Category Archives: Maps
Gandhi Before India
The definitive life of one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th century. In this fascinating new biography Ramachandra Guha allows us to understand the personality and politics of Mohandas Gandhi as never before. Showing that Gandhi`s ideas were fundamentally shaped before his return to India in 1915, Gandhi Before India is an extraordinarily
The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam
`This is the finest single-volume history of Vietnam in English. It challenges myths, and raises questions about the socialist republic`s political future` Guardian `Powerful and compelling. Vietnam will be of growing importance in the twenty-first-century world, particularly as China and the US rethink their roles in Asia. Christopher Goscha`s book is a brilliant account of
Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood
Over thirteen centuries, Baghdad has enjoyed both cultural and commercial pre-eminence, boasting artistic and intellectual sophistication and an economy once the envy of the world. It was here, in the time of the Caliphs, that the Thousand and One Nights were set. Yet it has also been a city of great hardships, beset by epidemics,
The Good Woman of Setzuan
This play, written during Brecht`s exile to the United States and set in pre-Communist China, is a parable of a young woman torn between obligation and reality, between love and practicality, and between her own needs and those of her friends and neighbours.
Johnny Got His Gun
It was the war to end all wars, the global struggle that would finally make the world safe for democracy – at any cost. But one American soldier has paid a price beyond measure. And within the disfigured flesh that was once a vision of youth lives a spirit that cannot accept what the world
The Green Bicycle
Dreamer. Rebel. Hero. Wadjda has one simple wish – to race her friend Abdullah on her very own bicycle. But in Saudi Arabia, it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes and her parents forbid her from having one. Sick of playing by the rules, Wadjda schemes different ways to make money and buy
A Spoonful Of Murder
When Hazel Wong`s beloved grandfather passes away, Daisy Wells is all too happy to accompany her friend (and Detective Society Vice President) to Hazel`s family estate in beautiful, bustling Hong Kong. But when they arrive they discover something they didn`t expect: there`s a new member of the Wong family. Daisy and Hazel think baby Teddy
Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace
Avi Shlaim`s Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace is the first major account one of the most important figures in the turbulent history of the Middle East. Peace-broker, statesman, charismatic ruler and master of realpolitik, Hussein of Jordan was one of the dominant figures in Middle Eastern politics, its
The Tales of Ise
One of the three seminal works of Japanese literature, this beautiful collection of poems and tales offers an unparalleled insight into ancient Japan. Along with the Tale of Genji and One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, The Tales of Ise is considered one of the three most important works of Japanese literature. A poem-tale collection
The Penguin Historical Atlas of the British Empire
The Penguin Historical Atlas of the British Empire traces the emergence of one of the world`s greatest empires from its earliest beginnings in the British Isles, through its ascendancy in Victorian times, to its ultimate collapse in the mid-20th century. It examines the impact of British dominance in America, India and Africa, and the enormous
Meetings with Remarkable Men
This is the exhilarating, life-affirming call to spiritual arms from world-renowned spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff. Part adventure narrative, part travelogue, part spiritual guide, `Meetings with Remarkable Men` is suffused with Gurdjieff`s unique perspective on life. With vivacity and charm, he organizes his account around portraits of the remarkable men and women who accompanied him
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Around the world in Britain, the United States, Asia and the Middle East, there are people with power who are cashing in on chaos; exploiting bloodshed and catastrophe to brutally remake our world in their image. They are the shock doctors. Exposing these global profiteers, Naomi Klein discovered information and connections that shocked even her
The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left
Ed Husain`s “The Islamist” is the shocking inside story of British Islamic fundamentalism, told by a former radical. “When I was sixteen I became an Islamic fundamentalist. Five years later, after much emotional turmoil, I rejected fundamentalist teachings and returned to normal life and my family. As I recovered my faith and mind, I tried
The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy
Does America`s pro-Israel lobby wield inappropriate control over US foreign policy? This book has created a storm of controversy by bringing out into the open America`s relationship with the Israel lobby: a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape foreign policy in a way that is profoundly damaging both to the
China`s War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival
Different countries give different opening dates for the period of the Second World War, but perhaps the most compelling is 1937, when the `Marco Polo Bridge Incident` plunged China and Japan into a conflict of extraordinary duration and ferocity – a war which would result in many millions of deaths and completely reshape East Asia
The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World
Israel`s conflict with the Palestinians, and the Arab world at large, casts a long shadow over her history. When 1920s Zionist leaders formulated the `Iron Wall` strategy – negotiating from a position of unassailable strength – they intended that a stronger Israel would eventually be able to make peace with her Arab neighbours. This has
Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention
The Paper Trail tells the story of how a simple Chinese product has for two millennia allowed knowledge, ideas and religions to spread at an unprecedented rate around the world. Alexander Monro traces this groundbreaking invention`s voyage, beginning with the Buddhist translators responsible for its spread across China and Japan, and follows it westward along
The Cossacks and Other Stories: Stories of Sevastopol, the Cossacks, Hadji Murat
In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army and travelled to the Caucasus as a soldier. The four years that followed were among the most significant in his life, and deeply influenced the stories collected here. Begun in 1852 but unfinished for a decade, “The Cossacks” describes the experiences of Olenin,
A New Book of Middle Eastern Food
Discover Claudia Roden`s classic recipes in A New Book of Middle Eastern Food.In 1968, Claudia Roden wrote A Book of Middle Eastern Food for readers who had never eaten an aubergine, let alone cooked one. Her expanded edition, A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, quickly followed and became a perennial bestseller. Today, Middle Eastern
For Whom the Bell Tolls
High in the pine forests of the Spanish Sierra, a guerrilla band prepares to blow up a vital bridge. Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer, has been sent to handle the dynamiting. There, in the mountains, he finds the dangers and the intense comradeship of war. And there he discovers Maria, a young woman who
