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Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana

Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana


by Stephanie Elizondo Griest

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

The offbeat memoirs of a Texan who spent four years as a volunteer in Moscow, a propaganda officer in Beijing, and a belly dancer in Havana. (RUS242, $14.95)

The Arts of China

The Arts of China


by Michael Sullivan

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A lively survey of Chinese visual arts and culture through the ages, thoroughly illustrated and accessible. With a new chapter on the 20th century and beyond, this fifth edition covers bronzes, ceramics, painting and architecture from the Neolithic to now. (CHN16, $39.95)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress


by Sijie Dai | Ina Rilke

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

A charming, unexpectedly witty, tale of two teenage boys in China sent off to the countryside during Mao's Cultural Revolution. (CHN159, $13.95)

Buddhist Art and Architecture

Buddhist Art and Architecture


by Robert Fisher

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 216 PAGES

A wide-ranging, illustrated survey of Buddhist art, architecture and iconography in the excellent World of Art series. It includes examples from throughout Asia. (ASA30, $19.95)

The China Reader, The Reform Era


by Orville Schell | David Shambaugh

  • HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 553 PAGES

A comprehensive and well-researched sourcebook on China over the last 25 years. (CHN224, $17.95)

China South Map

China South Map


by Nelles

  • 2005
  • MAP

A detailed travel map of Southern China, from Taiwan to Hong Kong and the Yunnan Province, at a 1:1,500,000 scale. (CHN27, $13.95)

Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide

Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide


by Lee Allane

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A guide to the history, techniques and variety of carpets produced throughout China, featuring a helpful buyer's guide. (CHN30, $15.95)

Dragon Lady, The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China

Dragon Lady, The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China


by Sterling Seagrave

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 601 PAGES

Reappraises the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi and portrays a strong, complex woman struggling to keep her country from unraveling. (CHN229, $19.95)

Edge of Empires, Chinese Elites and British Colonials in Hong Kong

Edge of Empires, Chinese Elites and British Colonials in Hong Kong


by John Carroll

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • 274 PAGES

Carroll looks not just at the political history of British Hong Kong but also at the formation of clubs and associations, trade organizations and the role of the Chinese in this perceptive cultural study. (HKG25, $50.50)

Empress Orchid

Empress Orchid


by Anchee Min

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 346 PAGES

In this novel of the glorious, decadent last days of 19th-Century Imperial China, Min (Red Azalea, Becoming Madame Mao) combines her tale of a young girl from the provinces who marries an emperor -- and then improbably becomes the Last Empress -- with a lovingly re-created portrait of life in the Forbidden City. (CHN267, $14.00)

Farewell My Concubine


by Kaige Chen

  • 1993
  • DVD

The moving story of a fifty-year friendship between two men who meet as children in the Peking Opera. (CHN226, $14.99)

Frommer's Hong Kong


by Beth Reiber

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A detailed practical travel guide (with pull-out map), featuring excellent annotated listings of attractions, activities, restaurants, and accomodations. With maps, color photos and suggested excursions. (HKG39, $17.99)

Frommer's Hong Kong


by Beth Reiber

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A detailed practical travel guide (with pull-out map), featuring excellent annotated listings of attractions, activities, restaurants, and accomodations. With maps, color photos and suggested excursions. (HKG39, $17.99)

Frommer's Hong Kong Day by Day


by Alex Ortolani

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 172 PAGES

A compact shirt pocket guide, ideal for a short visit. (CHN511, $12.99)

Frommer's Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing, The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love To Shop

Frommer's Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing, The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love To Shop


by Suzy Gershman

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES

A guide to shopping for designer labels, jade, porcelin and more. (CHN397, $17.99)

The Golden Days


by Cao Xueqin | David Hawkes

  • LITERATURE
  • 1974
  • PAPER
  • 544 PAGES

The classic enchanting love story set in 18th-century China which follows the Jia family and the magical stone at the center of the tale. (CHN223, $17.00)

In the Mood for Love


by Kar Wai Wong

  • 2001
  • DVD

Set in 1962 Hong Kong, this humble romance tells the story of two neighbors who discover that their spouses are having an affair. (HKG20, $39.95)

Insight Guide Southern China & Hong Kong

Insight Guide Southern China & Hong Kong


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

This lavishly illustrated Insight guide includes excellent color maps and thoughtful short essays on history, culture and attractions. (CHN482, $23.95)

Insight Select Hong Kong

Insight Select Hong Kong


by Insight Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES

A handy pocket guide to secret gems and off-beat itinerary ideas for a memorable stay in Hong Kong. With a handpicked list of hotels for all tastes and budgets and travel tips. (CHN675, $15.00)

Knopf Mapguide Shanghai


by Knopf Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 48 PAGES

Full-color foldout maps make this guidebook a handy and practical way to find information on where to go and what to do in the city. (CHN283, $10.95)

The Last Emperor


by Bernardo Bertolucci

  • HISTORY
  • 1987
  • DVD

Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning rendition of the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last emperor of China's Ching Dynasty. (CHN225, $29.95)

Love in a Fallen City

Love in a Fallen City


by Eileen Chang | Karen S. Kingsbury

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 338 PAGES

A major 20th-century Chinese writer, little known in the U.S. (these sparkling translations will go far to change that), Chang wrote these four fascinating novellas and two glittering stories in Japanese-occupied Shanghai in the 1940s. Her work is a revelation, poised tellingly between Confucian tradition and Western modernity. (CHN387, $14.95)

Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh


by David Fraser | Barbara Fraser

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER

An abundantly illustrated study of the textiles of the Chin peoples of southern and eastern Asia. With more than 600 color illustrations. (ASA46, $60.00)

Mao, The Unknown Story

Mao, The Unknown Story


by Jung Chang | John Halliday

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 814 PAGES

In this extraordinary biography Chang (Wild Swans) and her historian husband reveal Mao as a brutal, power-hungry monster with close ties to Joseph Stalin. (CHN301, $20.00)

Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau Restaurants & Hotels


by Michelin Travel Publications

  • FOOD
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

The venerable Michelin Red Guide to dining and lodging in Hong Kong, revised annually. With city maps, telephone numbers, addresses, and a complex series of categories. (HKG41, $16.99)

Michelin Must Sees Hong Kong


by Michelin

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER

A pocket guide to sights and activities, organized thematically. With practical advice on what to do for fun, where to stay and eat, and what to do with kids. (HKG42, $12.99)

Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese Architecture


by Sarah Handler

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 233 PAGES

A beautifully illustrated overview of Ming furniture and its architectural setting. (CHN318, $50.00)

Mobil Hong Kong Macau City Guide


by Mobil Travel Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

Celebrating 50 years, these practical international guides feature the same Mobil star rating system. (HKG40, $17.95)

A Modern History of Hong Kong


by Steve Yui-Sang Tsang

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 340 PAGES

Former director of the Asian Studies Centre at Oxford, Tsang traces the development of the city from the 1841 British occupation to its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. (CHN584, $28.00)

Mountain of Fame, Portraits in Chinese History

Mountain of Fame, Portraits in Chinese History


by John Wills

  • HISTORY
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

An intriguing, novel approach to Chinese history. Instead of marching through the dynasties, Wells illuminates themes and continuities within Chinese tradition through 20 representative personalities. (CHN10, $29.95)

National Geographic China

National Geographic China


by Damian Harper

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 400 PAGES

A generously illustrated guide to China with the usual National Geographic attention to maps and photographs. With a 50-page appendix of practical travel information. (CHN163, $27.95)

Oracle Bones

Oracle Bones


by Peter Hessler

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

In this fine portrait of tumult and tradition, Hessler (River Town) finds clues to modern China's realities in the personal stories of peasants, scholars, day laborers and activists. (CHN316, $15.99)

The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil


by W. Somerset Maugham

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Originally published in 1925, Somerset's moving novel tells the story of a lovestruck adulterous woman whose husband forces her to accompany him to rural China in the midst of a cholera epidemic. (HKG28, $15.00)

Passions of the Cut Sleeve, The Male Homosexual Tradition in China


by Bret Hinsch

  • LITERATURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

A well-written, scholarly survey of the traditions of same-sex male love in Chinese literature. (CHN167, $26.95)

Pimsleur Quick & Simple Chinese (Cantonese)

Pimsleur Quick & Simple Chinese (Cantonese)


by Pimsleur Language Method

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2005
  • AUDIO CD

An audio CD with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Cantonese, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. (CHN279, $19.95)

Pimsleur Quick & Simple Chinese (Mandarin)

Pimsleur Quick & Simple Chinese (Mandarin)


by Pimsleur Language Method

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2005
  • AUDIO CD

Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Mandarin, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. (CHN280, $19.95)

The Retreat of the Elephants, An Environmental History of China

The Retreat of the Elephants, An Environmental History of China


by Mark Elvin

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 564 PAGES

A thorough examination of the damage that has been done to China's environment through war, modernization and new farming developments. (CHN221, $24.00)

Sky Burial, An Epic Love Story of Tibet

Sky Burial, An Epic Love Story of Tibet


by Xinran

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 206 PAGES

Xinran turns the tale of a young Chinese woman's lifelong search for her husband in Tibet, based on an 1994 interview, into a powerful, gut-wrenching tale, evoking the customs, traditions and challenges of contemporary Tibet. (CHN282, $14.95)

Song for the Blue Ocean, Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas

Song for the Blue Ocean, Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas


by Carl Safina

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 458 PAGES

A grand tour of our blue planet, divided geographically, this book is an excellent resource -- fascinating to read and full of hope. It combines a personal journey, hundreds of interviews with fisherman and scientists around the world, and a tour of important watery habitats. (OCE09, $18.99)

Streetlife China

Streetlife China


by Michael Dutton

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

A scholarly collection of essays about the realities of living in modern-day China, by a variety of contributors. (CHN222, $36.00)

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River


by Raynor Shaw | Judy Bonavia

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES

Compact, illustrated and up-to-date, this Odyssey Guide focuses on the most popular 120-mile cruise from Chongqing to Wuhan. (CHN368, $22.95)

Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China


by Arthur Waley

  • RELIGION
  • 1982
  • PAPER
  • 216 PAGES

An elegantly written, classic introduction to traditional Chinese philosophy. (CHN164, $18.95)

To Live


by Yimou Zhang

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1994
  • DVD
  • CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE
    • >

Zhang Yimou's moving film follows one family from the 1940s through the 1960s in China. (CHN227, $19.98)

A Traveller's History of China

A Traveller's History of China


by Stephen G. Haw

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 310 PAGES

An admirably brief, lively history of China from early origins to today, remarkably clear and necessarily condensed. With a historical gazetteer, chronology and list of dynasties. (CHN43, $14.95)

Video Night in Kathmandu, and Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East

Video Night in Kathmandu, and Other Reports from the Not-So-Far East


by Pico Iyer

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1989
  • PAPER
  • 376 PAGES

Iyer brings enormous wit and humor to these classic essays on travel to places including Bali, Hong Kong and Bangkok. (ASA02, $14.95)

Waiting

Waiting


by Ha Jin

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 308 PAGES

A spare, haunting story of a military doctor who tries for 18 years to divorce his peasant wife so he can marry a more sophisticated nurse at his hospital. Greatly evocative of quotidian life in China during the Cultural Revolution and after. (CHN80, $15.00)

Where Hong Kong Cityguide


by Where Magazine

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 64 PAGES

A sturdy pocket guide to top city sights, helpfully keyed to overview maps and featuring a detailed downtown PopOut map. (HKG34, $9.95)

Wild West China, The Taming of Xinjiang

Wild West China, The Taming of Xinjiang


by Christian Tyler

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 336 PAGES

A portrait of the changing face of the Xinjiang region in northwest China. (CHN231, $28.95)

A Woman's Asia

A Woman's Asia


by Marybeth Bond

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 310 PAGES

These thirty-five personal, often hilarious accounts of women's adventures from China to Sri Lanka to Turkey to Bhutan, not only illuminating the everyday, oft-overlooked cultural practices of Asia, but also giving a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the female traveller. (ASA49, $17.95)

World Religions: Eastern Traditions

World Religions: Eastern Traditions


by Willard G. Oxtoby

  • RELIGION
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 515 PAGES

A clear and insightful introduction to Eastern religions by a team of scholars, covering Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist and East Asian traditions. Scholarly, but still rewarding for the general reader. (ASA07, $79.95)

Yangzi River Map

Yangzi River Map


by Richard Perry Hayman

  • 2003
  • MAP

Double-sided, this full-color map guide features photos and 10 maps showing the Yangzi from the Himalayas to the East China Sea. (CHN177, $14.95)

 

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.