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Book Synopsis"The travel writings of Matsuo Bashō are of enormous literary importance, and so it is a joy to see them collected in this compact volume, in translations of exemplary elegance, faithfulness, and accessibility. The annotations are especially valuable: they show a solid grasp of the author’s life, work, and times, and provide rich and detailed background information about allusions to Chinese and Japanese classics. Along with the high quality of the translations themselves, this thorough commentary makes the book a significant scholarly resource and will help readers appreciate the density and delicacy of Bashō’s writing. A very welcome addition to the English-language literature on one of the central poets of the Japanese tradition." —David B. Lurie, Columbia UniversityTrade Review"Destined to delight readers with its vibrant, spot-on translations, this definitive collection of haiku grandmaster Bashō’s travel writings, in prose as well as poetry, conveys the exquisite pleasures and heartbreaks of the road as a metaphor for life itself." —Adam L. Kern, University of Wisconsin–Madison"Steven Carter is an outstanding scholar and translator, and his work here is superb. The six poetic travel diaries that he includes range from Bashō’s most beloved works to several lesser-known gems. With its copious and insightful annotations, introductions, maps, and appendices, all of which are informed by the best and latest Japanese scholarship, Travel Writings will long be the go-to source in English for Bashō’s lyrical travel ruminations. The work is sure to appeal to poets, students, and scholars alike, many of whom may be inspired to set out, with book in hand, to retrace the steps of the great seventeenth-century haikai master through the hinterlands of Japan." —R. Keller Kimbrough, University of Colorado Boulder

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Book SynopsisThe first ever history of India to explore the benefits institutional, political and civil of British Colonial Rule on the subcontinent.The story of The Making of India begins in the seventeenth century, when a small seafaring island, one tenth the size of the Indian subcontinent, despatched sailing ships over 11,000 miles on a five-month trading journey in search of new opportunities. In the end they helped build a new nation. The sheer audacity and scale of such an endeavour, the courage and enterprise, have no parallel in world history. This book is the first to assess in a single volume almost all aspects of Britain's remarkable contribution in providing India with its lasting institutional and physical infrastructure, which continues to underpin the world's largest democracy in the twenty-first century.Trade ReviewElegant, fair and extremely well written. I am delighted that the other side of the story is being told, as it deserves to be. -- Martin Bell, British UNICEF Ambassador, former MP and war reporterRemarkable for its scholarship, readability and message. -- Andrew Roberts, historian, visiting Professor King’s College London, author of Napoleon the GreatAbsolutely excellent: informative, well argued and passionate. This book contains the seeds of future Anglo-Indian cooperation. -- Tony Blair, former British Prime MinisterThis is a courageous and meticulously researched book. It challenges the fashionably negative view of the impact of the Raj on India. Dr Lalvani makes the positive case with conviction and scholarship. -- Sir Vince Cable, former British Cabinet MinisterI fully concur with Dr Lalvani that Indians should be grateful for some of the permanent blessings of colonial rule, which only the unique attributes of the British could have conferred on us. A highly educated author belonging to the brave Sikh community should declare the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. -- Professor Ram Jethmalani, MP Former Indian Cabinet Minister of Judiciary and Company Law and Chairman of the Bar Council of IndiaDr Lalvani is a mover and a shaker. This remarkably scholarly book will turn old ways of thinking upside down. -- Joanna Lumley, actress, author and activistDr Lalvani shows his love of both countries in a generous, heart-warming contribution to our history. This book will be a bright star to which we can turn for the authoritative alternative version of how the British helped India. -- Baroness Harris, House of LordsDr Lalvani has laid a new foundation for our understanding of how the wide ranging infrastructure provided by the British helped prepare India for its transformation into a 21st-century power. -- Professor David Heymann, Chatham HouseExtremely well judged, factually accurate, with a wealth of fascinating material … This book adds hugely to our knowledge. -- Anil Seal, Founder of The Cambridge School of Indian HistoryBracingly controversial ... I defy anyone with a modicum of open-mindedness not to read The Making Of India and concede, however grudgingly, that [the author] just might have a point * Daily Mail *An equally wonderful and thought-provoking book that drips with complexity -- Michael Duggan * Catholic Herald, Books of the Year 2016 *Table of ContentsForeword by Professor Ram Jethmalani, MP Preface: Time to recognise the positive side of the imperial coin 1 The Argument: Balance and Perspective 2 The East India Company: Ambitions to Rule the Waves 3 Routes to India 4 Ships and Shipbuilding: The Age of Steam 5 Ports, Harbours and Lighthouses 6 Canals and Water Supplies 7 Roads: Leaving No Stone Unturned 8 Mail Services, the Telegraph and the Telephone 9 Railways: A Network is Built with Incredible Speed 10 Locomotive Workshops and the Manufacture of Rolling Stock 11 Bridge Building 12 Foundries, Iron and Steel: The Rise of Indian Self-Sufficiency 13 Extraction Industry Development 14 Electricity Generation 15 India Adopts the Tram 16 The Textile and Jute Industries 17 Sugar, Tea and Coffee Industries 18 Early Air Services 19 Establishing an Administrative Infrastructure 20 Education and Health: Engineering and Medical Colleges 21 Indian Heritage and Culture: Conservation, Restoration and Appreciation 22 Diaspora: Migration and Opportunity Appendix A: Milestones in the Making of India Appendix B: Biographies: British Engineers in India Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

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The Age of the Silk Roads (c 200 BC- c 900 AD) shaped the course of the future. The foundation by the Han dynasty of an extensive network of interlinking trade routes, collectively known as the Silk Road, led to an explosion of cultural and commercial transactions across Central Asia that had a profound impact on civilization. In this second volume of his authoritative history of the region, Christoph Baumer explores the unique flow of goods, peoples and ideas along the dusty tracks and wandering caravan routes that brought European and Mediterranean orbits into contact with Asia. The Silk Roads, the author shows, enabled the spread across the known world of Christianity, Manichaeism, Buddhism and Islam, just as earlier they had caused Roman citizens to crave the exotic silk goods of the mysterious Far East. Tracing the rise and fall of empires, this richly illustrated book charts the ebb and flow of epic history: the bitter rivalry of Rome and Parthia; the lucrative mercantile empire of the Sogdians; the founding of Samarkand; and Chinese defeat at the Battle of Talas (751 AD) by the forces of Islam.

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Book SynopsisThe epic plains and arid deserts of Central Asia have witnessed some of the greatest migrations, as well as many of the most transformative developments, in the history of civilization. Christoph Baumer's ambitious four-volume treatment of the region charts the 3000-year drama of Scythians and Sarmatians; Soviets and transcontinental Silk Roads; trade routes and the transmission of ideas across the steppes; and the breathless and brutal conquests of Alexander the Great and Chinghiz Khan. Masterfully interweaving the stories of individuals and peoples, the author's engaging prose is richly augmented throughout by colour photographs taken on his own travels. For all the complexity of the history, Dr Baumer, a noted authority on Central Asia, never loses sight of the sweeping grandeur of its overall setting. Volume 1 focuses on the geography of the area now occupied by present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan, western and central Mongolia and parts of southern Russia and northern China. Discussing the changing climates of the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the author explores subjects as diverse as glacial retreat; the invention of the wheel; the legendary Cimmerians and Amazons; Hellenism and Zoroastrianism; and the Oxus Treasure. Future volumes will explore the later historical periods of the region.Trade ReviewThe Age of the Steppe Warriors is as magnificent as it is magisterial ... the book is filled with images that are in turn fascinating, mysterious and dazzling. * The Asian Review of Books *A welcome addition to a slender regional literature. * CHOICE *This is a truly remarkable book ... It's the first of four volumes and in this - the first - the author has set himself a formidable standard. * Geographical *A gorgeous creation, with creamy paper, crisp design and perfect colour pictures ... this is more than an encyclopaedia. It's a cultural guidebook on a grand scale. * Literary Review *The book provides a superb introduction to the history of Central Asia ... a welcome addition to the growing literature on a relatively unknown part of the world until recently. * OCA Magazine *

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Book SynopsisIn this fully illustrated introduction, Dr Michael Lynch provides a concise overview of the Chinese Civil War, a defining conflict in world history.Between the end of World War II and the dawn of the Cold War, one of the most important conflicts in modern history reached its climax. In this illustrated history, bestselling historian Dr Michael Lynch examines how the long struggle between Chiang Kai-shek''s Nationalists and Mao Zedong''s Communists exploded into an intense, brutal and ruthlessly fought civil war. Delving into the political background and complex ramifications of the conflict, he assesses Mao and Chiang''s millions-strong armies, their strategies and commanders, and the critical campaigns that won and lost China. By 1949 the Nationalist government was defeated and in exile in Taiwan, and the new People''s Republic of China was ready to emerge as a major Cold War power.Updated and revised for the new edition, with full-colour maps and new images Trade Reviewwhat handy little primers they can be in understanding the broader political, economic, social and military backgrounds to a conflict. -- Chris Jarvis * Miniature Wargames *There is an unlikely photo of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-Shek toasting each other at banquet in 1946. Chiang was on a roll. With Communist collaboration the Japanese were defeated, Chiang’s Nationalist Revolutionary Army controlled most of China and was on good terms with the US. Three years later Mao announced the new Republic of China from Beijing and Chiang had fled to Taiwan. What went wrong? On resumption of the civil war, after initial set-backs, Mao switched his attacks to Manchuria where the NRA occupied former Japanese held Manchuguo and captured Harbin; his PLA generals transformed it into a modern army from its guerrilla roots. In Chiang’s “strongpoint offensive” of 1947 against PLA bases, Mao’s Yanan soviet was captured though Mao escaped after forewarning by a NRA commander. Counterattacks against overstretched NRA armies led to Communist Liaoshen autumn 1948 campaign capturing railway junctions of Jinzhou, Changchun and Shenyang, and the winter campaign north of the Huaihai River against Xuzhou threatening the Nationalist Goumindang government capital Nanjing. A simultaneous winter push netted Tianjin and prestigious Beijing, it falling in January 1949. Other besieged cities in the Nationalist southern heartlands fell, Nangking, Shanghai, Xian, and after the symbolic Yanzi crossing, Guangzhou, Chongching. Tibet and Xinjiang were occupied. This book is a revised version of Osprey ESS 61, 2010. Though the main battles are here, there is a substantial socio-political element, necessary to explain the complex twists and turns of this bloody civil war, which still encroaches on events today. Thanks to Osprey for the sample. John Ham, August 2022. -- John Ham * Tankette *Table of ContentsIntroduction Warring Sides The Fighting The Great Protagonists The World Around War Why the War Was Won and Lost Conclusion and Consequences Appendix & Chronology Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisGuru to the World tells the story of Swami Vivekananda, the nineteenth-century Hindu ascetic who introduced the West to yoga and to a tolerant, scientifically minded universalist conception of religion. Ruth Harris explores the many legacies of Vivekananda’s thought, including his impact on anticolonial movements and contemporary Hindu nationalism.Trade ReviewThis is a deeply researched and compellingly argued biography of Swami Vivekananda, one of the first Indian religious thinkers to become known in the west, and one of the makers of modern India. -- Rana Mitter * BBC History Magazine *Guru to the World is a triumph of research and ambition, drawing connections between a dazzling array of philosophies, figures, languages, geographies and religions. -- Abhimanyu Arni * Literary Review *This will be the standard biography of [Vivekananda] for years to come…Admirable. -- Jon M. Sweeney * Spirituality & Practice *Vivekananda’s life was an embarrassment of epiphanies and contradictions, and Harris exhaustively uncovers all of them. -- Pratinav Anil * History Today *Vivekananda was many things to many people: the first global religious celebrity, an apostle of Indian nationalism, a man whose message was heard, and heard differently, in salons as well as slums. It’s not just any biographer who can do justice to such a complex life. He’s fortunate to have found a perfect interpreter in Ruth Harris. -- Benjamin Moser, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Sontag: Her Life and WorkIn Ruth Harris’s vivid portrait of India’s Vivekananda, we discover a compelling story of interconnected lives—the guru, his disciple, the international followers, his own teacher—that sheds new light on religion, race, gender, colonialism, and nationalism. This impressive book introduces us to some important but half-forgotten cultural currents in the life of India, Europe, and America at the end of the nineteenth century. To understand contemporary India, we need to pay more attention to these currents, and Harris is a sure-footed guide. -- Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of CanterburyIn Guru to the World, Ruth Harris gives us riveting accounts of both the Indian and the international sides of Swami Vivekananda, one of the most provocative personalities of the nineteenth century. The connections between tradition and modernity forged by him over a century ago continue to influence culture, politics, and religion worldwide. A brilliant read. -- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, author of An Aesthetic Education in the Era of GlobalizationAn inspired blend of religion, politics, and biography, Guru to the World takes a novel approach to the history of empire and cross-cultural encounters that foregrounds the workings of love, friendship, and faith. In the lives of Vivekananda and his associates, Ruth Harris delivers insight into topics ranging from yoga to anticolonial nationalism that should interest any readers curious to understand the workings of what might be called globalized culture. -- Maya Jasanoff, author of The Dawn Watch

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Book SynopsisIn addition to providing excerpts from classic tales of Japan’s warrior past, this volume draws on a wide range of lesser-known but revealing sources—including sword inscriptions, edicts, orders, petitions, and letters—to expand and deepen our understanding of the samurai, from the order’s origins in the fifth century to its abolition in the nineteenth. Taken together with Thomas Donald Conlan’s contextualizing introductions and notes, these sources provide a rare window into the experiences, ideals, and daily lives of these now-sentimentalized warriors. Numerous illustrations, a glossary of terms, and a substantial bibliography further enhance the value of this book to students, scholars, and anyone interested in learning more about the samurai.Trade Review"This sourcebook provides, for the first time in English, translations of the key primary sources for the study of the history of the samurai across all eras of Japanese history. Conlan has framed these sources with compelling historical analysis, making the book required reading not only for students of the warrior class but for everyone interested in the broad sweep of Japanese history. This is an astounding resource."—Morgan Pitelka, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"Conlan is to be commended for putting together this volume. Samurai and the Warrior Culture of Japan smartly complements earlier, well-used anthologies but also forges in new directions—delving deeply into documentary sources, in particular—immeasurably enriching the resources available to teachers of pre-modern Japanese history and promising to become a mainstay in the classroom."—David Spafford, University of Pennsylvania

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Book SynopsisThe greatest conquest in historyGenghis Khan left an empire more than twice the size of Alexander’s: his successors went on to conquer and govern an area stretching from Korea to the River Danube. How did a band of nomadic herdsmen achieve so much, so fast?Despite these stunning achievements, many writers dismiss the Mongols as just ferocious barbarians. This bestselling book sets the record straight. The epic starts in 1206 - when Genghis became master of ‘all the people with felt tents’ and an unknown tribe took the first steps towards world domination - and ends with the empire’s decline and fall, after Khubilai Khan’s triumphant unification with China.Robert Marshall describes their devastating invasions, including that of feudal Europe and Christendom’s clumsy attempts to understand and fend off these legendary warriors. Full of extraordinary events, painted on a vast and colourful canvas, Storm from the East brings to life a time when East and West finally came face to face and the contours of modern Asia were set.‘Storm from the East does not seek to excuse Mongol excesses - yet Robert Marshall appears to speak for the Mongols… A fascinating voyage through time and space’ Thomas Nivison Haining in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

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Book SynopsisElegies of Chu (in Chinese, Chuci), one of the two surviving collections of ancient Chinese poetry, is a key source for the whole tradition of Chinese poetry. Because the elegies contain passionate expressions of political protest as well as shamanistic themes of magic spells and wandering spirits, they present an alternative face of early Chinese culture; one that does not align with orthodox Confucianism. This translation employs literary English devices in order to emphasise the original structure of these Chinese poems. It also examines the extraordinarily vivid diction of the source texts, including of onomatopoeia, ornate descriptions, exotic flowers, dramatic landscapes, metaphors and startling similes. This translation will be based on the original anthology compiled in the Han dynasty by Wang Yi (2nd century CE), and contains a selection of poems that were collected from the 3rd century BCE through the Han dynasty. The anthology provides readers with an understanding of Chinese literature and its evolution from free-spirited, mythico-religious songs to the more formal, polished style of the Han court.Trade ReviewThe harmony of erudition and elegance of Williams' renditions will allow his translation to become the standard English version of the Chuci text for years to come. * William H. Nienhauser, Jr., Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews *Table of ContentsIntroduction A Note on the Translation Select Bibliography Timeline 1: Sublimating Sorrow (Li sao) 2: Nine Phases 3: Nine Songs 4: Heavenly Questions 5: Nine Avowals 6: Far Roaming 7: Divination 8: Fisherman 9: Summons to the Recluse 10: Summons to the Soul 11: Nine Longings 12: Seven Remonstrances 13: Nine Threnodies 14: Lamenting Time's Fate 15: Rueful Oath 16: Greater Summons 17: Nine Yearnings Explanatory Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe myths of the noble Samurai and the sinister Ninja are filled with romantic fantasy and fallacy.Samurai and Ninja expert Antony Cummins shatters the myths and exposes the true nature of these genuine—and very lethal—medieval Japanese warriors. The Samurai and Ninja were, in fact, brutal killing machines trained in torture and soaked in machismo. Many were skilled horsemen and sword-fighting specialists, while others were masters of deception and sabotage. Some fought for loyalty, others for personal gain. What these warriors all shared in common was their unflinching personal bravery, skill and brutality.In Samurai and Ninja, Cummins separates myth from reality and shows why the Japanese were the most skilled warriors of all time: He describes the Samurai and the Ninja as they were in earlier times when battles raged across Japan—not in later times when war became obsolete and Japanese warriors became philosophers, scholars and courtiers. He describes the social context of the day and the feudal world into which the warriors were trained to fight and die for their lords. He exposes the fundamentally brutal nature of warfare in medieval Japan. This book is illuminated by many rare Japanese manuscripts and texts which are translated into English for the very first time.Trade Review"Antony Cummins is a samurai of the mind: he cuts through myth to reveal the truth." --John Man, author of Samurai: The Last Warrior"One of the most exciting scholars in his field, Antony Cummins has successfully built on a detailed knowledge of his subject to become both a leading authority and a skilled communicator. He has an unswerving ability to make history fresh and vivid, while staying grounded in meticulous research--a rare gift. "--Jonathan Elliott, Documentary Film Producer"Antony Cummins is one of today's most notable Samurai and Ninja researchers. His fresh viewpoint and meticulous investigations are deeply stimulating to my own Ninja studies." --Professor Yamada Yuji, Mie University, Japan

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Book SynopsisImpressive Fascinating' Sunday TimesAn authoritative history' Financial TimesGripping and richly researched' Rana MitterA superb new history of the rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule.The rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule are told with unique insight in this new history by Michael Sheridan, drawing on eyewitness reporting over three decades, interviews with key figures and documents from archives in China and the West.The story sweeps the reader from the earliest days of trade through the Opium Wars of the 19th century to the age of globalisation and the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It ends with the battle for democracy on the city's streets and the ultimate victory of the Chinese Communist Party.How did it come to this? We learn from private papers that Margaret Thatcher anguished over the fate of Hong Kong, sought secret American briefings on how to handle China and put her trust in an adviser who was torn betweenTrade Review‘You can understand a lot about China’s relations with the rest of the world … by looking at how the leadership in Beijing has dealt with Hong Kong …The Gate to China meticulously details why this is so … in this very readable book Sheridantakes the reader through the tortuous Sino-British negotiations that led to the handover … impressive … fascinating’Sunday Times ‘Highly readable … Sheridan covers the Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong’s future in engaging detail…he adds colour to existing accounts … provides a welcome contrast to many of the existing histories of the period’Literary Review ‘An authoritative history of Hong Kong and its relations with the UK and China … even-handed … Analyses with a wealth of documentary evidence the motivations of Chinese leaders in seeking to reverse historical humiliation’Financial Times ‘Sheridan’s gripping and richly researched history sheds a highly critical light on those British officials of the Thatcher era who seemed to favour Beijing’s autocracy over the promotion of liberal values and movingly recounts the brief hopes of Hong Kong’s reformers whose democratic enlightenment has turned to darkness’Rana Mitter, BBC History Magazine ‘Authoritative … Hong Kong’s story is full of drama, politics and personalities and Sheridan tells it well, drawing from a wide variety of Chinese and British sources’Observer ‘Sheridan’s account testifies to the Western dreams about China and to the ways they are shattered … The Gate to China details the regime’s use of its cyber-capabilities to monitor dissent, block communications and even interfere with efforts to measure public sentiment in Hong Kong’Washington Post ‘A delightful piece of writing and research’Jasper Becker ‘Deeply researched and beautifully written … Essential reading for anyone interested in the saga of a city whose fate has dominated the headlines’Mike Chinoy

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Book SynopsisThe definitive account of North Korea - its veiled past and uncertain future - from former White House adviser and Korea expert Victor ChaWe killed Americans. We are killing Americans. We will kill Americans.'North Korean schoolchildren conjugating verbsHow did North Korea become The Impossible State, where citizens found humming South Korean pop songs risk being sent to a gulag, and yet a starving populace clings fiercely to its Dear Leader Kim Jong-un? What does the future hold for a regime with terrifying nuclear ambitions and an endless war with its southern counterpart? Former White House adviser and Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, Victor Cha, pulls back the curtain on the world's most isolated country to provide this unprecedented and timely insight into North Korea's history, present and future. In the era of the Trump administration and with South Korean relations seemingly on the brink of Trade ReviewEngrossing... It offers perhaps the best recent one-volume account of North Korea’s history, economics and foreign relations * The Economist *[This] excellent, comprehensive book explains as much as it is possible to explain the nature of this ‘impossible state’, how it has developed under the Kim dynasty and why it endures as a major thorn in the side of the global community -- Jonathan Fenby * The Times *This scrupulously researched account provides an alarming insight into how a long-running nightmare for North Koreans could soon become a geopolitical crisis for the rest of us -- Stephen Robinson * Sunday Times *He uses his first-hand and often surreal experiences of dealing with North Korean officialdom to telling effect in the book. But Cha is also a scholar of Korean and Asian affairs, so can take a historical view of the North Korean problem and set it in its wider international context… [An] impressive analysis -- Richard Cockett * Literary Review *Provocative, frightening, and never more relevant than today as an untested new leader takes charge of the world’s most unpredictable nuclear power -- Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent

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Book SynopsisFor the first time, here is the extraordinary true story of one of the most powerful men, and ruthless dictators, who ever lived. Mao Zedong had control over more people for a longer period than any other leader in history. In this intimate biography we learn not only about the imperial grandeur of his life in a country racked by poverty and the vicious infighting at his court, but also about his extraordinary personal habits that equal those of deceased Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, another infamous and idiosyncratic dictator, equally deified and worshipped by his followers: Mao''s teeth turned black because he would only brush them with tea; he hardly ever bathed but then received Krushchev in his swimming pool where he obliged the Soviet President to join him. Li''s revealing account also chronicles Mao''s voracious sexual appetite that led to the seduction of thousands of peasant women because he believed in the mythical healing power of sex. Zhisui Li spent more time with Mao than perhaps any other person. He witnessed first-hand the catastrophic events that Mao''s dotage and paranoia sparked in a country that revered him as a demi-god. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a landmark biography, as fascinating as it is important to the understanding of modern China, and a must buy for fans of Wild Swans.Trade ReviewLi is Mao's Boswell * Irish Times *A unique political and historical autobiography of inestimable worth, an astounding chronicle of human weakness, political intrigue and corruption and the near destruction of a great nation by a great ego -- Martin BoothOne of the most vivid descriptions of a dictator ever written * The Times *A classic . . . I see Dr. Li as the Tacitus of modern China -- Hugh Trevor-Roper

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Book SynopsisIn Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, Martin Goodman explores the history of a titanic struggle whose repercussions are still felt today. In 70CE, after four years of Jewish rebellion, Roman legions devastated the great city of Jerusalem. Sixty years later, its ruin was completed when Emperor Hadrian built a new city on top of it that Jews were forbidden even to enter. In this highly acclaimed book, Martin Goodman examines the background and course of this titanic conflict - from the political ambitions of Roman military leaders to the spread of Christian influence through the empire - and its lasting consequences. ''In this remarkable book Martin Goodman casts a truly fresh eye over well-known figures and events''  History Today ''Important and powerfully expressed ... The best available general account of a turning point not just in the history of the Roman Empire but also in the develop

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Book SynopsisIn The Indian Mutiny: 1857 Saul David explores one of Britain''s most harrowing colonial battles.In 1857 the native troops of the Bengal army rose against their colonial masters. The ensuing insurrection was to become the bloodiest in the history of the British Empire.Combining formidable storytelling with ground-breaking research, Saul David narrates a tale at once heart-rendingly tragic and extraordinarily compelling. David provides new and convincing evidence that the true causes of the mutiny were much more complex, and disturbing, than previously assumed.''A fine achievement by a huge new talent'' William Dalrymple, Sunday TimesSaul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the author of several critically acclaimed history books, including The Indian Mutiny: 1857 (shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature), Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (a Waterstone''s Military History Book of the Year) and, most recently, Victoria''s Wars: The Rise of Empire.Table of ContentsPrologue - "The Electric Telegraph" has saved us; the East India Company; "Carlo" Canning; professional grievances; "Go to hell - don't bother me!"; the conspiracy; the greased cartridges; Mungul Pandy; the storm bursts; Delhi; "The worst of the storm is past"; the mutiny spreads; Oudh; Cawnpore; Satichaura Ghat; the backlash; enter Sir Colin Campbell; the fall of Delhi; the relief of Lucknow; the reconquest of Oudh; the Rani of Jhansi; "War is at an end". Appendices - was 31 May 1857 the date fixed for a general mutiny of the Bengal Army?; the civilian conspiracy and rebel chiefs; the motive for mutiny; the post-mutiny reform of the Indian Army.

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Book SynopsisFrom Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity brings together an illuminating selection of writings on contemporary India. India is an immensely diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly different convictions, widely divergent customs and a veritable feast of viewpoints. Out of these conflicting views spring a rich tradition of skeptical argument and cultural achievement which is critically important, argues Amartya Sen, for the success of India''s democracy, the defence of its secular politics, the removal of inequalities related to class, caste, gender and community, and the pursuit of sub-continental peace. ''Profound and stimulating ... the product of a great mind at the peak of its power''  William Dalrymple, Sunday Times ''One of the most influential public thinkers of our times...This is a book that needed to have bee

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Book SynopsisNew 25th Anniversary Edition__________''I am still haunted by Mah''s memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure'' Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club1940s, Shanghai. As the civil war rages on and China falls under communist rule, young Adeline lives in constant fear. Not of the war, but of her family: blamed for the death of her mother, she is rejected by her father and abused by her cruel stepmother.With the help of her aunt, Adeline escapes to the United States where she finds love, happiness and success. But will that be enough to quell a lifelong yearning for acceptance, or will she return to the family that rejected her years agoFalling Leaves Return to their Roots is both the enthralling story of a Chinese family in a time of political upheaval, and a moving account of one girl''s unrelenting will to survive.__________''Falling Leaves isTrade ReviewCharged with emotion . . . a vivid portrait of the human capacity for meanness, malice - and love'Falling Leaves is a terrible and riveting family history . . . It is also a story about endurance and the cost it can exact . . . gripping' * Daily Telegraph *An illuminating account of the destructive nature of family relationships set against a backdrop of China in change * Mail on Sunday *A light burns in the book that is never extinguished . . . [it is] an act, not of vengeance or bitterness, but of catharsis * Sunday Telegraph *The pain of so much emotional abuse leaps from every page . . . the most amazing aspect of this story is that Adeline managed to survive . . . and emerge triumphant . . . compelling' * Val Hennessy *I am still haunted by Mah's memoir . . . Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure

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Book Synopsis''Stunningly good'' Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard, Books of the Year 2017 A Financial Times Best Book of 2017''A shrewd and knowing book.'' Robert D. Kaplan, The Wall Street Journal''A compelling and impressive read.'' The Economist''Skillfully crafted and well-argued.'' Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Financial Times''An excellent modern history. . . . provides the context needed to make sense of the region''s present and future.'' Joyce Lau, South China Morning PostThe dramatic story of the relationship between the world''s three largest economies, one that is shaping the future of us all, by one of the foremost experts on east AsiaFor more than half a century, American power in the Pacific has successfully kept the peace. But it has also cemented the tensions in the toxic rivalry between China and Japan, consumed with endless history wars and entrenched political dynasTrade ReviewA shrewd and knowing book -- Robert D. Kaplan * Wall Street Journal *A compelling and impressive read * Economist *Skillfully crafted and well-argued -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom * Financial Times *An excellent modern history. . . . provides the context needed to make sense of the region's present and future. -- Joyce Lau * South China Morning Post *[A] wide-ranging study of China's re-emergence as a regional power in Asia after a long hiatus, thwarting the designs of other powers, including the United States and Russia. . . . The U.S. [finds itself] firmly ensnared in the so-called Thucydides trap, 'the principle that it is dangerous to build an empire but even more dangerous to let it go.' So it is, and the current leadership appears to be at a loss about what to do or to formulate other aspects of any coherent policy in and toward Asia. . . . Geopolitics wonks will want to give attention to this urgent but nonsensationalized argument. * Kirkus Reviews *The United States, China, and Japan form the power triangle that will shape much of the international politics in the 21st century. Richard McGregor's masterful The Party illuminated one corner of that triangle-China. In this important book he describes how the other two corners have interacted with China since World War II. Lucid, insightful and ominous, as the author describes big trouble ahead -- Eliot Cohen, author of SUPREME COMMANDRichard McGregor's new book is essential reading for anyone worried about the most fraught relationship in Asia-between China and Japan. With extensive experience in and knowledge of both China, Japan, and the United States, McGregor is in a unique position to unpack the relationship and sort through the extensive propaganda and myth-making on all sides. A great read! -- John Pomfret, author of The Beautiful Country and the Middle KingdomMcGregor distills years of meetings with high officials in China and Japan to give a vivid nuanced picture of their relations in the 21st century -- Ezra Vogel, author of Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of ChinaAn in-depth depiction of radical changes and challenges in Japan-China relations in the post-war period, thoroughly researched and rich in storytelling. In the course of tumultuous relations with China, Japan has had to trail blaze in the face of the rise of China. Japan's naked exposure to the unfolding Realpolitik with China at its core is for the first time comprehensively reviewed. -- Yoichi Funabashi, former Editor-in-Chief, Asahi ShimbunA must read for anyone who wants to understand our future. Asia's Reckoning provides a detailed picture of the slow military, diplomatic and economic waltz between China, Japan and the United States that determined the shape of the past half-century. -- Nicholas Stuart * Brisbane Times *A compelling account of the post-war relationship between China, Japan and America, brings to life one of the world's most complicated love-hate triangles. -- Clifford Coonan * Irish Times *McGregor's brilliant book is packed with insights on the complex Sino-Japanese relationship, the gist of that being that past history should be our teacher rather than master. Will a more powerful China learn magnanimity, one wonders. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard, Book of the Year *For journalists taking up new posts in China, the first book I always suggest is Richard McGregor's The Party. I will now add McGregor's new book, Asia's Reckoning, to my list for those headed to the Far East. -- Melissa Chan * Los Angeles Review of Books *In Asia's Reckoning, Richard McGregor provides a cogent and superbly researched guide to the deep forces that undergird China's geopolitical strategy and the attempts of two other great powers in the region, the United States and Japan, to deal with it. -- Peter Tasker * The Mekong Review *McGregor's fascinating narrative of the three countries' relations over 50 years is filled with fresh anecdotes drawn from interviews and newly released archival documents. McGregor has a sharp eye for personalities and policy factions, as well as a firm grasp of geopolitics. -- Andrew Nathan * Foreign Affairs *Richard McGregor has followed up his masterful 2010 book on The Party by focusing on the collisions and the less frequent collusions between the three Pacific powers: China, Japan and the US. Most regional strategic writing is focused on one of the three countries, but McGregor has done immense research in each of them and sets up the story beautifully. -- Rowan Callick * The Australian *McGregor offers a masterful account of the complex fifty-year dance between China, Japan and the United States. -- Graeme Dobell * The Strategist *McGregor has written a magisterial book that combines old-fashioned shoe leather reporting and extensive archival research to hart seven decades of history between the three countries. -- Anna Fifield * Australian Foreign Affairs *

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020''Mightily impressive ... a marvellous read'' Sunday TimesFrom the acclaimed author of Japan Story, this is the history of Japan, distilled into the stories of twenty remarkable individuals. The vivid and entertaining portraits in Chris Harding''s enormously enjoyable new book take the reader from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place. For anyone new to Japan, this book is the ideal introduction. For anyone already deeply involved with it, this is a book filled with surprises and pleasures.Trade ReviewSkilled, ambitious, mightily impressive ... Harding turns out to be as adept at describing the country's artistic development as he is at unpicking its brutal politics. Another of his talents is a sharp eye for the telling quote that makes these distant presences tangible ... a marvellous read, full of startling information. -- Waldemar Januszczak * Sunday Times *Splendid ... It's an effective way of telling an unfamiliar story, leavening the course of social change with plenty of enjoyable individual details. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *An enjoyable romp through the ages across the Japanese archipelago ... Harding is in his element ... A tour de force, this imaginative book may well be the "ideal introduction" for anyone new to Japan ... Vividly written, there are certainly some interesting surprises to savour along the way. -- Andrew Cobbing * BBC History Magazine *A fresh and fascinating perspective ... By shifting focus without losing the renowned figures or the sweeping trends but rather leavening them with formerly unsung individuals, Harding is able to say something new about the history of Japan and reinvigorate old stories. As such, this book can act as a primer for the archipelago's long and complex story, or as a refreshing take on familiar periods for those already well-versed in the emperors, shoguns and battlefields. -- Iain Maloney * Japan Times *The people included in this look at the lives of 20 of Japan's most notable characters are not, it's fair to say, household names, but historian and broadcaster Christopher Harding brings them to life with warmth and insight. Together, they offer a great primer to the nation's expansive, dynamic story. * History Revealed, Book of the Month *

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Book SynopsisIn April 1917, Lenin arrived at Petrograd''s Finland Station and set foot on Russian soil for the first time in over a decade. For most of the past seventeen years, the Bolshevik leader had lived in exile, moving between Europe''s many Russian colonies--large and politically active communities of émigrés in London, Paris, and Geneva, among other cities. Thousands of fellow exiles who followed Lenin on his eastward trek in 1917 were in a similar predicament. The returnees plunged themselves into politics, competing to shape the future of a vast country recently liberated from tsarist rule. Yet these activists had been absent from their homeland for so long that their ideas reflected the Russia imagined by residents of the faraway colonies as much as they did events on the ground. The 1917 revolution marked the dawn of a new day in Russian politics, but it also represented the continuation of decades-long conversations that had begun in emigration and were exported back to Russia. Faith Trade ReviewWhen discussing the effects of the Russian Revolution, much scholarly energy has been expended on whether ideology or the experience of taking power was responsible for Bolshevik policy. In this meticulously documented account Faith Hillis adds another dimension to this debate as she argues that, although absorbed by radical ideology, the life experienced in Russian colonies abroad affected the way in which Russian radicals and revolutionaries understood these ideas and thus how they behaved when in power....Hillis's book...emphasizes once again the primacy of ideas for the Russian radicals and recreates the neighborhoods and complex interactions that gave currency to these ideas both in Russia and beyond. * Catherine Andreyev, Journal of Modern History *This is a compelling and rich study that has many interesting sides and uses for the historian. Perhaps its greatest strength is in how it reconstructs the experience of being revolutionary in Europe, and the influence of utopians on pivotal moments in European and Russian history. * George Gilbert, University of Southampton, UK, European History Quarterly *Impressive in its scope, Utopia's Discontents provides a reinterpretation of the political genealogies of the Russian Revolution through a study of its rich and contentious émigré history....This book offers not only a richly detailed analysis of émigrés' efforts to reinvent society but also an interpretation of Russian radical thought as rooted in transnational spaces.... Hillis not only weaves the life stories of the Russian Revolution's celebrities into a dense web of encounters and exchanges but illuminates the groups often marginalized from these big histories. The narrative steps deftly from Poles and Ukrainians, to women, and to Jews, the focus on the latter group offering particularly exciting new perspectives on the revolutionary emigration....The website companion to the book... is an invaluable resource for historians in the field working with rare books and periodicals and a generous contribution to scholarship. * Lara Green, Revolutionary Russia *Engrossing.... Hillis's flair for narrative, small and large, gives Utopia's Discontents its depth and breadth. We learn about Russian women students who wore large glasses and short haircuts to signify their break with traditional gender norms, about Mensheviks and Bolsheviks brawling in Genevan bars, and about one émigré Populist leader's successful career as an artisanal kefir maker. Behind the dozens of characters that we meet is an enormous number of archival documents and a conviction that the milieu is the true protagonist of history. * Ania Aizman, Los Angeles Review of Books *Marvelous....the first major treatment of the émigré circles that dotted central and western Europe through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.... Hillis offers a convincing portrait of these colonies functioning as...loci of intense engagement where groups of Russian emigres...rubbed shoulders, shouted at one another, and exchanged ideas with one another to produce new forms of said politics with drastic importance for world history.... It is clearly and elegantly written and shows a masterful command of the source material. It shines light on as a creative space capable of generating vast ideas....Hillis offers a new form of spatial history, a republic of cafes, street corners, bedrooms, and railroad cars where Russia was reimagined and the world transformed. Utopia's Discontents belongs on every bookshelf, and Hillis deserves every praise for writing it. * Joshua Meyers, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies *The waves of Russian political, literary, and artistic émigrés who relocated to Europe have fascinated Western historians....Faith Hillis has her own unique perspective on post-Napoleonic Europe's Russian colonies....Her novel angle attempts to illustrate how the exiles living in poor, crowded conditions contributed to the particularities of Bolshevik politics and party culture....Hillis...is fair minded and balanced, cautious and moderate in her judgments, and she tells her story with detail and fluency. * Ronald Grigor Suny, American Historical Review *Hillis has written a ground-breaking study of Russian history from the perspective of émigrés and their movements against both czarist rule and, after the 1917 Revolution, the Bolsheviks themselves. Hillis notes anti-czarist movements began well before the revolutions of 1848 and reconstituted themselves after the failed Paris Commune of 1871....Hillis is to be applauded for the very successful application of her unique approach to considering Russian history. * Choice *When we describe the October Revolution as a 'world-historical event', this is usually understood to refer to the global consequences of the rise of the first Marxist state. Faith Hillis, in a brilliant move, has turned this sequence of events on its head. Utopia's Discontents shows how people, places and events situated far beyond the borders of Russia shaped the Revolution. The October Revolution, she shows, was world-historical at its root....Utopia's Discontents narrates the history of these utopian communities in fascinating, intimate detail....An excellent example of history that steps beyond disciplinary divisions and national boundaries. * Kevin M.F. Platt, Times Literary Supplement *Utopia's Discontents literally puts the history of the Russian Revolution—and all that came with it—on the map. By moving our point of reference to the émigré and exile peripheries at the core of twentieth-century history, this fascinating study of the 'Russian colonies' in Europe offers an inspiringly original take on the history of 'post-colonialism.' With uncommon narrative ease and rigorous attention to detail, Hillis does to the reigning historiography of the revolutionary movements what her protagonists did to the liberal order of the late nineteenth century. The history of ideas just got a good deal richer. * Holly Case, author of Age of Questions *Vividly narrated and brimming with insight, Utopia's Discontents brings to life the storied 'Russian colonies' of western Europe's major cities, where revolutions were plotted and new countries imagined. Faith Hillis brilliantly recreates the dense neighborhoods, intimate, often fraught social relationships, and high-pitched theoretical arguments that characterized life in the Russian colonies. Utopia's Discontents is a multi-layered study, at once richly local in focus and broad in scope. It is a truly exciting book. * Tony Michels, author of A Fire in Their Hearts: Yiddish Socialists in New York *This ground-breaking book rethinks the history of Russia's revolutionaries through their lives in exile communities. Place mattered in their story: for inspiration, for encounters, for everyday radical practices. The book is a rich history of ideas—freedom, equality, community, and justice, and socialism—but as everyday practices rather than dreamy abstractions. Not least, this is magisterial research, written in an accessible and compelling manner. * Mark Steinberg, author of The Russian Revolution, 1905-21 *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Explanatory Note Introduction: From the Café Landolt Part I: Making Utopia Concrete Chapter 1: The Other Communards Chapter 2: Living the Revolution Chapter 3: Jewish Workers Meet the Russian Revolution Part II: Europe's Russian Moment Chapter 4: Entangled Emancipations Chapter 5: Émigré Dystopias Part III: Revolutionary Repercussions Chapter 6: "The Party of Extreme Opposition" Chapter 7: Ou-topos? Chapter 8: Revolution from Abroad Epilogue: Émigré Clans Notes Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFor decades, China''s rise to power was characterized by its reassurance that this rise would be peaceful. Then, as Susan L. Shirk, shows in this sobering, clear-eyed account of China today, something changed.For three decades after Mao''s death in 1976, China''s leaders adopted a restrained approach to foreign policy. They determined that any threat to their power, and that of the Chinese Communist Party, came not from abroad but from withina conclusion cemented by the 1989 Tiananmen crisis. To facilitate the country''s inexorable economic ascendence, and to prevent a backlash, they reassured the outside world of China''s peaceful intentions.Then, as Susan Shirk shows in this illuminating, disturbing, and utterly persuasive new book, something changed. China went from fragile superpower to global heavyweight, threatening Taiwan as well as its neighbors in the South China Sea, tightening its grip on Hong Kong, and openly challenging the United States for preeminence not just economicalTrade ReviewComplete with 64 pages of notes and a 15-page Index, her new book (which includes a fine analysis of the hot-button issues of Hong Kong and Taiwan) is an accessible and detailed account of where we have been with China, and how we got to this difficult state of affairs. * Dr. Cliff Cunningham, Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, Sun News Austin *Susan Shirk's superb new book addresses the singular question echoing in the corridors of political and commercial power: why is China asserting itself in ways that upset global order? Drawing on decades of experience, Shirk answers it with insights drawn from myriad sources. Overreach is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand where China is going--and what America must do in response. * Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for the IndoPacific *A fascinating, behind-the-scenes investigation of China's internal politics that makes the unconventional but ultimately persuasive argument that the personalities, politics, and processes that have powered China's rise for decades are simultaneously subverting it. With Overreach, Shirk proves yet again why she is one of the most interesting thinkers and important voices on China of our time. * Elizabeth Economy, author of The World According to China *In this timely and important book, Susan Shirk dissects the nature of China's emerging threat, driven by growing aggressiveness in foreign policy and Xi Jinping's tightening domestic grip. Overreach, she warns in jargon-free prose, has triggered an equally self-defeating overreaction from America, and without a dramatic change in policy could lead to war. * Jerry Brown, former governor of California *Susan Shirk has both long experience and a deep understanding of China. Overreach offers an illuminating and sobering appraisal of where things stand today. It masterfully explains why China has taken its current worrisome course and offers invaluable advice as to how the United States should respond. An authoritative look at China in this critical movement in history. * Stephen J. Hadley, former National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush *Susan Shirk's masterful dissection of China's political leadership reveals a Party-state in near-constant struggle against perceived threats, creating a vicious policy cycle for the country and its partners. As Shirk's brilliant analysis shows, this dynamic upends global stability and China's vaunted peaceful rise. * Charlene Barshefsky, former United States Trade Representative *The book includes excellent access to sources and endnotes that support Shirk's analysis. * Choice *Table of ContentsPrologue: How China Lost the West 1. The Origins of Overreach 2. Deng's Ghost 3. Inside the Black Box 4. The Rise and Fall of Collective Leadership 5. Loss of Restraint 6. Stability Maintenance 7. Strongman Rule 8. Going to Extremes 9. State pf Paranoia 10. Downward Spiral Conclusion: Overreach and Overreaction

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Book SynopsisThis history of Asian Americans in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II reveals the inner workings of this spy agency and how Euroamerican leaders' conceptions of "race" and "loyalty" shaped US wartime intelligence.Trade ReviewRecognizing their (Asian Americans) service, he provides a more intricate and nuanced account of their wartime activities. * F. Ng, CHOICE *Hayashi argues that even though the Euroamericans leading the OSS proved more open to racial diversity than most U.S. military units in the war, the recruitment of Asian Americans was not without unique challenges given the complexities of Asian American experiences with the United States....This book represents a thoughtful examination of the questions of loyalty and identity, and it delivers on its promise of at least a few good spy adventures....This deep dive into OSS records allows Hayashi to provide detailed examples of Asian Americans involved in every unit or operation he discusses, and...he offers a useful resource for scholars interested in the OSS and the role of race in intelligence operations....Hayashi does a remarkable job weaving together context and experiences. * Meredith Oyen, Journal of American History *By making extensive use of the personnel files of the World War II–era Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, Hayashi provides remarkable insight into how the intelligence agency used Asian Americans in the fight against Japan. * Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs *Spies, triple agents, a Chinese American James Bond, Asian American Special Ops, and the paradoxical role of race in US wartime espionage—Hayashi's pioneering study is a real page-turner full of surprises! * Gordon H. Chang, author of Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad *Asian American Spies offers new and important insights on US intelligence in the Pacific War. Exploring the role of a range of fascinating figures serving in the Office of Strategic Services, it reshapes our ideas about the intersection of ethnicity and espionage during this historic conflict. Readable, fabulously researched, and full of remarkable new stories, this book is a masterpiece and should be read by anyone interested in the rise of American intelligence during the twentieth century. * Richard J. Aldrich, University of Warwick *A rare study of how wartime necessity to fight an Asian enemy prompted the Office of Strategic Services to recruit skilled Asian Americans. It demonstrates that such wartime expediency enhanced racial diversity in the federal service, but also posed serious challenges to loyalty, citizenship, internal security, and ultimately what it means to be 'American.' * Miles M. Yu, United States Naval Academy *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Prologue: A Trojan Horse? Introduction Ch. 1. Creating an Inclusive, Centralized Intelligence Agency Ch. 2. Recruiting Asian Americans with the Right Stuff Ch. 3. Morale Operations and Talking Their Way into Japan Ch. 4. Fighting Like a Man, Special Operations Style Ch. 5. The Long and Short of Spying for Research & Analysis and Secret Intelligence Ch. 6. Rescuing POWs, Countering Enemy Spies, and Encountering Collaborators Ch. 7. Loyalty, Treason, and Asian Americans Epilogue: Unveiling the Trojan Horse Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIndia is widely recognised as a new global powerhouse. It has become one of the world''s emerging powers, rivalling China in terms of global influence. Yet people still know relatively little about the economic, social, political, and cultural changes unfolding in India today. To what extent are people benefiting from the economic boom? Does caste still exist in India? How is India''s culture industry responding to technological change? And what of India''s rapidly changing role internationally?This Very Short Introduction looks at the exciting world of change in contemporary India. Craig Jeffrey provides a compelling account of the recent history of the nation, investigating the contradictions that are plaguing modern India and the manner in which people, especially young people, are actively remaking the country in the twenty first century. One thing is clear: India is a country that is going to become increasingly important for the world over the next decades. 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.Trade ReviewIt is a feat to condense the history of India into a snappy pocket-size book. Craig Jeffrey's vividly and lucidly written ^ * Debjani Bhattacharyya, The American Historical Review *A short and serious account of present-day India * Indian Link *A remarkable achievement, to provide such an inclusive introduction to a diverse, vast, and ancient country so concisely. * Sir Mark Tully *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisHaving spent centuries in the shadows of its neighbours China and Japan, Korea is now the object of considerable interest for radically different reasons-- the South as an economic success story and for its vibrant popular culture; the North as the home to one of the world''s most repressive regimes, at once both bizarre and menacing. This Very Short Introduction explores the history, culture, and society of a deeply divided region. Michael Seth considers what it means to be Korean, and analyses how the various peoples of the Korean peninsula became one of the world''s most homogeneous nations, before exploring how this nation evolved, in a single lifetime, into today''s sharply contrasting societies. He also discusses how Korea fits into the larger narrative of both East Asian and world history, economically, politically, and socially.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 ContentsChronology List of illustrations Introduction 1: Creating a peninsular kingdom 2: A Confucian society 3: From kingdom to colony 4: From colony to competing states 5: Competing states, diverging societies 6: Globalizing south, inward north Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe astonishing story of the Sassoons, one of the nineteenth century''s preeminent commercial families and ''the Rothschilds of the East''The Sassoons were one of the great business dynasties of the nineteenth century, as eminent as traders as the Rothschilds were bankers. This book reveals the secrets behind the family''s phenomenal success: how a handful of Jewish exiles from Ottoman Baghdad forged a mercantile juggernaut from their new home in colonial Bombay, the vast network of agents, informants and politicians they built, and the way they came to bridge East and West, culturally as well as commercially. As one competitor remarked, ''silver and gold, silks, gums and spices, opium and cotton, wool and wheat - whatever moves over sea or land feels the hand or bears the mark of Sassoon & Co.''Drawing for the first time on the vast family archives, Joseph Sassoon brings vividly to life a succession of remarkable characters. From a single generation: Flora, t

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Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW YORKER AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023''An indelible feat of reporting and an urgent read ... It''s a privilege to read books like these'' Te-Ping Chen, author of Land of Big Numbers''A powerful reminder of the ways in which China''s future depends on who controls the past'' Peter HesslerA documentary filmmaker who spent years uncovering a Mao-era death camp; an independent journalist who gave voice to the millions who suffered through Covid; a magazine publisher who dodges the secret police: these are some of the people who make up Sparks: China''s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future, a vital account of how some of China''s most important writers, filmmakers, and artists have overcome crackdowns and censorship to challenge the Chinese Communist Party on its most sacred ground - its monopoly on history.In traditional China, dynasties rewrote history to justify their rule by proving that their predecessors were unworthy of holding power. Marxism gave this a modern gloss, describing history as an unstoppable force heading toward Communism''s triumph. The Chinese Communist Party builds on these ideas to whitewash its misdeeds and justify its rule.But in recent years, critical thinkers from across the land have begun to challenge this state-led disremembering. Using digital technologies to bypass China''s legendary surveillance state, their samizdat journals, guerilla media posts, and underground films document a pattern of disasters: from past famines and purges to the ethnic clashes and virus outbreaks of the present.Based on years of research in Xi Jinping''s China, Sparks challenges stereotypes of a China where the state has quashed all free thought, revealing instead a country engaged in one of humanity''s great struggles of memory against forgetting - a battle that will shape the China that emerges in the mid-21st century.Trade ReviewIan Johnson is one of the most experienced and thoughtful Western journalists writing about China. Now he has turned his attention to one of the most important battles in contemporary China: the struggle to control history ... Moving and full of human character and detail. It's a compelling read, beautifully written, and the product of deep research carried out in China over many years ... an exemplary tribute. -- Rana Mitter * Literary Review *Sparks is a work of scholarship, investigative journalism of a kind that rarely happens in the age of slashed budgets, with eyewitness accounts of brutality that will chill your blood ... Johnson’s stories bring these numbers, and this history, chillingly alive. -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times *A skilful exploration… Johnson’s skill lies in demonstrating the philosophical links between China’s geography and its political and cultural landscape ... It is deeply satisfying to read a book about China that could only have been written after decades of serious engagement with the country. -- Amy Hawkins * The Guardian *A striking account ... This immersive survey combines interviews, firsthand reportage, and historical research to paint a moving group portrait of China’s political dissidents. * Publishers Weekly *Mr Johnson’s ability to evade controls and gain the trust of his subjects is evident in his compellingly written work. The result is a rare insight into the extraordinary risks that some Chinese take to illuminate the darkest corners of communism. -- James Miles * The Economist *An indelible feat of reporting and an urgent read, Sparks is alive with the voices of the countless Chinese who fiercely, improbably, refuse to let their histories be forgotten. It's a privilege to read books like these. -- Te-Ping Chen, author of Land of Big NumbersA revelation: this historian from overseas spent years penetrating the world of underground Chinese historians, becoming in his own right a recorder of pioneers such as Hu Jie, Ai Xiaoming, and Jiang Xue, who use text and video to record China's lost history. -- Liao Yiwu, author of The Corpse Walker, God is Red and For a Song and a Hundred SongsThis compelling and highly enjoyable book will greatly enhance the general reader's understanding of the subtle counter-currents of resistance at work in Chinese society below the smooth surface of control and compliance. -- Sebastian Veg, author of Minjian: The Rise of China's Grassroots IntellectualsA powerful narrative of how the human spirit has survived the cruel repression of Maoist totalitarianism and is still doing the same against Xi Jinping's determined efforts to impose a new form of digital totalitarianism ... A must read for anyone interested in the Chinese and China. -- Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African StudiesIan Johnson has conducted some of the most important grassroots research of any foreign journalist in China. With Sparks, he turns his attention to history - not the sanctioned, censored, and selective history promoted by the Communist Party, but the independent histories that are being written and filmed by brave individuals across the country. This book is a powerful reminder of the ways in which China's future depends on who controls the past. -- Peter Hessler

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In its contents and methods, this captivating case study has far broader relevance beyond its regional focus." * Choice *"While historians have produced studies of individual polities in the region before and after the imposition of imperial rule, The Camphor Tree and the Elephant is the first to situate this transition in a much larger environmental and religious perspective, thus providing a vibrant reevaluation of approaches to the Southeast Asian past." * Journal of Southeast Asian Studies *

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction | Placing Timelines 1. Biocentric Eutopias in South Asia 2. Ecotopias, Theosophy, and the South Indian City 3. Utopian Settlements and Californian Vedanta 4. Highways, Thresholds, and an Indian New Age Conclusion | Designing and Dwelling in Place Notes References Index

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Book Synopsis* A book that will change the course of modern history, and specifically our attitudes to China.* Three of the top four China scholars in America have said this is the most important book on China published in decades.Trade ReviewThanks to these documents, we can read the words of the Party bosses, angry and baffled... Today many Chinese officials blandly deny that there was a massacre at all. These documents, however, prove it all. * John Simpson, BBC's World Affairs Editor *Fascinating. * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *The significance and rarity of the book and its potential value to researchers can hardly be overstated. * OBSERVER *The most valuable political book I read was THE TIANANMEN PAPERS, which gives an extraordinary insight into the old regime's ruthless stand against the freedom campaigners in Beijing in 1989. * GUARDIAN *

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Book SynopsisThe first book in a new three-volume history of the Asia-Pacific War, by the acclaimed author of Downfall and Guadalcanal.Trade Review"It was [Richard Frank's] account of the chaos of war that most gripped me. Another of this book's many strengths is the author's welcome desire to tell the Chinese side of the story… Excellent though he is at most things, Frank is arguably at his best in his portrayal of both the leading and minor characters in this story." -- Malcolm Murfett - Literary Review"Outstanding, wide-ranging... Frank has a humane, sure eye for detail." -- Rana Mitter - BBC History Magazine

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Book SynopsisJapan: A Modern History provides a comprehensive narrative that integrates the political, social, cultural, and economic history of modern Japan from the investiture of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 to the present.

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Book SynopsisThe Ninjas today are the stuff of myth and legend in comics, film and electronic games. But once they were real, the medieval equivalent of the SAS: spies, saboteurs, assassins. In their secrecy, under-cover skills and determination to survive, they were the opposite of the overt, self destructive samurai. Could they fly? Make themselves invisible? Of course not.It was just that their skills gave them a magical aura. As a result, martial artists and story-tellers have turned them into fantasy creatures, from James Bond to Mutant Turtles.In Ninja John Man goes in search of the truth. In a journey to the heartland of the ninjas, he takes us from their origins over 1,000 years ago, through their heyday in the civil wars that ended with Japan's unification in 1600. But that was not the end of the ninja ethos. That re-emerged in World War Two as a little-known counterpart to Japanese militarism. Ninja ways live on in the real last of the ninjas', Hiroo Onoda, who held out Trade ReviewHis ability to put us in the picture, to feel, smell and almost touch the surroundings he describes is matched by his ability to tell a good story. * Michael Palin *One couldn't wish for a better storyteller or analyst than John Man * Simon Sebag Montefiore *An immensely entertaining history, packed with splendidly blood-thirsty tales. -- PD Smith * Guardian *Ninja is a racy popular history of a difficult and often mythologised subject and should appeal to the armchair warrior in us all. * Literary Review *Man’s wry humour and treks through Japan’s mountains, valleys, temples and shrines adds a vivid and personable dimension to his questing spirit – so much so, you can imagine this being a terrific television series. * Metro *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMühlhahn chronicles reforms, revolutions, and wars through the lens of institutions, often rebutting Western impressions, such as the view of Chinese bureaucracy as monolithic. He also warns against thinking of China’s economic success as proof of a unique path without contextualizing it in historical specifics. * New Yorker *A major achievement…It is written with clarity and humanity, and draws clearly on a wide range of recent scholarship…Mühlhahn’s book can be recommended in the highest terms. -- Rana Mitter * American Historical Review *Innovative and fresh…Mühlhahn’s skillful presentation will make this book a highly popular one. -- David Buck * H-Net Reviews *Mühlhahn offers a detailed, balanced survey of the history of modern China, from the rise of the Qing in the early 17th century to the dawn of the Xi administration in 2012… A masterful synthesis. * Choice *A truly important book. Not since Fairbank have we seen such a masterful sweep of traditional, modern, and contemporary history of China thoroughly grounded in Chinese materials and perspectives but eloquently addressed to the interests and concerns of an English-reading public. Mühlhahn’s narrative will help people anywhere in the world make sense of the China they must deal with today. -- Timothy Cheek, author of The Intellectual in Modern Chinese HistoryMühlhahn is one of the world’s leading historians of modern China. A scholar of breadth and depth across disciplines, he has written a compelling narrative of China’s great last empire, the Qing, and of the revolutions and republics that have struggled to succeed it. This thoughtful, probing interpretation is a worthy successor to the famous histories of Fairbank and Spence and will be read by all students and scholars of modern China. -- William C. Kirby, coauthor of Can China Lead?A remarkable accomplishment. Unlike an earlier generation of scholarship, Making China Modern does not treat China’s contemporary transformation as a postscript. It accepts China as a major and active player in the world, places China at the center of an interconnected and global network of engagement, links domestic politics to international dynamics, and seeks to approach China on its own terms. -- Wen-hsin Yeh, author of Shanghai SplendorAt last we have a serious introduction to modern China in which the Chinese are the principal architects of their history, drawing upon the ideas and symbols embedded in their own cultural contexts and normative traditions to create distinctive institutions responsive to the crises and opportunities they have encountered. Anyone wanting to understand the importance of contemporary China for our global future should read this important book. -- R. Bin Wong, coauthor of Before and Beyond Divergence

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Book SynopsisThe definitive, engaging and previously little-known account of the 4,227 soldiers who comprised Force K6 of the British Indian ArmyTrade ReviewGroundbreaking ... On the trail of the Indian Contingent, Ghee Bowman has travelled thousands of miles across Britain, Europe, India and Pakistan. He has tracked down lost family archives and photographs from private albums, and conducted interviews with the descendants of soldiers who thought their family histories had been rendered irrelevant to the greater story of Britain’s involvement in the Second World War. He has also written a riveting and moving account of these men’s lives, which has enabled him to get much closer than any previous writer to understanding the Indian soldier’s experience in Europe in the 1940s ... This book deserves a wide readership and to be in the vanguard of shaping new histories of the Second World War -- Yasmin Khan, author of The Raj at WarThe racist comedian Bernard Manning once remarked that "There were no Pakis at Dunkirk". Ghee Bowman does important and essential work exposing this lie, which itself fuels the myth that Britain's multiculturalism is a modern creation. The story of how our ancestors fought in massive numbers for the country that colonised them needs to be told again and again and again -- Sathnam Sanghera, author of EmpirelandThis book is a fitting recognition of the contribution of Dunkirk's forgotten soldiers, including the British Indian Army. At a time of rising division and in the face of the hateful rhetoric of the far-right, now more than ever we need to learn the lessons of our diverse history -- Anas Sarwar MSPA rigorous, meticulously researched and engagingly written challenge to the parochial whiteness of British Second World War memory ... A rich repository of Indian wartime experiences -- Dr Diya GuptaEvocative ... a labour of love -- Neil Drysdale * Press and Journal *Thought-provoking ... Bowman weaves into the history the experiences of a number of the men themselves, not just as soldiers, but as human beings, experiencing British culture and life for the first time ... Bowman does this so well that the reader can almost enter their world -- Hamish Johnston * Northern Times *

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Book SynopsisAn evocative, deluxe illustrated tarot deck and guidebook set inspired by Chinese mythology and the canonic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. An inclusive, subversive deck: Trickster''s Journey reimagines the tarot by exploring its themes through the lens of Eastern mysticism, folklore, and spirituality. By renaming the Fool card to Trickster (a character based on the legendary Monkey King in Journey to the West) this archetype of the sojourner takes on new meaning-and new agency-as a seeker of truth and self-discovery. Created by fine artist Jia Sung, this fresh take on the classic figures in the Major and Minor Arcana uses symbols from Buddhism and ancient Chinese history to enliven this age-old divination practice once more. Deluxe set: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 184-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn Interview with Author Nicholas Coffill: Cambodia's Complex & Nuanced History"Nick Coffill's wide-ranging overview, with its many rare and even previously unseen images, will become an essential part of the library of anyone with an interest in the kingdom." --Philip Coggan. author of An Illustrated History of Cambodia"Nick's visual and cultural acuity are of the highest level. Allied to a deep love of Cambodia, with such extensive knowledge, his accomplished photographic history holds unique insights into the kingdom's past and present. I strongly recommend it." --Dr Lindsay Sharp, retired Director, Science Museum Group, London

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Book SynopsisPeople's Car studies divergent populist responses to land acquisition for industries in rural India. It contends that landownership enables small landowners to aspire and look forward to social mobility in the non-farm sector, which are contingent upon industrialization. The protests against land acquisition, thus, have contradictory tendencies.Trade ReviewAmid a glut of work on the urban global South, it is refreshing to read a book that strives to think the contemporary dynamics of development and agrarian change ethnographically. The book convincingly argues that the romanticized portrayals of either the communitarian peasant (commonplace in activist portrayals) or the irrational peasant (commonplace in policy circles and certain quarters of disciplinary economics) miss the point. Land, Majumder argues, is a vessel of personhood and unrequited desires. Attentive to the conflicted sentiments and desires of its peasant informants, the book refreshingly refuses to toe a clear ideological line. This well-crafted, clearly written book poses important questions of broad relevance to contemporary India and beyond. -- Vinay Gidwani, University of MinnesotaPeople’s Car offers an extraordinarily valuable take on a major movement against the acquisition of land for development, in the case of a Tata Motors car factory. The factory becomes the alibi for nuanced interrogations, both material and theoretical, of resistance, anthropology, economics, political economies, rural-scapes and the very nature and idea of land. -- Geeta Patel, University of VirginiaSarasij Majumder’s new ethnography, People’s Car, does what anthropology does best: he shows (not tells) how populism works... Anthropologists, South Asia scholars, and readers interested in class, labor, gender and village life will greatly benefit from Majumder’s attention to the rural not as object, but as process. * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *Majumder’s book deserves to be read by everybody interested in the present of West Bengal as history; so that, above all, one may not mistake snake oils of the past for elixirs of the future.---Indraneel Dasgupta, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, Economic and Political WeeklyTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations ix A Timeline of the Events in Singur xi Introduction. Life Beyond Land: Aspirations, Ambivalence, and the Double Life of Development 1 1. “We Are Chasis, Not Chasas”: Emergence of Land-Based Subjectivities 33 2. Land Is Like Gold: (In)commensurability and the Politics of Land 62 3. Land Is Like a Mother: The Contradictions of Village-Level Protests 100 4. “Peasants” Against Industrialization: Images of the Peasantry and Urban Activists’ Representations of the Rural 131 Conclusion: Value Versus Values? 153 Postscript: From a Defunct Factory to a “Crematorium” 167 Acknowledgments 171 Glossary 175 References 177 Index 193 Photographs follow page 14

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Book SynopsisThomas Glover arrived in Nagasaki in 1859, just as Japan was opening to the West. Within a few years he had played a crucial part in the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate, providing the rebels with war-winning, Scottish-designed warships, and modern arms. Bankruptcy by the age of thirty was barely a setback and he went on to become a pivotal figure in the rapidly expanding Mitsubishi empire, founding shipyards and breweries.As energetic in his love-life as in business and politics, Glover had a string of Japanese mistresses, one of whom inspired Puccini''s Madam Butterfly. This ''Scottish Samurai'' was to become an adviser to the Japanese government; he also arranged for many Japanese to visit Britain and see the wonders of the industrial revolution, a lesson they enthusiastically absorbed. Today, Glover is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Japanese economic miracle.Trade ReviewThis is a great story; the sort that Bernardo Bertolucci would pay good money for. * * Financial Times * *His story has been researched impeccably. It is a compelling and human tale of obscurity to renown told colourfully and well. * * The Press and Journal * *

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Book SynopsisBy shedding light on the ideas and practices of the Chinese Youth Party, Nagatomi Hirayama offers an indispensable lens through which to view the formation and transformation of the Chinese radical right in the first half of the twentieth century.

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