Set in the vast windswept Central Asian steppes and the infinite reaches of galactic space, this powerful novel offers a vivid view of the culture and values of the Soviet Union's Central Asian peoples.

    Along it travelled precious cargoes of silk, gold and ivory, as well as revolutionary new ideas. Its oasis towns blossomed into thriving centres of Buddhist art and learning. In time it began to decline. The traffic slowed, the merchants left and finally its towns vanished beneath the desert sands to be forgotten for a thousand years. But legends grew up of lost cities filled with treasures and guarded by demons. In the early years of the last century foreign explorers began to investigate these legends, and very soon an international race began for the art treasures of the Silk Road. Huge wall paintings, sculptures and priceless manuscripts were carried away, literally by the ton, and are today scattered through the museums of a dozen countries. Peter Hopkirk tells the story of the intrepid men who, at great personal risk, led these long-range archaeological raids, incurring the undying wrath of the Chinese.

    Shirer was sent to India by the Chicago Tribune to cover the rise of the Independence Movement. During this time Shirer was privileged to observe Mahatma Gandhi as he launched the Civil Disobedience Campaign and to enjoy his personal friendship and confidence.In this fascinating memoir, Shirer writes perceptively and unforgettably about Gandhi's frailties as well as his accomplishments. Despite his greatness, Gandhi was the first to admit that he was a human being with his own prejudices and peculiarities: he could be stubborn and dictatorial, yet the magnificence of the man rose above all else."Gandhi: A Memoir" sheds a special light on the man who left such an indelible imprint on India and the world.

    But the wicked emperor wants to capture the boy when he hears the news. The story will excite readers as the ruler gets his just reward when the boy creates a masterpiece that spells his doom.

    One of the late Shusaku Endo’s finest works, The Samurai tells of the journey of some of the first Japanese to set foot on European soil and the resulting clash of cultures and politics.

    Based on the author's own experiences and on stories passed down from generation to generation, the book chronicles the disappearing world—and courageous rebirth—of this little-understood people.Kayano describes with disarming simplicity and frankness the personal conflicts he faced as a result of the tensions between a traditional and a modern society and his lifelong efforts to fortify a living Ainu culture. A master storyteller, he paints a vivid picture of the Ainus' ecologically sensitive lifestyle, which revolved around bear hunting, fishing, farming, and woodcutting.Unlike the few existing ethnographies of the Ainu, this account is the first written by an insider intimately tied to his own culture yet familiar with the ways of outsiders. Speaking with a rare directness to the Ainu and universal human experience, this book will interest all readers concerned with the fate of indigenous peoples.

    The first 4 parts of the work are devoted to the philosophy of temple architecture. Part V deals with the origin and development of the temple from the Vedic fire altars to the latest forms. Part VI discusses the pyramidal and curvilinear superstructures in the main varieties of the Sikhara, the Sikhara enmeshed in Gavaksas and the composite Sikhara. Part VIII describes the proportional measurements and the rhythmic disposition of the garbha-grha and the vertical section.

    A prolific writer, Merton communicated his remarkable insights through poetry, essays, journals, and books. Merton was also a skilled and gifted photographer. Although his serious involvement with photography began late in his life and spanned only a few years, Merton's photographs express great sensitivity and precision. Geography of Holiness presents a selection of one hundered of Merton's photographs taken in such disparate locales as New Mexico, Alaska, India, Thailand, and Kentucky. In his photography, as in his writings, Merton conveys a profound understanding of being. The subjects of his photographs are as diverse as all of life. He captures the smooth, innocent faces of youth, the wise, expressive faces of the aged, the pristine simplicity of an adobe wall, and the peaceful majesty of the sea. Never intrusive or contrived, Merton's photographs evoke the spirit of the people he met and the places he visited. They give us a rare sense of the holiness of all created things. Selections from Merton's writings accompany the photographs to underscore the mood and feeling of the images. A descriptive list of plates and a chronology of Merton's life are included."

    

    In Gentling the Bull she offers an insightful explanation of the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, showing how they are a metaphor of both one's Zen training and spiritual journey. The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, also known as the Ten Bull Pictures, are believed to have been drawn by Kakuan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master, but became widely used as a means of Zen study in fifteenth-century Japan. They are used in formal Zen training to this day to show the stages of one's realization of enlightenment. Each of the ten pictures is presented here with a preface and general foreword to the series by Chi-Yuan, a monk in the direct line of Kakuan. Myokyo-ni provides a lucid introduction that sets the pictures in their historical context and shows their relevance to modern Zen training. In her own comments on each picture, she discusses how they are representative of our own search for "oneness"spiritual fulfillment.

    His gentle warning on the futility of egoistic struggle have made The Way of Life the basis for one of the world's great religions, Taoism, and on of the most important books that was ever written. "The 81 saying in this volume shine like gems cut clear and beautiful in every facet.. this translation will stand as the perfect rendering of a classic work." ~ John Haynes Holmes

    

    An interdisciplinary exploration into the history of kite making and flying.

    His works have the power to move us in such a way that we are enthralled by his insights on life, the struggles between man and nature, and the thrills of exploration. An adventurous man himself, he has traveled a great deal on various ships and on numerous sailing trips. Many of his stories are based upon and drawn from his own remarkable experiences. Before he was known as a writer, Jack London was famous for his personal exploits. Jack London: Stories of Adventure features The Game in its entirety and 46 other dramatic short stories with the original illustrations. If you haven't experienced any of Jack London's works, you are in for a treat. You will be surprised at how fast you will become spellbound. Others will find that his stories are even more exciting the second or third time around. For more of his tales of adventure, you can see his other collection of stories in Jack London: Tales of the North.

    Neuman offers an account of North Indian Hindustani music culture and the changing social context of which it is part, as expressed in the thoughts and actions of its professional musicians. Drawing primarily from fieldwork performed in Delhi in 1969-71—from interviewing musicians, learning and performing on the Indian fiddle, and speaking with music connoisseurs—Neuman examines the cultural and social matrix in which Hindustani music is nurtured, listened and attended to, cultivated, and consumed in contemporary India. Through his interpretation of the impact that modern media, educational institutions, and public performances exert on the music and musicians, Neuman highlights the drama of a great musical tradition engaging a changing world, and presents the adaptive strategies its practitioners employ to practice their art. His work has gained the distinction of introducing a new approach to research on Indian music, and appears in this edition with a new preface by the author.

    The fascinating story of her travels is told in this abridged and lavishly illustrated version of her memoirs and autobiography, first published in 1893. Marianne produced more than 800 paintings and they are housed in a special gallery at Kew.

    

    A Military Book Club Selection.