. . [will] take a place on my shelves beside the stories of Narayan — Graham GreeneThis volume presents two celebrated novels by Manoj Das, one of India’s most illustrious authors, who has been writing in English and Oriya (Odia)for over six decades.In A Tiger at Twilight the erstwhile raja of Samargarh returns to his abandoned palace in Nijanpur, after years of self-exile, with his sick daughter and his supposed half-sister, and immediately assumes the responsibility of killing a man-eating tiger. Assisting him are a few noted men of the valley including Dev the owner and manager of a resort. But as the hunt intensifies Dev realizes that things aren’t as they seem: Heera, the raja’s sister, has an inexplicable power over the men in the hunting party and a strange connection with the tiger. As the men get closer to killing the beast, bizarre things begin to happen, hinting at the influence of the supernatural.Cyclones is set in Kusumpur, a small coastal village, during the struggle for Independence. The village is devastated by a cyclone and Sandip, the scion of the zamindar (land-lord) family, helps restore it. The war-time colonial government, though, wants to turn the sleepy hamlet into a busy port town. They plan to fill up the river that flows by it, in the process angering all the villagers, including Sandip. But when the contractor for the project is found murdered, Sandip is accused of the crime, forcing him to flee from the authorities. This is the start of a series of adventures that take him from a remote ashram in a forest to the city where communal violence is rife. Cyclones is a powerful novel about the metaphorical storms that gripped the nation during the most turbulent period of its modern history.

    Taro would wear the historic dark blue uniform and learn alongside other little Einsteins while she basked in the glory of his high achievements with the other perfect moms. Together they would climb the rungs into the country's successful elite. But it didn't turn out that way. Taro had other things in mind.While set in Japan, their struggles in the school's hyper-competitive environment mirror those faced by parents here in the US and raise the same questions about the best way to educate a child—especially one that doesn’t quite fit the mold. Public or private? Competitive or nurturing? Standardized or individualized. Helicopter parenting or free-range? Amid this frenzied debate, how does one find balance and maintain a healthy parent-child relationship?Dear Diary Boy is an intensely personal, heartwarming, and heartbreaking chronicle of one mother and child's experience in a prestigious private Tokyo school. It's a tale that will resonate with all parents as we try to answer the age-old questions of how best to educate our children and what, truly, is in their best interests versus what is in our own.

    

    In Japan she takes a job as a nanny to two-year-old Yuki Yoshimura and sets about adapting to a routine of English practice, ballet and swimming lessons, and Japanese cooking.But as Diana becomes increasingly attached to Yuki she also becomes aware that everything in the Yoshimura household isn't as it first seemed. Before long, she must ask herself if she is brave enough to put everything on the line for the child under her care, confronting her own demons at every step of the way. Yuki Means Happiness is a rich and powerfully illuminating portrait of the intense relationship between a young woman and her small charge, as well as one woman's journey to discover her true self.

    It’s not long before Inoue discovers that nearly everyone involved in the case is harbouring their own secrets and lies.However, when a second university employee is murdered on campus in the dead of night, Inoue’s Commanding Officer – Superintendent Takenaka – takes over the case and makes a sudden arrest, eager for the high profile case to be closed as soon as possible.But whilst everyone is convinced they have caught the murderer, Chief Inspector Inoue is certain that they have the wrong man.Inoue faces his greatest challenge to date – risking professional ruin and disgrace in a race to find the killer.But with everyone around him a potential suspect, who can he trust?Can the small town of Fujikawa ever return to normal?Or is it impossible to find perfect justice in an imperfect world?‘Imperfect Strangers’ is a gripping murder mystery and an intriguing dissection of modern day Japan.'A thrilling page-turner.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Cold Kill'. Lea O’Harra, an American by birth, has lived in Japan for over 30 years. This is her first novel and marks the first book in the Inspector Inoue series. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher.

    After more than fifty years of national pacifism and isolation including the "lost decade" of the 1990s, Japan is quietly, stealthily awakening. As Japan prepares to become a major player in the strategic struggles of the 21st century, critical questions arise about its motivations. What are the driving forces that influence how Japan will act in the international system? Are there recurrent patterns that will help explain how Japan will respond to the emerging environment of world politics? American understanding of Japanese character and purpose has been tenuous at best. We have repeatedly underestimated Japan in the realm of foreign policy. Now as Japan shows signs of vitality and international engagement, it is more important than ever that we understand the forces that drive Japan. In Japan Rising, renowned expert Kenneth Pyle identities the common threads that bind the divergent strategies of modern Japan, providing essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how Japan arrived at this moment--and what to expect in the future.

    The reader is caught up in the day-to-day lives of women like Sharifa, Latifa and Marzia, sharing their problems, dramas, the tears and the laughter: whether enjoying a good gossip over tea and fresh nan, dealing with a husband’s desertion, battling to save the life of a one-year-old opium addict or learning how to deliver babies safely. Mary Smith spent several years in Afghanistan working on a health project for women and children in both remote rural areas and in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Given the opportunity to participate more fully than most other foreigners in the lives of the women, many of whom became close friends, she has been able to present this unique portrayal of Afghan women – a portrayal very different from the one most often presented by the media.

    Now recognized as a classic work, this incisive portrait of Japanese society investigates a nation whose deeper proclivities remain veiled behind cliches cherished in the West.

    From floral truck bolts and taxi altars to buffalo cart furniture and drinks in a bags, the same exquisite care, craft and improvisation resounds through home and street, bar and wardrobe. Never colonised, Thai culture retains nuanced ancient meaning in the most mundane things. The days are colour coded, lucky numbers dictate prices, window grilles become guardian angels, tattoos entrance the wearer. Philip scoured each region to show how indigenous wisdom both adapts to the present and customises imports, applying Roman architecture to shophouses, morphing rock into festive farm music, turning the Japanese motor-rickshaw into the tuk-tuk. Colour-saturated illustrations help you navigate various social traits, whether white-faced hi-so matrons or Red Bullswilling workers wearing coins in their ear. This is Thai culture as it has never been shown before.

    combines political history, military biography, and business management to tell the story of General Douglas MacArthur's tremendous success in rebuilding Japan after World War II in Supreme Commander, a lively, in-depth work of biographical history complementary to The Generals, The Storm of War, and Truman.He is the most decorated general in American history—and the only five five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur's greatest victory was not in war but in peace.As the uniquely titled Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he was charged with transforming a defeated, militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy—“the greatest gamble ever attempted,” he called it. A career military man, MacArthur had no experience in politics, diplomacy, or economics. A vain, reclusive, and self-centered man, his many enemies in Washington thought he was a flaming peacock, and few, including President Harry Truman's closest advisors, gave him a chance of succeeding. Yet MacArthur did so brilliantly, defying timetables and expectations.Supreme Commander tells for the first time, the story of how MacArthur's leadership achieved a nation-building success that had never been attempted before—and never replicated since. Seymour Morris Jr. reveals this flawed man at his best who treated a defeated enemy with respect; who made informed and thoughtful decisions yet could be brash and stubborn when necessary, and who lead the Occupation with intelligence, class, and compassion.Morris analyzes MacArthur's key tactical choices, explaining how each contributed to his accomplishment, and paints a detailed picture of a true patriot—a man of conviction who proved to be an outstanding and effective leader in the most extraordinary circumstances.

    . . unless you're Japanese or unless you've got The Anime Companion. Find out why characters wear belly bands and what nosebleeds really mean. Learn about the Edo Jidai and those games they play at New Year's. Gilles Poitras has taken his popular anime website and created a new print version that's filled with curious details and fresh insights drawn from dozens of the most popular anime. And for students of Japanese, The Anime Companion is a great way to learn about Japan while indulging in your favorite pastime."Combining personal passion with an intelligent sense of perspective, this enjoyable book is just right for dipping into, full of amusing and informative snippets which fans will love and even non-fans can enjoy."—Helen McCarthy, author of The Complete Anime Guide"I've worked on over 20,000 pages of manga over the last ten years, and I still learned quite a bit from this fascinating book. For anyone with more than the most casual interest in anime and manga, The Anime Companion should be on their coffee table right next to the remote control."—Toren Smith, Studio Proteus"Entire generations of English speakers now receive their first exposure to Japanese culture through anime. But many cultural references can be puzzling. Gilles Poitras's book is like a Rosetta Stone for confused anime fans. Before slipping that next anime video into your VCR, make sure this book's handy!"—Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! and Dreamland JapanCategories covered:Building/Structure/LandmarkClothingCultureEntertainment/GameFood And DrinkGeneralGeographical Feature/LocationHistory/SocietyHomeNaturePeopleReligion/Mythology/BeliefSports/ActivityWeaponry/WarSample Entry: AIDORU (IDOL SINGER)Pop singers. Idol singers are not unique to Japan; every modern country has its clean-cut prefabricated stars known for their short careers. In Japan highly competitive management companies maneuver to get their latest singers in the spotlight for as long as they can before the nex

    Flagel unveils the big picture by using detailed top-ten lists, ranking the best, worst, first, and most significant elements of the largest and deadliest conflict in history.

    Rio, born Chizuru Akitani, is the Japanese American daughter of the revered violinist Hiro Akitani--a Living National Treasure in Japan and a man Rio hasn't spoken to since she left her home country for the United States (and a new identity) after her violent crime. Her father's death, along with a mysterious package that arrives on her doorstep in Boulder, Colorado, spurs her to return to Japan for the first time in twenty years. There she is forced to confront her past in ways she never imagined, pushing herself, her relationships with her husband and daughter, and her own sense of who she is to the brink.The novel's illuminating and palpably atmospheric descriptions of Japan and its culture, as well its elegantly dynamic structure, call to mind both Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being and David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars. Pull Me Under is gripping, psychologically complex fiction--at the heart of which is an affecting exploration of home, self-acceptance, and the limits of forgiveness.

    She will become a dutiful wife, not the existence of her dreams, but the Chees’ money and influence is essential, for her mother has cancer and they cannot abandon a faithful old servant, Ah Heng Cheh. However, the mapping out of Ling’s future doesn’t proceed smoothly. Almost against her will, and through her poetry, she meets outspoken American professor, Ben Gallagher, who threatens to overturn everything. Ling must make her choice: east or west, head or heart. The birth of a son makes her moral predicament even more agonizing.

    After their deaths, each year on the anniversary of the broadcast, their souls would return to the Chinese village of their younger days. It’s where they had fought—and survived—a war that shook the world and changed their own lives in unimaginable ways. Now, seventy years later, the pledge is being fulfilled by American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu.All that’s missing is Ah Yan—also known as Swallow—the girl each man loved, each in his own profound way.As they unravel their personal stories of the war, and of the woman who touched them so deeply during that unforgiving time, the story of Ah Yan’s life begins to take shape, woven into view by their memories. A woman who had suffered unspeakable atrocities, and yet found the grace and dignity to survive, she’d been the one to bring them together. And it is her spark of humanity, still burning brightly, that gives these ghosts of the past the courage to look back on everything they endured and remember the woman they lost.