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An Area of Darkness: A Discovery Of India
By V. S. Naipaul. 1992
THE FIRST BOOK IN V. S. NAIPAUL’S ACCLAIMED INDIAN TRILOGY An Area of Darknessis V. S. Naipaul’s semi-autobiographical account –…
at once painful and hilarious, but always thoughtful and considered – of his first visit to India, the land of his forebears. He was twenty-nine years old; he stayed for a year. From the moment of his inauspicious arrival in Prohibition-dry Bombay, bearing whisky and cheap brandy, he experienced a cultural estrangement from the subcontinent. It became for him a land of myths, an area of darkness closing up behind him as he travelled . . . The experience was not a pleasant one, but the pain the author suffered was creative rather than numbing, and engendered a masterful work of literature that provides a revelation both of India and of himself: a displaced person who paradoxically possesses a stronger sense of place than almost anyone. ‘Brilliant’ Observer ‘A masterpiece of travel-writing’ Paul Theroux ‘His narrative skill is spectacular. ’ The TimesA Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream
By Richard Bernstein. 2011
In 1977, when Zhongmei Lei was eleven years old, she learned that the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy was having open…
auditions. She'd already taken dance lessons, but everyone said a poor country girl would never get into the academy, especially without any connections in the Communist Party of the 1970s. But Zhongmei, whose name means Faithful Plum, persisted, even going on a hunger strike, until her parents agreed to allow her to go. She traveled for three days and two nights to get to Beijing and eventually beat out 60,000 other girls for one of 12 coveted spots. But getting in was easy compared to staying in, as Zhongmei soon learned. Without those all-important connections she was just a little girl on her own, far away from family. But her determination, talent, and sheer force of will were not something the teachers or other students expected, and soon it was apparent that Zhongmei was not to be underestimated. Zhongmei became a famous dancer, and founded her own dance company, which made its New York debut when she was in just her late 20s. In A Girl Named Faithful Plum, her husband and renowned journalist, Richard Bernstein, has written a fascinating account of one girl's struggle to go from the remote farmlands of China to the world's stages, and the lengths she went to in order to follow her dream.From the Hardcover edition.Beyond the Moongate
By Elizabeth Quan. 2013
MOONGATES DOTTED THE LANDSCAPE OF OLD CHINA. Ancient Chinese architects had sculpted stone piled on sculpted stone to form round…
doorways, with the spiritual symbolism of the full moon. To step through one of these doorways was to step into a world of peace and happiness....And so it was in the 1920s that the Lee King family - father, mother, and six children, aged ten months to seven years - traveled from their home in Canada, across the Pacific Ocean, to inland China. There, they had the opportunity to step beyond the moongate into a land not yet touched by modern warfare or political unrest.The story of the moongate, tells of the two "golden" years the family spent with Grandmother in a remote village in the south, which hadn't changed for centuries. Step inside and live the long lazy days of a China forever gone. The moongate beckons....From the Hardcover edition.A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT: Behind the Scenes in the World's Richest City
By Jo Tatchell. 2009
Barely forty years ago, Abu Dhabi was a fishing village on the Arabian Gulf. Now the capital of the United…
Arab Emirates, its citizens are each worth $17 million, it holds major stakes in Western economies, and has money to burn. In this timely, revealing and evocative portrait of a global player, Jo Tatchell traces the emirate's dramatic development and the sometimes ruinous effect of extreme wealth on its people and their desert culture. And as its rulers fund another giant leap forward, she probes behind the official facade to examine whether this secretive and controlled society can realise its breathtaking plans to transform relations between East and West.Snowing in Bali: The Incredible Inside Account of Bali's Hidden Drug World
By Kathryn Bonella. 2012
Kathryn Bonella lifts the lid on Bali's nightmarish narcotics underworld.Among the island's drug dealers 'It's snowing in Bali' is code…
that the south-east Asian paradise is full of cocaine. For the men who run the country's drug empires, it's time to get rich and party hard. Snowing in Bali is the story of the drug trafficking and dealing scene that's made Bali one of the world's most important destinations in the global distribution of narcotics. Kathryn Bonella, bestselling author of Hotel K, has been given extraordinary access into the lives of some of the biggest players in Bali's drug world. She charts their rise to incredible wealth and power, and their drug- fuelled lifestyles: filled with orgies, outrageous extravagance and surfing. From the highs of multi-million dollar deals to the desperate lows of death row in an Indonesian high security jail, Snowing in Bali is a unique, uncensored insight into a hidden world.The Key to Midnight: A gripping thriller of heart-stopping suspense
By Dean Koontz. 1995
The past can be a very dangerous place when it is locked into a nightmare... The Key to Midnight is…
a page-turning thriller from Dean Koontz that delves into the darkest of dreams. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Harlan Coben. 'Dean Koontz writes page-turners, middle-of-the-night-sneak-up-behind-you suspense thrillers. He touches our hearts and tingles our spines' - Washington Post Book WorldWho is Joanna Rand?Alex Hunter hasn't come to Japan to fall in love. But Joanna Rand is the most beautiful, exciting woman he has ever met.But Joanna is not who she thinks she is. Ten years before, and halfway across the world, a brutally bizarre experiment recreated her mind. A violation so hideous that her dreams are filled with terror and her memories are a lie.If they are ever to be free, Alex and Joanna have to reopen the dangerous door into the nightmare past. Somehow they have to find the key to midnight... What readers are saying about The Key to Midnight: 'This is a story of suspense, action and intrigue set to the backdrop of international espionage... Koontz delivers his usual blend of mystery and action that keeps those pages turning''This is an intriguing tale, a mystery and a romance but shot through with an underlying psychological horror and also a political undertone, too''As always, so, so readable, and so, so well written'Two Trees Make a Forest: On Memory, Migration and Taiwan
By Jessica J. Lee. 2020
I have learned many words for 'island': isle, atoll, eyot, islet, or skerry. They exist in archipelagos or alone, and…
always, by definition, I have understood them by their relation to water. But the Chinese word for island knows nothing of water. For a civilisation grown inland from the sea, the vastness of mountains was a better analogue: (dao, 'island') built from the relationship between earth and sky.Between tectonic plates and conflicting cultures, Taiwan is an island of extremes: high mountains, exposed flatlands, thick forests. After unearthing a hidden memoir of her grandfather's life, written on the cusp of his total memory loss, Jessica J Lee hunts his story, in parallel with exploring Taiwan, hoping to understand the quakes that brought her family from China, to Taiwan and Canada, and the ways in which our human stories are interlaced with geographical forces. Part-nature writing, part-biography, Two Trees Make a Forest traces the natural and human stories that shaped an island and a family.Quest for Kim: In Search Of Kipling's Great Game
By Peter Hopkirk. 1999
This book is for all those who love Kim, that masterpiece of Indian life in which Kipling immortalized the Great…
Game. Fascinated since childhood by this strange tale of an orphan boy's recruitment into the Indian secret service, Peter Hopkirk here retraces Kim's footsteps across Kipling's India to see how much of it remains. To attempt this with a fictional hero would normally be pointless. But Kim is different. For much of this Great Game classic was inspired by actual people and places, thus blurring the line between the real and the imaginary. Less a travel book than a literary detective story, this is the intriguing story of Peter Hopkirk's quest for Kim and a host of other shadowy figures.As well as being a fascinating country, with a rich and varied culture, India is emerging as a major world…
economy. More and more people are going there to live and work. The purpose of this book is to ease the transition between western and Indian cultures. If you are going to India to do business or for long-term employment, or are being relocated there by your company, this book will tell you all you need to know to help you and your family settle quickly into your new environment - and to ensure that it is the experience of a lifetime.Beginning with an overview of the history of India, its geographical divisions, political system, religions, languages and ethnic and cultural divisions, this comprehensive guide goes on to provide detailed information on: how to get a work permit and find a job; Indian work practices, employment rights and benefits; taxes and pensions; the Indian health care system; how to set up a business and set up a company; how to buy or rent a property; what the cost of living is like; how to open a bank account and obtain a credit card; expatriate and Indian lifestyles; entertainment and leisure in India; Indian customs and habits food - the regional variations and local delicacies; and raising and educating your children.The Folded Earth: A Novel
By Anuradha Roy. 2012
In a remote town in the Himalaya, Maya tries to put behind her a time of great sorrow. By day…
she teaches in a school and at night she types up drafts of a magnum opus by her landlord, a relic of princely India known to all as Diwan Sahib. Her bond with this eccentric, and her friendship with a peasant girl, Charu, give her the sense that she might be able to forge a new existence away from the devastation of her past. As Maya finds out, no place is remote enough or small enough. The world she has come to love, where people are connected with nature, is endangered by the town's new administration. The impending elections are hijacked by powerful outsiders who divide people and threaten the future of her school. Charu begins to behave strangely, and soon Maya understands that a new boy in the neighbourhood may be responsible. When Diwan Sahib's nephew arrives to set up his trekking company on their estate, she is drawn to him despite herself, and finally she is forced to confront bitter and terrible truths. A many-layered and powerful narrative, by turns poetic, elegiac and comic, by the author of An Atlas of Impossible Longing.A journey along the seemingly endless Russian border - from North Korea in the Far East through Russia's bordering states…
in Asia and the Caucasus, crossing the Caspian Ocean and the Black Sea along the way."Erika Fatland [is] shaping up to be one of the Nordics' most exciting new travel writers" National Geographic**SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORDS DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020**"A hauntingly lyrical meditation to the contingencies of history" Wall Street Journal"[An] impressive mix of history, reportage and travel memoir" Washington PostThe Border is a book about Russia and Russian history without its author ever entering Russia itself; a book about being the neighbour of that mighty, expanding empire throughout history. It is a chronicle of the colourful, exciting, tragic and often unbelievable histories of these bordering nations, their cultures, their people, their landscapes.Through her last three documentary books - one about terrorism in Beslan, one about the 2011 terror attacks in Norway and one about post-Soviet Central Asia - social anthropologist Erika Fatland has established herself as a sharp observer and an outstanding interviewer at the forefront of Nordic non-fiction.Translated from the Norwegian by Kari DicksonAn Atlas of Impossible Longing: A Novel
By Anuradha Roy. 2010
On the outskirts of a small town in Bengal, a family live in solitude in their vast new house. Here,…
swathed in silence, a widower struggles with feelings for an unmarried cousin while his motherless daughter Bakul runs wild with Mukunda, an orphan of unknown caste adopted by the family. Confined at the top of the house, the matriarch goes slowly mad, while her husband shapes and reshapes his glorious garden. As Mukunda and Bakul grow, their intense closeness matures into something else and Mukunda is banished to Calcutta. Although he prospers in the turbulent years after Partition, his thoughts are all of what was once his home - and he knows that he must return. This is a love story, as intricate as it is enchanting, about two people who find each other when abandoned by everyone else.My Mercedes Is Not for Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou - An Auto-Misadventure Across the Sahara
By Jeroen Van Bergeijk. 2006
My Mercedes Is Not for Sale is a rollicking, witty and insightful tale of an innocent abroad which captures the…
high-spirited adventure of a young journalist and paints a vivid portrait of West Africa through a surprise-filled journey into its thriving car cult. It has all the wit and charm of John Mole s bestselling Its All Greek to Me! and Peter Allison s Don t Run, Whatever You Do and the philosophical underpinnings of Robert Pirsig s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Dutch journalist Jeroen van Bergeijk came up with what seemed like a great scheme for making a quick profit: buy an old banger in Amsterdam and resell it in the Third World, where a market for clapped-out cars still thrives. His chariot of choice is a rusty 1988 Mercedes 190D with 140,000 miles on the clock; his route takes him from Holland through Morocco, across the Sahara, and into some of the least trodden parts of Africa. Van Bergeijk finds himself facing a driving challenge akin to a Dakar Road Rally but encounters obstacles never dreamed of by race-car drivers: active minefields, occasional banditry mostly by the border guards and a teenaged, chain-smoking desert guide with a fondness for Tupac lyrics. Food and water are scarce, sandstorms are frequent, and all he has to patch up his many car breakdowns thousands of miles from civilization is a bar of soap, some duct tape, and a pair of women's tights. Then there's the coup he lived through. My Mercedes Is Not for Sale captures more than the adventure it vividly portrays the impact of globalization on Africa through an adventurous and sometimes dangerous journey into its thriving car culture.Live and Work In Hong Kong: Comprehensive, up-to-date, practical information about everyday life
By Dr Rachel Wright. 2011
Whatever your reasons for planning to live and work in Hong Kong, this comprehensive guide will tell you all you…
need to know to make the most of your time in this vibrant and challenging city. Organised into three sections: Living, Working, and Leisure, this book includes up to date information and well-informed opinion on: * The kind of lifestyle you can expect to enjoy in Hong Kong * The cost of living * Finding accommodation, whether short term or to buy or rent *Having and raising children in Hong Kong *Shopping for food or luxuries - Working and volunteering *Teaching English *Sporting events, special interest groups and the local arts scene *Travelling and places to visit *Entertainment and nightlifeThe Power of Chowa: Finding Your Balance Using the Japanese Wisdom of Chowa
By Akemi Tanaka. 2019
'Following Tanaka's wisdom is an easy way to start making life feel just a little more balanced' the IndependentThe Japanese…
wisdom of chowa offers a fresh perspective on how to live, and new ways to find balance among the many different directions that modern life pulls us in.Chowa is a Japanese concept that is often translated as 'harmony', but more accurately means 'the search for balance'. Chowa is both a philosophy and a set of practices that can help us get to the heart of what is most important to us, and change our way of thinking about ourselves and others. This book will teach you how to apply the lessons of chowa to your own life to better focus on what really matters and cultivate an everyday state of equilibrium and calm that will help you feel ready for anything. Chowa helps us to better balance our priorities and our relationships and find inner strength and flexibility in times of change and difficulty.Whether you are searching for balance at home, at work, in your relationships or in any other area of your life, chowa offers new solutions and a way of thinking that we could all benefit from, now more than ever.Prajna: Ayurvedic Rituals For Happiness
By Mira Manek. 2019
'Each page solidifies my commitment to living a life of ritual, observance and beauty' Kathryn Budig'Mira's book is a timely…
reminder to love yourself - to give yourself that much needed moment to stop and breathe' Asma KhanBeautifully simple age-old rituals for modern-day living that will enhance your wellbeing and bring you happiness.Prajna is the Sanskrit word for wisdom, and this book brings the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda into your life by guiding you through simple practices for every day and every occasion.Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest healing systems, rooted in the principle of a mind-body-spirit connection that is more relevant than ever to our busy modern lives. This book extracts the essence of this Indian philosophy and provides a wealth of timeless rituals to effect positive change.Prajna offers rituals and routines for the entire day, from the moment you wake up and need the energy and positive mindset to help you start the morning, to night-time practices that allow you to wind down, relax and get the most benefit from the healing power of sleep. In between there are numerous breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques, yoga stretches and simple recipes to enjoy, all to help you destress and reset, bringing you back to yourself and to lasting peace and happiness.6 Histoires venues d'ailleurs (Histoires venues d’ailleurs #2)
By Bruno Maiorana and 5 more. 2021
Ce livre est un recueil d’histoires fascinantes documentant les tenants et aboutissants de la vie d’étranger. La deuxième tome de…
la série « Histoires venues d'ailleurs ». Ce livre est un recueil d’histoires fascinantes documentant les tenants et aboutissants de la vie d’étranger, d’expatrié, d’immigrant ou tout autre terme de votre choix pouvant décrire une personne vivant dans un pays autre que celui où il a grandi. Ces récits nous viennent du Pérou, de la Chine, de l’Equateur et de l’Espagne. Table des matières : Ma Première Fois La Surprise La Balade à Cheval La Discussion de Groupe Voyager avec des Chihuahuas Randonnée en Chine Genre : VOYAGE / Général Genre Secondaire : VOYAGE / Asie / Général Langue : Français (traduit de l'anglais) Volume : 2Wild Wild Guru: An insider's account of his life with Bhagwan, the world's most controversial guru
By Subhuti Anand Waight. 2019
This is the story of a Englishman who gave up a job in journalism to spend fourteen years with the…
controversial Indian mystic Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and frequently referred to as 'the sex guru'. His guru was always controversial with his teachings on sex and spirituality, rumours of orgies and because he owned ninety-three Rolls Royces.Early in 1976, Subhuti travelled to India to meet Rajneesh in his ashram in Pune, became initiated as his disciple and immediately began to have mystical experiences, which he attributed to the powerful energy field surrounding the guru. He stayed for six months, participating in the ashram's notorious Encounter Group and other therapies designed to release suppressed emotions and awaken sexual energySubhuti would stay to live and work on his master's ashrams for fourteen years, first as his press officer in Pune, India, then as editor of the community's weekly newspaper when Bhagwan and his followers shifted to Oregon, USA, and built a whole new town on the massive Big Muddy Ranch.There Subhuti was a first-hand witness to the scandals and hullabaloo that accompanied the guru, including tales of broken bones in no-holds-barred therapy groups and Tantra groups that encouraged total sexual freedom, and the increasing hostility with the locals which would lead to Bhagwan's attempt to flee America, his arrest and imprisonment. .He was on the Oregon Ranch when Rajneesh's secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, plotted against rival cliques within the ashram as well as a range of murderous crimes against state and federal officials which feature in hit Netflix series Wild Wild Country.Yet, amidst it all, Subhuti could see the profound revolution in spirituality that Bhagwan was creating, leaving a lasting impact on our ideas about society, religion, meditation and personal transformation.According to the author's understanding, it was the controversy itself, plus Bhagwan's refusal to tread the path of a spiritual saint, that became the stepping stone to a new vision of what it means to be a spiritual seeker.A Song for China: How My Father Wrote Yellow River Cantata
By Ange Zhang. 2019
Published in celebration of the famous Yellow River Cantata’s 80th anniversary, this is the riveting history of how a young…
Chinese author and passionate militant fought using art to create a socially just China during the period of the struggle against the Japanese and during World War II.This is the fascinating story of how a young Chinese author, Guang Weiran, a passionate militant from the age of twelve, fought, using art, theater, poetry and song, especially the famous Yellow River Cantata — the anthem of Chinese national spirit — to create a socially just China. Set during the period of the struggle against the Japanese and the war against the Kuomintang in the 1920s and ’30s, this book, written and illustrated by Guang Weiran’s award-winning artist son, Ange Zhang, illuminates a key period in China’s history. The passion and commitment of the artists who were born under the repressive weight of the Japanese occupation, the remnants of the decaying imperial order and the times of colonial humiliation are inspiring.Zhang’s words and wood-block style of art tell us the story of his father’s extraordinary youth and very early rise to prominence due to his great talent with words. We see and hear the intensity of what it meant to be alive at such a significant moment in the history of China, a country that understands itself as the heir to one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. The humiliations and social injustice the Chinese people had endured in the colonial period were no longer bearable. And yet there were major factional differences between those who wanted to create a modern China. Ange’s words and art paint the picture for us through his father’s story, accompanied by sidebars that explain the historical context.The book ends in a burst of glorious color and song, with the words of Yellow River Cantata in Mandarin, as well as newly translated into English. This great song turns eighty years old in 2019, and will be sung and performed by huge orchestras and choirs around the world, as the Chinese diaspora has embraced the cantata as its own.Key Text Features historical context sidebars illustrations lyricsCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.The Last Whalers: The Life of an Endangered Tribe in a Land Left Behind
By Doug Bock Clark. 2019
'Remarkable... a rich, novelistic account based on diligent reporting ... An empathetic, even intimate account, but not a dewy-eyed one…
... Wonderful' Daily Telegraph'I absolutely loved this magnificent book' Sebastian Junger'A monumental achievement' Mitchell Zuckoff'[An] immersive, densely reported and altogether remarkable first book ... The Last Whalers has the texture and colouring of a first-rate novel' New York TimesAt a time when global change has eradicated thousands of unique cultures, The Last Whalers tells the stunning inside story of the Lamalerans, an ancient tribe of 1,500 hunter-gatherers who live on a volcanic island so remote it is known by other Indonesians as "The Land Left Behind." They have survived for centuries by taking whales with bamboo harpoons, but now are being pushed toward collapse by the encroachment of the modern world.Award-winning journalist Doug Bock Clark, who lived with the Lamalerans across three years, weaves together their stories with novelistic flair to usher us inside this hidden drama. Jon, an orphaned apprentice whaler, strives to earn his harpoon and feed his ailing grandparents. Ika, Jon's indomitable younger sister, struggles to forge a modern life in a tradition-bound culture and realize a star-crossed love. Ignatius, a legendary harpooner entering retirement, labors to hand down the Ways of the Ancestors to his son, Ben, who would rather become a DJ in the distant tourist mecca of Bali.With brilliant, breathtaking prose and empathetic, fast-paced storytelling, Clark details how the fragile dreams of one of the world's dwindling indigenous peoples are colliding with the irresistible upheavals of our rapidly transforming world, and delivers to us a group of families we will never forget.