Rupa Mehra, are both trying to find—through love or through exacting maternal appraisal—a suitable boy for Lata to marry. Set in the early 1950s, in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. A sweeping panoramic portrait of a complex, multiethnic society in flux, A Suitable Boy remains the story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love and ambition, humor and sadness, prejudice and reconciliation, the most delicate social etiquette and the most appalling violence.

    With refreshingly open-minded curiosity, William Dalrymple explores the seven "dead" cities of Delhi as well as the eighth city-today's Delhi. Underlying his quest is the legend of the djinns, fire-formed spirits that are said to assure the city's Phoenix-like regeneration no matter how many times it is destroyed. Entertaining, fascinating, and informative, City of Djinns is an irresistible blend of research and adventure.

    With over 320 photographs, 32 extended interviews, and essays on the City's history and character, this reprint is not only an informative glimpse of a now vanished landmark but a sensitive and penetrating portrait of a unique community.

    What they found was Kim Hyun Hee, an idealistic young woman who had been transformed by her country into an obedient killing machine. The Tears of My Soul is her poignant, shocking, and utterly compelling story. Kim Hyun Hee grew up in a country obsessed by the loss of South Korea, an Orwellian world where right and wrong, good and evil, slavery and freedom meant nothing but what the North Korean Communist Party said they did. At sixteen, she was singled out by the Party for her intelligence and beauty and given special training in languages. At nineteen she was honored to be chosen for the North Korean Army's secret and elite espionage school. There she was trained to kill with everything from her hands and feet to grenades and assault rifles, enduring years of grueling physical and psychological conditioning designed to make her an effective and utterly obedient tool of the Party's spy masters. And in 1987, at age twenty-five, she was sent on the mission that would, she was told, reunify her divided country forever. Kim and her control agent, a man she considered her spiritual father, were captured only hours after the explosion. They were provided with suicide capsules, but hers failed and, for the first time in her life, Kim was outside the control of her masters. After more than a year of soul-wrenching questioning and deprogramming by the South Korean police, Kim realized the full enormity of her crimes, made a full confession, and waited for execution. But in a remarkable decision that sparked national outrage, the South Korean president gave her a full pardon, declaring that she was as much a victim of North Korea as the passengers. Kim Hyun Hee has devoted the rest of her life to atoning for the 115 lives lost on flight 858.

    “Exquisite artwork fuses with a compelling narrative--a concise endnote places the story effectively within a historical context--to produce a moving and polished offering.”--Publishers Weekly

    Rupa Mehra's--attempts to find a suitable boy for Lata, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. Set in the early 1950s in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. A sweeping panoramic portrait of a complex, multiethnic society in flux, A Suitable Boy remains the story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love and ambition, humor and sadness, prejudice and reconciliation, the most delicate social etiquette and the most appalling violence.

    A searing and candid look at a place where the state brutally intrudes into the most intimate parts of a woman's life.--Kirkus Reviews.

    Two years later, he wa s arrested as an ultra-rightest. This illuminating narrative tells Wu's story over the next 30 years--the harrowing tale of a "class enemy" and a remarkable testament to a family's love and perseverance.

    The book actually describes two journeys: a physical one that the writer undertakes on his return home to Malaysia after a long sojourn overseas; and a critical walk through Malaysian's sometimes turbulent post-independence history. This book shows what can't be found in the history books on Malaysia in the 80's especially during Tun Mahathir's early days.

    With minimal equipment and disguised as an itinerant Muslim, he hitch-hiked and walked through southern Turkey, and the Iran of the Ayatollahs, entering Afghanistan illegally in the wake of a convoy of Chinese weapons and then spent months dodging Russian helicopter gunships with the rebel guerillas. He was the first foreigner to cross from Pakistan into the closed western province of China since the revolution on 1949.

    These cartoons by Malaysian cartoonist Lat return to the Kampung Boy setting of his famous autobiographical collection to compare kampung life as he knew it growing up with the modern kampung life of the eighties and nineties.

    It is also the story of the Filipino diaspora as seen by an orphan who is brought by an American captain to the United States in 1945. Through the eyes of Salvador dela Raza unfolds the epic voyage of the Filipino, from the earliest contact with China through Magellan's tragedy in Mactan, onto the heroic voyage of the galleons across the Pacific. The VIAJERO story concludes with the movement of Filipino workers to the Middle East, and the travail of Filipino women in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.

    Brings together interviews with more than eighty survivors to recount one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, the 1967 campaign in the mountains of Dak To, during which members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade found themselves caught up in a deadly struggle against overwhelming odds, often cut off from supplies, communications, and reinforcements.

    He has killed himself. Why? Was it a threat to his business which brought him money, respect, a standing in the family, more clients and fame? Or was it a different ghost from his shadow life, where he was constantly haunted by his own unfulfilled dreams and delusions? And as the explosive events following his suicide reveal, as in his life, Harbart remains a mystery in death. Nabarun Bhattacharya’s first novel is a landmark in modern Bengali literature for its unconventional story-telling, uncompromising language and brutal honesty. Arunava Sinha’s equally uncompromising translation brings this classic work of black humour to readers in English.

    Chloe befriends Madame Sun, wife of Sun Yat-sen, the people's hero, who is fighting for modernization and for a government that will finally free China from feudalism. Chloe's friendship with Madame Sun will lead her to realize her own dreams -- as a famous own right. and as a woman whose soul is ignited by four unique men.From the violent cities Shanghai and Canton, to the war-torn mountains from the private tables of Chiang Kai-shek. to the bitter struggle of a country at Chloe grows from being a naive girl in a strange, forbidden land being a courageous woman, whose ideals, enthusiasm. and to a land, a people, and the sweet calling of her heart lead her on a breathless odyssey.

    THE SELECTED POEMS OF TAO CHIN brings into English some of the most important poetry in all of Chinese literature. As David Hinton writes in his introduction, Tao Chien "stands at the head of the great Chinese tradition like a revered grandfather: profoundly wise, self-possessed, quiet, comforting." Tao was the first writer to make a poetry of his natural voice and immediate experience, thereby creating the personal lyricism which distinguishes ancient Chinese poetry and makes it seem so contemporary. While maintaining a scholar's attention to the complexities of the original, Hinton here recreates Tao Chien as a compelling poetic voice in English.

    In 1979, his wife sold her fattest pig to buy him a shortwave radio. He spent every spare moment listening to the BBC and VOA in order to improve the English he had learned at college between 1950 and 1953. For "further practice," he decided to write down his life story in English. Humorous and unfiltered by translation, his autobiography is direct and personal, full of richly descriptive images and phrases from his native Bai language.At the time of He Liyi's graduation, English was being vilified as the language of the imperialists, so the job he was assigned had nothing to do with his education. In 1958, he was labeled a rightist and sent to a "reeducation-through-labor farm." Spirited away by truck on the eve of his marriage, Mr. He spent years in the labor camp, where he schemed to garner favor from the authorities, who nevertheless shamed him publicly and told him that all his problems "belong to contradictions between the people and the enemy." After his release in 1962, the talented Mr. He had no choice but to return to his native village as a peasant. His stratagems for survival, which included stealing "nightsoil" from public toilets and extracting peach-pit oil from thousands of peaches, personify the peasant's universal struggle to endure those difficult years.He Liyi's autobiography recounts nearly all the major events of China's recent history, including the Japanese occupation, the Communist victory over the Nationalists in 1949, Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, the experience of labor camps, changes brought about by China's dramatic re-opening to the world after Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978, and the recent social and economic changes occurring in the post-Deng China. No other book so poignantly reveals the travails of the common person and village life under china's tempestuous Communist government, which He Liyi ironically refers to as "Mr. China." Yet he describes his saga of poverty and hardship with humor and a surprising lack of bitterness. And rarely has there been such an intimate, frank view of how a Chinese man thinks and feels about personal relationships, revealed in dialogue and letters to his two wives.He Liyi's autobiography stands as perhaps the most readable and authentic account available in English of life in rural China.

    The present study argues that these truisms have implications for the conceptualization of religion and culture. More specifically, the thesis is that non-western cultures and religions differ from the descriptions prevalent in the West, and it is also explained why this has been the case. The author proposes novel analyses of religion, the Roman 'religio', the construction of 'religions' in India, and the nature of cultural differences. Religion is important to the West because the constitution and the identity of western culture is tied to the dynamic of Christianity as a religion.

    Amazingly beautiful, the kimono has gone through many changes in the centuries since it was first imported from China, changes that reflect the way that Japanese society has also developed over the ages.

    Breaching cultural boundaries and shunning the scorn of her wealthy English family, she adopts a young orphaned boy, an "Untouchable" from the bottom of the Hindu class system, and brings him into her home. Despite their contrasting cultures and backgrounds, the bond of love that develops between Coral and Gem is that of a mother and son. But tragedy strikes when the boy is abducted and the body later found in the river.Was there a reason to believe that Gem did not perish? Was the boy's true identity what she had been led to believe? How could she discover the truth?One man may hold the key to her son. Can she discover the truth and win the struggle for the seagoing trader's heart?A fascinating new historical series from the time of William Carey.

    This is the first book in English on the seventeenth-century Chinese masterpiece Liaozhai's Records of the Strange (Liaozhai zhiyi) by Pu Songling, a collection of nearly five hundred fantastic tales and anecdotes written in Classical Chinese.

    This study sketches in the trade in women and children in Asia, and--making innovative use of Coroner's Inquests and other records--hones in on the details of the prostitutes' lives in the colonial city: the daily brothel routine, crises and violence, social relations, leisure, mobility, disease, and death.

    Ranade. Over the years science fiction has developed in other languages too, like in Tamil, but it has found strong roots in Marathi language primarily and this becomes evident in this anthology too. A comprehensive view of the trends in Indian science fiction can be obtained by going through this compilation of select stories in various Indian languages carefully culled by author-editor Bal Phondke, a prolific science communicator and former Director, CSIR, New Delhi.

    The concept of 'One Vehicle' especially, which permeates the whole work, has had immeasurable influence upon Japanese Buddhism.It is divided into 28 chapters, of which Chapter 16, 'The Life Span of the Tathagatayuspramana-parivarta XV), is especially important for its eulogy of sakyamuni as the embodiment of the eternal life and as having attained enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past. Among the numerous parables those of the three carts and the burning house, the wealthy man and his poor son, the three kinds of medicinal herbs and two kinds of trees, and the phantom city and the treasure land are especially famous. In addition Chapter 25, 'The Universal Gate of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara' (Skt.: Samantamukha-parivarta XXIV), which describes the blessings of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, was circulated in China and Japan as an independent sutra and is still recited today. It is also a well-known fact that the chant, or daimoku, of the Nichiren School of Japan and related sects consists of the invocation na-mu added to the Japanese title of this sutra, resulting in Na-mu-myou-hou-ren-ge-kyou.

    Reading it will transport you to

    Here in one volume are this exciting writer's first two books, Dangerous Music and Pet Food & Tropical Apparitions, along with a generous selection of her work that reveals a powerful and writty continuation of her journey as a singer and searcher, woman and questioner."Jessica Hagedorn is one of the best of a new generation of writers who are making American language new and who in the process are creating a new American Literature." —Russell Banks"[Hagedorn] sees her native land from both near and far, with ambivalent love, the only kind of love worth writing about." —John Updike"Ms. Hagedorn is deliciously wicked . . . " —Caryn James, New York TimesJessica Hagedorn is a performance artist, poet, playwright, and formerly a commentator on NPR. Her novel, Dogeaters, won an American Book Award. Other books include the groundbreaking Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction and The Gangster of Love.

    China's dragons, guardians of the throne, are unlike those of the West. They are benign and protective but can turn like terrible emperors on the people. If they do so, it is the fault of the people, not the dragons. They breathe fire and thrash their tail only if betrayed, a convenient concept for an emperor.

    Hermitage Among the Clouds is the historical tale of Princess Amazing Jewel, taking place in what is now Vietnam.

    For over 20 years they carried on a conversation in poetry, and this book records 90 poems, 45 by each poet, in which they discuss many subjects, including their friendship.

    It draws on abundant sources and studies which have appeared in the People's Republic of China since the early 1980s and which have not been systematically used in Western historiography. China has undergone a series of fundamental political transformations: from the 1911 Revolution that toppled the imperial system to the victory of the communists, all of which were greatly affected by labor unrest. This work places the politics of Chinese workers in comparative perspective and a remarkably comprehensive and nuanced picture of Chinese labor emerges from it, based on a wealth of primary materials. It joins the concerns of 'new labor history' for workers' culture and shopfloor conditions with a more conventional focus on strikes, unions, and political parties. As a result, the author is able to explore the linkage between social protest and state formation.

    A collection of poetry written by Japanese elementary school-children, it offers the freshness and immediacy that characterizes children's observations of the world around them as well as a perspective on Japan in both its traditional and modern guises.

    New data and analysis of emerging trends make this second edition a welcome successor.

    The tiger returned twice before disappearing into the bamboo forest forever. For a child to see a tiger meant luck, but Song Nan Zhang wasn’t sure if living in China was lucky or not. Life was so difficult that sometimes he felt like the lost tiger itself, hoping for a home only to be forced back into the dark.In this, his autobiography, Song Nan Zhang paints the dispersal of his family, his development as an artist, the humor that lightened some of the more difficult times, and finally, his journey to Canada.

    From Genghis Khan to Mao, it is an area that has witnessed some of the most extraordinary events in history. This guide, arranged alphabetically for the user's convenience, is a concise handbook which also offers an epic account of this region.

    This is a pioneering study of Japanese 'pure anarchism' between the wars focused on its principal theoretician, Hatta Shuzo.

    The album Aku no hana was released in 1990 by Victor Music Industries, and has ten songs. This book has the complete score (with tabs) and lyrics for all ten songs. Also included are several black and white and color photographs of the band members, and information about their instruments and other equipment.

    The staunchest of allies, the Hmong sided with the Americans against the North Vietnamese and were foot soldiers in the brutal secret war for Laos. Since the war, abandoned by their American allies, the Hmong have been subjected to a campaign of genocide by the North Vietnamese, including the use of chemical weapons. Tragic Mountains moves from the big picture of international diplomacy and power politics to the small villages and heroic engagements in the Lao jungle. It is a story of courage, brutality, heroism, betrayal, resilience, and hope.

    Davidson traveled to Japan to teach English at a leading all-women’s university. It was the first of many journeys and the beginning of a deep and abiding fascination. In this extraordinary book, Davidson depicts a series of intimate moments and small epiphanies that together make up a panoramic view of Japan. With wit, candor, and a lover’s keen eye, she tells captivating stories—from that of a Buddhist funeral laden with ritual to an exhilarating evening spent touring the “Floating World,” the sensual demimonde in which salaryman meets geisha and the normal rules are suspended. On a remote island inhabited by one of the last matriarchal societies in the world, a disconcertingly down-to-earth priestess leads her to the heart of a sacred grove. And she spends a few unforgettable weeks in a quasi-Victorian residence called the Practice House, where, until recently, Japanese women were taught American customs so that they would make proper wives for husbands who might be stationed abroad. In an afterword new to this edition, Davidson tells of a poignant trip back to Japan in 2005 to visit friends who had remade their lives after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, which had devastated the city of Kobe, as well as the small town where Davidson had lived and the university where she taught.36 Views of Mount Fuji not only transforms our image of Japan, it offers a stirring look at the very nature of culture and identity. Often funny, sometimes liltingly sad, it is as intimate and irresistible as a long-awaited letter from a good friend.

    How then can we develop an inner sense of well-being and redefine our relationship to a world that seems unavoidably painful and unkind? Many have found a practical answer to that question in the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Here at last is an organized overview of these teachings, beginning with the basic themes of the sutras--the general discourses of the Buddha--and continuing through the esoteric concepts and advanced practices of Tantra. Unlike other introductions to Tibetan Buddhism, this accessible, enjoyable work doesn't stop with theory and history, but relates timeless spiritual principles to the pressing issues of modern life, both in terms of our daily experience and our uniquely Western world view. This fascinating, highly readable book asks neither unquestioning faith nor blind obedience to abstract concepts or religious beliefs. Rather, it challenges us to question and investigate life's issues for ourselves in the light of an ancient and effective approach to the sufferings and joys of the human condition.

    Shigeto Tsuru, one of Japan's most eminent economists gives a comprehensive account of the recovery process, and a unique interpretation of the postwar Japanese economy.

    For centuries the Persians waged war against their traditional enemies the Turanians, and from this struggle came inspring stories ofvalour. This collection includes tales of the legendary heroes, including the great warrior Rustem, who overcame demons and dragons and tragically slew his own son in battle.

    But even in peacetime, the exploitation of women by military forces continues. Rarely mentioned in the press or in political debate are the hundreds of thousands of Asian women living around US military bases and working in economies built on the sale of sex.

    Haslund, a Danish-Swedish explorer, takes us to the lost city of Karakota in the Gobi desert. We meet the Bodgo Gegen, a god-king in Mongolia similar to the Dalai Lama of Tibet. We meet Dambin Jansang, the dreaded warlord of the 'Black Gobi'. There is even material on the Hi-mori, an 'airhorse' that flies though the air (similar to a Vimana) and carries with it the sacred stone of Chintamani. Aside from the esoteric and mystical material, there is plenty of just plain adventure.

    An anthology of contemporary Korean fiction including: "The Wife and Children"; "The Post Horse Curse"; "Mountains"; "Kapitan Ri"; "The Winter"; and "A Dream of Good Fortune".

    of Hawaii) made through Inner Mongolia and Kansu Province (the Gobi Desert) in the mid-30s. Great history at a time of upheaval, sociology, and adventure. And great fun. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

    Lynn A. Struve has translated, introduced, and annotated absorbing testimonies from a wide range of individuals in different social stations—Chinese and Europeans, missionaries and viceroys, artists and merchants, Ming loyalists and Qing collaborators, maidservants and eunuchs—all telling stories of hardship and challenge in the midst of cataclysmic change."It is a book that brings history graphically to life."—Keith Pratt, Asian Affairs"A fascinating view of the dynamics of dynastic change in China."—Jonathan Porter, History"The book combines skillful translation of a rich variety of primary sources with authoritative commentary and meticulously researched annotation."—Helen Dunstan, Historian"One of the most engaging works of scholarship to appear in the field for a long time. . . . An extraordinarily good book destined to be read and enjoyed by a very wide audience beyond the professional one."—Craig Clunas, Bulletin of SOAS"Struve [is] the most knowledgeable American scholar of the history of the ‘Southern Ming.’ . . . This fascinating volume . . . can be readily used in any college course on late imperial Chinese history for wonderful examples of the personal experiences of the Chinese people living through the fall of the Ming dynasty to their Manchu conquerors."—Benjamin A. Elman, China Review International"The scholarship behind this work is impeccable. . . . The translations are an important contribution to the field."—Jerry Dennerline, International History Review"Throughout the volume, Struve’s translations capture the different voices of the cataclysm. Students of Chinese history will find a wealth of information here."—Choice

    doctor of the recent turmoil in Tibet.

    For the first time, lesbians and gay men from India, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries tell stories of coming out and challenging prejudice.

    It had been forged under the banner of one of the greatest generals in history, Genghis Khan, and ruled by men who, a generation before, had been simple nomadic tribesmen. Accompanying a BBC2 series, this book traces the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire, describing the great storm that revolutionized the trade of goods and ideas in the medieval world and shattered the Euro-centric view of science and culture. The Mongols introduced the first international currency, built and projected vast highways across the Asian grasslands, and carved out the major political groups of modern Asia. The book gives an essentially Eastern view of these first important contacts between the Orient and the Occident. The author's other books include "All the King's Men", "Shadow Makers" and "In the Sewers of Lvov".