asia history

Hardcover. New Haven CT, Yale University Press;, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 180 pages. John Gutmann (1905-1998) was one of America's most distinctive photographers. Born in Germany where he trained as an artist and art teacher, he fled the Nazis in 1933 and settled in San Francisco, reinventing himself as a photo-reporter. Gutmann captured images of American culture, celebrating signs of a vibrant democracy, however imperfect. His own status as an outsider--a Jew in Germany, a naturalized citizen in the United States--informed his focus on individuals from the Asian-American, African-American, and gay communities, as well as his photography in India, Burma, and China during World War II. This handsome book acknowledges Gutmann's place in the history of photography. Drawing on his archive of photographs and papers at the Center for Creative Photography, it presents both unfamiliar works and little-known contexts for his imagery, linking his photography to his passionate interest in painting and filmmaking, his collections of non-Western art and artifacts, and his pedagogy. In addition to a major essay by Sally Stein, the volume includes an introduction by Douglas R. Nickel, and an overview of the Gutmann archive by Amy Rule.

Softcover. Seoul Korea, Taewon Publishing , 1st, 1973, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 85 pages. McGrane's historical analysis presents a lucid overview of events during the crucial years of Japanese intervention and occupation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Some sunning to wraps, name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Cleveland, Ohio, Alexander T. Bunts, 1st, 1938, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 219 pages. Limited first edition copy. Minor fading on blue cloth cover. Faded sticker mark on front flyleaf. Otherwise, a very clean and tight copy.

Hardcover. Durham NC, Carolina Academic Press, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket that has some fading to spine and edges. 443 pages, several maps. Clean copy.

Hardcover. London, Chris Boot, 1st, 2009, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 252 pages. In this volume, ten Magnum photographers turn their lenses on contemporary Georgia. Situated on the cusp of Russia and Asia, but with a European culture dating back to the 7th century BC, Georgia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922. Its independence was restored in 1991, but it then suffered from civil war and a breakdown of its economic infrastructure. In the last decade, however, despite ongoing tensions in its relations with Russia, Georgia has mounted a spirited comeback. Magnum photographers Antoine d'Agata, Jonas Bendiksen, Thomas Dworzak, Martine Franck, Alex Majoli, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Mark Power and Alec Soth visited the country during spring 2009, each pursuing their own theme (Alec Soth goes in search of the 'most beautiful woman in Georgia', for example). All found themselves enchanted by the Georgian people, something strongly conveyed in their photographs as well as in personal text journals which accompany the images. This well-designed volume also includes a fold-out map, marked with each photographer's journey; a chapter showing the best of Magnum photographers' work over 60 years (including by Magnum's founders Robert Capa from his visit to Georgia with John Steinbeck in 1948 and Henri Cartier-Bresson); and an illuminating introduction by the Paris-based New Yorker writer, and Georgia expert, Wendell Steavenson.

Hardcover. New York, Macmillan Co., 1st, 1932, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 311 pages, 2 b&w fold-out maps in rear. Maroon cloth covers w/ gilt lettering. Spine faded. Previous owner's signature on front fly leaf. Else a very clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Watkins, reprint, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 272 pages. Marco Polo (c.1254-1324) was a Christian merchant from the Venetian Republic who learned about trading while his father and uncle were absent on an extended journey through Asia, which culminated in a visit with the great khan Kublai. In 1269 the brothers returned to Venice and met Marco for the first time. The three of them then embarked on a new journey to Asia and the court of the khan, returning after more than two decades to find Venice at war. Marco was imprisoned in Genoa, whereupon he dictated his romantic-sounding stories to a cellmate. The popularity of his account is a rare example of a success in publishing before the age of printing. Introduction by John Masefield.

Hardcover. Atlanta, Nexus Press, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 118 pages. Glossy color illustrated boards, color illustrated end-papers, color and black-and-white illustrations from photographs throughout, accompanying 16 page facsimile journal laid in (no publishing info) with reproductions of polaroids of Burke's. 'Mine Fields' (a sequel to Bill Burke's justly famous I Want To Take Picture), is Burke's scrapbook of his life and his pursuit of the history and daily life of Cambodia. Part adventure story, part personal confession, part travelogue, and always fascinating, Burke's negotiation of the mine fields of divorce and war is a compelling collage of photographs, found objects, stories, and the contrast between glorious ancient temples and the horrors of war and genocide.

Hardcover. NY, Macmillan, 1st, 1945, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, light tan cloth covers with light wear, 436 pages. The author spent 25 years in China as a journalist. Powell's book covers the period between (1917-1945) and discusses the personalities of the day: Chiang Kai Shek, Yuan Shi Kai and Chang Husiliang as well the intrigues of the Soviets and the Japanese. Note: Powell lost both his feet to the Japanese at his stay at the Bridge House. No markings.

Hardcover. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1st, 1991, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 388 pages, hardcover. B&w plates. INSCRIBED BY ECKERT. Light foxing to edge and light wear to bottom edges of cover. According to conventional interpretations, the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 destroyed a budding native capitalist economy on the peninsula and blocked the development of a Korean capitalist class until 1945. In this expansive and provocative study, now available in paperback, Carter J. Eckert challenges the standard view and argues that Japanese imperialism, while politically oppressive, was also the catalyst and cradle of modern Korean industrial development. Ancient ties to China were replaced by new ones to Japan - ties that have continued to shape the South Korean political economy down to the present day.Eckert explores a wide range of themes, including the roots of capitalist development in Korea, the origins of the modern business elite, the nature of Japanese colonial policy and the Japanese colonial state, the relationship between the colonial government and the Korean economic elite, and the nature of Korean collaboration. He conveys a clear sense of the human complexity, archival richness, and intellectual challenge of the historical period. His documentation is thorough; his arguments are compelling and often strikingly innovative.

Hardcover. London, Cornmarket Press Ltd., reprint, 1969, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, 205 pages + advertisement. Reprint of 1911 edition. Part of series of 50 books reprinted in facsimile from originals in the National Maritime Museum Library. B/W illustrations. Fold-out map at end of book. Dust jacket faded and lightly soiled otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, Bloomsbury USA, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 509 pages. The relationship between man and horse on the Eurasian steppe gave rise to a succession of rich nomadic cultures. Among them were the Mongols of the thirteenth century - a small tribe, which, under the charismatic leadership of Genghis Khan, created the largest contiguous land empire in history. Inspired by the extraordinary life nomads lead, Tim Cope embarked on a journey that hadn't been successfully completed since those times: to travel on horseback across the entire length of the Eurasian steppe, from Karakorum, the ancient capital of Mongolia, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Crimea and the Ukraine to the Danube River in Hungary. From horse-riding novice to spending months in the saddle, he learnt to fend off wolves and would-be horse-thieves, and grapple with the haunting extremes of the steppe as he crossed sub-zero plateaux, the scorching deserts of Kazakhstan and the high-mountain passes of the Carpathians. As he travelled he formed a close bond with his horses and especially his dog Tigon, and encountered essential hospitality - the linchpin of human survival on the steppe - from those he met along the way. Cope bears witness to how the traditional ways hang in the balance in the post-Soviet world - an era that has brought new-found freedom, but also the perils of corruption and alcoholism, and left a world bereft of both the Communist system upon which it once relied, and the traditional knowledge of the nomadic forefathers.

Softcover. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 271 pages. Confronting the cultural stereotypes that have been attached to Asian-Americans over the last 150 years, this title seizes the label Oriental and asks where it came from. It shows how the bewildering array of racialized images first proffered by music hall songsters and social commentators have evolved and become generalized to Asian-Americans. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, W. W. Norton , 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 389 pages. Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability. Thousands of years ago, Socrates and Plato warned that written language would be the end of "true knowledge," replacing the need to exercise memory and think through complex questions. Similar arguments were made about the switch from handwritten to printed books, and today about the role of computer technology. By tracing paper's evolution from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the contributions made in Asia and the Middle East, Mark Kurlansky challenges common assumptions about technology's influence, affirming that paper is here to stay. Paper will be the commodity history that guides us forward in the twenty-first century and illuminates our times. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Westport CT, Greenwood Press, reprint, 1981, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, black cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 210 pages. Professor Dunn presents an account of the making of the Japanese peace treaty. He discusses the international environment from the outbreak of World War II to 1950, the San Francisco conference of September 1951 and the security arrangements which the United States helped to create in the Pacific and Asian area. Originally published in 1963 by Princeton. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Softcover. NY, Pantheon Books, 1st, 1982, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 297 pages. This compelling social history uses diaries, memoirs, fiction, trial testimony, personal recollections, and eyewitness accounts to weave a fascinating tale of what ordinary Japanese endured throughout their country's era of economic growth. Through vivid, often wrenching accounts of peasants, miners, textile workers, rebels, and prostitutes, Mikiso Hane forces us to see Japan's "modern century" (from the beginnings of contact with the West to World War II) through fresh eyes. In doing so, he mounts a formidable challenge to the success story of Japan's "economic miracle." Starting with the Meiji restoration of 1868, Hane vividly illustrates how modernization actually widened the gulf, economically and socially, between rich and poor, between the mo-bo and mo-ga ("modern boy" and "modern girl") of the cities and their rural counterparts. He interlaces his scholarly narrative with sharply etched individual stories that allow us see Japan from the bottom up. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Cambridge , Oelgeschlager Gunn & Hain , 1st, 1981, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, dark brown cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 362 pages. An extremely informative and useful study of Thai politics . especially valuable for its description and analysis but also for hard-to-find data on leaders and organizations, which will be of lasting value to scholars and journalists who follow events and history of Thailand. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press , 1st, 1967, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in an edgeworn dust jacket with minor tape repairs. 346 pages. A study of the bakufu, or administrative structure of the predominant ruling family in early modern Japan. The achievements of the Tokugawa family, who gave Japan 250 years of peace, are placed in a broad context through comparisons with contemporary institutional developments in other Asian countries and in Europe. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket, 299 pages, b&w illustrations. How, asks John Terrell in this richly illustrated and original book, can we best account for the remarkable diversity of the Pacific Islanders in biology, language, and custom? Traditionally scholars have recognized a simple racial division between Polynesians, Micronesians, Melanesians, Australians, and South-east Asians: peoples allegedly differing in physical appearance, temperament, achievements, and perhaps even intelligence. Terrell shows that such simple divisions do not fit the known facts and provide little more than a crude, static picture of human diversity. A few pages with light pencil marking, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, Henry Holt and Company, 1st, 1899, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, 411 pages. Hardcover. Previous owners name on inside front cover. Green cloth with gilt title and decoration. Front and rear hinges cracked. Missing front endpaper. Heavy foxing to preliminary pages up to contents page, and last 5 pages at end of book; including map. Front fold-out map at title page and rear most map both badly damaged. Foxing to edges. Moderate wear to covers. Clean, unmarked text.

Softcover. Katonah NY, The Katonah Gallery, 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 48 pages, staplebound quarto paperback, exhibition catalog. Color cover, b&w illustrations throughout.

Hardcover. london, Reaktion Books, 1st, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 444 pages, b&w illustrations. Show People offers a comprehensive history of the idea of the film star from Mary Pickford to Andy Serkis, traversing more than one hundred years and drawing on examples from America, Britain, Europe, and Asia. Renowned film writer Michael Newton explores our enduring love affair with fame, glamour, and the cinematic image. Newton builds up an expansive picture of movie stardom through explorations of striking and diverse figures such as Ingrid Bergman and John Wayne, Anna Karina and Sidney Poitier, Maggie Cheung, and Raj Kapoor. He celebrates the great performers of the past, and he looks forward to developments in the future, while also illuminating the inner workings of the movie industry and what moves us in a film and in an actor's performance. An encyclopedic, illustrated history of film idols ready for their close-ups, Show People is ultimately a book about cinephilia, the love of cinema, and our complex connection to that celebrated and beleaguered figure, the movie star. Clean, like new.

Hardcover. NY, W. W. Norton, 1st, 1992, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. This stimulating and comprehensive collection of original essays on twentieth-century Japan's history and culture provides a unique mix of American and Japanese perspectives on Showa. With an important, substantial Introduction by Carol Gluck, the volume explores the strengths of the Japanese economy, the issue of democracy and Japan's political culture, Japan's achievements in technology and the arts, and its relations with other Asian nations and the United States. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

Hardcover. NY, Rizzoli, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Hardcover, 191 pages. Hardcover. Dust jacket unclipped. Color illustrations throughout. Ginn, a New Zealander who spent three years traveling through the regions covered here, depicts in photographs and explains in brief captions dance traditions in her own country, Australia, the Solomon Islands, India, Burma, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia. Dust jacket has a touch of moisture damage to back. Otherwise clean inside and out. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.