager's saga immigrating from Eastern China to Italy. . . .A sensitive writer, Ma expertly channels the yearning and base desires of her subjects through intimate conversation and cultural analysis in a narrative full of genuine compassion and appreciation. A genial, informative chronicle of the hopes and dreams of a Chinese immigrant. * Kirkus *Ma’s analytical lens zooms in and out, introducing her readers to individual migrant lives while illuminating the larger historical and sociopolitical context. . . .Beautifully crafted and poignant. . . .Ma’s book illuminates the humanity of those immigrants so often unseen. * Los Angeles Review of Books *The Chinese are everywhere. There are Chinatowns in almost every major city of the world, and in many minor ones as well. . . .Where do all these Chinese come from? Why do they leave the familiarity and comfort of their homelands to endure backbreaking toil, prejudice, and homesickness in foreign countries? Suzanne Ma addresses these questions in her eye-opening, fascinating, and beautifully written case study, Meet Me in Venice. . . .Meet Me in Venice is a revealing and thought-provoking look at the true meaning of our globalized economy, the falsity behind country-of-origin manufacturing labels, and the actual human cost of what we wear and eat. * Washington Independent Review of Books *At a time when China’s global reach is increasingly apparent, Suzanne Ma has crafted a fascinating and human portrait of what life is like for young Chinese migrants in Europe. Ma, who reports extensively in both Italy and China, has a wonderful eye for detail. She sits in on a Chinese cooking class called ‘Exit the Country,’ and she notes that a small city known for out-migration has posted huge ‘Welcome’ signs in five languages—but nothing that says ‘Farewell.’ This is a book for anybody who knows what it’s like to leave home. -- Peter Hessler, author of River Town and Oracle Bones and New Yorker staff writerMeet Me In Venice tells of the courage, hardships, and dreams of a new generation of Chinese who are leaving their homeland to seek fortune and opportunity in faraway lands. Suzanne Ma brings beautiful writing, compassion, and humor to the story of seventeen-year-old Ye Pei, who journeys to Italy to pursue her dreams of success and independence—and along the way, to make a perfect cup of cappuccino. Ranging from the language schools of Qingtian to the mushroom farms and garment factories of Italy, Ma illuminates the contours of Chinese immigrant lives that are at once crucial to the global economy and invisible to the outside world. -- Leslie T. Chang, author of Factory Girls and former China correspondent for the Wall Street JournalSuzanne Ma has written a perfect little jewel of a book that gets beyond the vague big picture and into specific communities and real lives, richly rewarding us by opening wide a fascinating door into the world of Chinese emigration. -- Howard W. French, author of China's Second Continent and former New York Times Shanghai bureau chiefMeet Me in Venice is a remarkable book, a reverse Marco Polo journey in which a dutiful Chinese teenager goes to Italy, not to find herself, but to support her immigrant parents' elusive goal of one day opening up their own business. This is a tale of hope and heartache. It is also an unforgettable glimpse into one of the fundamental yearnings of our age, the all-too-human desire for a better life. -- Jan Wong, author of Red China Blues and journalistWith most news centering around China's economic growth, it's especially important to understand the paths of Chinese immigrants and their experiences, and this story uses one young woman's journey to illustrate a familiar course for many in a key recommendation for any who would understand more of the immigrant experience in general and Chinese culture around the world, in particular. * California Bookwatch *Table of ContentsA Note about Pronunciations and Spellings Prologue Chapter One: The Bar Chapter Two: Leaving China Chapter Three: East Meets West Chapter Four: Chinatown Chapter Five: La Dolce Vita Chapter Six: Shifting Tides Chapter Seven: The Farm Chapter Eight: A New Year Epilogue Sources Acknowledgments About the Author

    1 in stock

    £17.99

  • Air Power

    Rowman & Littlefield Air Power

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis essential book offers a compelling and original interpretation of the rise of military aviation. Jeremy Black, one of the world's finest scholars of military history, provides a lucid analysis of the use of airpower over land and sea both during the two world wars and the more limited wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Considering both the theory and praxis of air power, the author begins with hot air balloons, and then highlights the use of zeppelins, piston engine fighters, jet bombers, and finally the so-called Military Revolution of today. While discussing the growth of American and European military aviation, Black, a pioneer in emphasizing the importance of non-Western military history for understanding global developments, also traces the emergence of air power in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Black breaks new ground by exploring not only to conventional warboth inside and outside Europebut also to the use of air power in unconventional wars, especially crTrade ReviewSynthesizing numerous secondary sources and combining them with some primary research, Black offers a synthetic history of air power that emphasizes the post–WW II era, when military aviation matured considerably, then carries his survey all the way to recent air operations and military aircraft acquisitions. Over the course of 13 chapters, this remarkable book shows the context of aerial combat not only through evolving technology but also through economic exigencies, political prestige, and shifting sensibilities on such matters as civilian casualties. By reminding readers that military aviation does not solve matters alone, the author also hints at the considerable intricacies associated with any aerial campaign, from political decision making to the incorporation of naval air power. However, to distill such complexity, Black assumes readers will be familiar with the variety of aircraft named yet neither described nor pictured. Lay audiences with a prior interest will appreciate the wider context offered as well as the brief glossary and supplementary reading list. . . .Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries. * CHOICE *[Jeremy Black] is an outstanding scholar. . . . [The] intelligent predictions that Black makes here . . . are much more subtle and nuanced. As a result, they are likely to stand the test of time. . . . To conclude, this is a useful introduction to airpower and it is particularly good in looking at it, not in isolation, but in the larger context. Airpower is not presented here as the silver bullet resolving all problems, but as a game-changer in many respects. It opened the door to city bombing on a scale that has made some think of genocide, but also to precision targeting, with the arrival of smart missiles. All this is ably demonstrated in this volume. * RUSI Journal *An excellent general history of airpower and an indispensable work for anyone who has anything to do with the employment of air assets. A range of audiences, from policymakers, to military personnel, to students of military history, should read it. . . . Black seeks to look beyond airpower as an asset in armed conflict to its varied and important roles in achieving strategic aims short of war. This is an immensely important and much overlooked aspect of airpower’s enduring strategic utility. . . . This work also diverges from the vast majority of airpower histories in its careful assessment of the air weapon’s utility in smaller air forces and also within larger ones in emerging major powers with rapidly evolving military capabilities, such as China and India. . . . Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Black engages energetically with policymaker failures to use airpower in realistic ways to achieve strategic aims in various armed conflicts. . . . Black’s superb insights regarding the enduring strategic value of airpower across the spectrum of conflict, from humanitarian crises and conflicts short of war to high-intensity conventional or even nuclear wars, are a highlight of his work. . . . Most of all, it reminds us that deemphasizing airpower would be a serious error. Black’s outstanding work warns us about this in no uncertain terms. * U.S. Military History Review *There are currently many books and accounts about air power available. Dr Peter Gray’s book goes much further than all of them. It accurately describes itself as a textbook. It draws upon an impressively large number of sources and bibliography to offer the student a series of detailed discussions on various aspects of the subject. It covers in some depth air power’s evolution, history, theory and practice. It looks at the political and legal aspects, the ethics and morality of air campaigns over the decades, reviews the huge body of literature on the subject, looks at many of the influential leaders and practitioners over the years, such as Mitchell, Douhet, Trenchard and Portal and discusses how to study and write about it. * Aerospace *[A] well-written summary of a broad topic.... Air Power: A Global History will be most useful for readers new to the topic who are looking for a beginning overview. More knowledgeable readers will still find much of interest. * Parameters *Air Power offers new insights about the global reaches and dynamics of air power.... Black offers readers a concise historical context to understand air power scholarship. Air Power serves as a helpful entry point for students, young scholars, or general readers... [I]t is a fine addition to Black’s large and growing oeuvre. * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *Readers of military aviation history will find Air Power: A Global History comes from one of the world's leading aviation historians and provides a compelling examination that goes beyond the usual consideration of conventional warfare to consider unconventional wars around the world. Chapters employ a chronological approach in detailing events from the 1920s to modern times, showing how air power was a significant part of conflicts between states, how it ultimately revolutionized military thinking about how warfare was conducted, and how refined organization and evolving doctrines affected military choices. Changing values, perspectives, and strategic operations are documented throughout, creating a powerful survey highly recommended for military history and aviation history collections alike. * Donovan's Bookshelf *[A] stand out volume in the history of air warfare. Black covers the traditional subjects of the great wars, but he goes into great depth in lesser known conflicts. . . . Black covers the history of air power from balloons to drones and presents often overlooked information in the development of air power as well as its successes and failures. . . . A very detailed look at the history of air power in a surprisingly short book. * Evilcyclist's Blog *Combining conceptual insight with clear, readable descriptions of technology, Jeremy Black describes how air power evolved from modest beginnings into a major national instrument of both deterrence and compellence. By covering the societal and psychological aspects of air warfare as well as air power’s hundred-year history of delivering air superiority, situational awareness, maneuver and strike, this excellent book fills a real void in the existing literature. Highly recommended. -- Col. Prof. John Andreas Olsen, Royal Norwegian Air ForceJeremy Black’s Air Power is destined to be the go-to book on the subject. While inspiring in its breadth and scope, the work does not lose sight of the key issues that propelled the development of military aviation such as leadership, technological advances, and political considerations. Most important, Black does not fall victim to air power theorists’ propaganda, instead maintaining a clear-eyed focus on the limitations of air power and its integration with land and sea forces. -- Jason W. Warren, U.S. Army War CollegeThis book couldn’t be timelier. As desperate governments search for ways to avoid the quagmire of ground combat in the Middle East and elsewhere, the notion that air power on its own can achieve strategic objectives is rapidly taking on the dimensions of a panacea. But eminent military historian Jeremy Black, writing for informed citizens and decision-makers alike, assays the historical record of military aviation’s contribution to victory in war and concludes that governments would do well to exercise caution in putting all of their strategic eggs in the air power basket. -- Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military InstituteTable of ContentsAbbreviations Preface 1.Introduction 2.The Start of a New Arm 3.The First World War 4.The 1920s 5.The 1930s 6.The Second World War 7.The Early Cold War, 1946–1962 8.The Cold War: The Middle Period, 1963–1975 9.The Later Cold War, 1976–1989 10.Air Power and the Revolution in Military Affairs, 1990–2003 11.A Complex Reality, 2004–2015 12.Into the Future 13.Conclusions Notes Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

    1 in stock

    £38.95

  • ASEANs Half Century

    Rowman & Littlefield ASEANs Half Century

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis authoritative book provides a comprehensive political history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ten members of which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Leading scholar Donald E. Weatherbee follows ASEAN from its inception in 1967, when it was founded with the goal of promoting peace, stability, security, and economic growth in the region. Throughout, a basic assumption of its leaders has been that the achievement of the first three conditions is necessary for the fourth. Weatherbee traces ASEAN's three reinventions: in 1976, it made security a primary Cold War interest; in 1992, it refocused on economic integration; in 2007, it adopted the ASEAN Charter, which was the legal basis for the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015. He shows how at each stage of its development, ASEAN has dealt at three levels of action: the regional international order; intra-ASEAN relations; and thTrade ReviewDon Weatherbee is a renowned analyst of Southeast Asian politics, and his latest book, ASEAN's Half Century, further burnishes his already splendid reputation. Weatherbee analyzes both the intramural dynamics of the ASEAN region and its complicated relations with the great powers. Highly recommended. -- Sheldon Simon, Arizona State UniversityVeteran Southeast Asian expert Don Weatherbee has produced an empirically rich, analytically insightful assessment of ASEAN’s first fifty years. It provides a clear-eyed accounting of the association’s past achievements and future challenges that will be required reading for anyone interested in ASEAN. -- Ann Marie Murphy, Seton Hall UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ASEAN Community Basic Structure Note on ASEAN Documentation List of Abbreviations Map 1 Introduction to ASEAN: ASEAN’s Fiftieth Birthday 2 The Founding of ASEAN: The Bangkok Declaration 3 ASEAN’s First Reinvention: The 1976 First ASEAN Summit 4 The Third Indochina War: The Situation in Kampuchea 5 The Expansion of ASEAN: From Five to Ten 6 Adapting to Peace: The 1988 Third ASEAN Summit 7 ASEAN’s Second Reinvention: The 1992 Fourth ASEAN Summit 8 ASEAN’s Third Reinvention: The Building Blocks of the ASEAN Community 9 Intra-ASEAN Conflict: Norms versus Behavior 10 ASEAN’s Existential Crisis: The South China Sea Conflict 11 ASEAN’s Vision 2025: A Fourth Reinvention? Index About the Author

    1 in stock

    £79.80

  • A Brief History of Khubilai Khan

    Little, Brown Book Group A Brief History of Khubilai Khan

    Book SynopsisHis grandfather was the bloodthirsty Mongol leader Genghis Khan, his mother a Christian princess. Groomed from childhood for a position of authority, Khubilai snatched the position of Great Khan, becoming the overlord of a Mongol federation that stretched from the Balkans to the Korean coast. His armies conquered the Asian kingdom of Dali and brought down the last defenders of imperial China. Khubilai Khan presided over a glorious Asian renaissance, attracting emissaries from all across the continent, and opening his civil service to ''men with coloured eyes'' - administrators from the far west. His reign began the glorious Yuan dynasty that ruled over China for only ninety years, but had a profound impact on Asian history, from international trade to cultural revolution. Jonathan Clements''s insightful biography into the life and times of one of China''s greatest leaders is a fascinating introduction to an important era, uncovering the man behind Marco Polo''

    £12.34

  • When the Clouds Fell from the Sky

    Little, Brown Book Group When the Clouds Fell from the Sky

    Book Synopsis''An outstanding book of astonishing power . . . One finishes it with an ache in the heart''JON SWAIN, writer and foreign correspondent, author of River of Time''Through a profoundly moving tale that weaves together the connected stories of a victim, his surviving family, and members of the regime, Robert Carmichael brings us into the heart of the darkness that took over Cambodia, bringing it alive in the way no mere statistics can. I''ve not seen a comparable book about these horrors''ADAM HOCHSCHILD, award-winning author of King Leopold''s Ghost''The intimate and heartbreaking story of the disappearance of one man, and the decades of suffering that followed as his family searched for answers''SETH MYDANS, former Southeast Asia correspondent for the New York TimesIn 1977, Neary was two years old and living in Paris when her father Ouk Ket, a Cambodian diplomat, was recalled home ''to get educated to bTrade ReviewAn outstanding book of astonishing power, one of the most important and valuable to emerge from the horrors of the Pol Pot regime . . . a direct and vivid account of the cruelty and destruction of the country's darkest era . . . Carmichael relates a family's intensely painful private story with great sensitivity, weaving it into his overall narrative of the genocide . . . this and his sincerity make his book unforgettable. One finishes it with an ache in the heart. -- Jon Swain, writer and foreign correspondent, author of River of TimeA love story that rises - so beautifully - above, and in stark contrast to, the absurd and criminal insanity of the Khmer Rouge. Meticulous and carefully documented, When the Clouds Fell from the Sky explores a wide range of Cambodia's issues while testifying in a deeply moving way about one of humanity's worst tragedies. -- Bruno Carette, documentary-maker, Khmers Rouges Amers (Bitter Khmer Rouge)Like Auschwitz, like Stalin's purges, the mass murders of the Khmer Rouge are one of those extraordinary events that make us wonder about the human capacity for evil. Through a profoundly moving tale that weaves together the connected stories of a victim, his surviving family, and members of the regime, Robert Carmichael brings us into the heart of the darkness that took over Cambodia, bringing it alive in the way no mere statistics can. I've not seen a comparable book about these horrors. -- Adam Hochschild, award-winning author of King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial AfricaWhat does it mean to say two million people lost their lives during the years of Khmer Rouge rule? The true answer can only be told in microcosm, as Robert Carmichael has done in this intimate and heartbreaking story of the disappearance of one man, and the decades of suffering that followed as his family searched for answers. -- Seth Mydans, former Southeast Asia correspondent for the New York TimesAs moving as it is well researched. Robert Carmichael's sharp prose and depth of knowledge of Cambodia's history transforms a daughter's search for her missing father into a nation's journey to find peace and reconciliation with its brutal history of genocide. -- Loung Ung, author of First They Killed My FatherFew journalists have studied the Khmer Rouge tribunal as closely as Carmichael, whose book reveals the complex, often contradictory nature of international justice. What justice can be had when weighed against such crimes? It is an issue victims and observers alike have struggled with from the start . . . The book is like tracing paper, layering Ket's life over Cambodia's sad history. Threading it together are Martine and Ket's daughter Neary, whose early chance encounter with Carmichael yielded this extraordinary story. -- Abby Seiff * History Today *In this brilliant and vivid book, Robert Carmichael skilfully weaves personal accounts with history and reflective analysis, giving essential context to the violence. It is a powerful and compelling story that avoids casting the perpetrators as 'monsters'; instead, showing them to be terrifyingly ordinary. And throughout, Martine and Neary's anguished quest for answers brings home the true scope of the suffering that reached far beyond the walls of S-21. -- Nic Dunlop, author of The Lost Executioner

    £9.99

  • Bolt Action Empires in Flames

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Bolt Action Empires in Flames

    Book SynopsisFar from the battlefields of Europe and North Africa, Allied forces fought a very different war against another foe. From the jungles of Burma to the islands of the Pacific and the shores of Australia, this new theater supplement for Bolt Action allows players to command the spearhead of the lightning Japanese conquests in the East or to fight tooth and nail as Chindits, US Marines and other Allied troops to halt the advance and drive them back. Scenarios, special rules and new units give players everything they need to recreate the ferocious battles and campaigns of the Far East, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, from Singapore to the Phillipines, Iwo Jima and beyond.Table of ContentsIntroduction/ Special Rules/ Scenarios

    £22.50

  • Vietnam

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Vietnam

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Vietnam War ripped America apart and charted the nation''s tumultuous future. In their tens of thousands, young men went off to fight in what was an initially popular war only to face defeat and acrimony as national resolve wavered - and returned home to a nation that reviled them and tried to forget about them. Written by Andrew Wiest, the bestselling author of The Boys of ''67: Charlie Company''s War in Vietnam this book traces the American experience of Vietnam from the war''s popular inception to its morale-crushing and bitter conclusion. Based on rich collection housed at the Center of Military History and at the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech, Vietnam allows the reader a grunt''s-eye view of the conflict - from the steaming rice paddies and swamps of the Mekong Delta, to the triple-canopy rainforest of the Central Highlands, and to the forlorn Marine bases that dotted the DMZ. The stories contained within these pages detail everything from heroism and battle to heliTable of ContentsIntroduction /1 Who We Were /2 Drop and Give Me 20 /3 Welcome to Vietnam /4 Life and Death in the Nam /5 Combat /6 Loss /7 A World of Hurt /8 Changing Attitudes /9 Freedom Bird /10 Life After Nam /Bibliography /Acknowledgements /Exclusive Extract from The Boys of ‘67 /Index

    5 in stock

    £10.44

  • The First Afghan War 183942

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The First Afghan War 183942

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn 1839, forces of the British East India Company crossed the Indus to invade Afghanistan on the pretext of reinstating a former king, Shah Soojah, to his rightful throne. The reality was that this was another step in Britain''s Great Game--Afghanistan would create a buffer to any potential Russian expansion toward India. This history traces the initial, highly successful campaign as the British easily occupied Kabul and the rebellion that two years later humbled the British army. Forced to negotiate a surrender, the British fled Kabul en masse in the harsh Afghan winter. Decimated by Afghan guerilla attacks and by the extreme cold paired with a lack of food and supplies, just one European--Dr. Brydon--would make it to the safety of Jalalabad five days later. This highly illustrated history then goes on to trace the retribution attack on Kabul the following year, which destroyed the symbolic Mogul Bazaar before troops rapidly withdrew and left Afghanistan in peace for nearlTable of ContentsIntroduction/Chronology/Opposing commanders/Opposing armies/Opposing plans/The campaign/Aftermath/The battlefield today/Further reading/Index

    1 in stock

    £15.19

  • Asia after Versailles

    Edinburgh University Press Asia after Versailles

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisBringing together an international range of experts in the history of China, Japan, India and the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, this pioneering volume demonstrates the importance of Asia in the multifaceted global transformations that revolved around the Paris Peace Conference and its aftermath.

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • Muslim Cosmopolitanism

    Edinburgh University Press Muslim Cosmopolitanism

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisOrganised around six key themes that interweave the connected histories of three countries in Southeast Asia Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia this book shows the ways in which historical actors have promoted better understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims in the region.

    1 in stock

    £27.54

  • Medieval Monuments of Central Asia

    Edinburgh University Press Medieval Monuments of Central Asia

    Book SynopsisThis is a comprehensive study of the surviving monuments of the Qarakhanids an important yet little-known medieval dynasty that ruled much of Central Asia between the late 10th and early 13th centuries.

    £99.00

  • Islamic Thought in China

    Edinburgh University Press Islamic Thought in China

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe essays in this volume tell the stories of Chinese Muslim intellectuals trying to create satisfying, safe and coherent lives at the intersection of two potentially conflicting cultures.

    1 in stock

    £27.54

  • Local States in an Imperial World

    Edinburgh University Press Local States in an Imperial World

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisFocusing on the Deccan Sultanates of 16th- and 17th-century central India, Local States in an Imperial World promotes the idea that some polities of the time were not aspiring to be empires.

    1 in stock

    £24.69

  • Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity

    Edinburgh University Press Zoroastrian Scholasticism in Late Antiquity

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisZeini challenges the view that considers the Zand's study an auxiliary science to Avestan studies, framing the text instead within the exegetical context from which it emerged.

    5 in stock

    £29.45

  • Religion Orientalism and Modernity

    Edinburgh University Press Religion Orientalism and Modernity

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisGeoffrey Nash explores the emergence of the revolutionary Babis and reformist Baha'is and their conflict with mainstream Shi'a Muslims in Iran, and of the parallel Ahmadi movement in North India. Comparing these movements shows that, together, they define important aspects of Islamic modernity.

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • Imperial Muslims

    Edinburgh University Press Imperial Muslims

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisExplores the social consequences of Britain's creation of an Indian Ocean empire that brought millions of Muslim subjects under a single political umbrella for the first time in the modern era.

    1 in stock

    £22.79

  • Bayana

    Edinburgh University Press Bayana

    Book SynopsisOffers a broad reinvestigation of North Indian Muslim architecture through a case study of a desert fortress: Bayana in Rajasthan.

    £190.00

  • Islamic Modernism and the ReEnchantment of the

    Edinburgh University Press Islamic Modernism and the ReEnchantment of the

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book studies the complex relationship of religion to modernity and argues that modernity should be understood as the consequence, not the cause, of the new intellectual landscape of the 19th century. Shows how the adoption of historicism in the 19th century engendered Islamic modernism as a theological reform movement.

    1 in stock

    £85.50

  • Plutarch and the Persica

    Edinburgh University Press Plutarch and the Persica

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis book addresses two historical mysteries. The first is the content and character of the fourth century BCE Greek works called the Persica. The second is the method of work of the second century CE biographer Plutarch of Chaeronea who used these works to compose his biographies.

    5 in stock

    £26.59

  • Neonationalist Mythology in Postwar Japan

    Lexington Books Neonationalist Mythology in Postwar Japan

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisRadhabinod Pal was an Indian jurist who achieved international fame as the judge representing India at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and dissented from the majority opinion, holding that all Japanese Class A war criminals were not guilty of any of the charges brought against them. In postwar Japanese politics, right-wing polemicists have repeatedly utilized his dissenting judgment in their political propaganda aimed at refuting the Tokyo trial's majority judgment and justifying Japan's aggression, gradually elevating this controversial lawyer from India to a national symbol of historical revisionism. Many questions have been raised about how to appropriately assess Pal's dissenting judgment and Pal himself. Were the arguments in Pal's judgment sound? Why did he submit such a bold dissenting opinion? What was the political context? More fundamentally, why and how did the Allies ever nominate such a lawyer as a judge for a tribunal of such great political importance? How should his disseTrade Review[T]his book is a fine achievement, and does indeed succeed in laying to rest some of the myths that have persisted around the story of Judge Pal. * The International Journal of Asian Studies *Nariaki Nakazato’s timely and important book appears sixty years after the commencement of the Tokyo war crimes trials, proceedings that helped shape postwar Japan and that were decisive in the development of international humanitarian law. The dissenting judgment by the Indian judge, Radhabinod Pal, which labeled the majority view ‘victor’s justice,’ has been hailed by Japan’s postwar right as proof of the illegitimacy of the trial, and even as vindication of Japan’s wartime actions. Against this, a leading Japanese historian of India offers a detailed analysis of Pal’s legal judgment, a finely grained account of his life and times as a figure shaped by his Indian milieu, and a critical evaluation of the appropriations of Pal by Japan’s ‘revisionists.’ This meticulously researched and fascinating account could only be crafted by someone equally at home with modern Indian history and current political controversies in Japan over its past. It is essential reading for scholars and students of the Tokyo trials, of international humanitarian law, and of the uses and abuses of history. -- Sanjay Seth, Goldsmiths, University of LondonNeonationalist Mythology in Postwar Japan is a passionate, nuanced, and meticulously detailed analysis of the factors in Japanese and Indian history, as well as those in the history of the United States’ reorganization of its Asian interests and alliances in the Cold War and post-Cold War eras, that have enabled an obscure legal document—Justice Radhabinod Pal’s dissenting judgment at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (1946–48)—to play a pivotal part in the rise of neonationalism and the politics of war-crimes denial in contemporary Japan. -- Gyanendra Pandey, Emory UniversityNeonationalist Mythology in Postwar Japan offers a much-awaited critical biography of Radhabinod Pal, a Bengali jurist who produced a controversial dissenting opinion at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Based on meticulous archival research and interviews involving Bengali, English, and Japanese languages, Nariaki Nakazato sheds new light on Pal’s life and the troubling legacy of his dissentient judgment in the making of the rightist nationalist discourse in postwar Japan. -- Yuma Totani, University of HawaiiTable of ContentsPart I: Pal and the Tokyo Trial Chapter 1: Pal’s Nomination and Attitude towards the Tribunal Chapter 2: The Dissentient Judgement and Its Aftermath Part II: Pal’s Life and Ideas Chapter 3: Rise into the Elite Society of Calcutta Chapter 4: A Conservative Nationalist Part III: The “Pal Myth” in Japan Chapter 5: The Creation of the “Pal Myth” Chapter 6: The “Pal Myth” and the Neonationalist Movement

    1 in stock

    £44.00

  • Cavendish Square Publishing Malaysia

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    1 in stock

    £46.75

  • The Emperor's Feast: 'A tasty portrait of a

    Hodder & Stoughton The Emperor's Feast: 'A tasty portrait of a

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis'A galloping journey through thousands of years of Chinese culinary history . . . a timely reminder that the country's modern cuisine is the delicious fruit of a rich, ancient and perhaps surprisingly multicultural tradition' FUCHSIA DUNLOP, SPECTATOR'A tasty portrait of a nation' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A splendid introduction to the complex history of China' GUARDIAN'A terrific read . . . Jonathan Clements writes with erudition and humour' DAILY MAIL'This book is itself a feast, each chapter a sumptuous course'Frederik L. Schodt, author of My Heart Sutra'Witty and insightful' Derek Sandhaus, author of Drunk in China****************The history of China - not according to emperors or battles, but according to its food and drink.The Emperor's Feast is the epic story of a nation and a people, told through one of its most fundamental pillars and successful exports: food. Following the journeys of different ingredients, dishes and eating habits over 5,000 years of history, author and presenter Jonathan Clements examines how China's political, cultural and technological evolution and her remarkable entrance onto the world stage have impacted how the Chinese - and the rest of the world - eat, drink and cook.We see the influence of invaders such as the Mongols and the Manchus, and discover how food - like the fiery cuisine of Sichuan or the hardy dishes of the north - often became a stand-in for regional and national identities. We also follow Chinese flavours to the shores of Europe and America, where enterprising chefs and home cooks created new traditions and dishes unheard of in the homeland.From dim sum to mooncakes to General Tso's chicken, The Emperor's Feast shows us that the story of Chinese food is ultimately the story of a nation: not just the one that history tells us, but also the one that China tells us about itself.Trade Review''Cleverly uses food - the part of Chinese culture with which many western people are most familiar - as a way of charting the complex history of China, a vast country made up of many peoples, cultures and cuisines . . . This is a splendid introduction to the cooking and history of China, filled with surprising details on the origins of many famous dishes' * Guardian *'A tasty portrait of a nation . . . Running through Clements' account is an insistence - smartly and subtly offered, and particularly welcome in our present straits - on the role food plays in binding family and friends together . . . There is something reassuring, even rather moving, about sitting down with others to eat and knowing that you are doing something that would be immediately and intimately familiar to people across countless cultures and generations' * Sunday Telegraph *'Clements' love for China's history and cuisine shines through in each chapter, with his evident passion making the book a consistently engaging read.' -- Tom Wilmot * Asian Movie Pulse *'Jonathan Clements' The Emperor's Feast is witty and insightful, taking readers on a journey through China's history from the comfort of the dinner table. It inverts the old maxim by convincingly demonstrating that people aren't just what they eat, but how they eat' -- Derek Sandhaus''This book is itself a feast, each chapter a sumptuous course - prepared by a gifted writer and linguist who can synthesize vast amounts of information on Chinese food and history, arrange it in a fascinating way, and spice it up with his own wisdom, wit, and experiences. In the end, his focus on Chinese food gives us a new lens through which we can also view the impossibly long, complex, and rich history of China itself.'' -- Frederik L. Schodt

    5 in stock

    £22.50

  • Poisoning the Pacific: The US Military's Secret

    Rowman & Littlefield Poisoning the Pacific: The US Military's Secret

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisFor decades, the US military has been contaminating the Pacific region with toxic substances. Thousands of service members, their families, and local residents have been exposed—but the US has hidden the damage and refused to help victims. This book reveals the enormous extent of contamination and the lengths the Pentagon will go to conceal it.

    1 in stock

    £17.09

  • One in a Billion: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey

    Rowman & Littlefield One in a Billion: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis heart-wrenching story immerses readers in the dramatic survival of one outspoken man who illuminates the souls of a billion ordinary Chinese citizens. An Wei, a stubborn, hardworking peasant who has lived by his values and stood up for his convictions, has succeeded against all odds in the authoritarian environment of China. Despite grinding poverty, hunger, reeducation campaigns, and attacks from jealous peers, Wei continues to inspire with his daring achievements, such as launching a democratic congress in his own village. His compelling life provides a vivid backdrop for understanding the development of modern China from the unique perspective of an outspoken citizen. Through his audacious determination and survival skills forged in rural poverty, An Wei’s unstoppable drive to improve himself and rural China will captivate and enthrall readers.

    5 in stock

    £30.00

  • Poverty and Pacification: The Chinese State

    Rowman & Littlefield Poverty and Pacification: The Chinese State

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking book powerfully humanizes the little-known urban workers who have been left behind in China’s single-minded drive to modernize. Dorothy Solinger traces the origins of their plight to the mid-1990s, when the Chinese government found that state-owned factories were failing in large numbers in the face of market reforms just as the country was about to enter the World Trade Organization. Under these circumstances, leaders urged firms to lay off tens of millions of previously lifetime-employed, welfare-secure, under-educated, middle-aged employees. As these dislocated people were left without any source of livelihood, the regime settled on a tiny welfare effort, the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee (dibao), to provide some support and, most important from the viewpoint of the leadership, to keep them quiet so that enterprise reform could proceed peacefully. Solinger explores the induced urban poverty that resulted and relates the painful struggle for survival of these discarded laborers. She also details the history and workings of the dibao and its missteps, as well as changes in policy over time. Drawing on dozens of interviews, this book brings to life the urban workers who have been relegated to obsolescence, isolation, and invisibility by China’s quest for modernity. Trade ReviewAlthough the Chinese Communist Party has received much credit for “lifting millions out of poverty,” Solinger delves into how the party’s economic reforms have also left millions behind. Scholars have fixated on the lot of poor peasants, but she focuses on the urban poor created by the shuttering and privatizing of state-owned enterprise in the late 1990s. Solinger argues that dibao, China’s social assistance program for the urban poor, is shaped by political motivations. It is designed to pacify its recipients rather than to lift them up…. The book obviously benefits from Solinger’s decades of experience studying this issue, evidenced in copious firsthand interview notes and government statistics[.] * Foreign Affairs *Poverty and Pacification is a modern classic of welfare studies in post-socialist China and a devastating portrait of this aspect of state-society relations. The book should stimulate interdisciplinary research on poverty in wealthy and poor cities, as well as on policy formulations to reduce urban-rural and regional inequalities. The rhetoric of growth and prosperity aside, it is urgent to reorganize work, health care, housing, and education to improve the Chinese working people’s livelihoods and the lives of their children. * The China Journal *Following her widely acclaimed studies on the citizenship of peasant migrants and industrial workers, Dorothy Solinger—a world authority on China’s politics and social policies—provides another incredibly detailed and forceful account of the plight of the working class and welfare retrenchment. This extraordinary book is a testimony to China’s painful social engineering to modernity. -- Fulong Wu, University College LondonIn this interesting book, Dorothy Solinger crystallizes her long-standing research on China’s urban poor, exposing the government’s miserable treatment of a huge number of former workers who had once been loyal stalwarts of Maoist socialism. Drawing from a vast amount of field notes and documentation, she analyzes the manipulative mechanisms by which different levels of the government have been able to relegate this sector of the populace to marginal oblivion. -- Anita Chan, editor of The China JournalDorothy Solinger is one of the most eminent social scientists who specializes in modern China. This admirable study of China’s inadequate welfare system for the urban poor, based on in-depth documentary research and insightful interviews, reveals the callous underside of the Chinese leadership’s social policies. It is one of Solinger’s best books. -- Jonathan Unger, emeritus, Australian National UniversitySolinger’s study of China’s forgotten and invisible urban residents—often living in desperate conditions at odds with the dominant narrative of China’s miracle of economic growth and development—is the culmination of two decades of research. It is a work of meticulous detail, drawing on multiple methods and sources of information presented alongside a commanding knowledge of the literature that explains the emergence of China’s social assistance in the economic and political context of the last thirty years. What marks this as a standout study of China’s management of the urban poor and the development of the social assistance system is Solinger’s empathy for those in poverty, who receive only what help the state deems adequate. They are not forgotten or ignored; rather, they are central to the analysis, and it is all the stronger for it. -- Daniel R. Hammond, University of EdinburghBased on her decades of pathbreaking and passionate research, Solinger offers a masterful analysis of the urban indigents in China. Their stories are told with gravity and insights into the evolving policy regimes and political economy. -- Ching Kwan Lee, Professor of Sociology, UCLAPoverty and Pacification: The Chinese State Abandons the Old Working Class provides an incredibly thorough treatment of China's Minimum Livelihood Guarantee scheme, from the program's origins, to its administration, to its evolution. Most importantly, however, this book humanizes the experience of Dibao recipients by providing a space where the voices of China's urban poor are heard. Poverty and Pacification is essential reading not only for those who want to understand urban poverty in China but also for anyone interested in Chinese politics and society. -- Jennifer Pan, Standford UniversityDorothy Solinger has produced a remarkable sequel to her classic account of China’s rural migrant workers (Contesting Citizenship in Urban China, 1999). In Poverty and Pacification, Solinger shifts her attention to the tens of millions of veteran urban workers who have lost their jobs as China’s factories have been privatized, restructured, and closed. Based on more than two decades of research in nine Chinese cities, she provides a disturbing portrayal of how industrial restructuring has dismantled the lives of men and women who had once been promised lifetime employment. While her earlier book documented the severe difficulties encountered by rural migrants, it also reflected their hopes of upward mobility; her new book, in contrast, treats the downward trajectory of once proud workers who have been cast aside. -- Joel Andreas, Johns Hopkins University; author of Rise of the Red Engineers and DisenfranchisedThis excellent book is necessary reading for scholars of urban inequality, social mobility and stratification, and public policy – not only those working onChina but anyone concerned with rising urban inequality across transitional contexts. * China Quarterly *Table of ContentsList of Tables and FigurePreface SECTION I: BACKGROUND1 Three Shifts in State Mission 2 Urban Poverty and Its Paltry Palliatives 3 The Dibao and the Dibaohu SECTION II: EXPERIENCES OF LAYOFF AND DIBAO4 Xiagang: From Master to Mendicant5 Dibao: Management and Missteps6 Dibao: Survival and Perspectives SECTION III: COMPARISONS AND VARIATIONS7 “Social Assistance?”: A Comparative Perspective 8 Dibao: Differential Disbursement SECTION IV: HARSH CHANGES9 Policy Manipulations 10 Denouement: Drastic Cut in the Dibao Rolls—Did Pensions Replace the Dibao? Conclusion Glossary Works Cited Index

    1 in stock

    £35.00

  • Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel

    PublicAffairs Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel

    1 in stock

    Book Synopsis

    1 in stock

    £27.20

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