Peter Willems is down on his luck. The Dutch clerk has been fired for embezzlement from his job in the Indonesian port city of Makassar, and his scornful wife has abandoned him. Willems' despair lifts after an encounter with Tom Lingard, a sea captain who operates a remote trading post. Lingard hires the drifter to act as his agent, entrusting Willems with knowledge of the secret route across dangerous waters to the post. Once installed in his new...

The story of the world's most audacious infrastructure project. Less than a decade ago, China did not have a single high-speed train in service. Today, it owns a network of 14,000 miles of high-speed rail, far more than the rest of the world combined. Now, China is pushing its tracks into Southeast Asia, reviving a century-old colonial fantasy of an imperial railroad stretching to Singapore; and kicking off a key piece of the One Belt One Road initiative,...

The Travels of Marco Polo is unquestionably one of the world’s greatest travel books and the memoir of the West’s most famous traveler. Composed in 1298, the book describes Marco Polos travels across the entire continent of Asia and provides the only comprehensive travelogue of a European traveler in the East in the Middle Ages. In a magisterial geographical sweep, The Travels of Marco Polo traces Polos epic journey to the farthest reaches of...

East Asian Cultures in Perspective is an in-depth look at the different regional cultures of East Asia with an emphasis on current culture. The young reader is presented with an overview of a variety of regional cultures that developed historically and analyzes how the cultural history shapes the East Asian region s current culture. The book is written in a lively and interesting style, and contains the East Asian region s languages, foods, music/dance,...

This informative but concise history of China and Southeast Asia is perfect for travelers, students, teachers, and businesspeople. Portable and attractively designed, it includes color illustrations, maps, and a brief history of the region. Explored are relations between China and Southeast Asia across two millennia; patterns of diplomacy, commercial networks, and migration; and how these have varied over time. With a focus on modern history, this...

In 1271 Marco Polo set out on a journey to China to meet the Mongol Emperor Kublaï Khan. He returned with stories that would take a lifetime to tell. Featuring exotic creatures, strange customs, extraordinary legends, and political intrigues, The Travels of Marco Polo reveals the fantastical treasures of the East in the words of the legendary medieval explorer. Conjuring up a forgotten world filled with mystery where wonder lurks around every...

"Honorable Mention for the 2013 PROSE Award in European and World History, Association of American Publishers" "One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014" S. Frederick Starr is founding chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a research and policy center affiliated with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. A past...

"You may have heard that Asia's Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain. But did you know that Earth's deepest lake, Lake Baikal, is also in Asia? And would it surprise you to learn that the continent is home to a flower that smells like rotting meat? Discover extreme facts about Asia in this fun and kooky book"--

A vivid, often surprising account of South Asia today by the author of An End to Suffering. In his new book, Pankaj Mishra brings literary authority and political insight to bear on travels that are at once epic and personal. Traveling in the changing cultures of South Asia, Mishra sees the pressures-the temptations-of Western-style modernity and prosperity, and teases out the paradoxes of globalization. A visit to Allahabad, birthplace of Jawaharlal...

"Where is Mandarin spoken? Where do tigers live? What is the longest river in Asia? This book answers these questions and more as it introduces young readers to the continent of Asia through age-appropriate maps, engaging photographs, and simple text. Topics covered within the book include where the continent is, climate, geography, animals and plants, countries, people and languages, natural resources, cities, and famous places"--