1421, The Year China Discovered America  •  Gavin Menzies HISTORY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES Former submarine commander Menzies' provocative argument that the largest fleet of ships the world had ever seen, navigated by the Chinese, discovered America 70 years before Columbus. Discredited by most scholars, it is nonetheless interesting reading. (CHN216, $15.95)
About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship With China  •  James Mann HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES Written by a journalist who lived in China in the late 1980s, this book follows and analyzes the course of Chinese-American associations through the 20th century. While political ideologies split these two nations, they are inevitably linked in the world of international trade and power struggles. (CHN111, $16.95)
The Analects of Confucius  •  D. C. Lao  •  Confucius RELIGION •  1979 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES A popular and acclaimed modern translation of the writing of Confucius, an essential introduction to the man and his thoughts. Includes explanatory notes. (CHN123, $12.00)
Ancient China, Life, Myth And Art  •  Edward L. Shaughnessy HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A brief survey of the artistic, social, cultural, scientific, mathematic, musical, and literary achievements of ancient China. Shaughnessy presents, through informed text, 80 photographs and 30 illustrations, Buddhist cave paintings, the Terracotta Army, examples of calligraphy and silks, and many more fine examples of the marvels of the ancient Chinese world. (CHN285, $23.00)
Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana  •  Stephanie Elizondo Griest BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES The offbeat memoirs of a native Texan who spent four years as a volunteer in Moscow, a propaganda officer in Beijing, and a belly dancer in Havana. You may have come across Griest's distinctive voice in a collection of Travelers' Tales, where she is a regular contributor. She's young, a witty observer with a way with words, and utterly passionate about travel. This is her first book, as much memoir as travel account, spanning four years and three continents. (RUS242, $14.95)
Art in China  •  Craig Clunas ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 255 PAGES A compact, well-illustrated handbook to art in China with sections on Tomb, Court and Temple Art, art of the Elite and commercial art. Clunas touches on the full range of arts in China from the Neolithic throught eh 20th century with appropriate emphasis is placed on religious art and the products of the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. With hundreds of full color, often full page, illustrations and maps. (CHN247, $27.95)
Asian Games, The Art of Contest  •  Irving Finkel  •  Colin Mackenzie ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 325 PAGES A catalogue for an exhibtiion at New York's Asia Society, this book showcases 2,000 years worth of art, objects and equipment depicting and used in games throughout Asia. (CHN317, $45.00)
Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture  •  Sarah Handler ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 417 PAGES A stunningly illustrated survey of hardwood furniture in China from its earliest origins in the Shang dynasty (c. 1500 to c. 1050 B.C.) to the present. Sarah Handler is an art historian who specializes in Chinese furniture, architecture and related arts. With 118 color illustrations and 204 black-and-white photographs. (CHN319, $70.00)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress  •  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. This slim novel celebrates the power of stories and literature and the imagination. (CHN159, $12.95)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress  •  Xun Zhou 2005 •  DVD In this film by by Xun Zhou (based on the novel), two teenage boys are sent off to the countryside in Mao's Cultural Revolution in 1971. Run time of 111 minutes. (CHN327, $26.98)
Bamboo Shoots After the Rain, Contemporary Stories by Women Writers of Taiwan  •  Ann C. Carver  •  Sung-Sheng Y. Chang ANTHOLOGY •  1990 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES An anthology of 14 stories by three generations of Taiwanese women from the 1940s to the 1980s, dealing with issues of sexuality, tradition and politics. (TWN02, $16.95)
Becoming Madame Mao  •  Anchee Min LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 330 PAGES In this fine example of historical fiction, Min (Red Azalea) sketches with powerful strokes the arc of the life the woman who would become Madame Mao. She paints Jiang Ching in all her horrible, compelling and vindictive glory. The novel is not only a portrait of a damaged woman but of China throughout much of the 20th Century. (CHN304, $13.95)
Before the Deluge, The Vanishing World of the Yangtze's Three Gorges  •  Deirdre Chetham CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2004 •  PAPER  • 306 PAGES • COMING IN A vivid portrait of the Three Gorges region of the Upper Yangtze River by the Director of the Asia Center at Harvard -- and veteran lecturer on study trips to China. Chetham offers a personal, detailed glimpse into the daily life along the river, its spectacular natural beauty and checkered history. She also considers the recent efforts to tame the river, culminating with the massive Three Gorges dam. Highly recommended. (CHN132, $19.95)
Beijing Map  •  Borch Maps 2007 •  MAP This laminated, folded map of the city center of Beijing, at a scale of 1:24,000 notes 2008 Olympic venues, attractions, a map of the metro and ddetailed inset maps of key attractions. With an index and Chinese characters for key place names, very useful for getting around by taxi. (CHN199, $8.95)
Between Mecca and Beijing, Modernization and Consumption Among Urban Chinese Muslims  •  Maris Boyd Gillette CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES Published by Stanford University, this scholarly paper looks at how the Hui people of Xi'an -- ethnic Muslims -- have negotiated the right to religious freedom in the PRC. It focuses especially on their eating habits. (CHN180, $23.95)
Beyond the Stone Arches, An American Missionary Doctor in China, 1892-1932  •  Edward Bliss, Jr. BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A memoir of the author's physician father and his work in China at the turn of the 20th century by the broadcast journalist Edward Bliss. (CHN95, $24.95)
Big Dragon, The Future of China  •  Daniel Burstein  •  Arne de Keijzer HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES An overview of China's culture, economy, and emergence as a superpower. The authors focus on future prospects and the increasingly important foreign relations with the U.S. Burstein, an investment banker, focuses on opportunities for engagement and trade. (CHN208, $26.95)
Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain Around the World  •  John Carswell ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES This beautifully illustrated and scholarly survey shows the development and history of Chinese Blue and White porcelain, developed for trade during the height of the Medieval Mongol Empire and, thus, transported throughout Asia to the Mediterranean world. Carswell brings to the book an artist's eye and his knowledge of 13th to 16th-century trade routes. In looking at the exchange between China and the rest of the world over this period, he traces the impact of Islamic and other influences on Chinese potters and European fascination with chinoiserie. With 130 color reproductions from museums and private collections, including the British Museum (which originally published the book). Carswell was curator of the Oriental Institute Museum and director of the Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Chicago. (CAS95, $65.00)
Bones of the Master, A Journey to Secret Mongolia  •  George Crane TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES An odd, captivating biography of a 75-year-old Zen monk who escaped Inner Mongolia in the wake of China's Great Leap Forward in 1959, and the tale of his unlikely journey back to China with next-door-neighbor, friend and poet George Crane. It's a powerful story and not a bad introduction to Chinese history and Ch'an Buddhism. (CHN96, $17.00)
Bradt Guide The Great Wall of China  •  Thammy Evans GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 278 PAGES Practical, reliable and up-to-date, this Bradt guide covers Beijing and northern China in companionable detail. With 35 local and town maps, chapters on Dandong, Hebei and Tainjin, Bejing Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu, and a general overview of people, culture and history. (CHN351, $22.95)
Bridge of Birds  •  Barry Hughart LITERATURE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A novel of whimsy and fantasy set in ancient China, following the fantastic and humorous quest for the Great Root of Power, the only cure for a town overrun by illness. (CHN117, $7.50)
Brothers, A Novel  •  Da Chen LITERATURE •  2006 •  HARD COVER The tale of two estranged brothers, one illegitimate who grew up trapped in a hellish orphanage, and the other the acknowledged son of a powerful general. The two grow up to take opposite sides in China's Cultural Revolution in this first novel. (CHN383, $25.00)
Buddha  •  Karen Armstrong RELIGION •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES A concise, thought-provoking biography of the Buddha in the Penguin Lives series, written by one of the foremost experts on world religions. A member of the Association of Muslim Social Services in Jerusalem, Karen Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who teaches Judaism. Her many books include: A History of God; Islam, a Short History; and Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths. She has also written a biography of Mohammed. (REL09, $14.00)
Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey  •  Kenneth Ch'en RELIGION •  1972 •  PAPER  • 560 PAGES A well organized, scholarly history of the development of Mahayana Buddhism in China, originally published in 1964. It's a popular college text, covering 2,000 years of Buddhism from its birth in India to the modern period. Ch'en pays particular attention to Buddhism in the T'ang Dynasty. With a glossary, list of Chinese names, and bibliography. (CHN151, $46.95)
Buddhism in Chinese History  •  Arthur F Wright RELIGION •  1983 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES This standard short survey by a leading scholar of premodern China is a popular required text for university courses on Chinese history and religion. Originally published in 1959 and conversational in tone, the book is based on six lectures on the transformation of Chinese culture by Buddhism. With a small section of black-and-white photogaphs. (CHN131, $19.95)
Buddhism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places  •  Malcolm David Eckel RELIGION •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 112 PAGES A concise introduction to the theology and social practice of Buddhism. Eckel, a professor of East Asian religion at Boston University, uses short primary sources to help readers understand Buddhism in its own words. (CHN248, $17.95)
Buddhist Art and Architecture  •  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, $18.95)
The Cambridge Illustrated History of China  •  Patricia Buckley Ebrey HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A concise, handsomely illustrated survey of Chinese history. Organized chronologically, this book marches confidently through 8,000 years of Chinese civilization, balancing social issues with politics and culture. With maps and an excellent selection of accompanying photographs, many in color. (CHN79, $36.99)
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An)  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1976 •  PAPER  • 237 PAGES Van Gulilk's translation of 18th-century Chinese detective stories: The Case of the Double Murder at Dawn, The Case of the Strange Corpse, and The Case of the Poisoned Bride. This is the book that launched the Dutch diplomat and scholar's Judge Dee detective series, drawn from Chinese traditions. (CHN300, $8.95)
Celestial Realm, the Yellow Mountains of China  •  Wang Wusheng NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 239 PAGES An informative photographic portrait of Mt. Huangshan, the mist-shrouded grantite peaks of the Yellow Mountains in southern Anhui Province, celebrated by Chinese landscape painters. (CHN371, $55.00)
Central China Map  •  Nelles MAP An excellent shaded relief map in the regional series by Nelles, at a scale of 1:1,500,000. It's an attractive map at a much-better-than-usual scale which covers from Shanghai west across the country, including Xian, Three Gorges and other popular destinations. (CHN65, $10.95)
The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Winds  •  Jonathan Spence HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES Beginning with the narrative of Marco Polo, Spence uses the accounts of historical European figures to survey the West's views of China and the transformations of these perceptions over time. (CHN276, $16.95)
The Changing Face of China, From Mao to Market  •  John Gittings HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 372 PAGES A lively history of China from 1949 to the present by a journalist and China expert. Gittings was East Asia corespondent for The Guardian from 1983-2003. (CHN307, $19.95)
Chasing the Monk's Shadow  •  Mishi Saran TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 456 PAGES Traveling in the footsteps of 7th-century Buddhist monk Xuanzang, Mishi Saran explores the historical, cultural and religious legacies of the Silk Road in China, Central Asia and India. (CHN372, $26.95)
Chasing the Panda  •  Michael Kiefer TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 230 PAGES Subtitled: How an Unlikely Pair of Adventurers Won the Race to Capture the Mythical "White Bear", this engaging book unearths the spellbinding tale of a charismatic young Chinese American and American socialite Ruth Harkness, and their successful expedition into remote Sichuan in 1936 to recover a panda bear. The panda cub (though it lived only 16 months in the Brookfield Zoo) caused a sensation. The author, who had originally intended to write about Harkness, interviewed the elderly Quentin Young and his brother Jack for the book. (CHN166, $24.95)
China Candid, The People on the People's Republic  •  Sang Ye HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES Journalist Sang Ye (China Lives) brings together interviews with 26 citizens from all over the country for this people's history of modern China. (CHN347, $21.95)
China Map  •  Geocart MAP This folded country map at a scale of 1:4,000,000. shows all of China on one side of a 39 X 52 sheet. (CHN360, $15.95)
China Men  •  Maxine Hong Kingston LITERATURE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 308 PAGES A novel of three generations of Chinese men adjusting to life in America, drawn from experience and traditional Chinese stories. (CHN118, $14.95)
China Pop: How Soap Operas, Tabloids and Bestsellers are Transforming a Culture  •  Jianying Zha HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 210 PAGES A history of contemporary China as seen through its pop culture. Zha, who now lives in the U.S., is an entertaining and insightful guide on how television, pulp novels and other recent innovations are impacting traditional Chinese culture and society. (CHN277, $13.00)
The China Reader, The Reform Era  •  Orville Schell  •  David Shambaugh HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 553 PAGES This sourcebook on contemporary China includes first-hand material by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, along with insightful essays by several scholars on the culture and politics of China over the last 25 years. Dean of the graduate school of journalism at Berkeley and a China scholar, Schell is also the author of Mandate of Heaven and Virtual Tibet. Co-editor and contributor David Shambaugh, professor at George Washington University, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. (CHN224, $17.95)
China the Balance Sheet, What the World Needs to Know about the Emerging Superpower  •  Bates Gill  •  C. Fred Bergsten HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A fact-filled, academic report on Chinese colossus by teams at the Centre for Strategic International Studies and the Institute for International Economics, both think tanks on international economic policy in Washington D.C. (CHN354, $13.95)
China to 1850, A Short History  •  Charles O. Hucker HISTORY •  1977 •  PAPER  • 162 PAGES A scholarly history of China from the beginning to the Opium Wars. (CHN341, $15.95)
China Wakes, The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power  •  Nicholas Kristoff  •  Sheryl WuDunn CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  PAPER  • 501 PAGES This book is an engrossing, disturbing portrait of contemporary China and its cultural dissidents. The authors journeyed from Tibet to Tiananmen, reporting in depth on a nation struggling to hold onto tradition while modernizing its economy. (CHN33, $16.95)
China Wall Map  •  National Geographic 1997 •  MAP A wall map of China from the cartographers at National Geographic, at a scale of 1:7,800,000. Price includes priority shipping in a sturdy cardboard tube. (CHN197, $14.99)
China's New Cultural Scene, A Handbook of Changes  •  Marie Claire Huot HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 258 PAGES A discussion of China's culture in relation to traditional society and the traumatic events of the last fifty years. Huot discusses music from rock to rap, television, theater, and literature. She pays special attention to cinema. Includes an index of artists and works, and a glossary of Chinese words. (CHN330, $22.95)
China, Inc. How the Rise of the Next Superpower Changes America and the World (Audio Version)  •  Ted C. Fishman HISTORY •  2005 •  AUDIO CD An audio version of a bestselling economic history of China over the last 30 years and lively guide to understanding China's spectacular economic growth and future prospects. Fishman draws on statistics, case studies, and interviews to document the rapid transformation from economic backwater to industrial behemoth. Read by Alan Sklar. (CHN377, $39.99)
China, The Panda Adventure  •  Robert M. Young NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  DVD A dramatization of the true-life travels and travails of Ruth Harkness and her 1936 journey. The film, originally presented in IMAX theatres, is a visually stunning introduction to the giant panda, its history, conservation and habitats. Starring Maria Bello as the fiercely independent New York socialite Harkness. DVD (CHN302, $9.98)
The Chinese  •  Jasper Becker CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES An insightful, up-to-date account of the contradictions, diversity and potential in contemporary Chinese society and economy, by a veteran journalist and astute observer. (CHN97, $21.95)
Chinese (Mandarin), Start Speaking Today!  •  Educational Services Corporation LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1993 •  AUDIO CD A 90-minute crash course in Mandarin featured in two compact discs and a phrasebook packaged in a vinyl sleeve. Geared for travelers, the course follows the foreign service method -- which focuses on dialogues and useful sentences instead of individual words. In each case, an English phrase is spoken once, and repeated in Mandarin twice. Topics include introductions, transportation, business and health. (CHN92, $21.95)
The Chinese Alchemist  •  Lyn Hamilton MYSTERY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES In the search for an 8th century Tang Dynasty silver box, antiques dealer Laura McClintoch stumbles into a dangerous realm of murder and intrigue. (CHN384, $7.99)
Chinese Art  •  Mary Tregear ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES A quick, but surprisingly thorough survey of Chinese art, including calligraphy and painting, sculpture and ceramics, as well as garden design, architecture, and various crafts. Part of the "World of Art" series, it is illustrated throughout. (CHN153, $18.95)
Chinese Art & Culture  •  Richard Ellis Vinograd  •  Robert L. Thorp HISTORY •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 440 PAGES A fine introduction to more than 7,000 years of Chinese art, from the Neolithic jade carving and Ming pottery to contemporary installations, video and performance. The handsomely produced book is not as much an overview of well known masterpieces as an investigation of a continuously evolving tradition. (CHN94, $85.00)
The Chinese Bell Murders  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES These historical mysteries, featuring a Tang-era Chinese magistrate, are taken from the tradition of Chinese suspense novels. Apart from the pleasure of the elaborate plots, the books are rich in details of court and daily life in ancient China. This is the first installment in Van Gulik's satisyingly complex series. (CHN286, $13.95)
Chinese Buddhist Art  •  Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 96 PAGES A very short overview of Chinese Buddhist art with 24 black-and-white and 24 color illustrations in the Oxford University Press Images of Asia series. (CHN252, $24.95)
Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era  •  Deborah Davis  •  Stevan Harrell HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A collection of scholarly essays on contemporary Chinese family structures, both rural and urban, intellectual and working class, contributed by eleven experts. (CHN203, $37.95)
Chinese Feasts & Festivals, A Cookbook  •  S.C. Moey FOOD •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES Recipes, illustrations and accompanying text about Chinese culture, traditions and celebrations. (CHN367, $31.95)
The Chinese Garden  •  Joseph Cho Wang ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 72 PAGES A slim, illustrated guide to Chinese garden design and traditions in the Images of Asia series. With 19 color and 24 black-and-white photographs of gardens in Suzhou and Yangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Joseph Cho Wang is professor of architecture at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. (CHN233, $24.95)
The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture  •  Maggie Keswick NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 240 PAGES An oversized illustrated survey of Chinese gardens, updated and expanded in this third edition by Alison Hardie. First published 25 years ago, the book is a classic survey of the symbolism, meaning and beauty of Chinese gardens. With 120 color photographs, 82 black-and-white photographs and 23 illustrations. (CHN198, $39.95)
The Chinese Gold Murders  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  2004 •  PAPER These historical mysteries, featuring a Tang-era Chinese magistrate, are taken from the tradition of Chinese detective novels. Apart from the pleasure of the elaborate plots, the books are rich in details of court and daily life in ancient China. In this installment, a series of murders greet Judge Dee newly appointed as magistrate of Penglai, a port city on the northeast coast of Shantung Province. (CHN289, $13.95)
The Chinese Have a Word for It, The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture  •  Boye Lafayette De Mente CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES De Mente introduces readers to the history and culture of China through a study of the country's language. Over 300 words and phrases from ai (love) to zuxian (revering your ancestors) are analyzed for their cultural significance. More than a linguistic study, this book is also a practical companion for any traveler to China hoping to avoid cultural faux pas. (CHN185, $17.95)
The Chinese Lake Murders  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 216 PAGES These historical mysteries, featuring a Tang-era Chinese magistrate, are taken from the tradition of Chinese suspense novels. Apart from the pleasure of the elaborate plots, the books are rich in details of court and daily life in ancient China. In this book, third in Van Gulik's classic series, set in 666, Judge Dee tackes three difficult cases as the newly appointed magistrate of Han-yuan. (CHN288, $12.95)
The Chinese Maze Murders  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES Judge Dee solves three interwoven mysteries (all involving the governor's garden maze) in this installment: The Case of the Murder in the Sealed Room, The Case of the Hidden Testament, and The Case of the Girl with the Severed Head. (CHN295, $11.00)
The Chinese Nail Murders  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  2005 •  PAPER These historical mysteries, featuring a Tang-era Chinese magistrate, follow the tradition of ancient Chinese suspense novels. Apart from the pleasure of the elaborate plots, the books are rich in details of court and daily life in ancient China. In this book set on the northern frontier of Pei-chow, Judge Dee must solve the murders of an honored merchant, a kindly boxing master, and a paper merchant's wife, whose corpse has no head. The nail murder is based on a 13th-century tale. This is the fourth installment of Robert Van Gulik's classic Chinese mystery series. (CHN292, $12.95)
Chinese Poetry, An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres  •  Wai-Lim Yip LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 360 PAGES Wai-Lim Yip combs the literature for the finest and more unusual examples of poems from Chinese traditions. (CHN174, $24.95)
Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide  •  Lee Allane GUIDEBOOK •  1994 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES A guide to the history, techniques and variety of carpets produced throughout China, including typical motifs and materials. It features a practical guide to price and quality for the prospective buyer. (CHN30, $15.95)
Chinese, A Language Map  •  Kristinek Kershul LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2001 •  PLASTIC CARD This durable, foldout card, featuring 1,000 words and phrases, works as a quick reference for travelers. (CHN284, $7.95)
Communism, A History  •  Richard Pipes HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A short, fiercely critical history of communism from the ideas of Karl Marx to the end of the 20th century by the Harvard historian and critic of the Soviet Union (which is the focus of much of the book). A volume in the excellent Modern Library chronicles series. (GEN367, $13.95)
Conquering the Desert of Death, Across the Taklamakan  •  Charles Blackmore  •  Peter Hopkirk EXPLORATION •  2008 •  PAPER  • 268 PAGES An account of Major Blackmore's extraordinary two-month-long, 780-mile trek across the high dunes of remote Xianjiang, first published in 1995. His Anglo-Chinese expedition was the first to cross the full length of the Tarim Basin. The sole woman in the team, Carolyn Ellis, was one of two expedition members to walk the entire route without once riding a camel. (CAS68, $16.95)
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon  •  Chow Yun Fat 2004 •  DVD In this martial arts fantasy, epic battles and sweeping romance unfold in Imperial China. Featuring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Run time of 120 minutes. (CHN329, $14.94)
Culture Shock! China  •  Iris Wong Po-Yee  •  Kevin Sinclair GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Written for the businessman, resident or traveler, this guide is a lively introduction to modern Chinese culture and manners. Its focus is on customs and business etiquette. (CHN204, $15.95)
A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman  •  Lao Toai-Taoi Ning BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1990 •  PAPER  • 254 PAGES Ning recalls that "from the time I was conceived, the fortunes of my family went down." Born in 1867 and never formally educated, Ning met with one hardship after another as she struggled to support her children without much help from her opium-addicted husband. An inspiring account of a lively and driven woman. Originally published in 1945, Ning's tale was told to the American writer Ida Pruitt, born in China. (CHN274, $22.95)
Daughter of the River, An Autobiography  •  Hong Ying BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES Originally titled "Daughter of Hunger," this ia a thoroughly engaging, inspirational autobiography of a young woman writer coming of age during the Great Famine of China. Hong Ying provides a vivid account of growing up on the banks of the Yangtze River amongst severe impoverishment, political oppression and intense familial strain. This is an honest story of a woman's struggle for civil liberation in a land whose river symbolizes, for her, the spirit and unity of her people. Translated from Chinese by Howard Goldblatt. (CHN240, $14.00)
Death of a Red Heroine  •  Qui Xiaolong MYSTERY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES Marvelously evocative of Shanghai, and tremendously informative about China's transition towards a market economy in the 1990's, this award-winning debut of Inspector Chen of the Shanghai police is also a real page-turner. The poet Chen Cao is a chief inspector almost by accident, and must negotiate Communist party politics and his own troubled love life as he attempts to solve the murder of a beautiful woman. It sounds cliche, but is very deftly handled. Winner of several mystery awards. (CHN374, $14.00)
The Death of Woman Wang  •  Jonathan Spence LITERATURE •  1978 •  PAPER  • 169 PAGES The turbulent saga about a runaway wife who is murdered by her husband, set in 17th century China and written by one of the foremost western scholars on China. (CHN58, $14.00)
Did Marco Polo Go to China?  •  Frances Wood EXPLORATION •  1998 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES A critical look at the manuscripts and evidence regarding this most famous of journeys, Wood's book raises fascinating questions as to the authenticity of the travel journals written while Marco Polo was in prison in Genoa. (CAS28, $35.00)
Dragon Lady, The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China  •  Sterling Seagrave BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1993 •  PAPER  • 601 PAGES (CHN229, $18.95)
Dream of the Red Chamber  •  Chi-Chen Wang  •  Tsao Hsueh-Chin LITERATURE •  1958 •  PAPER  • 329 PAGES An ill-fated affair between two doomed lovers is the basis for China's most loved novel. Written in the 18th-century, the stunning and engaging story is a wonderful introduction to China at that time. The beauty of the tale is captured by Wang's careful yet abridged translation -- in Chinese, the work is three times the size. As much a part of Chinese collective consciousness as Romeo and Juliet is for Western readers, the story is the basis for a popular television series and theme park in China. (CHN192, $14.95)
East Asia, Tradition and Transformation  •  John Fairbank  •  Edwin O. Reischauer  •  Albert M. Craig HISTORY •  1990 •  HARD COVER  • 1027 PAGES A sprawling history of China and Japan, covering ancient through modern times. (ASA18, $171.96)
Emperor of China, Self-Portrait of K'Ang-His  •  Jonathan Spence CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1988 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES (CHN358, $14.95)
The Emperor's Pearl  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 186 PAGES In this installment the time is 699 A.D. The place is Poo-yang, a large flourishing district in Kaingsu Province, where Judge Dee must investigate two deaths -- the heart failure of a rower in the annual boat race and a murder committed in a deserted and possibly haunted country estate. Folklore surrounding the River Goddess, the lost Emperor's pearl, and the cultivation of herbs plays a role in the mystery, as does the beautiful, mute, mad wife of a wealthy merchant. (CHN296, $12.00)
Empress Orchid  •  Anchee Min LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 346 PAGES A 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. Pearl Buck told a much more romanticized tale of the same remarkable woman in Imperial Woman. (CHN267, $14.00)
Farewell My Concubine  •  Kaige Chen 1993 •  DVD The moving story of a fifty-year friendship between two men who meet as children in the Peking Opera. Their friendship continues against the backdrop of China's tumultuous political history, as their roles as king and concubine become widely recognized throughout the region, and as a beautiful woman almost comes between them. (CHN226, $14.99)
Feather in the Storm, A Childhood Lost in Chaos  •  Emily Wu BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES Wu's unsentimental account of coming of age during the devastation, chaos and horror of Mao's Cultural Revolution, told through the voice of a child. Now living in California, Wu survived and flourished against overwhelming odds. (CHN381, $26.00)
A Field Guide to the Birds of China  •  John MacKinnon  •  Karen Phillipps FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 586 PAGES A comprehensive field guide to the birds of China, featuring 128 color plates illustrating 1,300 species of birds, with introductory chapters on the history of ornithology in China, biogeography and conservation. Range maps are organized on adjacent pages to the illustrations. The book also includes a list of endemic, threatened and endangered species. Principal author John MacKinnon has also written "Wild China", "A Photoguide to the Birds of China" and "A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali." (CHN85, $116.25)
The First Emperor of China  •  Liu Hao Xue CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2002 •  DVD This historical drama, originally appearing in IMAX theatres, features documentary footage of Qin's life-sized terracotta army, constructed almost 2,200 years ago in Xi'an for his celebrated tomb. Narrated by Christopher Plummer. 40 minutes. (CHN303, $14.99)
Five T'ang Poets  •  David Young LITERATURE •  1990 •  PAPER A collection of T-ang poetry, chosen, edited and translated by David Young, by Li Shang-yin, Wang Wei, Li Po, Tu Fu and Li Ho. (CHN157, $14.95)
Flashman and the Dragon  •  George MacDonald Fraser LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES The eighth entry in Fraser's popular series of 19th-century adventures starring Harry Flashman, the womanizing rogue and international troublemaker. This book, set in 1860s China, is rich in historical detail -- and comedy. Fraser helpfully includes maps of Shanghai and the Yangtse, Peking, Canton and Macau, all of which feature prominently in the text. Our reluctant hero is hoodwinked into joining the Teiping Rebellion, participates in the Seige of Nanking and ends up as a plaything of the Dowager Empress at the Summer Palace. (CHN116, $15.00)
Fodor's Beijing and Shanghai  •  Emmanuelle Morgen  •  Deborah Kaufman GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 251 PAGES A practical, frequently revised guide to Beijing and Shanghai featuring hundreds of annotated listings of where to eat, stay and shop. (CHN253, $17.95)
Fodor's Beijing's 25 Best  •  Fodors GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES This slim book includes a separate full-color map of the center of Beijing, along with a handy 96-page shirt-pocket guide with essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (CHN48, $11.95)
Fodor's China  •  David Allan GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER A practical, frequently revised guide to China featuring hundreds of annotated listings of where to eat, stay and shop. (CHN314, $24.95)
Fodor's Exploring China  •  Christopher Knowles GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES • BEST SELLER This excellent series has done it again with a stylish guidebook laced with maps and color photos that brings to life old and contemporary China. With separate sections on suggested places to visit, recommended walks, practical information including travel facts, the basics of communications, climate, money, electricity, photography, and transportation, descriptions of restaurants and hotels, ratings of sights, a language guide with Chinese phrases and numbers, a chronology of dynasties and historic events, even a small section on traditional arts and crafts, and chapters on the Silk Road, Beijing, and Xi'an, this is a complete and handy reference for any trip to China. (CHN25, $22.00)
Fodor's Hong Kong's 25 Best  •  Fodor's GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES A shirt-pocket guide to Hong Kong, this slim book includes an excellent map of the center of the city and essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing -- all in a slipcover. (HKG09, $11.95)
The Forbidden City, Center of Imperial China  •  Gilles Beguin  •  Dominique Morel HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 144 PAGES This slim volume is packed with maps, archival photographs and illustrations. A surprisingly effective overview of Beijing's Imperial Court, with a useful chronology, and a carefully chosen selection of writings over the ages. Part of the acclaimed "Discoveries" series of references that fit in your pocket, for travelers it's an indispensable and handy guide to the Forbidden City and the history of Imperial China. (CHN32, $12.95)
A Fortune-Teller Told Me, Earthbound Travels in the Far East  •  Tizanio Terzani TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 371 PAGES Grounded for a year, the peripatetic journalist (Italian-born, writing in German, and based in India) sets off by any other means to complete his rounds through Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Mongolia, China, Japan and other far-flung destinations. The result is this warm, anecdotal account of the character of the region. It's got to be the book most recommended to us on contemporary Asia. (SEA35, $14.95)
Fried Eggs With Chopsticks  •  Polly Evans TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES An English jounalist based in Hong Kong, Evans sets our to expore in this entertaining, lighthearted account of adventures in China. One in a series of books on her encounters around the world, including It's Not About the Tapas and Kiwis Might Fly. (CHN362, $14.00)
Frommer's Beijing  •  Frommer's GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER A practical guide in the popular series, strong on where to eat, sleep and shop. (CHN346, $16.99)
Frommer's China  •  Peter Neville-Hadley GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 843 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide in the popular series, focusing on attractions, restaurants and accommodations. An excellent planning tool, it also features useful language and menu guides. (CHN207, $24.99)
Frommer's Shanghai  •  J.D. Brown GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A practical guide in the popular series, strong on where to eat, sleep and shop. (CHN220, $17.99)
Frontiers of Heaven, A Journey to the End of China  •  Stanley Stewart TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES A British journalist with wanderlust and a way with the pen, Stewart recounts his rough journey halfway across Asia from Shanghai to Xinjiang along the Great Wall. He mixes descriptions of his travels and encounters with history, geography and wit. Winner of the 1996 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. (CHN237, $14.95)
Fruitful Sites, Garden Culture in Ming Dynasty China  •  Craig Clunas HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES This book will appeal to serious students of garden history and landscape art. Written by an art historian who teaches at the University of Sussex, it's a study of Ming-era (1450-1650) gardens in the Jiangnan Valley of the Yangtze, especially in wealthy Suzhou and to a lesser extent in Hangzhou. With 48 illustrations. (CHN175, $24.95)
Gardens in China  •  Peter Valder NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 400 PAGES A gorgeous book featuring over 500 color photographs of Chinese gardens in 11 provinces. The Australian horticulturalist Peter Valder first traveled to China in 1980, his imagination fired by 19th-century plant hunters' accounts of adventure. He discusses gardening in Yunnan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, as well as on Hainan island. (CHN176, $59.95)
The Gate of Heavenly Peace, The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980  •  Jonathan Spence HISTORY •  1982 •  PAPER  • 516 PAGES Jonathan Spence, a prolific scholar of Chinese history at Yale, delivers a portrait of Chinese revolution, combining straightforward political history with an intriguing selection of materials by poets, artists and intellectuals. With notes, bibliography and index. (CHN195, $18.00)
The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention  •  Robert Temple  •  Joseph Needham HISTORY •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES An abridged popular edition of Needham's original, monumental Science & Civilization in China, organized by invention and illustrated throughout with color photographs, diagrams and drawings. (CHN82, $29.95)
Giant Pandas in the Wild, Saving an Endangered Species  •  Lu Zhi NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 128 PAGES In this important new book, Dr. Lu Zhi offers an indepth portrait of the giant panda and international conservation efforts to protect the panda and its habitat in China. A researcher since 1985 and former coordinator of WWF's panda program in China, Dr. Zhi chronicles the social lives and population dynamics of 20 individuals in a number of reserves, both in text and photographs. With a foreword by Claude Martin, Director General of WWF-International, and excellent color photos by George Schaller and Lu Zhi. (CHN173, $35.00)
The Ginger Tree  •  Oswald Wynd LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES The best-known work of the Japanese-born Scot Oswald Wynd (1918 -1998), in which a naïve 20-year-old Scots girl at the turn of the century sails to China to marry a military attache in Peking … only to get mixed up with a handsome young Japanese aristocrat and horrify the British community. The novel, which was the basis for a popular Masterpiece Theatre miniseries, follows Mary MacKenzie's adventures with love and life in early 20th Century China and Japan. Originally published in 1977. (JPN125, $12.95)
The Girl Who Played Go  •  Shan Sa  •  Adriana Hunter LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES An accomplished novel set in a Manchurian city in the war-torn 1930s, where a spirited 16-year-old Chinese girl and a young Japanese soldier find peace in a game of Go. Winner of the 2004 Kiriyama Prize, the novel captures the turmoil of the changing fortunes and war in the region. Sa Shan, who was born in Beijing, has lived in France since 1990. This is her first novel to be translated into English. (CHN214, $13.95)
God Lives in St. Petersburg, and Other Stories  •  Tom Bissell LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 212 PAGES Bissell (Chasing the Sea) returns to his years in Central Asia as a Peace Corps volunteer in these sharp, witty fictionalized accounts. His six fast-paced tales are set in Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and the Aral Sea. (CAS117, $13.95)
God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan  •  Jonathan Spence HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 430 PAGES (CHN178, $17.95)
The Golden Days  •  Cao Xueqin  •  David Hawkes LITERATURE •  1974 •  PAPER  • 544 PAGES Volume One of The Dream of the Red Chamber, an epic family tale first published in 1793, (still one of China's favorite novels) beautifully translated, edited and with an introduction by David Hawkes. The Golden Days is the first book in a five-volume masterpiece which follows the fate of the Jia family and the magical stone of the title. It's an absorbing romantic tale, often called the greatest of Chinese novels, as interesting for its commentary on culture, aethestics, religion and world view as for the story. (CHN223, $16.00)
Good Luck Life, The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations And Culture  •  Rosemary Gong GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A collection of notes and guide to Chinese culture, festivals and traditions, covering food, drink, weddings, and funerals. (CHN333, $14.95)
Governing China, From Revolution Through Reform  •  Kenneth Lieberthal HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 461 PAGES A scholarly political history of China in the 20th century, detailed and informative. (CHN112, $28.50)
The Great Railway Bazaar, By Train through Asia  •  Paul Theroux TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES Theroux's vintage 1970s journeys across Asia by Train, displaying all his talent for portraiture, ego and the dismissive aside. It's great fun. He takes every two-bit train he can find from London across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, India, Japan and China, returning home via the Trans-Siberian Express. (ASA40, $14.95)
The Great Wall  •  Elizabeth Mann HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 48 PAGES • MIDDLE READERS (Age 9-12) A concise history of the Great Wall told in story format in Wonders of the World series for ages 9-12. With colorful illustrations by Alan Witschonke. (CHN332, $9.95)
The Great Wall of China from History to Myth  •  Arthur Waldron HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 314 PAGES In this classic scholarly history, Waldron debunks the myth of the wall as an ancient -- and impregnable -- barrier. Waldron focuses on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when much of the defensive structure was conceived and built. He looks too at the reality of Ming-Mongol relations.With maps and black-and-white photographs. (CHN130, $31.99)
A Guide to Chinese Literature  •  Wilt Idema  •  Lloyd L. Haft LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 458 PAGES A scholarly survey of Chinese literary traditions over the last 3,000 years, organized into five major time periods. Intended for classroom use. (CHN313, $25.00)
The Haunted Monastery  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 198 PAGES In this installment, Judge Dee inverstiages murder in a Taoist monastery. (CHN297, $9.00)
Hero  •  Zhang Yimou 2005 •  DVD Jet Li stars in this visually stunning martial arts masterpiece by the director of Raise the Red Lantern. Set in ancient feudal China, this simple tale is rendered in breathtaking color. (CHN328, $19.99)
The High Road to China  •  Kate Teltscher HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 336 PAGES A history of the first British mission to Tibet and the Panchen Lama's state visit to China in the 18th century. Teltscher makes extensive use of a fascintating journal kept by one young British envoy. (CHN386, $26.00)
A History of Chinese Civilization  •  Jacques Gernet HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 780 PAGES An informed and scholarly cultural history of China from ancient times, updated for this second edition. Translated from the French by Translated by J. R. Foster and Charles Hartman. (CHN211, $37.99)
Hong Kong  •  Jan Morris CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES • FAVORITE It's always a pleasure to find a destination that Jan Morris has written about. In this book, she covers the whole city in typical fashion -- enumerating the many personal pleasures she found there, as well as deftly describing the most important aspects of Hong Kong's history and culture. Reissued with a new final chapter on the city's return to China. (HKG02, $17.00)
Hong Kong Map  •  Borch Maps MAP A laminated, folding map of Hong Kong, at a scale of 1:14,000. (HKG15, $6.95)
Hungry Ghosts, Mao's Secret Famine  •  Jasper Becker HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES After digging through academic studies and incorporating survivor accounts, Jaspar Becker has produced the definitive work on the devastating famine that overtook China in the 1950s and 1960s. Brought about by the Mao's attempt to redistribute food, this mass starvation caused the death of tens of millions. (CHN99, $19.00)
The Importance of Living  •  Lin Yutang RELIGION •  1998 •  PAPER  • 462 PAGES Lin Yutang uses ancient Chinese texts to illustrate his path to a satisfying life, which he believes can be found through relaxation, friendship and the simple enjoyment of everyday existence. It's an optimistic book, full of short proverbs, anecdotes and witty asides on the enjoyment of travel, nature, culture and other aspects of human existence. Originally published in 1937. (CHN121, $16.95)
In the Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture  •  Geremie R. Barme CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 512 PAGES Focusing on the years since the 1989 Tiananmen protest, Barme examines the dialectic between official culture produced by the Chinese government and the popular "unofficial" culture and counterculture of the urban population. (CHN88, $31.50)
The Inner Chapters  •  Chuang Tzu  •  A. C. Graham LITERATURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES The oldest pieces of Taoist writing, by one of its greatest philosophers, Chuang Tzu. From the fourth-century B. C. (CHN244, $14.95)
Insight Guide China  •  Manfred Morganstern GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 411 PAGES In its hallmark style, this Insight Guide combines short essays on the history, politics and culture of China with hundreds of color photographs. It's a short whirlwind introduction to the country. The book begins with a brief history of the Middle Kingdom, then ventures out into the countryside and through the halls of the Forbidden City. The second half presents each region of China with pages on each of the major sites, then concludes with some practical travel information and listings. (CHN05, $24.95)
Insight Guide East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2001 •  PAPER  • 412 PAGES An illustrated guide to the history, culture and traditions of China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan featuring 250 color photographs and 16 maps. (ASA27, $24.95)
Insight Guide Shanghai  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 328 PAGES This well-illustrated guide in the popular series features essays on culture and history, excellent local maps and good information on attractions. (CHN219, $23.95)
Insight Pocket Guide Beijing  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 92 PAGES This convenient, slim volume features color photographs, many maps (including a handy fold-out map of the city), good short descriptions of major points of interest, and other practical information. (CHN26, $13.95)
Into the Teeth of the Tiger  •  Donald S. Lopez Jr. HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES The lively, illustrated memoirs of a World War II pilot in Asia. (ASA39, $17.95)
Iron and Silk  •  Mark Salzman TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1990 •  PAPER  • 211 PAGES Salzman gets himself to Changsha in the mid-1980s on the pretext of teaching English to Chinese doctors. His real mission, however, is to become a kung fu master. In this wonderfully readable travelogue he conveys a sense of contemporary life, its realities and frustrations -- and of his growing understanding of an alien culture. A major subplot is his ongoing relationship with Pan, the mentor to this awkward and overly enthusiastic American martial arts student. (CHN52, $13.95)
The Island of Seven Cities, Where The Chinese Settled When They Discovered America  •  Paul Chiasson ARCHAEOLOGY •  2007 •  PAPER Chiasson's account of his remarkable discovery of a ancient road in Cape Breton, which he argues was part of a large Chinese colony in the New World. With aerial and site photographs, maps and drawings. If verified, these findings along with those of Gavin Menzies (1421: The Year China Discovered America) would overturn longheld notions. (CHN380, $25.95)
Judge Dee at Work, Eight Chinese Detective Stories  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 174 PAGES A collection of eight cases from the long career of the Chinese magistrate, originally published in 1967. (CHN299, $12.00)
K: The Art of Love  •  Hong Ying BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 262 PAGES A story of the true-life love affair between Virginia Woolf's nephew Julian Bell and famed Chinese woman writer Ling Shuhua. Ying uses truth of fiction and truth of fact to portray this tragic tale of love and desire in 1930s Beijing. In 2003, Ling Shuhua's daughter brought suit against Ying for "defaming the dead" and, sadly, K has been banned in China. This is the first time in China that anyone has had to pay compensation for crimes committed in a book. (CHN260, $14.95)
The Kitchen God's Wife  •  Amy Tan LITERATURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES (CHN357, $13.95)
Knopf Mapguide Shanghai  •  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, $9.95)
Kowloon Tong, A Novel of Hong Kong  •  Paul Theroux LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES Betty Mullard, representing the old guard in Hong Kong, receives an offer from Mr. Hung on his family business. With its strong sense of place and contemporary setting in Hong Kong at a time of transition, this fast-paced novel is an illuminating and imaginative look at the city. (HKG12, $13.95)
The Lacquer Screen  •  Robert Van Gulik MYSTERY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 183 PAGES In this installment, Judge Dee investigates a series of suspicious events surrounding a magistrate's eerily prophetic tapestry. (CHN298, $12.00)
Last Chance to See  •  Douglas Adams  •  Mark Carwardine NATURAL HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 222 PAGES A whirlwind visit to remote habitats around the world by two wonderfully entertaining traveling companions. Sponsored by BBC radio, Douglas Adams and Mark Cowardine traveled to Zaire, New Zealand, China, Mauritius and other far-flung places in search of endangered animals. Often hilarious, this book is also a portrait of threatened animals. This is such a wonderfully entertaining and informed book, we can forgive its focus on charismatic species. Adams is the author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Cawardine, a biologist, has been a staff zoologist for World Wildlife Fund. (CON04, $14.95)
The Last Emperor  •  Bernardo Bertolucci 1987 •  DVD Bernardo Bertolucci's rendering of the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last emperor of China's Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film begins at Pu Yi's involuntary initiation as emperor in 1908 at age three, and continues through his entire reign in the Forbidden City until his death in 1967. Pu Yi witnesses the dynamic changes of the modernizing empire, experiences the temptations of ultimate power, and is seduced by the Western lifestyle of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole). The film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. (CHN225, $14.98)
The Last Panda  •  George Schaller NATURAL HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 291 PAGES The great naturalist George Schaller spent almost 5 years in the wild in Sichuan province studying the panda in the 1980s. This book is both his description of the great panda in nature, and an eloquent plea for how to save the species in the wild. With 16 color plates. (CHN24, $15.00)
Leaving Mother Lake, A Girlhood at the Edge of the World  •  Yang Erche Namu  •  Christine Mathieu BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES In this entrancing memoir, Namu, a Chinese pop sensation, recounts her childhood on the shores of Lake Lugu in remote Yunnan. Her culture, the Mosuo, is matrilineal, where women have unusual freedom and power. Namu recounts too the tension between traditions and her own escape from her mother's home and village life in search of a career in music. Cowritten with anthropologist Christine Mathieu. (CHN270, $14.99)
Legacies, A Chinese Mosaic  •  Betty Bao Lord HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 242 PAGES A memoir of contemporary China, especially interesting for its critical perspective on Chinese society and culture during the "China Spring" of 1989. Bao incorporates interviews and testimonies of friends and colleagues in her narrative. Dedicated "For The Chinese People," the novelist author born in China (who also wrote Spring Moon) is unstinting in her criticism of Chinese policies and practices. Wife of a former American ambassador to China, the author now lives in the United States. (CHN84, $19.00)
Letters to Henrietta  •  Lisa Chubbuck  •  Isabella Bird BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2003 •  PAPER  • 356 PAGES This eye-opening collection of letters back home, nicely selected by Lisa Chubbuck with an intrridction and notes, reveals the tenacity, self-promotion and verve of the Victorian maiden aunt of modern travel writers. An unlikely candidate for adventure, Bird's ill health propelled her to the Colorado Rockies, Hawaii, China, and Japan -- and into the confidence of Queen Victoria, the King of Hawaii, and Wi