The Sikhs by Khuswant Singh

$12.00 NZD

Category: Religion | Reading Level: good-very good

The Indian Mutiny1857 by Saul David

$14.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

The bloody insurrection of 1857 that became known as the Indian Mutiny remains a dark stain on Britain's Imperial past. The British complacency that fuelled the rebellion; the ease with which it is spread; the horrific massacres of innocents and the merciless retribution that followed; and the bravery o f those who fought together made this a conflict that marked both countries. Now Saul David casts fresh light on this extraordinary episode, challenging many of the long-standing assumptions about both its causes and the inevitability of British victory. ...Show more

The Trouser People - A Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire by Andrew Marshall

$15.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

Sir George Scott was an unsung Victorian adventurer who hacked, bullied and charmed his way through uncharted jungle to help establish British colonial rule in Burma. Born in Scotland in 1851, Scott was a die-hard imperialist with a fondness for gargantuan pith-helmets and a bluffness of expression that bordered on the Pythonesque. Stepped on something soft and wobbly, he records in his bush diary one dark night. Struck a match, found it was a dead Chinaman. ...Show more

The Unforgettable Army - Slim's XIVth Army in Burma by Michael Hickey

$25.00 NZD

Category: World War II | Reading Level: very good

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix

$12.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: good-very good

In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clar ity and vividness. Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. Also while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different. Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. Until the very end of a career that embodied the conflicting aims of Japan's development as a nation, Hirohito remained preoccupied with politics and with his place in history. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan provides the definitive account of his rich life and legacy. Meticulously researched and utterly engaging, this book is proof that the history of twentieth-century Japan cannot be understood apart from the life of its most remarkable and enduring leader. Herbert P. Bix grew up in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and earned his Ph.D. in history and Far Eastern languages from Harvard University. For the past thirty years he has written extensively on modern and contemporary Japanese history in leading journals in the United States and Japan. He has taught Japanese history at a number of American and Japanese universities, most recently at Harvard, and is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. ++ Winner, Pulitzer Prize (General Non-Fiction), 2001 ++ ++ Shortlisted, Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize (Non-Fiction), 2000 ++ Paperback ...Show more

The Making of Modern Burma by Thant Myint-U

$18.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

The Making of Modern Burma is a history of the country from the nineteenth to early twentieth century. In a sophisticated and much-needed account, the author argues that many aspects of contemporary Burmese society are the creations of the nineteenth century when Burma fought the British and tried to mo dernize the country. The book will be an important resource for students and policymakers as a basis for understanding contemporary politics and the challenges of the modern state, as well as for historians interested in British colonial expansion during the period. ...Show more

Imperial Warriors - Britain and the Gurkhas by Tony Gould

$12.00 NZD

Category: Military | Reading Level: good-very good

Gurkhas have been recruited into the British and Indian armies since 1814-15 the year the East India Company went to war with Nepal and this study examines the many legends that have grown up around them. It puts the story of the expansion and contraction of Britain's Gurkha force into the context of Ne palese history, as well as that of the Indian and British Armies. ...Show more

Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques - A contemporary guide to the ancient investment techniques of the far east by Steve Nison

$30.00 NZD

Category: Business | Reading Level: very good

Traditional Western methods for chart analysis (the basis of all technical analyses) use bar or points and figure charts. Yet over 100 years before these methods originated, the Japanese were using their own style of technical analysis for use in the rice futures market. This technique - known as the Ja panese Candlestick Charting Techniques because of its close resemblance to candlesticks - has recently been attracting attention because it provides unique insights into the market. This work features over 300 charts that use candlesticks alone and in conjunction with Western charting techniques, and explains their use. ...Show more

The Iron Road - A stand for truth and democracy in Burma by James Mawdsley

$15.00 NZD

Category: Asia | Reading Level: very good

The Cowshed - Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ji Xianlin; Chenxin Jiang (Translator); Zha Jianying (Introduction by)

$16.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: near fine

The Chinese Cultural Revolution began in 1966 and led to a ten-year-long reign of Maoist terror throughout China, in which millions died or were sent to labor camps in the country or subjected to other forms of extreme discipline and humiliation. Ji Xianlin was one of them. The Cowshed is Ji's harrowing account of his imprisonment in 1968 on the campus of Peking University and his subsequent disillusionment with the cult of Mao. As the campus spirals into a political frenzy, Ji, a professor of Eastern languages, is persecuted by lecturers and students from his own department. His home is raided, his most treasured possessions are destroyed, and Ji himself must endure hours of humiliation at brutal "struggle sessions." He is forced to construct a cowshed (a makeshift prison for intellectuals who were labeled class enemies) in which he is then housed with other former colleagues. His eyewitness account of this excruciating experience is full of sharp irony, empathy, and remarkable insights into a central event in Chinese history. In contemporary China, the Cultural Revolution remains a delicate topic, little discussed, but if a Chinese citizen has read one book on the subject, it is likely to be Ji's memoir. When The Cowshed was published in China in 1998, it quickly became a bestseller. The Cultural Revolution had nearly disappeared from the collective memory. Prominent intellectuals rarely spoke openly about the revolution, and books on the subject were almost nonexistent. By the time of Ji's death in 2009, little had changed, and despite its popularity, The Cowshed remains one of the only testimonies of its kind. As Zha Jianying writes in the introduction, "The book has sold well and stayed in print. But authorities also quietly took steps to restrict public discussion of the memoir, as its subject continues to be treated as sensitive. The present English edition, skillfully translated by Chenxin Jiang, is hence a welcome, valuable addition to the small body of work in this genre. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of that period." ...Show more

Sakuntala by Kalidasa with The Story of Sakuntala from The Mahabharata and Sakuntala by Abanindranath Tagore and Sakuntala - A Tale retold in Paari Miniatures by Daljeet Khare by Kalidasa; Abanindranath Tagore; Darjeet Khare

$25.00 NZD

Category: Mythology | Reading Level: very good

Rail Across India - A Photographic Journey by Paul C. Pet; Geoffrey Moorhouse; J. B. Hollingsworth

$30.00 NZD

Category: Travel | Reading Level: good-very good