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“China’s Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy” by Xiaobing Li
In one sense the title of Xiaobing Li’s biography of Chinese Admiral Liu Huaqing, China’s Mahan, is somewhat misleading because the author concludes that Admiral Liu has more in common with the onetime commander of the Soviet Navy Sergey Gorshkov than with the American naval historian and strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. Admiral Liu himself stated…
“The Moys of New York and Shanghai: One Family’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Revolution”
In one of the cases of history not so much repeating itself as rhyming, the current trend of Chinese Americans…
“The Corpse Collector”
Vinu P is a “corpse collector”; that is, he retrieves the bodies of those who die “unnatural” deaths—victims of accidents,…
“Trading at the Edge of Empires Francesco Carletti’s World, c. 1600”
At the turn of the 17th century, Florentine Francesco Carletti left from Seville with his father Antonio for Cape Verde,…“Writing Between Languages: Translation and Multilingualism in Indian Francophone Writing” by Sheela Mahadevan
Much of the contemporary Indian literary landscape features writing in English and Indian languages, but Sheela Mahadevan points to the…
“The Craft of Indo-Arabic Numerals: How Practical Arithmetic Shaped Commerce and Mathematics in Western Europe, 1200-1600” by Raffaele Danna
There is, despite the title, very little that is Asian in Raffaele Danna’s new The Craft of Indo-Arabic Numerals. The subtitle—How Practical Arithmetic Shaped Commerce and Mathematics in Western Europe, 1200-1600—tells it all. However, the numerals themselves—concepts of great intellectual depth and practical value—came to the West from the Arabs, and originated in India (hence…
“Troubled Waters” by Ichiyo Higuchi
Ichiyo Higuchi, a contemporary of Anton Chekhov, Henry James, O Henry and Colette, may well be the most acclaimed and influential writer you have (perhaps) never heard of. Revered in Japan (she appeared in the ¥5,000 banknote for two decades this century), she is far less well-known in English than either late 19th-century European writers…
“Earth, Water & Fire” by Eiji Yoshikawa
Miyamoto Musashi (ca 1583–1645) was a heroic figure of Japanese history, a master swordsman revered as a kensei, or “sword…
“Murder in Byzantium” by Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva is one of the most formidable minds in contemporary literary and cultural theory, the Bulgarian-born, Paris-based intellectual who…
“The Young Will Remember” by Eve J Chung
A number of female war correspondents and photographers covered the Korean War for the American media, although much of this…
“Hooked: A Novel of Obsession” by Asako Yuzuki
Asako Yuzuki came onto the English literary scene with her best-selling novel, Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder, based…
“The Competition of Unfinished Stories” by Sener Ozmen
Sertac Karan, a Turkish-Kurd and the protagonist of this absurdist black comedy, is a would-be writer who is alienated from society and much given to procrastination. From childhood, his exorbitant imagination shines at creating outlandish characters, which, when he is an adult, will become actual delusions, as his fantasies invade and undermine conventional reality. First…
“Owls in the Ginza” by Suzanne Kamata
Thinking of leaving the country? Does the life of a digital nomad beckon to you? Suzanne Kamata has been there, done that, and is still doing it. Living in Japan…
“Nourishing Life: Cultures of Food and Health in Early Modern Japan”
Can food determine your fate? Could indulging in delicacies bring calamity to your community? Joshua Schlachet’s Nourishing Life reevaluates the history of Japanese food culture by examining how ideas of…
“Mantras of the Moon” by Srijani Mitra
Mantras of the Moon is a luminous collection of poems born from the desire to explore the self, memory, and Indian heritage. These poems weave together psychology, mythology, desire, and…
“Torikaebaya Monogatari: A Japanese Tale of Gender-Swapped Siblings”
Torikaebaya Monogatari is a twelfth-century Japanese tale like no other. As suggested by its title, which literally translates to “if only I could exchange them” (torikaebaya) “story” (monogatari), it follows…
“Samurai” by Rosina Buckland and Oleg Benesch
Lavishly illustrated, Samurai explores the reality and myths of the samurai from medieval times to today’s popular culture through objects from international collections. Essays by scholars throughout the book discuss…
“Observing the Unseen: Curiosity and Common Knowledge in Early Modern China” by Andrew Schonebaum
Observing the Unseen explores how literate and marginally literate people in China between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries investigated the invisible, the ubiquitous, and the inexplicable. Whether through medical encyclopedias, daily-use…
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