Asian history Books

Book SynopsisOver a million Indian soldiers fought in the First World War, the largest force from the colonies and dominions. Their contribution, however, has been largely forgotten. Many soldiers were illiterate and travelled from remote villages in India to fight in the muddy trenches in France and Flanders. Many went on to win the highest bravery awards. For King and another Country tells, for the first time, the personal stories of some of these Indians who went to the Western Front: from a grand turbanned Maharaja rearing to fight for Empire to a lowly sweeper who dies in a hospital in England, from a Pathan who wins the Victoria Cross to a young pilot barely out of school. Shrabani Basu delves into archives in Britain and narratives buried in villages in India and Pakistan to recreate the War through the eyes of the Indians who fought it. There are heroic tales of bravery as well as those of despair and desperation; there are accounts of the relationships that weTrade ReviewA stirring, fascinating and fresh account of a part of our history that should be declared Not Forgotten * Ian Hislop *A beautifully written book that gently yet powerfully reminds of the debt freedom owes to the Indian soldier and nation. It is compellingly different and it's timing perfect. It serves humbly to remind we British of the debt we owe the people of the sub-continent and of the ties that irrevocably bind us together * Lord Richards, Former Chief of Defence Staff *Shrabani Basu has captured the epic drama and the human tragedy of World War I with an artist's eye and a historian's mind. Her narrative vivifies a chapter of modern history that had dullened into sepia * Gopal Gandhi *In this moving chronicle of dauntless courage and human fortitude, Shrabani Basu restores to history and to greatness valorous men orphaned by the king they served and forgotten by the country they loved * Shashi Tharoor *Basu’s book tells us of children as young as 10 who fought in the frontline; of special arrangements made by the British to accommodate caste and religion, including separate funeral provisions; of the enduring blight of untouchability, even on foreign shores; and of outstanding examples of bravery, earning 11 Indians the Victoria Cross * The Hindu *In her new book For King and Country, the historian Shrabani Basu movingly explores the ordeals, and the achievements, of the million-plus Indian troops who fought for the Empire in the First World War * Independent *

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Book Synopsis''If I had to pick a single general martial arts history book in English, I would recommend A Brief History of the Martial Arts by Dr Jonathan Clements'' RICHARD BEITLICH, Martial History Team blogFrom Shaolin warrior monks to the movies of Bruce Lee, a new history of the evolution of East Asian styles of unarmed combat, from Kung Fu to NinjutsuFolk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings.This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies. Centre stage is given to the stories that martial artists tell themselves about tTrade ReviewI defy anyone to come away from this book without a deeper knowledge of all martial arts. * http://blog.alltheanime.com/books-a-brief-history-of-the-martial-arts/ *[Clements'] final conclusions surprise . . . leaving the reader satisfied as well as educated. -- Hugh David * MyM magazine *A detailed study of the interaction between folklore, nationalism, religion and politics in the east Asian martial arts . . . refreshingly frank. * NEO magazine *This is the book I recommend if you want a single volume on martial arts history based on sound evidence and sourced research. I highlighted so many sentences in my Kindle edition that I ran over Amazon's limit! . . . it's an absolute steal and would make a great gift for any martial artist. -- Richard Bejtlich, Martial History Team blog * Martial History Team blog *

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Book Synopsis''Vivid, atmospheric, packed with brilliant story-telling'' - Humphrey Hawksley, former BBC Beijing, Hong Kong and Asia Correspondent''[An] entertaining guide, rich in anecdote and understanding for an early globalised world that has gone'' - Michael Sheridan, Sunday Times''Illuminating'' - Thomas Dyja, New York Times Book ReviewA timely, well-researched, and vibrant new history of Hong Kong that reveals the untold stories of the diverse peoples who have made it a multicultural world metropolis-and whose freedoms are endangered today.Hong Kong has always been many cities to many people: a seaport, a gateway to an empire, a place where fortunes can be dramatically made or lost. A British Crown Colony for 155 years, Hong Kong is now ruled by the Chinese Communist Party who continues to threaten its democracy and put its rich legacy at risk. Here, renowned journalist Vaudine England delves into Hong Kong''

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Book SynopsisThis illustrated study investigates the Indo-Islamic fighting men of South Asia from the 7th century AD to the Mughal conquest of the 16th century.From 1206, much of what is now India as well as parts of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal were ruled by a succession of Islamic dynasties that had their origins in the Ghurid forces that conquered parts of northern India in the 12th century. Although it was never complete, the Islamic domination of this huge region also had a profound impact upon Islamic civilization as a whole, not least in military terms, being felt as far west as Africa. Within South Asia, the war-torn medieval centuries laid the foundations for the subsequent even more brilliant Mughal Empire.Featuring eight plates of superb artwork alongside carefully chosen photographs and illustrations, this study complements the same author''s Medieval Indian Armies (1): Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. It describes and illustrates the Indo-Islamic forces operTable of ContentsIntroduction Islamic dynasties in medieval India Cultural exchange in medieval India A clash of military traditions The caliphates' Indian frontier, c.650-800 The Indo-Islamic provinces, c.800-950 Ghaznavids and Ghurids, c.950-1225 The Delhi and Bengal Sultanates, c.1200-1525 The Deccan and Southern Sultanates, c.1350-1525 Further Reading Plate Commentaries Index

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Book SynopsisIn Dreadful Desires Charlie Yi Zhang examines how the Chinese state deploys affective notions of love to regulate the population and secure China’s place in the global economy. Zhang shows how the state frames love as a set of desires that encompass heteronormative intimacy, familial and communal attachment, upward mobility, and private property ownership. These desires—as circulated in performance in the nationalistic ceremony, same-sex romantic fan fiction, the wildly popular reality television dating show If You Are the One, and the cult of patriarchal personality around Xi Jinping—are explicitly based in oppressive systems of gender, class, and sexuality. Zhang contends that such desires connect love to economic survival and gender normativity in ways that underwrite Chinese neoliberalism at the expense of individual flourishing. By outlining how state-framed forms of love create desires that cannot be fulfilled, Zhang places China at the forefront oTrade Review“This fantastic book is an examination of the undoing of the Chinese worker under neoliberal reform through self-defeating acts of love in the name of family and sacrifice for the sake of children. With great critical insight, Zhang unpacks how the affective renunciations of disenfranchised workers shore up the interests of transnational capital and socialism with Chinese characteristics, resulting in a vertiginous race to the bottom.” -- David L. Eng, coauthor of * Racial Melancholia, Racial Dissociation: On the Social and Psychic Lives of Asian Americans *“Charlie Yi Zhang offers to do for love in China what Lauren Berlant, in Cruel Optimism, does for hope. He brilliantly shows how the idea of love has been sold as a means of reinforcing power dynamics that structure the lives of so many people, especially women, laborers, and rural people. Deploying a unique, interdisciplinary combination of ethnographic inquiry and media analysis, Zhang complicates the ways in which we take desire, affective worlds, and class aspirations for granted.” -- Ari Larissa Heinrich, author of * Chinese Surplus: Biopolitical Aesthetics and the Medically Commodified Body *"... this book with the author’s rich, interesting recounting of China’s political–economic traumas and ironies and his piercing critique of the party-state’s neoliberal mentality and capitalist exploitation, is of great significance and can spark further critical inspections of discourses on love and intimacy in post-2020 neoliberal China." -- William JanKowiak * China Quarterly *"Dreadful Desires paints a grim picture. After reading, one feels immersed in an atmosphere of scarred landscapes, ruined bodies, aspirations cynically manipulated and carelessly crushed by the machinery of a corrupted power. It is an immensely important book for our times." -- Fran Martin * Cultural Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I. Mapping the Edgeless Landscape of Love 1. Love of the Zeitgeist: Temporalized Desire in the PRC's Sixtieth-Anniversary Ceremony 35 2. Only If You Are the One! The Expansive Neoliberal Universe through Love Competitors' Eyes 60 Part II. Tracing the Machinery That Both Integrates China into and Separates It From the World 3. The Woeful Landscape of Love: Work Hard, Dream Big, and Die Slowly 97 4. Lessons from the Polarizing Love: Mapping Contradictions for Social Change 127 5. Love with an Unspeakable Name: The Exceptional Danmei World as the Escape Route 155 Conclusion. Envisioning a Love-Enabled Future 177 Notes 187 Bibliography 227 Index 255

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Book SynopsisIn 2012, the Communist Party of China (CPC) inaugurated the Xi Jinping era when it elected him to be the General Secretary of the CPC. The following year Xi was elected President of the People's Republic of China. The Xi Jinping era has seen a remarkable transformation of Chinese foreign policy, which has been adjusted to facilitate the achievement of what Xi has proclaimed as the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation. Xi's Belt and Road Initiative has become a major element of Chinese economic diplomacy, while the Chinese military-industrial complex under his leadership has strengthened China's extensive claims in the South China Sea with reclamation works and the installation of military facilities on its occupied islands. This edited volume will focus on the countries of Southeast Asia and examine how their relations with China have been transformed in the Xi Jinping era.Trade ReviewThis is an updated and timely study of the changing relationship between China and Southeast Asian countries. The rapidly changing roles of the U.S. and China as superpowers in the region have led to unstable, but also unexpected, results. -- Prasenjit Duara, Duke UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: By Alvin Cheng-Hin Lim and Frank CibulkaChapter 1: In Search of the Relevant Past: China and Southeast Asia Forty Years Ago by Frank CibulkaChapter 2: Myanmar-China Relations Under President Xi Jinping by Narayanan GanesanChapter 3: Beijing, Bangkok, and Provinces: Continuity and Change in Thailand’s Policies of the China-initiated High-Speed Railway Development (2011-2018) by Trin AiyaraChapter 4: The Connectivity Potential and Vulnerabilities of Laos: Case Study of a Land-locked Southeast Asian Node in the Belt and Road Initiative by Tai Wei LimChapter 5: Cambodia’s Changing Landscape: Rhetoric and Reality by Teri Shaffer YamadaChapter 6: The Eastern Sea (Biển Đông) in the Era of Xi Jinping: Vietnam’s Deliberations by William B. NoseworthyChapter 7: A “Model” for ASEAN Countries?: Sino-Malaysian Relations during the Xi Jinping Era by Ngeow Chow-BingChapter 8: China and Singapore: From the Ancient to the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by Alvin Cheng-Hin LimChapter 9: The Road to Brunei’s Economic Diversification: Contemporary Brunei-China Relations by Stephen C. Druce and Abdul Hai JulayChapter 10: Indonesia-China Relations Under President Xi Jinping by Bilveer SinghChapter 11: The Philippines’ Policy and Perspectives: A Shifting Strategic Stance towards China by Andrea Chloe WongChapter 12: Small Countries Do Matter in Diplomacy: China’s Relations with Timor-Leste and Brunei Darussalam by Amrita JashAfterword: China’s Ascendency: ASEAN States Belt Up and Adapt for the Geopolitical Roller Coaster Ride by Victor R. Savage

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Book SynopsisWhile popular trends, cuisine, and long-standing political tension have made Korea familiar in some ways to a vast English-speaking world, its recorded history of some two millennia remains unfamiliar to most. Korea: A History addresses general readers, providing an up-to-date, accessible overview of Korean history from antiquity to the present. Eugene Y. Park draws on original-language sources and the up-to-date synthesis of East Asian and Western-language scholarship to provide an insightful account. This book expands still-limited English-language discussions on pre-modern Korea, offering rigorous and compelling analyses of Korea's modernization while discussing daily life, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ history, and North Korean history not always included in Korea surveys. Overall, Park is able to break new ground on questions and debates that have been central to the field of Korean studies since its inception.Trade Review"This long-awaited book demonstrates the author's broad expertise, and incorporates recent discoveries of Korean history. Strongly recommended both for readers interested in an introduction to Korean history and for specialists who want to update their knowledge."—Yumi Moon, Stanford University"This book offers a sweeping yet detailed overview of the Korean past. Park's periodization (classical, post-classical, early modern, and late modern) is an innovative interpretation and succeeds in making the Korean narrative relevant to comparative world history."—James B. Lewis, University of Oxford"With discussions on numerous aspects of cultural and economic history—including religion, education, gender, architecture, food, and popular culture—this comprehensive but accessible book is a welcome corrective to earlier work that tended to focus on institutional, intellectual, and political history of Korea as a 'tributary state' in the sinocentric order."—Ross King, University of British Columbia"Korea... is full of details and the writing flows and provides a sweeping overview of Korea from prehistoric times to the modern era, enabling readers to understand and appreciate Korea as a civilization in its own right with admirable cultural, economic and political achievements, rather than as an obscure entity nestled between and fought over by bigger neighbors."—Hilton Yip, Asian Review of Books"Park is one of the few experts in premodern Korean history in the West, and he gives the long premodern past the attention it fully deserves.... The writing is accessible, and the book is an excellent reference for lay readers, college students, and professional historians. Highly recommended."—M. J. Wert, CHOICE"Korea: A History is another essential interdisciplinary work not only for the Korean Studies community but also for wider audiences, transferring a clear-cut and detailed account of the peninsula's history. It is an excellent historical textbook about Korea's political, economic, and social background from its own unique historiographical point of view."—Gabor Sebo, Pacific Affairs"Park has succeeded in writing an innovative and informative overview of Korean history. He has done so by drawing from 'original-language sources and the up-to-date synthesis of East Asian and Western-language scholarship.'"—Jaymin Kim, Acta Koreana

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The American campaign to capture Okinawa, codename Operation ICEBERG was fought from 1 April to 22 June 1945\. 350 miles from Japan, Okinawa was intended to be the staging area for the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland. The Japanese Thirty Second Army defenders were on land and the Imperial Navy at sea fought tenaciously. They faced the US Tenth Army, comprising the US Army XXIV Corps and the US Marines' III Amphibious Corps. As the author of this superb Images of War book describes in words and pictures this was one of the most bitterly fought and costly campaigns of the Second World War. Ground troops faced an enemy whose vocabulary did not include 'surrender' and at sea the US Fifth Fleet, supported by elements of the Royal Navy, had to contend with kamikaze ('divine wind') attacks by suicide air attacks and over 700 explosive laden suicide boats. The Okinawa campaign is synonymous with American courage and determination to defeat a formidably ruthless enemy. The campaign was the subject of 'Hacksaw Ridge' , the recent Hollywood blockbuster - this is the real story.

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Book SynopsisBy the laws of statistics John Wyatt should not be here today to tell his story. He firmly believes that someone somewhere was looking after him during those four years. Examine the odds stacked against him and his readers will understand why he hold this view. During the conflict in Malaya and Singapore his regiment lost two thirds of its men. More than three hundred patients and staff in the Alexandra Military hospital were slaughtered by the Japanese - he was the only known survivor. Twenty six percent of British soldiers slaving on the Burma Railway died. More than fifty men out of around six hundred died aboard the Aaska Maru and the Hakasan Maru. Many more did not manage to survive the harshest Japanese winter of 1944/45, the coldest in Japan since record began. John's experiences make for the most compelling and graphic reading. The courage, endurance and resilience of men like him never ceases to amaze.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between the US and China, the world's two superpowers, is peculiarly volatile. It rests on a seismic fault-of cultural misunderstanding, historical grievance, and ideological incompatibility. No other nations are so quick to offend and be offended. Their militaries play a dangerous game of chicken, corporations steal intellectual property, intelligence satellites peer, and AI technicians plot. The capacity for either country to cross a fatal line grows daily. Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister who has studied, lived in, and worked with China for more than forty years, is one of the very few people who can offer real insight into the mindsets of the leadership whose judgment will determine if a war will be fought. The Avoidable War demystifies the actions of both sides, explaining and translating them for the benefit of the other. Geopolitical disaster is still avoidable, but only if these two giants can find a way to coexist without betraying their core interests through what Rudd calls "managed strategic competition." Should they fail, down that path lies the possibility of a war that could rewrite the future of both countries, and the world.

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Book SynopsisKate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French dare devil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared purpose: to report on the most consequential story of the decade.At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine and Kate paid their own way to war, arrived without jobs, challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement and resentment of their male peers and found new ways to explain the war through the people who lived through it.In You Don't Belong Here, Elizabeth Becker uses these women's work and lives to illuminate the Vietnam War from the 1965 American buildup, through the Tet Offensive, the expansion into Cambodia, the American defeat and its aftermath. Arriving herself in the last years of the war, Elizabeth writes as an historian and a witness to what these women accomplished.What emerges is an unforgettable story of three journalists forging their place in a land of men, often at great personal sacrifice, and forever altering the craft of war reportage for generations. Deeply reported and filled with personal letters, interviews, and profound insight, You Don't Belong Here fills a void in the history of women and of war.

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Book SynopsisA rare in-depth look at the history, teachings, and wider implications of Wing Chun Wing Chun In-Depth offers an historical overview of the art’s development, it examines how to properly approach training for fighting skills that give you an edge in street defence and it presents Wing Chun’s underlying principles and strategies as a way of life for health and happiness. This work traces the lives and legends of the great masters of Wing Chun, it reveals their training techniques and philosophies, and shows the reader how they can be applied in all aspects of life. Written in an enjoyable and readable way, Wing Chun In-Depth shares profound insights, training drills and martial techniques that will improve your fighting foundation; it connects you to the great masters of Wing Chun—their lives, their martial teachings, and their philosophies. In the end, it is intended to inspire and enrich readers with history, practical skills, and a winning mindset for all of life’s challenges. Contents include Part 1: The Lineage The origins of Wing Chun from its legendary past. Its historical development and its present evolution from Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Insight into Bruce Lee’s relationship with Wing Chun, Ip Man and Wong, Shun-Leung. Part 2: The System Forms, training drills, and techniques that can be used to develop oneself into a skilled fighter. Part 3: Up Close Master Class Training to fight without fighting Master Class Avoiding a stand off Master Class No technique as technique Part 4: Strategies for Life Explores the strategic and martial fruits of Wing Chun as a practice which provides both skills for combat and strategies for life. Startling truths that enrich life inside and outside the training hall (kwoon). Ip Man’s senior student, Wong Shun-Leung was the man who made Wing Chun famous in Hong Kong’s challenge matches. He was also a close friend and mentor to Bruce Lee. Sifu Loukas Kastrounis, one of the few active teachers of this lineage, is a highly respected Wing Chun teacher who has spent his life honing and developing Wing Chun. “Written at the request, and in collaboration with Sifu Loukas Kastrounis-a third generation master of the Wong Shun-Leung lineage, it is the fruit of over 5 years of my careful observations and research into Loukas’s teachings as both his student and as a professional historian.”—Munawar Ali KarimTrade ReviewAristotle once said, “the most difficult thing in the world is to discover and know yourself.” One way to do this is to interact with a real friend who will play the role of a mirror and help you “see” yourself and assist you in achieving self-realization, self-confidence, and self-control. Reading Plato’s dialogues, we often cannot recognize who is the true author (Aristotle the mas- ter, or Plato the student). This matters less that the content itself. Something similar is happening in this book. What really matters is that Wing Chun is preserved and transferred to future generations. Like Plato, these authors invite you to question and analyze yourself by accepting current circum- stances and remaining focused to find your own truth and to deal with the complexity and chal- lenges of your own life. This book will help you discover your inner self, allowing your skills and abilities to be revealed and your imagination explored. Wing Chun In-Depth begins with the origins and history of the Wing Chun system. It explores the contributions of Ip Man and Bruce Lee through the social and political environments of their times. The authors focus not only on sophisticated martial skills but on principles, mental values, attitudes, and philosophies that these masters taught for success in life. It continues with an exami- nation of Wing Chun skills including the economy of motion, effort, and natural reactions with forward energy. The work is also precisely illustrated with hundreds of enhanced photographs. The authors complete this book by offering the readers various strategies on how Wing Chun’s universal principles can work as a stabilizing force in life. Wing Chun is a way of thinking. It helps overcome anger, stress, bias, and mental blocks. It replaces them with calmness, charm, and intelli- gence so that we can confront the most difficult opponent: ourselves. In Wing Chun, every obstacle is an opportunity to find a natural way. This book will inspire the remarkable journey of Wing Chun and bring out the very best in all who take it. —Vasileios Manousakis Colonel GR (A) If you are looking for a book on Wing Chun that covers both the practical aspects of applying the techniques in combat as well as the philosophical side of the martial art, then this is the book for you. I have read many books on Wing Chun, and this is by far one of the most comprehensive and well-written books I have come across. Loukas Kastrounis has been teaching martial arts for over thirty years to many martial artists of different styles, law enforcement officers, security firms, and the military at home and overseas. He is a highly creative instructor with a unique approach to training that helps students achieve their goals quickly and effectively. Wing Chun In-Depth: Skills for Combat, Strategies for Life is a must-read for anyone passionate about Wing Chun and martial arts. This is one of those books you will be able to reference time and time again. I highly recommend this book for everyone! —Lafayette Harris, Wing Chun martial arts instructor A solidly researched, beautifully narrated deep dive into the philosophical, historical, and tech- nical aspects of Wing Chun. Fascinating history combined with great narration and revealing insights that make Wing Chun relevant for all of life’s challenges. Highly recommended if you love history, martial arts, and strategy. —Erwan Le Corre, author of The Practice of Natural Movement I was fascinated to understand how Wing Chun practitioners can gain mechanical advantages through natural movement and gain freedom through imitation and repetition. It’s as though the practitioner is a work of art [becoming] a masterpiece. Reading the history of Wing Chun practitio- ners drew me in deeply, a veritable who’s-who of Wing Chun. —Eric Brown, former US Navy SEAL, Naval Special Warfare Center Instructor of the Year (1993)Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Part One The Lineage Through the Tempests of History China At the Time of Grandmaster Ip Man’s Birth (1900’s) Alive And Well Bringing Wing Chun Out of Myth and Into History Growing And Continuing Two Legendary Students of Grandmaster Ip Man In The Present and On to The Future From Sifu Wong Shun Leung to Sifu Loukas Kastrounis Part Two The System What’s The Big Idea? A Concise Overview of Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau The First Form, The Last Form Chi Sau The Heart and Soul of Wing Chun Part Three Up Close Master Class 1 Training to Fight Without Fighting Master Class 2 Avoiding the Stand-Off Master Class 3 “No Technique as Technique” Part Four Strategies for Life Beyond Fighting What Wing Chun Can Teach Us About Life Afterword Closing Thoughts on Wing Chun About the Authors 

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Book SynopsisThe story of how the 11th Armored Cavalry overcame the perception that Vietnam was an infantry war, and demonstrated what armor could do in an insurgency.Finalist, 2020 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing AwardsWhen the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment came ashore at Vung Tau, South Vietnam, in September 1966, it faced a number of challenges. The enemy—Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA)—was, of course, the most critical challenge. But the terrain and weather were also factors that could adversely affect the employment of both armored vehicles and helicopters alike. The dearth of doctrine and tactics for the employment of armored cavalry in a counterinsurgency was equally challenging—especially during the pre-deployment training and initial combat operations.But just as importantly, there was an institutional bias within the Army that an insurgency was an infantryman’s war. Despite the thick jungle and monsoonal rains, despite the lack of doctrinal guidance, Blackhorse leaders found a way to overcome the obstacles and accomplish the mission. Within a year of their arrival in Vietnam, Blackhorse troopers overcame ambushes that featured volleys of anti-tank weapons, multitudes of mines, and coordinated assaults by reinforced enemy regiments against troop-sized positions. They defeated an entire enemy division twice their size. Most importantly, the 11th Cavalry successfully demonstrated the ability to operate on and off the roads, in the jungle, and during both the wet and dry seasons. By the spring of 1967, Army leaders were beginning to realize the value of armored forces in Vietnam. With the Blackhorse Regiment leading the way, armor was considered an essential part of the combat team.This is a history of the Blackhorse Regiment in the Vietnam War, and the stories of some of the 20,000 young Americans who served in its ranks during the war.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: Preparing for War Chapter Two: The Blackhorse Enters Combat Chapter Three: The Fight Intensifies Chapter Four: The Blackhorse Makes Its Reputation Chapter Five: The Bloodiest Year Chapter Six: Expanding the War Chapter Seven: Mission Accomplished Epilogue: Blackhorse Forever Appendix 1:History and Patch of the Eleventh United States Cavalry Regiment Appendix 2: Glossary Appendix 3: Firepower Comparison Appendix 4: Blackhorse Medal of Honor Recipients Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe account that Butler lays out is very clear and easy to follow. It provides a series of dramatic moments and hits all the key elements of the story of Pearl Harbor that have appeared in the existing literature.The Northern MarinerWhat happened at Pearl Harbor? What really happened?The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is one of those rare moments where, in the space of a few hours, the hinge of Fate turned and the course of history was utterly changed. Nearly eight decades later, it has become one of those events which almost everyone knows of, but hardly anyone seems to know about. Howand whydid the Empire of Japan and the United States of America collide on blood and flames that Sunday morning when the sun rose and the bombs fell?Pearl: December 7, 1941 is the story of how America and Japan, two nations with seemingly little over which to quarrel, let peace slip away, so that on that day which will live in infamy, more than 350 dive bombers, high-level bombers, torpedo planes, and f

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Book SynopsisIn 221 BCE, the Qin state conquered its neighbours and created the first unified Chinese empire in history. So began the imperial era, where dynasties claiming divine assent ruled for more than 2,000 years. Borders shifted and emperors struggled to exert control over every region of their diverse territories. Elites held that they were inheritors of a rich, pre-imperial culture, while their society produced world-changing inventions such as the compass, printing, gunpowder and the gun. And imperial China itself was altered as it came into contact with others through trade, exploration and war. For anyone curious about this fascinating period, Peter Lorge introduces imperial China’s major ruling dynasties, religions, arts, thinkers, inventions, military advancements, economic developments and historians.Trade Review‘In short, fast-paced chapters, Peter Lorge provides a fresh look at key elements of China’s imperial past. He invites the reader to ponder what we mean by “China”, how to understand “dynasty”, and whether sources written in literary Chinese overstate unity and continuity and underplay law, the military, and openness to new ideas.’ -- Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Washington, and author of The Cambridge Illustrated History of China‘A compact but engaging exposition of imperial China over the course of its 2,000-year history. Both accessible and informative, this book challenges a series of commonly held assumptions and reveals the complexity and incredible diversity of the Chinese world.’ -- Imre Galambos, Reader in Chinese Studies, University of CambridgeTable of ContentsMap A Timeline of the Dynasties of Imperial China Introduction Before the Imperial Age Imperial China Master Kong, the Ru, and Confucius Language Conclusion 1 Foundations The Imperial State Law and Morality in Reality Conclusion 2 Dynasties Similarities Differences The Other Dynasties Conclusion 3 Borders Geography Macroregions Localities Conclusion 4 War and the Military Military Technology, Society, and Politics Organization Guns Military Thought Conclusion 5 Discovery The Four Great Inventions Other Technology Contact and Exploration Conclusion 6 Religions Popular Religion Ruism (Confucianism) Buddhism Daoism Conclusion 7 The Imperial Economy The State Money Markets Conclusion 8 The Arts: Literature, Calligraphy, Painting, and Architecture Literature Poetry Prose Calligraphy Painting Architecture Conclusion 9 Popular Arts and Culture Decorative Arts Gardens Public Performance and Theatre Popular Literature Conclusion 10 Constructing China Through History Sima Qian (c.145/135–c.86 BCE) and The Records of the Grand Historian Ban Gu (32–92) and The History of the Han (Hanshu) History Writing in the Tang Dynasty History Writing in the Song Dynasty Conclusion 11 The End of Imperial China? Imperial History Diversity Unity Conclusion Acknowledgments Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisOn the eve of International Women's Day in 2015, the Chinese government arrested five feminist activists and jailed them for 37 days. The Feminist Five became a global cause célèbre, with Hillary Clinton speaking out on their behalf, and activists inundating social media with #FreetheFive messages. But the Feminist Five are only symbols of a much larger feminist movement of civil rights lawyers, labor activists, performance artists and online warriors that is prompting an unprecedented awakening among China's urban, educated women. In Betraying Big Brother, journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher argues that the popular, broad-based movement poses the greatest threat to China's authoritarian regime today.Through interviews with the Feminist Five and other leading Chinese activists, Hong Fincher illuminates both the challenges they face and their "joy of betraying Big Brother." Tracing the rise of a new feminist consciousness through online campaigns resembling #MeToo, and describing how the Communist regime has suppressed the history of its own feminist struggles, Betraying Big Brother is a story of how the movement against patriarchy could reconfigure China and the world.Trade ReviewFeatured in The Washington Post and Times Higher Education * The Washington Post and Times Higher Education *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the ancient ways of the Samurai and experience the stunning myth of Old Japan

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Book SynopsisChronicles the transformation of a Dravidian socio-cultural movement into an electorally viable political party in Tamil Nadu.

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Book SynopsisThis is the quest for a lost wonder of the world, in the author's words his 'ridiculous obsession', arose from the chance discovery of some dusty memoirs that told of a mighty hedge spanning the Indian subcontinent in the nineteenth century. The hedge was set in place to allow the collection of the Salt Tax by British customs officers, Inspired by the concept of this amazing living barrier, now forgotten, Roy Moxham set off to find out what has happened to it and whether any remnant existed today. His travels in India, and what he found there, form the basis for this illuminating book.Writer Jan Morris comments, 'At first I thought this remarkable book must be a hoax . . . It tells the story of one of the least-known wonders of Queen Victoria's India - a customs barrier 2,300 miles long, most of it made of hedge. It was patrolled by 12,000 men and would have stretched from London to Constantinople, yet few historians mention it and most of us have never heard of it. Could anything be more astonishing?'Trade ReviewThe Great Hedge is part history, part detective story, part travel book. Above all, it's a great read. * Mail on Sunday *Moxham has written a parable at once light-handed and melancholy about the cruelty and folly fo the empire. * Financial Times *Both scholarly and funny - a rare combination, It surprised me and I hugely enjoyed it. -- Eric NewbyMoxham has pulled out a jewel. * The Times *Marvellous....Moxham sets out to find the remnants of this qunitessentially English folly, writing an affectionate and scholarly narrative'. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisMany books have been written, and continue to be written, about the Second World War: military histories, histories of the Holocaust, the war in Asia, or collaboration and resistance in Europe. Few books have taken a close look at the immediate aftermath of the worldwide catastrophe.Drawing on hundreds of eye-witness accounts and personal stories, this sweeping book examines the seven months (in Europe) and four months (in Asia) that followed the surrender of the Axis powers, from the fate of Holocaust survivors liberated from the concentration camps, and the formation of the state of Israel, to the incipient civil war in China, and the allied occupation of Japan. It was a time when terrible revenge was taken on collaborators and their former masters; of ubiquitous black markets, war crime tribunals; and the servicing of millions of occupation troops, former foes in some places, liberators in others. But Year Zero is not just a story of vengeance. It was also a new beginning, of democratic restorations in Japan and West Germany, of social democracy in Britain and of a new world order under the United Nations. If construction follows destruction, Year Zero describes that extraordinary moment in between, when people faced the wreckage, full of despair, as well as great hope. An old world had been destroyed; a new one was yet to be built.Trade ReviewBuruma's book is a study of the mess that the world was in 1945, a mess we choose largely not to remember. It is also a brief but valuable study of how that mess began to be cleaned up. It gives us, too, simple lessons, both touching and terrifying, about how human beings are and can be... Excellent and lucid -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *A superbly written chronicle of the conflict's bittersweet aftermath -- Ian Thomson * Observer *Sweeping... [The] book's most substantial merit is its grasp of the moral, social, and political confusions that pervaded every nation following the war... Buruma conveys a powerful sense of the horror and chaos of 1945 -- Max Hastings * Foreign Affairs *A graphic account - well-researched, splendidly constructed and stylishly written - of the hinge year of the twentieth century, of its horrors, hopes, illusions and roots of troubles to come. Altogether compelling - a fine achievement. -- Ian KershawMoving and excellent -- Neal Ascherson * Guardian *Brilliant... Year Zero is a major acheivement, a book of many parts, which commemorates a generation, as they stood on the brink of an unknown future -- Joanna Kavenna * Spectator *Ian Buruma's elegant and humane new book illuminates one of the most important modernhistorical moments... As generations with few memories of the second world war come of age in Europe and Asia, this luminous book will remind them of the importance of what Buruma terms "mental surgeons", the politicians and warriors who reconstructed two continents left in rubble. -- Rana Mitter * Financial Times *Ian Buruma's wonderful book is about a time, immediately after the end of the war, which has somehow fallen between the cracks of history, and which the author has now devastatingly brought to light... A compelling and astounding addition to the literature of the war -- Christopher Hudson * Daily Mail *Buruma excels as a social historian of the aftermath of the war... It is hard to overstate Buruma's accomplishment in crafting the first truly worldwide account of perceptions and experiences in the pivotal years after the guns had fallen silent... Outstanding -- Samuel Moyn * Prospect *Ian Buruma's lively new history, Year Zero, is about the various ways in which the aftermath of the Good War turned out badly for many people, and splendidly for some who didn't deserve it. It is enriched by his knowledge of six languages, a sense of personal connection to the era and his understanding of this period -- Adam Hochschild * New York Times *It is well written and researched, full of little-known facts and incisive political analysis. What makes it unique among hundreds of other works written about this period is that it gives an overview of the effects of the war and liberation, not only in Europe, but also in Asia. -- Charles Simic * New York Review of Books *Year Zero - 1945 - is the founding moment of the modern era. Ian Buruma's history of that moment is vivid, compassionate and compelling. -- Michael IgnatieffA brilliant recreation of that decisive year of victory and defeat, chaos and humiliation, concentrating on peoples, not states... In the face of so much horror, it is an astounding effort at deep comprehension. A superb book, splendidly written. -- Fritz SternIan Buruma gives a heart-wrenching account of the horrors, the unimaginable cruelties, and the sheer stupidities of the last months of World War II, and the attempts to deal with them in the first months of peace. -- Brian UrquhartYear Zero is a searing indictment of war, yet not about the Second World War itself but about its aftermath, the trauma, the revenge, the regrets, the desire to forget, the need to remember... This is Ian Buruma at his best. -- Donald SassoonBuruma is an admirably thoughtful writer -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Intelligent, fresh and compelling -- Nicholas Shakespeare * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisAccording to the United Nations, Myanmar's Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Only now has the media turned its attention to their plight at the hands of a country led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet the signs of this genocide have been visible for years. For generations, this Muslim group has suffered routine discrimination, violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion, and other abuses by the Buddhist majority. As horrifying massacres have unfolded in 2017, international human rights groups have accused the regime of complicity in an ethnic cleansing campaign against them. Authorities refuse to recognise the Rohingyas as one of Myanmar's 135 'national races', denying them citizenship rights in the country of their birth and severely restricting many aspects of ordinary life, from marriage to free movement. In this updated edition, Azeem Ibrahim chronicles the events leading up to the current, final cleansing of the Rohingya population, and issues a clarion call to protect a vulnerable, little known Muslim minority. He makes a powerful appeal to use the lessons of the twentieth century to stop this genocide in the twenty-first.Trade Review`The persecution of Rohingyas rests on a belief that they are outsiders ... Ibrahim debunks these claims in his essential new book, claiming that Rohingyas were in Arakan well before 1784, and may even have arrived there before the Buddhist Rakhine. Ibrahim offers a credible genealogy that links Rohingyas to Indo-Aryan groups who arrived from the Ganges Valley as early as 3000 BC.' * London Review of Books * `Ibrahim dwells on the history of the Rohingya in order to give an account of how and why they have come to arouse such fear and loathing. ... [his] analysis is excellent.' * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisChiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World's finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile embossed layers, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.

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Book SynopsisBob Saunders was called up for National Service on VJ (Victory in Japan) Day, 1945, at the age of 18. Early the following year, he was posted to India, where he stayed during the momentous era of Partition, before returning to England in October 1947. A few years after returning from India, Bob opened his own travel agency in Batley, a town eight miles south of Leeds, having been greatly impressed by his experiences of India and travel during his National Service. Bob decided to call his travel agency PhotoTravel, as the business sold not only holidays and luggage, but also photographic services. A neighbour suggested he used a European spelling, ‘Foto’ instead, and so FotoTravel was born. The agency was approved by ABTA and Bob ran it for over 25 years. Lotus of Kashmir has taken Bob 75 years to complete! The book is based on Bob’s diaries of his time in India from 1946-47, and two or three years ago, around 2019-20, he began to add the romantic fiction element. Bob finally completed this task in 2022.

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Book SynopsisPublished here for the first time are the journals of Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis, explorer, Oriental scholar, and diplomat, offering a unique window into the colonial mindset of the late 19th and early 20th century.

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Book SynopsisHome to mythical kingdoms, wars and expeditions, and strange and magical beasts, the Himalayas have always loomed tall in our imagination. Overrun at different times by Buddhism, Taoism, shamanism, Islam and Christianity, they are a grand central station of the world's religions. They are also a plant hunter's paradise, a climber's challenge, and a traveller's dream.In his quest to explore the region's seismic history, Twigger seeks out the Nagas, who helped his grandfather build a camp for Allied soldiers near Imphal during the Second World War and takes the most scenic bike ride in the world from Lhasa to Kathmandu. The result is a sweeping, fascinating and surprising journey through the history of the world's greatest mountain range.Trade Review'Twigger leaves no mountain path untouched . . . lively, interesting, unusual and entertaining' -- Sara Wheeler * THE SPECTATOR *'A fascinating compendium of stories' * DAILY TELEGRAPH *'Very readable . . . White Mountain offers firm narrative and sweeping views' -- John Keay * TLS *'Real and imagined journeys in the Himalayas, by Robert Twigger, acclaimed author of Red Nile. A travelogue and expansive exploration of these mighty mountains that follows a meandering and often mythical path' * NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER *'Twigger is one of the best and most fascinating of recent travel writers. Following his excellent book on the Nile, Twigger goes into deeper territory with this "spiritual" biography of the Himalayas. Of course, in any such book, there are a lot of mountaineering tales and tragedy, but Twigger is far more interested in the spirituality of the people of Nepal and Tibet than he is with peaks and summits. Looking at Tibetan Buddhism as well as the area's bloody history, Twigger show the spiritual importance of this strange and haunting place' * CATHOLIC HERALD *Interesting and idiosyncratic... The author's style is by turns entertainingly conversational, essay-like and at times almost stream-of-consciousness ... The author, Robert Twigger, is a writer of considerable acclaim and a poet, which shows. His prose crackles ... It is a literate miscellany of obscure facts, characters and tales of history interwoven with philosophy, biography and autobiography. Not for everyone - but if you think you'll like it, you'll probably love it. I did -- Simon Ingram * TRAIL *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Contributes significantly to our understanding of twentieth-century Japan and the intertwined trajectories of personal artistic careers, art groups and networks on the one hand and global art trends and local developments on the other. This book will be a useful reference not only for art historians specializing in modern Japanese art, but also a valuable teaching resource for courses on modernisms and modernities, various -isms and their global reverberations, and for teaching in the field of Japanese visual culture." * Sehepunkte *"This book does the important work of global art history but simultaneously reiterates the importance of a deep knowledge of nationally based archives, scholarship, and artworks." * Journal of Japanese Studies *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""A thought-provoking reexamination of the recipe for Vietnam’s back-to-back victories against Western powers." * Publishers Weekly *"[A] zestfully granular history of the Vietminh war against the French."---Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs"In this important book, Christopher Goscha . . . offers new insight into a post-colonial struggle that emerged from the Second World War. . . . Goscha’s command of French, English, and Vietnamese sources is a great strength in drawing out this neglected history."---Tim Cook, Literary Review of Canada"In The Road to Dien Bien Phu, Goscha tries to answer the question posed by Frantz Fanon, the Martiniquais psychiatrist who supported anti-colonial revolutions in Algeria and other parts of the world. ‘What must we do to realize a Dien Bien Phu? How do we go about doing it?’ Goscha details the recipe in a book of more than 500 pages—a recipe not duplicated in North Africa or any anti-colonial struggle outside Asia. . . . Like any great work of history, Christopher Goscha’s book resonates with connections to the present."---Thomas A. Bass, Mekong Review"Eye-opening. . . . It is the best work in English, French, or Vietnamese on the First Indochina War as a whole."---Shawn F. McHale, American Historical Review"The greatest merit of Christopher Goscha’s splendid history of the First Indochina War . . . is his unsparing devotion to letting facts inform his assessments and conclusions."---Francis P. Sempa, Asian Review of Books"[A] thrillingly acute and serious piece of work."---Rana Mitter, Literary Review"[A] magisterial account."---David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express"The Road to Dien Bien Phu showcases the ingenuity and resourcefulness of ideologically driven authorities obstinately struggling to overcome technological, economic and other deficits with a view to satisfying aspirations that were, in the final analysis, as narrow as they were unshakable."---Pierre Asselin, History Today ​​​​​​​"The Road to Dien Bien Phu will become a classic volume in the history of the Indochinese Wars standing alongside Bernard B. Fall’s Street Without Joy. . . . Required reading for anyone studying the post-World War II era of Southeast Asian politics. Goscha has provided keen insight into the war through his travels and interviews in the region. The Road to Dien Bien Phu belongs on the bookshelf of any historian studying this area of history or politics."---David A. Mattingly, International Social Science Review"One of the most important accounts of the First Indochina War to date. . . . [The Road to Dien Bien Phu] emphatically deserve[s] the attention of military historians of the Vietnam Wars and beyond."---Justin Simundson, Journal of Military History"Magisterial. . . . Goscha’s work, along with Sean McHale’s The First Vietnam War, fills a considerable void in the anglophone historiography of the First Indochina War from the perspective of the Vietnamese. It is a magnificent scholarly effort that will remain the standard text on its subject for years to come."---Daniel R. Hart, Michigan War Studies Review"[A]n extensive and comprehensive account of the lesser-known First Indochina War. . . . There is much to commend in The Road to Dien Bien Phu."---Seb Rumsby, LSE Review of Books"To the growing literature on Vietnam during this crucial period, Christopher Goscha has added an illuminating study that is ambitious in scope, copious in detail, and original in interpretation. . . . A deeply satisfying work by a prolific scholar and masterful writer."---Christian C. Lentz, Journal of Vietnamese Studies ​​​​​​​"The Road to Dien Bien Phu is the best academic book yet written about the First Indochina War."---Stein Tønnesson, H-Diplo"A compelling and well-written history."---Nathaniel L. Moir, War In History

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Book SynopsisReflecting both the interlocked web of politics, economics, and academics, as well as the evolving contours of Japan’s Americanists, these essays highlight the diverse paths through which individuals have come to be ‘Americanists’ and the complex meanings that identity carries for them.

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Book Synopsis"A lucid history of the rise and fall of militarism in Japan…" —New York Journal of BooksJapan at War in the Pacific recounts the dramatic story of Japan's transformation from a Samurai-led feudal society to a modern military-industrial empire in the space of a few decades—and the many wars it fought along the way. These culminated in an attempt by Japan's military leaders to create an Asia-Pacific empire which at its greatest extent rivaled the British Empire in scope and power. The battle for supremacy in the Pacific brought the Japanese to great heights but led ultimately to the nation's utter devastation at the end of World War II, culminating with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the only time such weapons have been used in warfare. In this book, author Jonathan Clements offers fascinating insights into: The wars that Japan fought during its rise to supremacy in the western Pacific, including the Russo-Japanese War, the seizure of Manchuria and war in China, and the Pacific theater of World War II. The many military actions undertaken by Imperial Japanese forces including the horrific "Rape of Nanjing," the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the decisive defeat at the Battle of Midway, the savage Battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, and many more. The motivations and beliefs of Japan's leaders, as well as the policy decisions of a government dedicated to expansion which ultimately led to a complete dismantling of the nation's political and social order during the Allied Occupation. With over 75 photographs and maps, this book vividly recounts the brutal story of Japan's military conquests. Clements charts the evolution of the Japanese empire in the Pacific and the influence of a ruthless military-led government on everything from culture and food to fashion and education—including the anthems and rallying calls of a martial nation which were silenced long ago but continue to echo in Asian politics.Trade Review"In 1853, a fleet of US warships arrived at Japan, and through the threat of violence, ended Japan's 250 years of self-isolation from the world. The destabilization caused by this event led to a government that looked to the Western powers as their example, and they started down the road to creating an empire. Jonathan Clements's new book outlines how a nation that had no living memory of war transformed itself into a militarized, expansionist power that dragged the entirety of Asia and the Pacific into war."--Powell's Books Blog"Jonathan Clements' new book Japan at War in the Pacific is a lucid history of the rise and fall of militarism in Japan…" --New York Journal of Books

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Book SynopsisLearn how to create photorealistic colored pencil drawings that are convincing enough to fool the eye!This book shows you how to make incredibly realistic colored pencil drawings in 10 easy step-by-step lessons. Follow along as author Cocomaru explains how to depict highlights, shadows and refractions, how to render photorealistic textures, and how to create a sense of depth in your drawings that makes them appear truly real!Photorealistic Colored Pencil Drawing Techniques provides all the information needed to get you started—which materials to get, how to set up your workspace, how to prepare the underdrawings, and all of Cocomaru's trademark techniques on how to achieve maximum realism!Learn to draw objects with sparkling realism, for example: A sliced orange with juicy, mouthwatering sections A glossy blue marble with a beautiful light refraction A kinetically sloshing glass of red wine An adorably fluffy cat and a sweet-looking corgi And much more! You'll begin with simple drawings and progress to more advanced ones as you learn all the amazing techniques for creating photorealistic colored pencil drawings!

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Book Synopsis**The New York Times Bestseller****The book of the landmark documentary, The Vietnam War, by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick**The definitive work on the Vietnam War, the conflict that came to define a generation, told from all sides by those who were there.More than forty years after the Vietnam War ended, its legacy continues to fascinate, horrify and inform us. As the first war to be fought in front of TV cameras and beamed around the world, it has been immortalised on film and on the page, and forever changed the way we think about war.Drawing on hundreds of brand new interviews, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward have created the definitive work on Vietnam. It is the first book to show us the war from every perspective: from idealistic US Marines and the families they left behind to the Vietnamese civilians, both North and South, whose homeland was changed for ever; politicians, POWs and anti-war protesters; and the photographers and journalists who risked their lives to tell the truth. The book sends us into the grit and chaos of combat, while also expertly outlining the complex chain of political events that led America to Vietnam.Beautifully written, this essential work tells the full story without taking sides and reminds us that there is no single truth in war. It is set to redefine our understanding of a brutal conflict, to launch provocative new debates and to shed fresh light on the price paid in ‘blood and bone’ by Vietnamese and Americans alike.Trade ReviewStunning ... the best single-volume history of the war -- Mark Bowden, bestselling author of BLACK HAWK DOWNA vivid and often captivating volume … a valuable resource -- David Greenberg * New York Times Book Review *Ward and Burns take a vast topic and personalize it … an outstanding, indispensable survey of the Vietnam War * Kirkus *Vivid, affecting, definitive * Booklist *Exquisitely written * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis"The first full-length monograph on the history of the Ryukyu Islands in any Western language…a standard work."—Pacific AffairsOkinawa: The History of an Island People is the definitive book available in English on the history of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands, and an influential scholarly work in the field of Japanese studies. The histories of Japan, Okinawa and the entire Pacific region are crucially intertwined; therefore the review of this fascinating chain of islands is crucial to understanding all of East Asia. Few people can point to Okinawa on a map, yet this tiny island sitting between China and Japan is a hub for international affairs. The island was, and continues to be, one of the most crucial Asian nerve centers in all U.S. strategic defense. Ninety percent of all U.S. military forces in Japan are located on Okinawa, and more than 500,000 military personnel and their families have lived there. In Okinawa: The History of an Island People, noted Eastern affairs specialist George Kerr recounts the fascinating history of the island and its environs, from 1314 A.D. to the late twentieth century. First published in 1958, this edition features an introduction and appendix by Okinawa history scholar Mitsugu Sakihara, making this the most comprehensive resource on the intriguing island of Okinawa.Trade Review"[Okinawa: The History of an Island People] is history, firm, frank, organized and detailed, from the mythical past to the military present…It is a lifetime work of scholarship, full of life" --Mainichi Daily News"The first comprehensive history of the Ryukyuan people to appear in any Western language…recommended to students of East Asian culture, who will find it a valuable addition to their libraries." --The American Anthropologist"[Okinawa: The History of an Island People is] a book that answers the questions of the curious layman, satisfies the standards of critical scholarship, and is readable and fascinating besides." --American Historical Review

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Book SynopsisDrawing on a vast range of sources, from manga comics to MacArthur''s report to Congress, this monumental new work by America''s foremost historian of modern Japan traces the impact of defeat and reconstruction on every aspect of Japan''s national life. Alongside the familiar story of economic resurgence, Dower examines how the nation as a whole reacted to the contradictory experiences of humiliation at the hands of a foreign power and liberation from the demands of a suicidal nationalism. The result is a titanic history, and a landmark book.

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

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Book SynopsisThe fascinating account of two former British colonies with a shared past but vastly different identities today!Singapore and Malaysia sit astride the sea lanes linking East with Westvital choke points in the world's commerce. Since ancient times, ports along the Silk Road of the Sea were populated by peoples from around the globe who came here to trade and live, carried by the steady flow of goods and the ever-present monsoon winds. Author Christopher Hale recounts many fascinating histories of this region, including:The ancient international trade in spices and the seven voyages to the southern seas of the Chinese eunuch Admiral Zheng He in the 15th centuryThe rise of Islamic kingdoms along rivers bordering the Straits of Malacca and the conquest of Malacca, one of the world's largest cities, by a few hundred Portuguese marauders in 1511The saga of Sir Stamford Raffles, credited with founding Singapore, and the development of tin mines and vast rubber and oil palm plantations on th

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In his monumental Central Asia, Adeeb Khalid puts the region at the 'crossroads of history'. A laboratory of colonialism, revolution, nation building and telescoped social and cultural transformation, it has experienced 'every achievement of modernity and every one of its disasters'."---Daniel Beer, Times Literary Supplement"Khalid presents a masterful history of modern Central Asia which is at once scholarly, analytical and wonderfully accessible. . . .Adeeb Khalid deserves our gratitude for producing a path-breaking study of modern Central Asian history. One hopes it will pave the way for more."---Scott C. Levi, History Today ​​​​​​​"The book is successful in revealing the two centuries of political, social and cultural history of the peoples of Central Asia, and serves to further progress knowledge about this region."---Mirzokhid Askarov, Ethnic and Racial Studies"One of the newest and comprehensive studies on the region. It is a very broad and, at the same time, concise introduction to Central Asian history."---Marat Iliyasov, The Rest Journal"Formidably detailed, Central Asia is ideal for upper-level students wondering how a chronically misunderstood region has been shaped by broad currents and dominant powers of modern world history, in concert with local actors."---Andrew M. Wender, World History Connected

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Book SynopsisThe Mongols carved out the largest land-based empire in world history, stretching from Korea to Russia in the north and from China to Syria in the south in the thirteenth century. Along with their leader Chinggis Khan they conjure up images of plunder and total destruction. Chinggis and his descendants introduced a level of violence that had perhaps never been seen in world history. Although this book does not ignore the devastation and killings wrought by the Mongols, it also reveals their contributions. Within two generations, they developed from conquerors and predators seeking booty to rulers who devised policies to foster the economies of the lands they had subjugated. Adopting political and economic institutions familiar to the conquered populations and recruiting native officials, they won over many of their non-Mongol subjects. Mongol nobles were ardent patrons of art and culture. They supported and influenced the production of Chinese porcelains and textiles, Iranian tiles and illustrated manuscripts, and Russian metalwork. Their most significant contribution was to foster the greatest contacts among diverse civilizations in world history. The Mongol peace they imposed on much of Asia and their promotion of trade resulted in considerable travel and relations among numerous merchants, scientists, artists, missionaries, and entertainers of different ethnic groups. It is no accident that Europeans, including Marco Polo, first reached China in this period. Eurasian and perhaps global history starts with the Mongol empire.Rossabi follows the Mongol empire through to collapse due to internal disunity. Struggles for succession and ill-planned and expensive military campaigns ultimately tore apart one of the most influential empires in world history. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Life on the Steppes ; Chapter 2. Chinggis Khan Emerges ; Chapter 3. Conquest and Governance ; Chapter 4. The Mongols and the World: Part One ; Chapter 5. The Mongols and the World: Part Two ; Chapter 6. The Mongols and Arts and Crafts ; Chapter 7. Decline, Fall, and Legacy ; Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of River Town comes a rare and authentic portrait - both intimate and epic - of twenty-first century China as it opens its doors to the worldTrade ReviewTo come across a Westerner patient enough and tolerant enough to try and understand the immense, exasperating and ultimately lovable entity that is China is always a pleasure. To encounter one that is as literate and sensitive as Peter Hessler is a joy * Simon Winchester *'One of the most profoundly original books about China' * The Economist *'A swirl of interconnecting stories and histories make up Peter Hessler's extraordinary, genre-defying second book' * Daily Telegraph *'Oracle Bones, the much anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, River Town, lays bare a rapidly evolving China through his often bizarre encounters with the engines of its social changes.' * South China Morning Post *'Extensive travel around China with occasional flits back home to the U.S., combine with some fascinating speculation on the origins of Chinese civilisation and how the remote past impinges on the present' * China Review *'Dip into it ... You will be hooked' * International Herald Tribune *'A brilliant tapestry of ancient and modern China' * Spectator *'He ranges widely and, in doing so, illustrates how Chinese history accumulates' * Mick Herron, Geographical Magazine *'Valuable for its necklace of vignettes - poignant, comic, and weird ' * Jonathan Mirsky, Literary Review *'[An] extraordinary survey of contemporary China...really quite unforgettable' * The Observer *'If you read one book on Chinese modern culture, read this one' * Dimsum.co.uk *'Ingenious ... Stretches back in time as well as criss-crossing present-day China' * John Dugdale, Guardian *'Anyone who wants to begin to understand the complexities that are China, and their bitter-sweet and pregnant relationships with the West, should read this idiosyncratic, brilliant book' * Ross Leckie, The Times *'An impressive and moving account of the lives of ordinary people' * Clover Stroud, Sunday Telegraph / Travel *

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Book SynopsisChina and India have always been seperated not only by the Himalayas, but also by the impenetrable jungle and remote areas that once stretched across Burma. Now this last great frontier will likely vanish - forests cut down, dirt roads replaced by superhighways, insurgencies ended - leaving China and India exposed to each other as never before. This basic shift in geography is as profound as the opening of the Suez Canal and is taking place just as the centre of the world''s economy moves to the East. Thant Myint-U has travelled extensively across this vast territory, where high-speed trains and gleaming shopping malls now sit alongside the last remaining forests and impoverished mountain communities. In Where China Meets India he explores the new strategic centrality of Burma, the country of his ancestry, where Asia''s two rising giant powers - China and India - appear to be vying for supremacy. Part travelogue, part history, part investigation, Where Chin

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Book SynopsisBandits in Print examines the world of print in early modern China, focusing on the classic novel The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan). Depending on which edition a reader happened upon, The Water Margin could offer vastly different experiences, a characteristic of the early modern Chinese novel genre and the shifting print culture of the era.Scott W. Gregory argues that the traditional novel is best understood as a phenomenon of print. He traces the ways in which this particularly influential novel was adapted and altered in the early modern era as it crossed the boundaries of elite and popular, private and commercial, and civil and martial. Moving away from ultimately unanswerable questions about authorship and urtext, Gregory turns instead to the editor-publishers who shaped the novel by crafting their own print editions. By examining the novel in its various incarnations, Bandits in Print shows that print is not only a stabilizi

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Book SynopsisThis absorbing study casts light on the tactics, weapons and combat effectiveness of the US Marines and North Korean soldiers who fought one another in August and September 1950.Equipped with Soviet tanks and bolstered by a cadre of combat veterans returning from the Chinese Civil War, North Korea's army launched its surprise offensive against the Republic of Korea on 25 June 1950; within days Seoul had fallen and the majority of South Korea's divisions had been shattered. American ground troops rushed to Korea also seemed incapable of stopping the rapidly advancing North Koreans. By August, the remnants of the South Korean and US Army divisions had been pushed into a small corner around the port of Pusan, their backs to the sea. Time was also running out for the North Koreans; virtually all of their planning and preparations were based on a two-month campaign. Although the North Korean People's Army had enjoyed an impressive string of victories, its losses were no longer being Table of ContentsIntroduction The Opposing Sides Hill 342, August 2-9, 1950 Obong-ni Ridge, August 17-18, 1950 Seoul, September 25-27, 1950 Analysis Aftermath Unit Organizations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mediums and Magical Things makes a valuable contribution to the study of material religion, anthropology of religion, and religion in modernity. It is a timely volume that will no doubt fulfill Kendall’s hope that it ‘propel others down similar paths’." * Nova Religio *"Mediums and Magic Things contributes to the study of material religion and the anthropology of religion in a very readable and easily accessible way." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Conventions 1. MacGuffins and Magical Things 2. Ensoulments 3. Materiality, Making, and Magic 4. Agency and Assemblage 5. The Ambiguities of the Unsacred 6. Afterlives Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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