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Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America
By Dr Ahron Bregman. 2005
Ehud Barak's election as Prime Minister of Israel on 17th May 1999 and his determination to conclude a peace deal…
with the Palestinians inspired both Israeli voters and the international community. So where did it all go wrong? How did it end, less than two years later, in the total failure of Barak's peace efforts, his defeat at the polls and ejection from office? How did he open the way not to peace, but to Ariel Sharon?Drawing on exclusive interviews with all the major international figures involved, this book traces the history of the Middle East peace process from Barak's election, through the peace talks at Camp David to the current Road Map. It illuminates the characters of Clinton, Arafat, Sharon and many others, and offers many insights into one of the most complex political political situations in the world today.Extreme Rambling: Walking Israel's Separation Barrier. For Fun.
By Mark Thomas. 2011
'Good fences make good neighbours, but what about bad ones?'The Israeli separation barrier is probably the most iconic divider of…
land since the Berlin Wall. It has been declared illegal under international law and its impact on life in the West Bank has been enormous.Mark Thomas - as only he could - decided the only way to really get to grips with this huge divide was to use the barrier as a route map, to 'walk the wall', covering the entire distance with little more in his armoury than Kendal Mint Cake and a box of blister plasters.In the course of his ramble he was tear-gassed, stoned, sunburned, rained on and hailed on and even lost the wall a couple of times. But thankfully he was also welcomed and looked after by Israelis and Palestinians - from farmers and soldiers to smugglers and zookeepers - and finally earned a unique insight of the real Middle East in all its entrenched and yet life-affirming glory. And all without hardly ever getting arrested!Distant Voices
By John Pilger. 1990
Throughout his distinguished career as a journalist and film-maker, John Pilger has looked behind the 'official' versions of events to…
report the real stories of our time.The centrepiece of this new, expanded edition of his bestselling Distant Voices is Pilger's reporting from East Timor, which he entered secretly in 1993 and where a third of the population has died as a result of Indonesia's genocidal policies. This edition also contains more new material as well as all the original essays - from the myth-making of the Gulf War to the surreal pleasures of Disneyland. Breaking through the consensual silence, Pilger pays tribute to those dissenting voices we are seldom permitted to hear.The Diary of Lady Murasaki
By Murasaki Shikibu. 1996
The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of…
her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace - the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting and drunken courtiers, and telling remarks about the timid Empress and her powerful father, Michinaga. The Diary is also a work of great subtlety and intense personal reflection, as Murasaki makes penetrating insights into human psychology - her pragmatic observations always balanced by an exquisite and pensive melancholy.A Coup in Turkey: A Tale of Democracy, Despotism and Vengeance in a Divided Land
By Jeremy Seal. 2021
The most dramatic, revealing and little-known story in Turkey's history - which illuminates the nation'Through the spellbinding career of a…
single, ill-fated leader, Jeremy Seal illuminates a bitterly divided country' Colin Thubron'Read this book if you're interested in Turkey. Read it if you're interested in power, hubris and redemption. Read it' Christopher de Bellaigue, author of The Islamic EnlightenmentIn the spring of 2016 travel writer Jeremy Seal went to Turkey to investigate perhaps the most dramatic, revealing and little-known episode in the country's history - the 'original' coup of 1960, which deposed the traditionalist Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. The story of Menderes - to his adoring supporters the country's founding democrat; to his sworn enemies its most infamous traitor - goes to the heart of the feud that continues to rage between the Western and secular ambitions of a minority elite and the religious and conservative instincts of the small-town majority. A Coup in Turkey is a thrilling account of the events leading up to the coup and the trials and executions that followed, a story of political subterfuge and score-settling, courtroom drama, state execution, authoritarian intolerance and ideological division. Seal travels through President Erdogan's Turkey, tracking down eye-witness accounts from survivors of the Menderes era in Istanbul, the historic metropolis, and the new capital at Ankara. As he expertly guides us through this extraordinary story, so the compelling parallels between past and present become strikingly clear, and he illuminates this troubled nation with a deep sympathy and love for the people and places he writes about. By focussing on one key event - one which many Turks regard with shame - this evocative, gripping portrait of Turkey recentres our understanding of the past and makes sense of one of Europe's most bewildering yet intriguing neighbours.'A wonderful writer' Robert MacfarlaneThe Crossing: My journey to the shattered heart of Syria
By Samar Yazbek. 2015
'ONE OF THE FIRST POLITICAL CLASSICS OF THE 21st CENTURY'- Observer'EXTRAORDINARILY POWERFUL, POIGNANT AND AFFECTING. I WAS GREATLY MOVED' Michael…
PalinFOREWORD BY CHRISTINA LAMBJournalist Samar Yazbek was forced into exile by Assad's regime. When the uprising in Syria turned to bloodshed, she was determined to take action and secretly returned several times. The Crossing is her rare, powerful and courageous testament to what she found inside the borders of her homeland.From the first peaceful protests for democracy to the arrival of ISIS, she bears witness to those struggling to survive, to the humanity that can flower amidst annihilation, and why so many are now desperate to flee.Chronicles of the First Crusade
By Christopher Tyerman. 2004
The story of the First Crusade, as witnessed by contemporary writers'O day so ardently desired! O time of times the…
most memorable! O deed before all other deeds!'The fall of Jerusalem in the summer of 1099 to an exhausted and starving army of western European soldiers was one of the most extraordinary events of the Middle Ages. It was both the climax of a great wave of visionary Christian fervour and the beginning of what proved to be a futile and abortive attempt to implant a new European kingdom of heaven in an overwhelmingly Muslim world. This remarkable collection brings together a wide variety of contemporary accounts of the First Crusade, including Pope Urban II's initial call to arms of 1095, as well as the first-hand writings of priests, knights, a Jewish pilgrim, a destitute noblewoman, an Iraqi poet and the historian Anna Comnena. Together they provide a vivid and nuanced picture of the First Crusade and the people who were swept up in it.Edited with an introduction and notes by Christopher TyermanChina: A History
By Arthur Cotterell. 2008
One of the most far-reaching events since the Second World War is the re-emergence of China as a world power,…
and its present government's willingness to open up the country to the rest of the world.This comprehensive cultural history ranges from prehistoric times to the present - from the disunity of Pre-Imperial China to the renaissance of the Sung and Tang dynasties, from the Mongol conquest to Tiananmen Square and the 1989 student revolt. By placing the modern country in historical perspective this brilliant study reveals how many continuities there are within the oldest of all civilizations.Bushido: The Soul of Japan (Penguin Great Ideas)
By Inazo Nitobe. 2020
'What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its root…
as well.'Inazo Nitobe's book, the most influential ever written on Bushido, or the samurai Way of the Warrior, argues that the philosophy of Bushido is the true key to understanding 'the soul of Japan'.One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.Persians: The Age of The Great Kings
By Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. 2022
THE PERSIANS is a definitive new history of the Persian Empire, the world's first superpower.The Great Kings of Persia ruled…
over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was the fabled palace-city of Persepolis where the Achaemenid monarchs held court in unparalleled grandeur. From here, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs passed laws, raised armies, and governed their multicultural Empire of enormous diversity.The Achaemenids, however, were one of the great dysfunctional families of history. Brothers fought brothers for power, wives and concubines plotted to promote their sons to the throne, and eunuchs and courtiers vied for influence and prestige.Our understanding of the Persian Empire has traditionally come from the histories of Greek writers such as Herodotus - and as such, over many centuries, our perspective has been skewed by ancient political and cultural agendas. Professor Llewellyn-Jones, however, calls upon original Achaemenid sources, including inscriptions, art, and recent archaeological discoveries in Iran, to create an authentic 'Persian Version' of this remarkable first great empire of antiquity - the Age of the Great Kings.This book provides a novel theoretical framework to understand EU-China diplomatic relations.The existing scholarly literature on EU-China relations is characterised…
by a dichotomous distinction between material and ideational factors and overemphasises the ‘interest versus value’ motif undergirding EU-China relations. The diplomacy and future direction of the relationship seem as opaque as their extent remains incalculably complex. This book takes us beyond binary motives by introducing a novel theoretical model of diplomatic relationship-building that brings to the fore the more nuanced and latent factors to make sense of EU-China diplomatic relationship-building; the new theory captures the ‘relational’ nature of diplomatic relationship-building by integrating the social layer of ‘intentions’ in understanding international diplomacy. This study further sheds light on the opportunities and challenges in enhancing EU-China relations, through a comparative in-depth investigation of the processes, practices and politics of EU-China climate change and agricultural-trade relations over the past two decades. The book draws on a rich collection of original data, encompassing over 100 interviews with stakeholders of EU-China relations conducted from 2015–2023; strengthened by participant observation at EU and Chinese institutional headquarters and in diplomatic fora that has taken place over the past ten years. Enriching these data are newly disclosed official minutes and documentation regarding EU-China negotiations and cooperation.This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy studies, Chinese politics, EU politics and international relations in general.Warfare Ethics in Comparative Perspective: China and the West (War, Conflict and Ethics)
By Sumner B. Twiss, Ping-Cheung, Benedict S. B. Chan. 2024
This volume explores East Asian intellectual traditions and their influence on contemporary discussions of the ethics of war and peace.Through…
cross-cultural comparison and dialogue between East and West, this work charts a new trajectory in the development of applied ethics. A sequel to the volume Chinese Just War Ethics, it expands the range of the earlier work and includes attention to Japan and other Eastern and Western traditions for contrastive reflection and engages with the full range of Chinese intellectual traditions for comparative analysis. The book scrutinizes pioneering works such as the Mengzi, the Han Feizi, and the Seven Military Classics, investigating their influence in subsequent times. It also engages with new texts and thinkers such as the Four Books of the Yellow Emperor, Zeng Guofan, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Zedong, along with examining recent writings of the scholars of the People’s Liberation Army. The final section of the book identifies and discusses some emerging issues in the comparative study of military ethics, just war and peace that derive from the preceding sections. The volume editors then offer some concluding remarks at the end of the book.This book will be of much interest to students of the ethics of war and peace, just war theory, military ethics, Asian studies and International Relations in general.The Reconstruction of Chinese Sociology: An Oral History of 40 Sociologists (1979–2019)
By Zhou Xiaohong. 2023
Tracing the evolution of Chinese Sociology from the late 1970s to the present day, the book aims to record the…
path of reconstruction, localization, change, and reform of Chinese Sociology through interviews with 40 Chinese top sociologists such as Su Guoxun, Zhou Xiaohong, Bian Yanjie, Zhao Dingxin, Zhou Xueguang et al. Divided into three sections, this insightful book is the best proof of the rapid development and overall improvement of the discipline since the reform and opening-up in China. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the restoration and reconstruction of Chinese Sociology, this book is expected to inspire the younger generation of sociology researchers and deepen public’s understanding of sociology.The Apocryphal Gospels
By Simon Gathercole. 2021
A new translation of the oldest non-canonical Christian gospels In the early years of Christianity, several groups produced 'hidden' or…
'apocryphal' gospels, alternative versions of the story of Christ. Sometimes these texts complemented the four canonical gospels of the New Testament, sometimes they subverted them and often they were completely different. Here, in the widest selection of non-canonical gospels gathered in one volume - which also includes two modern forgeries - we see the young Jesus making live birds from clay, hear his secret words of wisdom, discover gnostic cosmologies and witness the Harrowing of Hell. Preserved by their readers and attacked by their detractors, these gospels shine a fascinating light on the early Christian Church.Translated with an Introduction by Simon GathercoleAnother Bangkok: Reflections on the City
By Alex Kerr. 2021
From the author of Another Kyoto and Lost Japan, a rich, personal exploration of the culture and history of Bangkok,…
and an essential guide for anyone visiting the cityAlex Kerr has spent over thirty years of his life living in Bangkok. As with his bestselling books on Japan, this evocative personal meditation explores the city's secret corners. Here is the huge, traffic-choked metropolis of concrete high-rises, slums and sky trains; but also a place of peace and grace. Looking afresh at everything from ceramics to Thai dance, flower patterns to old houses, Kerr reveals one of Asia's most kaleidoscopically complex cities. Another Bangkok will delight both those who think they know the city well and those visiting for the first time.Afghanistan: Agony of a Nation
By Sandy Gall. 1988
This book is an account of Sandy Gall's last trip to Afghanistan in 1986 to report the war. It tells…
of his journey, with all its hardships and dangers, as well as explaining the background to the war including some dramatic pictures of the fighting. Sandy Gall chose to revisit the man he regards as the outstanding commander in Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Masud, who is trying to organize resistance to the Russians on a regional and eventually national scale. The author views the war as Russia's Vietnam and believes it merits much wider attention. He believes it has been largely neglected because of the difficulties of the terrain and the length of time it takes to get to the remoter areas. For his work in Afghanistan, Sandy Gall - a Reuter correspondent for ten years and ITN "trouble shooter" since 1963 - was awarded the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal in 1987.In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story
By Ghada Karmi. 2024
"One of the finest, most eloquent and painfully honest memoirs of the Palestinian exile and displacement."–New StatesmanAn intimate memoir of…
the 1948 Nakba, exile and the dispossession of Palestinian landsIn Search of Fatima reflects the author&’s personal experiences of displacement and loss against a backdrop of the major political events which have shaped conflict in the Middle East. Kharmi was born in Jerusalem but her family were forced out in 1948, following the Nakba, when Palestinians were dispossessed of their lands at the hands of the Israeli state.In this moving account of exile, she charts her family's displacement to Jordan, and finally to Golders Green, London, where she initially refused to lay down roots in alien soil. Through this journey, Kharmi charts the personal account of a young woman's search for identity: as a Palestinian far away from home.Speaking for the millions of displaced people worldwide who have lived suspended between their old and new countries, fitting into neither, this is a nuanced exploration of psychological displacement and loss of identity.Colonialism and Communalism: Religion and Changing Identities in Modern India
By M. Christhu Doss. 2024
Christhu Doss examines how the colonial construct of communalism through the fault lines of the supposed religious neutrality, the hunger…
for the bread of life, the establishment of exclusive village settlements for the proselytes, the rhetoric of Victorian morality, the booby-traps of modernity, and the subversion of Indian cultural heritage resulted in a radical reorientation of religious allegiance that eventually created a perpetual detachment between proselytes and the “others.”Exploring the trajectories of communalism, Doss demonstrates how the multicultural Indian society, known widely for its composite culture, and secular convictions were categorized, compartmentalized, and communalized by the racialized religious pretensions. A vital read for historians, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, and all those who are interested in religions, cultures, identity politics, and decolonization in modern India.Science and the British Empire
By Rajesh Kochhar. 2024
This book studies the linkages between science, technology and institution building in Colonial and Modern India. It discusses the advent…
and growth of modern science in India in terms of a nested three-stage model comprising the colonial-tool stage, the peripheral-native stage and the Indian response stage, each leading to and coexisting with the next. The book gives an account of developments in various fields of science and education in the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of contributions made by Indian individuals, continuing into the 20th century. It traces the process of colonization and how it led to studies in astronomy, meteorology, natural history, geography and medicine in India.Rich in archival resources, this book will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of history of education, history of science, colonial education, science and technology studies, South Asian history, Indian history and history in general.The Modern Art of War: Sun Tzu's Hidden Path to Peace and Wholeness
By Hunter Liguore. 2024
Aimed at a self-development market, this timely and fresh take on that perennial bestseller the Art of War challenges us to…
see the text not as a tool for warfare but as a guide to inner harmony and personal fulfilment.Sun Tzu&’s Art of War has been read mostly as a book of war strategies that teaches us how to beat our opponents on the battlefield. The Modern Art of War presents a new interpretation: it isn't about conquering your enemies, devising strategies to overtake armies, or getting ahead against your competitors. Instead, the real art of war is the fight to control your mind and the thoughts that rule it. What if Sun Tzu wasn&’t a general at all, but a spiritual advisor, and that the Art of War was written not for a king, but for the people?Each chapter begins with the original text from the Art of War followed by an overview, applied practice, thought-provoking prompts, and a chance for your own reflection. Includes:The complete text of the original Art of War.Explanation of the symbolism, eg the "battlefield" stands for the terrain of the mind, "war" for conflict between the lower and higher self, and the "enemy" as our conscious thoughts, emotions and perceptions. Chapter-by-chapter guidance to the deeper meaning of the Art of War, from how to understand one's own nature to strategies for drawing on our own wholehearted will and perceiving the inherent instability in all things.Over 150 reflection questions that prompt the reader to understand the text and guide them in their self-development journey, from 'If you can change one idea about yourself to step into a new future, what would it be?' to 'Based on Sun Tzu&’s teachings, what strategies can you incorporate into your daily activity or practice that would assist you in working through frustration or anger, without being harsh with yourself?'This book will teach readers how to "conquer" or still the mind in order to reveal their own hidden teacher and recognize that the root of conflict (or war) begins within. By creating harmony within one&’s self, readers can then carry it forward to help bring more peace into the world.