Chinese society and culture are evolving with a booming economy, expansion, production of consumer and industrial goods, and a growing influence upon the world. The History of China enables readers to delve into the rich history of this powerful nation.China is both the world's oldest continuing civilization and an emerging global super power. Over the last two millennia, this rich and complex nation has often been the wea...

The story behind the mythic brutality of Genghis Kahn, one of the most successful leaders in human history.A new title in the series created for the modern reader, introducing the heroes, cultures, myths and religions of the world. The tale of the legendary Mongol General Genghis Khan is as phenomenal as the man himself. Probably the greatest conqueror in history, he ruled vast swathes of land in the early 1200s, vanquishing people across Asia and Europe, so that b...

For more than twenty years after the Communist Revolution in 1949, China and most of the western world had no diplomats in each others' capitals and no direct way to communicate. Then, in July 1971, Henry Kissinger arrived secretly in Beijing on a mission which quickly led to the reopening of relations between China and the West and changed the course of post-war history.For the past forty years, Kissinger has maintained close relations with successive generations of Chinese leader...

The Mongols erupted out of Central Asia in 1206 and soon controlled an empire stretching from Poland to Korea; although remembered as a destructive force, they united a great part of the world under one rule, and their combined arms and mobile tactics have had considerable influence on subsequent military thinkers.Jeremia Curtin, born 1835, was an American translator and folklorist. He died in 1906.

The turbulent and chequered past of the world's most populous country is one of the most fascinating in world history, and relatively little known in the West. From the beginnings of Chinese prehistory right through to internet censorship with the 'Great Firewall of China', Gordon Kerr offers a comprehensive introduction to the sprawling history of this enormous country. A Short History of China provides an absorbing introduction to more than 4,000 years of Chinese history, telling the sto...

The story of Genghis Khan provides a fascinating picture of the nomadic tribes of Asia. At its height, Khan's empire extended all the way from China to Turkistan and was composed of hundreds of tribes of nomadic warriors. No town, no matter how well fortified, was safe from his seemingly endless horde of followers. No enemy that resisted him escaped his grasp. The word khan is not a name, but a title. It means chieftain or king. It is a word used in various forms by the different tribes an...

The need to understand this global giant has never been more pressing: China is constantly in the news, yet conflicting impressions abound. Within one generation, China has transformed from an impoverished, repressive state into an economic and political powerhouse. In China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know, Jeffrey Wasserstrom provides cogent answers to the most urgent questions regarding the newest superpower and offers a framework for understanding its meteoric rise.Focusin...

In "First Footsteps in East Africa," Richard Francis Sir Burton presents a meticulous account of his 1857 expedition into the heart of East Africa, capturing not only the geography and cultural richness of the region but also the complexities of its sociopolitical fabric. Combining vivid narrative prose with ethnographic observation, Burton engages his readers with an exploration of the indigenous peoples, their customs, and the landscapes they inhabit. The literary context of this work si...

Saladin, one of the most prominent figure of the time of the Crusades, was a great muslim leader, respected and praised even by his Crusader foes.

Here is a fascinating compact history of Chinese political, economic, and cultural life, ranging from the origins of civilization in China to the beginning of the 21st century. Historian Paul Ropp combines vivid story-telling with astute analysis to shed light on some of the larger questions of Chinese history. What is distinctive about China in comparison with other civilizations? What have been the major changes and continuities in Chinese life over the past four millennia? Offering a gl...

Dumas tells the three tales: of the brutal excesses of Ali Pacha; the tale of the Countess of Saint Geran;and of Murat, whose courage became a legend in the days of the French revolution.Few men have understood themselves better or been on better terms with the orbit of their existence than Ali Pacha, and as the personality of an individual is all the more striking, in proportion as it reflects the manners and ideas of the time and country in which he has lived, so the figure of Al...

At the age of only twenty six, Alexander Burnes proved himself to be one of the most effective intelligence agents of his time. Making two dangerous journeys beyond the frontiers of the Indian Empire, he reported back via the East India Company to Downing Street on the geography and politics of the kingdoms that lay to the northwest as far as fabled Bokhara. He travelled simply, disguised as a local, but with his rapier-like mind, an ear for languages and an infectious charm and curiosity,...