ASIAN ART

 CHINA

Song China Through 21stCentury Eyes: Yaozhou and Qingbai Ceramics by Rose KerrThis booklooks at two very distinct ceramic types, that were greatly admired in China atthe time of their manufacture. It acts as an introduction to two important Chinesekilns and their products, but goes on to place the ceramics in theirhistorical, geographical, economic and social contexts, using the latestresearch from both China and the West. How were ceramics used, where were theyemployed and who owned them?  How werethey made, and where were they sold?  Whyare Yaozhou and Qingbai ceramics treasured by connoisseurs?  All these questions and more are addressed inthe text.  Illustrated with pictures,details and marks of pieces in the collection, the text is amplified withpictures from historical sources, and by new photographs of contemporary China.The books' innovative design and abundant use of colour marks a new departurefor books on Chinese ceramics and is published in a limited edition of 1000 copies.The text is bi-lingual in English and Chinese. ISBN 978 90 7990 01 3, Meijering Art Books, Euro 325, orderfrom www.meijeringartbooks.com

China at the Court of theEmperors: Unknown Masterpieces from Han Tradition to Tang Elegance(25-907): Unknown Masterpieces from the Han Tradition to Tang Elegance (25-907)by Sabina Rastelli

200artistic masterpieces of China's golden age, many are published for the firsttime. The book presents almost 200 masterpieces coming from 32 museums andinstitutes in Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu, and Jiangsu provinces, many of them neverseen in the West before, and examines the vast period from the Eastern Handynasty (25-220) through the Tang (618-907), during which Chinese civilisationunderwent radical transformation. The interval of time between the fall of theEastern Han and Chinas reunification under the Sui dynasty (581-618) istraditionally considered as a dark period of unrest in which the country waspolitically and culturally divided between north and south, east and west.Nevertheless, recent archaeological excavations and new studies aredemonstrating that in reality this period of Chinese history was far from beinga cultural desert and rather represented a moment of regeneration and floweringof the arts, culminating in the Tang civilisation, traditionally defined asChina's ‘Golden Age'. ISBN 978-8861306813, Skira Editore, £40

Decoded Messages:The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting by Hou-Mei Sung

Duringthe Ming Dynasty numerous new animal themes were created to convey politicaland ethical messages current at court. As the result a sophisticated languageof Chinese animal painting was developed, employing both the animals' symbolicassociations and homonymic puns. Hou-mei Sung's exciting rediscovery of some ofthese lost meanings has led to a full-scale investigation of the evolvinghistory of Chinese animal painting. Distinct symbolic meanings were associatedwith individual motifs, but all animals were assigned a place in the universeaccording to the Chinese concept of nature. From the very early yin/yangcosmology to later developments of Daoist and Confucian philosophies andethics, Chinese animals gained new meanings related to their historicalcontexts. This book explores these new findings, using the colourful animalimages and their rich and evolving symbolic meanings to gain insight intounique aspects of Chinese art, as well as Chinese culture and history. ISBN-13: 978-0300141528, Yale University Press, £40

Luo Ping: EccentricVisions by Kim Karlsson

Knowntoday as the youngest of the remarkable ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou', LuoPing was one of the most versatile, original, and celebrated artists in18th-century China. While Luo's early works reflect the thriving and innovativeartistic climate of his hometown Yangzhou, his late oeuvre  produced in Beijing provides evidence for theart-historical and antiquarian interests that he shared with his friends andpatrons, many of whom were among the most prominent representatives of theintellectual and political life of the day. This accompanies an exhibition ofworks drawn primarily from leading museums in China, and includes rarely seenmasterpieces as well as overlooked or unpublished works to provide a broadspectrum of Luo's multiple talents and extraordinary pictorial prowess,including compelling portraits, colourful landscapes, Buddhist images, andwitty depictions of animals and plants. Also featured and comprehensivelydocumented in the catalogue is the pictorial monument that cemented his lastingfame: the Ghost Amusement scroll from around 1766, Luo s most celebrateddepiction of supernatural beings. ISBN-13: 978-3907077412, Paul Holberton Publishing, £41.70

Chinese Ceramics byStacey Pierson

Thepublication of this book coincides with the opening of the V&A's newCeramics Galleries last September. Chinese ceramics are amongst the most widelyadmired and collected in the world. From elegant Song celadons to decorativeMing vases and colourful Qing famille rose, ceramics produced in China haveinfluenced taste and daily life globally. This new design history draws on theV&A's comprehensive collection,which dates back to 1854, to look at theproduction, consumption, aesthetics and transfer of Chinese ceramics globallyin this richly illustrated volume. Over 200 pieces are illustrated in the book,including previously unpublished objects. The book contains the first survey ofnew ceramics made in the 20th and 21st centuries, from Republican periodporcelain to propaganda ware and studio pottery are included marking this themost important book on Chinese ceramics to date. ISBN 978-185177576 , V&A Publishing, £30

When China Rules the World:The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World  by Martin Jacques

For wellover 200 years we have lived in a Western-made world, one where the very notionof being modern is inextricably bound up with being ‘Western'. The 21st centurywill be different. The rise of China, India and the Asian tigers means that,for the first time, modernity will no longer be exclusively Western. The Westwill be confronted with the fact that its systems, institutions and values areno longer the only ones on offer. The key idea of Martin Jacques's new book isthat we are moving into an era of contested modernity. The central player inthis new world will be China. Continental in size and mentality, China is a‘civilisation-state' whose characteristics, attitudes and values long predateits existence as a nation-state. Although clearly influenced by the west, itsextraordinary size and history mean that it will remain highly distinct, and asit exercises its rapidly growing power it will change much more than theworld's geo-politics. The nation-state as we understand it will no longer beglobally dominant, and the Westphalian state-system will be transformed; ideasof race will be redrawn. This profound and far-sighted book explains for thefirst time the deeper meaning of the rise of China. ISBN-13: 978-0713992540, Allen Lane,£30

The Penguin History of ModernChina: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850-2009 by Johnathan Fenby

In 1850,China was the ‘sick man of Asia'. Now it is set to become the most powerfulnation on earth. The Penguin History of Modern China shows how turbulent thatjourney has been. For 150 years China has endured as victim to brutality on anunmatched scale, to oppression, to war and to famine. This makes its currentposition as the newest and, arguably, most important global superpower all themore extraordinary. Jonathan Fenby's clear and comprehensive account of China'srecent past is the definitive guide to this remarkable transformation. ISBN-13: 978-0141020099, Penguin, £12.99       

For All the Tea in China: Espionage,Empire and the Secret Formula of the World's Favourite Drink by Sarah Rose

RobertFortune was a Scottish gardener, botanist, plant hunter - and industrial spy.In 1848, the East India Company  engagedhim to make a clandestine trip into the interior of China (territory forbiddento foreigners) to steal the closely guarded secrets of tea. For centuries,China had been the world's sole tea manufacturer. Britain purchased this fuelfor its Empire by trading opium to the Chinese - a poisonous relationshipBritain fought two destructive wars to sustain. The East India Company hadprofited lavishly as the middleman, but it was now sinking, having lost itsmonopoly to trade tea. Its salvation, it thought, was to establish its ownplantations in the Himalayas of British India. There were just two problems:India had no tea plants worth growing, and the company wouldn't have known whatto do with them if it had. Hence Robert Fortune's daring trip. The Chineseinterior was off-limits and virtually unknown to the West, but that's where thefinest tea was grown - the richest oolongs, soochongs and pekoes. And theEmperor aimed to keep it that way. Robert Fortune ventured deep inside thecountry, risking his life for science, adventure, and a place among the greatplant explorers. From Kew Gardens to Old Shanghai, and on to the remote Wu YiShan hills, Sarah Rose tells a true tale of pirates, rebels, subterfuge,espionage, and how one man triumphed over an exotic and often corrupt Empire. ISBN 978-0091797065, Hutchinson, £18.99

Treasures from Shanghai:Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades by Jessica Rawson

Incontrast to the West, where diamonds, gold and silver have usually been highlyvalued, in China bronzes and jades were chosen early on for the society's mostvalued artefacts, and retained this very high status over millennia. Bronze andjades were used in China for ritual and burial, and were thus associated withthe sacred worlds of the ancestors and spirits. In later China, these preciousrelics of the past were collected by rulers and scholars as routes tounderstanding a distant golden age. These ancient objects, some dating from theneolithic period, set the artistic standard for all time; this is where Chineseart begins. Chinese bronzes, in particular, are one of the world's major artforms. Few if any other ancient cultures achieved the artistic excellence andtechnical virtuosity in bronze attained in China. Using a unique casting methodinvolving multiple ceramic section moulds, the Chinese cast vessels, weaponsand ornaments of great beauty and elegance. The jades featured in thiscatalogue, carved by some of the groups of ancient inhabitants in the Shanghaiarea. They decorated ritual jades, cong, bi discs, weapons and ornaments. This catalogue notonly celebrates an important collection, but highlights the extraordinary skillsof the craftsmen of very early cultures, placing the objects in theirhistorical and archaeological context. ISBN-13:978-0714124575, British Museum Press, £16.99

Outside in: Chinesex American x Contemporary x Art

The artworld is currently still enthralled with contemporary Chinese art. Thisthoughtful book argues, however, that American audiences have been exposed onlyto a narrow range of what is available - with the majority of exposure havingbeen given to avant-garde, experimental, or politically charged art. Outside In discussescontemporary Chinese art in a far wider range of styles and subject matter andsubstantially expands on our understanding of this work. The book features sixartists - Arnold Chang, Michael Cherney, Zhi Lin, Liu Dan, Vanessa Tran, andZhang Hongtu - all of whom are American citizens yet are widely diverse in ageand experience as well as geographical and ethnic origins. In addition toextensive personal interviews and artists' statements, there are essays thatchallenge the categorisation of art into such focused genres as ‘Chinese',‘contemporary', and ‘American', and re-examine the factors that shape thedevelopment of Chinese art in America. ISBN-13: 978-0300122084, Princeton University Art MuseumSeries, £35

Urban China: Work inProgress by Brendan McGetrick

This is apublication that brings together many of China's most influential contemporarywriters, photographers, and critics. Drawn from the pages of Urban China,a monthly magazine that combines politics, sociology, mass media, architecture,art, and literature, the book provides an intimate view to a century of radicalmodernisation in China. Organised around three basic themes - society, family,and education - the book fans out to cover an expansive range of topics,offering personal perspectives on a culture that is influential, oftendiscussed, but little understood. Presented here for the first time in English,the essays, photos, maps, diagrams, and illustrations that comprise Work In Progress establish a new paradigm for the study of Chinese culturalconstruction. ISBN 978-9881803399, Time Zone 8, US$40

Noble tombs at Mawangdui: Art and Life of the Changsha Kingdom

The discoveries made at Mawangdui between 1972-74 yieldedthousand of well-preserved funerary objects from the Han dynasty.  The finds reveal the extravagant lifestyle ofnoble families in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-25 AD) and reflect theadvance level of agricultyure, handicrafts, science and technology.. Thiscatalogue accompanies the exhibition touring the US. ISBN 978 7 80665 269 5, Hunan Provinical Museum, YueluPublishing House, Yuan 295

JAPAN AND KOREA

Serizawa: Master ofJapanese Textile Design by Joe Earle

Designateda Living National Treasure in 1956, Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984) was one of thegreatest artists of 20th-century Japan. This is the first book in English totrace Serizawa's artistic biography in detail using the finest examples of hiswork from leading Japanese collections. A major exponent of the mingei (people'scrafts) movement, Serizawa achieved fame as a textile designer, usingtraditional stencil-dyeing techniques and often working in large-scale formatssuch as folding screens or kimonos. The works in this catalogue are important notonly for the originality of their conception, but also for the variety of theirmaterials: cotton, silk, hemp and a range of other fibres, and paper decoratedwith the brilliant yet warm hues of vegetable dyes. Dramatic in design,Serizawa's textiles have an expressive power that far transcends expectationsof a ‘craft' medium. ISBN-13: 978-0300150476Japan Society/Yale University Press,£25

Art of the KoreanRenaissance 1400-1600 by Soyoung Lee, JaHyun Haboush, Sunpyo Hong, andChin-Sung Chang

Thisnotable catalogue - the first English-language publication on the subject -highlights the art of the early period (1392-1592) of Korea's revolutionaryJoseon dynasty. The Joseon rulers replaced the Buddhist establishment andrecreated a Korean society informed on every level by Neo-Confucian ideals.They supported the production of innovative secular art inspired by pasttraditions, both native and from the broader Confucian world. Yet despiteofficial policies, court-sponsored Buddhist art endured, contributing to therich complexity of the early Joseon culture. The paintings, porcelain and otherceramics, metalware, and lacquerware featured in the book are drawn from theholdings of major Korean and Japanese museums, the collection of theMetropolitan Museum and other US collections and private collections. Many ofthe works have never been seen in the United States. ISBN-13: 978-0300148916, Metropolitan Museum of Art, £30

Tea Culture of Japan

Importedto Japan from China during the 9th century, the custom of serving tea did notbecome widespread until the 13th century. By the late 15th and 16th centuries,tea was ceremonially prepared by a skilled tea master and served to guests in atranquil setting. This way of preparing tea became known as chanoyu, literally‘hot water for tea'. This elegant book explores the aesthetics and history ofthe traditional Japanese tea ceremony, examining the nature of tea collectionsand the links between connoisseurship, politics and international relations. Italso surveys current practices and settings in light of the ongoingtransformation of the tradition in contemporary tea houses. ISBN-13:978-0300146929, Yale University Press, £12.99

Showa Japan: ThePost-war Golden Age and Its Troubled Legacy by Hans Brinckmann

Japan'sShowa era began in 1926 when Emperor Hirohito took the throne and ended on hisdeath in 1989. It was undoubtedly the most momentous, calamitous, successfuland glamorous period in Japan's recent history. The post-war part of Showa isnow a beacon of nostalgia for its social cohesion and great economicachievements. But the Showa era ended in a bubble - a time of wild spending andexcesses in every field. With the collapse of the boom in the early 1990s, thepeople came face to face with new economic and social realities they were notprepared for. Hans Brinckmann examines the impact of the Showa era and itsaftermath on every aspect of Japanese society. Instead of idealizing the pastand yielding to intermittent reactionary efforts to restore pre-war values, heargues that the country needs to stimulate independent thinking in education,encourage active citizenship, facilitate immigration and repair relations withits Asian neighbours by squarely facing up to history. ISBN978-4805310021, Random House,  £27

The Power of Dogu:Ceramic figures from ancient Japan by Simon Kaner and Douglass Bailey

Born fromthe earliest dated tradition of pottery manufacture in the world, dogū abstractclay figurines with recognisably human features are a link back to the lostworlds of the remarkable Jomon period. They have been excavated in largequantities from sites throughout the country. Many were deliberately brokenbefore burial which has raised intriguing questions about their possible uses.This catalogue illustrates 70 dogū, the most important of which have beendesignated as either National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. Inaddition to the descriptions of the pieces themselves, the book has chapterswritten by experts in the field exploring the wider East Asian setting and thesignificance of this context in understanding Japanese prehistory. Theexhibition and catalogue bring together a huge number of loans frominstitutions all over Japan, including Tokyo National Museum, where the showwill be seen next year. ISBN-13: 978-0714124643, British Museum Press, £19.99

Project Japan:Architecture and Art Media - Edo to Now by Graham Cooper

ProjectJapan is the product of a long journey by author Graham Cooper. A sustainedrolling programme relating to contemporary art and architecture in Japan, thisproject involved over a decade of commitment, more than a dozen research anddocumentation visits to Japan and the help of an influential network ofparticipants. An introduction to art in the context of architecture; the bookincludes buildings by such renowned contemporary architects as Toyo Ito,Shigeru Ban, Kazuyo Sejima and Yoshio Taniguchi as well as schemes by otherleading or emerging architects and artists. It also shows that traditionalbuildings, classical gardens and the historic town scape are keys tounderstanding the current scene. ISBN-13: 978-1864703092, Images Publishing, £35

Lords of the Samurai:The Legacy of a Daimyo Family by Yoko Woodson

Samuraimeans ‘one who serves', and these fierce warriors acted in the service ofpowerful feudal lords known as daimyo. Among the most important daimyo families weremembers of the Hosokawa clan, whose lineage dates back more than 600 years. Lords of the Samurai illuminates the private and public lives of the daimyo by focusing onapproximately 160 works from the Hosokawa family collection housed in theEisei-Bunko Museum in Tokyo, the Kumamoto Castle and the Kumamoto MunicipalMuseum in Kyushu. Objects discussed include suits of armour, armaments(including swords and guns), formal attire, calligraphy, paintings, tea ware,lacquer ware, masks and musical instruments. ISBN-13: 978-0939117468, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco,$45

Art of the Samurai:Selections from the Tokyo National Museum edited by Kazutoshi Harada

Art of the Samurai:Selections from the Tokyo National Museum accompanied the exhibition of the same title exhibited at the BowersMuseum from 19 April to 14 June this year. The publication includes essays byKazutoshi Harada and Nobuyuki Matsumoto, Tokyo National Museum along with alist of object labels and a historical chronology. ISBN-13: 978-1607435792, Bowers Museum, £27.95

Art of the Samurai:Japanese Arms And Armor 1156-1868 edited by Morihiro Ogawa

Samurai arms and equipment are widely recognized asmasterpieces in steel, silk, and lacquer. This catalogue includes the finestexamples of swords, sword mountings and fittings, armour and helmets, saddles,banners, and paintings from Japanese collections. Dating from the 5th to the19th century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samuraiculture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined. It accompanies thecurrent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN-13: 978-0300142051, Yale University Press, £45

SOUTH ASIA

Hanging Fire:Contemporary Art from Pakistan by Salima Hashmi

Accompanyingthe first U.S. museum survey exhibition devoted to contemporary art fromPakistan, this dynamic catalogue provides a groundbreaking look at recent andcurrent trends in Pakistani art. HangingFire covers a range of subjects and media,from installation and video art to sculpture, drawing, and paintings in the‘contemporary miniature' tradition. Essays by distinguished contributors from avariety of fields, including Salima Hashmi, Pakistani American sociologist andhistorian Ayesha Jalal, and the celebrated novelist Mohsin Hamid, placecontemporary Pakistani art in a cultural, historical, and artistic perspective.The book's title, Hanging Fire, alludes to the contemporary economic,political, and social tensions - both local and global - from which theseartists find their creative inspiration. It may also suggest to the viewer todelay judgment, particularly based on assumptions or preconceived notions aboutcontemporary society and artistic expression in Pakistan today. ISBN 0300154186, AsiaSociety/Yale University Press, $49.95

Indian Textiles in the East by John Guy

Thevaried cloths presented in this book are the visual record of one of the greatstories of Asian design history: the trade in Indian textiles to Southeast andEast Asia. John Guy examines the history of the cloth-for-spices trade,focusing on the 17th and 18th centuries when the thousand-year-old trade was atis peak. With photographs of the vibrantly coloured and patterned textilesthemselves, vivid first-hand descriptions by travellers and merchants, historicimages of people and places, related arts and ethnographic studies, this bookis both a good resource and a visual feast for all students and lovers oftextiles. ISBN 13 978-0500288290, Thames & Hudson, £19.95

Tipu's Tigers bySusan Stronge

Tipu'sTiger is one of the V&A's most enduringly famous and fascinating objects.Commissioned in the 1790s by Tipu Sultan of Mysore, who kept the spectacularwooden semi-automaton in the music room of his palace, the tiger was shipped toLondon after Tipu was killed in 1799. This accessible book explores thecontinuing appeal - and influence - of Tipu Sultan's tiger, which has inspired artistsand writers, frightened children, and entertained the public since its firstarrival in England. It also illustrates and discusses some of the most splendidof his other treasures - his throne, textiles and spectacular weapons, alldecorated with the ruler's iconic tiger forms and patterns - which were seizedby the British and dispersed. ISBN-13: 978-1851775750, V & A Publishing, £9.95

Heaven on Earth: TheUniverse of Kerala's Guruvayur Temple by Pepita Seth

For over1,000 years the hereditary priests of Kerala's Guruvayur Temple have honouredLord Krishna with an unceasing cycle of rituals. The temple, whose origins liein an ancient myth is one of India's most important and richest temples,attracting vast numbers of pilgrims. To preserve its sanctity the templeauthorities ban outsiders from its sacred precincts and forbid photography.Pepita Seth was not only given unrestricted access but also permission tophotograph the world behind the temple's walls. Her book, the outcome of sixyears concentrated work, takes the reader into a remarkable world of ancientrituals, devotion and splendour. ISBN 978-8189738365, Niyogi Books, £75

The Glory of the Sultans: Islamic Architecture in India by Yves Porter

India'sarchitecture is presented in all its diversity through specially commissionedphotography and a scholarly text that places each monument within itshistorical, cultural, and technical context. Between the 12tth and the mid-19thcenturies, most of the Indian subcontinent was under Muslim rule, giving riseto a unique architectural blend of Islamic, Turkish, and Persian influences.Yves Porter provides the full panorama of this style, explaining in depth thekey monuments of each period and region, which are accompanied by GerardDegeorges photographs of the monuments and architectural details. During thelong reign of the Mughal Dynasty (15261857), the architecture of thesubcontinent passed through some especially brilliant phases. Humayuns tomb atDelhi (1565); Fatehpur Sikri (briefly the capital of Akbar); the Shalimargardens in Lahore, Pakistan; or the unforgettable Taj Mahal at Agra (1632) arejust a few examples. In this book, Yves Porter provides a comprehensive historyof Muslim architecture on the Indian subcontinent, redressing an important lackof coverage on the subject. ISBN  978-2080301109,Flammarion, £50

Maharaja: TheSplendour of India's Royal Courts by Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer

The word maharaja- literally ‘great king' - conjures up a vision of splendour and magnificence.This book, which accompanies the exhibition of the same name, examines theluxurious worlds of India's maharaja from the early 18th century to 1947, whenthe Indian Princes ceded their territories into the modern states of India andPakistan. This beautifully illustrated catalogue allows the reader to imaginethe lavish lifestyles of India's aristocracy through a visual exploration ofthe material culture of both their public and pricate lives. Indian and Westernworks including paintings, photographs, textiles and dress, jewellery, jewelledobjects, metalwork and furniture are considered within a broader historicalcontext giving readers an understanding of royal status and identity, courtculture and patronage. The book is divided into chapters that explores thislife: Kingship in India, The Power of Public Splendour, Palace Life, Patronageat Court, Palaces and the Politics and style and Indian Princes and the West.  A comprehensive bibliography is alsopublished for further reference. A must for anyone interested in the decorativearts of India and the patronage and lives of the ruling classes. ISBN-13:978-1851775736, V & A Publishing, £35

Maharaja: TheSpectacular Heritage of Princely India by Andrew Robinson, photographs by SumioUchiyama

In theannals of world history there are few more striking tales than those ofPrincely India. The Maharajas became bywords for excess, for lifetimes spent inextravagant expenditure and splendour on an almost unparalleled scale. ThePrinces, their palaces and feudal loyalties live on, and the full gorgeousspectacle of their lifestyle is captured in the pages of this book. This isvery much a visual story: throne rooms with gilded and painted ceilings,crystal fountains and peacocks in terraced gardens, gold and silver treasures,of weddings, celebrations and festivals, and of the Maharajas themselves andtheir families, in public and in private. ISBN-13: 978-0500288221, Thames & Hudson, £14.95

Art For A Modern India, 1947-1980, edited by Nicholas Thomas

In theprocess of creating modern art following India's independence in 1947, Indianartists faced a paradox as they sought to maintain a local idiom, an‘Indianness' representative of their newly independent nation, while connectingto modernism, an aesthetic then understood as universal and Western. Theydepicted India's pre-colonial past while embracing aspects of modernism'srejection of the past in pursuit of the new, and they challenged the West'sdismissal of non-Western places and cultures as ‘not modern', as sources ofprimitivist imagery but not of modernist artworks. Highlighting theseparadoxes, Rebecca M. Brown explores the emergence of a self-conscious Indianmodernism - in painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, film, andphotography - in the years between independence and 1980, by which time theIndian art scene had changed significantly and postcolonial discourse had begunto complicate mid-century ideas of nationalism. ISBN-13:978-0822343752, Duke University Press, £13.99

Delhi: Adventures ina Megacity by Sam Miller

This bookaims to portray one of the world's largest cities. Sam Miller sets out todiscover the real Delhi, a city he describes as being ‘India's dreamtown - andits purgatory'. He treads the city streets, making his way through Delhi andits suburbs, visiting its less celebrated destinations. Miller's quest is thehere and now, the unexpected, the ignored and the eccentric. All the obviousports of call - the ancient monuments, the imperial buildings and thecelebrities of modern Delhi - make only passing appearances. Through hisencounters with Delhi's people - from a professor of astrophysics to acrematorium attendant, from ragpickers to members of the Police Brass Band -Miller creates a richly entertaining portrait of what Delhi means to itsresidents, and of what kind of city it is becoming. ISBN-13: 978-0224086103, Jonathan Cape, £14.99

Imagining India:Ideas for the New Century by Nandan Nilekani

Indiansoftware entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani has written the definitive book aboutmodern India. Nilekani gives us a fascinating new perspective for the  21st century, defying received and importedwisdom, and showing us what is really at stake in the world's largestdemocracy. He reveals why India's huge population has now become her greateststrength; how information technology is bringing the benefits of globalization;why rapid urbanization is transforming social and political life; and how wecan learn from India's difficult journey towards a single internal market. Healso gets to the heart of debates about labour reform, the social securitysystem, higher education and the role of the state. And he asks the keyquestions of the future: how will India as a global power avoid the mistakes ofearlier development models? Will further access to the open market continue tostimulate such extraordinary growth? And how will all this affect - and beshaped by - her young people. ISBN-13: 978-1846141225, Allen Lane, £25

Nine Lives: InSearch of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

In thistitle, a Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet -then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by handprinting the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers ofdetachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve to death. A womanleaves her middleclass family in Calcutta, and her job in a jute factory, onlyto find unexpected love and fulfilment living as a Tantric skull feeder in aremote cremation ground. A prison warden from Kerala becomes, for two months ofthe year, a temple dancer and is worshipped as a deity; then, at the end ofFebruary each year, he returns to prison. An illiterate goat herder fromRajasthan keeps alive an ancient 4,000-line sacred epic that he, virtuallyalone, still knows by heart. A devadasi - or temple prostitute - initially resists herown initiation into sex work, yet pushes both her daughters into a trade shenow regards as a sacred calling. Nine people, nine lives. Each one taking adifferent religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple'sfirst travel book in over a decade explores how traditional forms of religiouslife in South Asia have been transformed in the region's rapid change. Adistillation of 25   years of exploringIndia and writing about its religious traditions, Nine Lives is like a modernIndian Canterbury Tales. ISBN 978-1408800614, Bloomsbury, £20

A History of Bangladesh by Willem van Schendel

Bangladeshis a new name for an old land whose history is little known to the wider world.A country chiefly famous in the West for media images of poverty,underdevelopment, and natural disasters, Bangladesh did not exist as anindependent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's history reveals thecountry's vibrant, colourful past and its diverse culture as it navigates theextraordinary twists and turns that have created modern Bangladesh. The storybegins with the early geological history of the delta which has decisivelyshaped Bangladesh society. The narrative then moves chronologically through theera of colonial rule, the partition of Bengal, the war with Pakistan and thebirth of Bangladesh as an independent state. In so doing, it reveals the forcesthat have made Bangladesh what it is today. This is an eloquent introduction toa country and its resilient and inventive people. ISBN-13: 978-0521679749, Cambridge University Press, £15.99

HIMALAYAS

Wood Sculpture in Nepal: Jokers and Talismans by Bertrand Goy and Max Itzikovitz

Anoverview of the relatively unknown art of Nepal.In the 1980s, enigmatic woodmasks, similar to those worn by Siberian and Eskimo shamans, began to appear inParisian galleries that specialized in exotic art. Only the customary red waxaffixed to the objects indicated that their origin was in fact Nepal. Artlovers - fascinated by the masks' expressions and the thickness of patina -enthusiastically began to collect them, though they were still shrouded inmystery. In this well-illustrated book, Bertrand Goy and Max Itzikovitz uncoverthe history of the masks and determine their place in Nepalese culture. Theauthors also investigate western Nepal's unsophisticated, anthropomorphic woodsculptures, which can be seen today in temples, on bridges, and on theoutskirts of villages. No one knows if these are protective effigies or tributeto divinities from an antiquated religion. This book attempts to pull back theveil on one of the world's most cryptic art forms. ISBN 13 978-8874395095, Five Continents, £40

108 Buddhist Statues inTibet: Evolution of Tibetan Sculptures  by Ulrich von Schroeder

This is acondensed version of Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, published in 2001, whichcomprises a catalogue of the sculptural treasures that are stored in Tibet'smonasteries. Mostly unknown to the outside world, the temples and storerooms ofTibet's monasteries shelter a great number of ancient Buddhist objects. Notonly Tibetan works, but sculptures and paintings produced by artists in India,Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma and China. This edition selects the 108finest examples from the larger work and is also accompanied by a very usefulDVD of these images and many others not illustrated in the book (over 500 intotal). ISBN 13 978-1932476385, Serindia Publications, £40

Masks of the Himalayas by Dominic Blanc, Arnaud d'Hauterives, BereniceGeoffroy-Schneiter, Francois Pannier

This isthe first book dedicated exclusively to the subject of the Himalayan mask. Mysterious,sacred, and unusual, the masks of the Himalayas only became accessible tocollectors following the opening up of Nepal in the 1960s. Spanning allreligious influences in the Himalayan region - Hindu and Buddhist, animist andshamanic - and covering the entire area from Ladakh to Indian Kashmir, Nepal,Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tibet, this is the first book dedicatedexclusively to this subject. Published in conjunction with a major exhibitionat the Fondation Bernard et Caroline de Watteville in Martigny, Switzerland, Masks of the Himalayas highlights pieces of rare quality and sheds newlight on this enchanting art through 120 pieces from large private collectionsand institutions, such as the Musee Barbier-Mueller of Geneva and the Musee duQuai Branly of Paris. ISBN-13: 978-8874395194, Five Continents Editions, Italy;Bilingual edition, £30

Mandala: SacredCircle in Tibetan Buddhism by Martin Brauen

This bookis published to accompany the exhibition TheMandala: The Perfect Circle atthe Rubin Museum in New York. Tantric Buddhism views the mandala as an allegoryand symbol of man's relationship with the cosmos and uses it in meditation thatis to lead to enlightenment. Numerous digital models of the mandala describe itstructurally and elucidate this complex form of Tantric practice inunderstandable terms. This book by Martin Brauen is the updated new edition ofthe 1992 publication, which has long been out of print but is regarded as oneof the most comprehensive works on the mandala. The present publicationcontains texts, illustrations and tables that provide manifold approaches toand interpretations of this sacred symbol. ISBN 978-3-89790-305-0, Arnoldsche, £35

The Secret Lives of theDalai Lama by Alexander Norman

His Holinessthe Dalai Lama is renowned the world over for his unswerving dedication tonon-violence in his efforts to achieve justice for Tibet, yet the Chinese callhim ‘a wolf in monk's robes'. He is fourteenth in a lineage whose history isevery bit as bloody and intrigue-laden as that of the Papacy. The sixth DalaiLama was a notorious womaniser, four successive ones were almost certainlymurdered and the present Dalai Lama has himself been the target of attacks thatresulted in the brutal murder of a close colleague. This book  gives a fast-paced and absorbing insight intothe real story of Tibetan culture, politics and spirituality, and shows theDalai Lama as a man of courage, compassion and honesty. ISBN-13: 978-0349115047, Abacus, £10.99

On Juniper Mountain:A Journey in the Himalayas by Angela Locke

AngelaLocke travelled to Nepal in the early 1990s to research a new book, and foundherself on a journey of discovery which would change her life. Meeting aTibetan monk in the supermarket before she left, he told her that ‘the book isnot important, but the journey is'. She would find herself returning to Nepal,becoming immersed in the life of the country, and experiencing a deep spiritualawakening. Her experiences would lead to the founding of the charity JuniperTrust, which now works in education and health with the poorest communities allover the world. ISBN-13: 978-1846943010, O Books,  £11.99

CENTRAL ASIA

Tajikistan and the HighPamirs by Dr Robert Middleton and Huw Thomas

By thetwo great rivers of Central Asia, the Oxus and the Jaxartes, Tajikistan canboast not only of breathtaking mountain scenery, but also of 3,000 years ofhistory. The land where Alexander the Great fought desperately against theScythian nomads, his most formidable adversaries, Tajikistan is an ancientcradle of Persian culture. Originally, it was the home of the Sogdians, thefamous trading peoples of the Silk Road; eventually this country was at theheart of the 19th-century ‘Great Game', a place of contention for the adventurersand spies of Britain and Imperial Russia. Now recovering from the misfortunesof the 20th century - the travails of Soviet rule and several years of civilwar - it is able to offer visitors not only its legacies of cultural and ethnicdiversity, but also unparalleled opportunities for adventure.This book providesvital insight into a crucially positioned nation. It range is wide: fromDushanbe, the capital city to mountaineering and trekking on the roof of theworld. It is the first dedicated guide to Tajikistan and is a fascinating andimformative read. It covers the history of the Silk Road - the explorers andtravellers, as well as the culture, music and ethnic traditions. It alsoincludes essays on wildlife, botany, geology and archaeology, including acontribution by Dr George Schaller. It is published to appeal to the armchairtraveller as well as the intrepid visitor. ISBN 978-9622177734, Odyssey Books, £18.95

Out of Steppe byDaniel Metcalfe

This is the kind of literature of place you might believehad disappeared long ago. Out of Steppe relates a fscinating journey from Tehran to the Highlandsof the Pakistani Frontier, by way of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan andAfghanistan.Central Asia is the general name for the landmass between Iran,China, Siberia and Afghanistan. An area of enormous diversity bothgeographically and ethnically, it has been shaped by trade and commerce (theSilk Road) and by many invaders, including Alexander the Great, Genghis Khanand Stalin. Today the area is divided into five ‘stans': Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The ethnic make-up of thesecountries is bewildering: Turkish, Chinese, Iranian and Slav to name a veryfew. There are in fact over a hundred ethnic groups, but tragically many ofthese peoples are disappearing. They are emigrating, dying or blending intotheir surroundings, succumbing to the uniformity favored by an increasinglyglobalised world. Metcalfe journeys through the five stans, as well as Pakistanand Afghanistan, and brings to life the brilliant human tapestry they comprise- uniquely shaped by the immigrants, deportees and conquerors that have settledthere. He seeks out six of the least known peoples, traveling from the Aral Seain western Uzbekistan, where the Karakalpaks are still paying the price for theUSSR's ‘cotton cold war', to Bukhara where he disguises himself, harking backto the adventures of Great Game explorers of the mid-19th century, to find thelast surviving Central Asian Jews; and then to the green steppe lands ofnorthern Kazakhstan in search of the last German descendants of those whosettled Ukraine in 1763 at the invitation of Catherine the Great. He then turnsto the mountain passes of western Tajikistan and the Silk Road, to thedescendants of the fire-worshiping Soghdians. Trying to conceal his Englishroots once again, Metcalfe travels through Afghanistan as a Muslim, sporting abeard and a shalwar kameez, to locate the Hazaras, who have had to fight fortheir existence in this Sunni-dominated country. His final trip is from Kabulthrough the Khyber Pass to Peshawar and then on to Chitral in northernPakistan, to visit the Kalasha people. These are a tiny group practising theirown shamanic religion in three valleys in the Hindu Kush. They are the lastnon-Muslim people in the region and are threatened daily by their Muslimneighbors. Revealing a Central Asia that is far removed from the home of Borator the land of international terrorism, Metcalfe unlocks the secrets of thistroubled region, glorying in its diversity and also lamenting the economic andcultural changes that threaten to eradicate some of its peoples. ISBN 978-0091925529, Hutchinson, £18.99

Inside Central Asia: APolitical and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran by Dilip Hiro

Theformer Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politicallypivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world. Yet theyremain poorly represented in libraries and mainstream media. Since theirpolitical inception during the rule of Joseph Stalin, they have experiencedtremendous socio-political change. But despite this, the growth of oil wealth,the arrival of Western tourists and businessmen, and the competition forinfluence by the US, China and Russia, the spirit of Central Asia has remaineduntouched at its core. In this comprehensive up-to-date survey, renownedpolitical writer and historian Dilip Hiro offers a lucid analytical narrativethat places the present-day politics, economics and peoples of Central Asia andneighbouring Turkey and Iran into an international context. Given the strategiclocation of this region, its predominantly Muslim population, and itshydrocarbon and other valuable resources, it is not surprising that this vastexpanse of Eurasia is emerging as one of the most potentially influential - andcoveted - areas of the globe. ISBN-13: 978-0715638774, Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd, £25

In the Bloody Footsteps ofGhengis Khan: An Epic Journey Across the Steppes, Mountains and Desertsfrom Red Square to Tiananmen Square by Jeffrey Taylor

Abreathtaking first person account of an intrepid journey across the largestlandmass on earth from Moscow to Beijing. In lands once conquered by GenghisKhan and exploited by ruthless Communist regimes, autocratic and dictatorialstates are again arising, growing wealthy on petrodollars and low-costmanufacturing. More and more, they are challenging the West. Media reportsfocus on developments in the two capitals, but the masses of people inhabitingthe vast expanses inbetween remain mostly unseen and unheard, their daily livesand aspirations scarcely better known to us now than they were in the Cold Wardays. In his dramatic account, award winning travel writer Jeffrey Taylerfinds, among many others, a dissident Cossack advocating mass beheadings, aMuslim in Kashgar calling on the United States to bomb Beijing, and Chineseyouths in Urumqi desiring nothing more than sex, booze and rock ‘n' roll - allwhile confronting over and over again the contradiction of people who valueliberty and the free market but idealise tyrants who are opposed to both. Fromthe steppes of southern Russia to the conflict-ridden Caucasus Mountains, tothe deserts of central Asia and northern China, Tayler shows that our maps havegone blank at the worst possible time. ISBN978-1906779009, JR Books, £17.99

Xanadu by John Man

MarcoPolo's journey from Venice, through Europe and most of Asia, to the court ofKublai Khan in China is one of the most audacious in history. His account ofhis experiences, known simply as The Travels, uncovered an entirely new world of emperors andconcubines, great buildings - ‘stately pleasure domes' in Coleridge's dreaming-  huge armies and imperial riches. Hisbook shaped the West's understanding of China for hundreds of years. John Mantravelled in Marco's footsteps to Xanadu, in search of the truth behind Marco'sstories; to separate legend from fact. Drawing on his own journey, archeologyand archival study, John Man paints a vivid picture of the man behind the mythand the true story of the great court of Kublai Khan. ISBN 978-0593061763, Bantam Press, £20

Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present by ChristopherI Beckwith

The firstcomplete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of theorigins, history, and significance of this major world region. ChristopherBeckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires,including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, andGenghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland ofCentral Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artisticallyfor many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, andothers. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of CentralEurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and externaldynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedlyrevolutionized Eurasian civilisation.

Beckwith recounts theIndo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with localpeoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian,and Chinese civilisations; he details the basis for the thriving economy ofpremodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region'spartition by the Chinese and Russians in the 18th and 19th centuries, and thedamaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses thesignificance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasiannations after the collapse of the Soviet Union.Empires of the Silk Road placesCentral Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why theregion is central to understanding the history of civilisation. ISBN-13: 978-0691135892, Princeton University Press, £24.95

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Wearing Wealth and StylingIdentity: Tapis from Lampung, South Sumatra, Indonesia               

Discoverthe cultural iconography of these extraordinary textiles and how tapis garmentsexemplify the social station and clan identity of the women of South Sumatra.Located between the two maritime routes connecting East and West Asia, Sumatra,the fabled ‘Isle of Gold', was for centuries the source for much of the world'spepper. In the southern tip of Sumatra, the people of Lampung, or ‘Pepperland',poured the profits of their trade into ceremonial materials and adornments. Theornate tubular sarongs known as tapis were hand-woven from cotton andsilk threads, colored with ancestral dye recipes, embellished with gold- andsilver-wrapped threads, embroidered with silk or pineapple-fiber threads, andappliqued with mirrors and mica. These sumptuous garments communicated afamily's global contacts, social station, and clan identity. Mary-Louise Tottonwrites about the history, materials and techniques, content and imagery, andpresent-day contexts of these extraordinary textiles. ISBN-13: 978-0944722374, College US, £32.50

Southeast Asian Ceramics: New Light on Old Pottery

This bookaccompanies the exhibition of the same name held at the national University ofSingapore Museum (14 Nov-25 July 2010). In this volume archaeologist andscholar John N Miksic reconstructs a vivid image of the development ofSoutheast Asia's ceramic technology. Along with three contributing authors,Miksic summaries the fruits of the research of the last 40 years, beginning withthe founding of the Southeast Asian Ceramic society in Singapore in 1969. Theresult is a comprehensive and insightful overview of the technology, aestheticsand organisation, both economic and political, of seemingly diverse territoriesin pre-colonial South East Asia. ISBN 978-981-4260-13-8, Southeast Asian Ceramic Society,S$75

Arts of Ancient Vietnam:From River Plain to Open Sea  by NancyTingley

Once astrategic trading post that channelled the flow of riches and ideas amongcountries situated along the South China Sea and places as far away as Indiaand Rome, Vietnam has a fascinating history and an artistic heritage to matchit. This catalogue will help introduce English-speaking audiences to Vietnam'samazing body of artwork, ranging from the first millennium B.C. to the 18thcentury. The authors begin by discussing, for example, the elegant burial jars,iron axes, bronze artefacts, and jewellery of the early Sa Huynh culture; thebronze ritual drums of the Dong Son; and, the jewelled gold pieces, excavatedfrom the walled center of Oc Eo in the kingdom of Fu Nan. New scholarshipinvestigates the trade in gold and Chinese ceramics between Cham and thePhilippine kingdom of Butuan. The final section is devoted to art from Hoi An,once a major international port. Of note are the ceramic wares produced innorthern and central Vietnam from the 16th to 18th centuries. ISBN-13: 978-5873175345, Yale University Press, £35

Emerald Cities Artsof Siam and Burma, 1775-1950 by Forrest McGill and M.L. PattaratornChirapravati

Thisidsllustrated catalogue of artworks from Thailand and Burma provides anintroduction to one of Asia's richest and least known artistic traditions.Focusing primarily on decorative and religious objects from the 19th century(along with some earlier and later works), the book brings to light the lively,yet often strained, interchange between the regions of central and northernThailand (Siam) and Burma. The book exploressome of the elements that have both drawn the countries together and driventhem apart. It contains incisive essays by leading scholars as well as detailedentries relating to nearly 150 spectacular works of art. While representingthe latest art historical scholarship, the book is intended for the generalpublic. It will be of interest to anyone intrigued by such lavish andspectacular artworks as gilded and mirrored ritual vessels, black lacquer andmother-of-pearl inlaid furniture, and vibrant, colorful paintings. To many,these objects will convey something of the exotic and exuberant ambiencecaptured in romantic travel books and films. To browse these pages is to betransported, by artworks that are by turns opulent, reverent, and whimsical, toa lost time and place, one unlike any other. ISBN-13: 978-0939117505, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco,$35

Little Daughter: AMemoir of Survival in Burma and the West

Zoya Phan was born in the remotejungles of Burma, to the Karen ethnic group. For decades the Karen have beenunder attack from Burma's military junta; Zoya's mother was a guerrillasoldier, her father a freedom activist. She lived in a bamboo hut on stilts bythe Moei River; she hunted for edible fungi with her much-loved adoptedbrother, Say Say. Many Karen are Christian or Buddhist, but Zoya's parents wereanimist, venerating the spirits of forest, river and moon. Her early years wereblissfully removed from the war. At the age of fourteen, however, Zoya'schildhood was shattered as the Burmese army attacked. With their house inflames, Zoya and her family fled. So began two terrible years of running fromguns, as Zoya joined thousands of refugees hiding in the jungle. Her familyscattered, Zoya sought sanctuary across the border in a Thai refugee camp.Conditions in the camp were difficult, and Zoya now had to care for her ailingmother. Zoya, a gifted pupil, was eventually able to escape, first to Bangkokand then, with her enemies still pursuing her, in 2004 she fled to the UK andclaimed asylum. The following year, at a ‘free Burma' march, she was plucked fromthe crowd to appear on the BBC, the first of countless interviews with theworld's media. She became the face of a nation enslaved, rubbing shoulders withpresidents and film stars. By turns uplifting, tragic and entirely gripping,this is the extraordinary true story of the girl from the jungle who became anicon of a suffering land. ISBN-13: 978-1847374202, Simon & Schuster, £15.99

A Short History ofSoutheast Asia

Thesuccess of the first four editions shows that this book fills a vacuum forreaders who wish to learn about the countries of Southeast Asia. Recent yearshave seen a number of important developments all of which are covered here.With the global climate becoming more uncertain and the threat of terrorismspilling over, this book will aid readers' knowledge of this region byaddressing its historical past and political future. ISBN-13: 978-0470824818, John Wiley & Sons; 5thEdition, £13.99

ISLAMIC

Shah Abbas: TheRemaking of Iran by Sheila R Canby

ShahAbbas I was one of Irans most influential leaders. Combining his ruthlessambition with a desire for stability, he left a far-reaching mark on thesociety and artistic heritage of Iran, renovating the countrys spectacularshrines and transforming its trading relations with the rest of the world. Thisbook brings together an amazing array of treasures that were given to Iransshrines during Shah Abbass' reign. It traces the story of the Safavid dynasty(15011722), a period of dynamic religious and political development in Iran.Art and architecture flourished and achieved new heights of beauty andbrilliance with the creation of the magnificent shrines at Ardabil, Mashhad andQum. During this so-called Golden Age of Persian art, Shah Abbas renovatedthese shrines and donated to them priceless works of art including carpets,silks, porcelain and albums, many of which are illustrated He also created thenew capital at Isfahan his crowning artistic achievement where he rebuilt hisempire surrounded by an inner circle of great artists and thinkers. From herehe encouraged foreigners to come to Iran and welcomed the opportunity to openup trading links with Europe. The book also looks in detail at thisturning-point in Irans history. It investigates the context of Shah Abbassgifts and renovations; it also explores how these shrines functioned in theearly seventeenth century and the ways in which practices and beliefs initiatedunder the Safavids are reflected in the world-famous shrines at Mashhad and Qumof today. ISBN-13: 978-0714124520, British Museum Press, £25

Shah Abbas: TheRuthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend: Emperor of Persia and Restorer ofIran by David Blow

A ruthless autocrat who blinded andkilled his own sons, but was revered as a hero by his own people. A brilliantwarrior who restored his nation s pride and territorial integrity by waging waron the foreign occupying forces, but chose an English knight to be hisambassador in the West. An aesthete whose artistic patronage made his country acentre of art and culture, but whose religious devotion turned Shi-ism into aglobal phenomenon. Arguably Iran's greatest ruler since the Arab invasion inthe 7th century, Shah Abbas was an immensely complex and much misunderstoodcharacter who, despite often contradictory behaviour, changed the face of theMiddle East forever. When Shah Abbas assumed power in 1587 at the age ofseventeen Persia was on the verge of disintegration and foreign partition. Bythe time of his death in 1629 the country had been transformed into a thrivingstate ready to face the emerging modern world. In ShahAbbas, the first biography in English of thePersian king, David Blow explores this extraordinary transition and theremarkable man who made it happen. The author draws on a wide range of sources,including contemporary European accounts as well as the Persian chronicles, topresent a colourful and compelling account of the life and times of one ofhistory s most extraordinary rulers. His vivid portrait of this seminal figurein Iran s national narrative offers the definitive account of Shah Abbas sdramatic career as a statesman as well as an intimate view of the man behindthe myth. ISBN-13: 978-1845119898, I B Taurus Co Ltd, £25

The Great Caliphs:The Golden Age of the ‘Abbasid Empire by Amira K Bennison

Theflowering of the Abbasid caliphate between 750 and 1258 is often considered theclassical age of Islamic civilisation. In the preceding 120 years, the Arabshad conquered much of the known world of antiquity and established a vastempire stretching from Spain to China. But was this empire really so verydifferent, as has sometimes been claimed, from what it superseded? The Great Caliphs creatively explores the immense achievements of the Abbasid agethrough the lens of Mediterranean history. When the Umayyad caliphs werereplaced by the Abbasids in 750, and the Arab capital moved to Baghdad, Iraqquickly became the centre not only of an imperium but also of a culture builton the foundations of the great civilizations of antiquity: Greece, Rome,Byzantium and Persia. Debunking popular misconceptions about the Arabconquests, Amira K. Bennison shows that, far from seeing themselves as purgingthe ‘occidental' culture of the ancient world with a ‘pure' and ‘oriental'Islamic doctrine, the Abbasids perceived themselves to be as much within thetradition of Mediterranean and Near Eastern empire as any of theirpredecessors. Like other outsiders who inherited the Roman Empire, the Arabshad as much interest in preserving as in destroying, even while they were challengedby the paganism of the past. Indebted to that past while building creatively onits foundations, the Abbasids and their rulers inculcated and nurturedprecisely the ‘civilised' values which western civilisation so often claims torepresent. ISBN-13: 978-1845117375, I B Tauris & Co Ltd, £19.50

The Sword of Persia:Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant

NaderShah, ruler of Persia from 1736 to 1747, embodied ruthless ambition, energy,military brilliance, cynicism and cruelty. His reign was filled with bloodshed,betrayal and horror. Yet Nader Shah is central to Iran's early modern history.From a shepherd boy he rose to liberate his country from foreign occupation,and make himself Shah. He took 18th-century Iran from political collapse tobecome the dominant power in the region, recovering Herat and Kandahar,conquering Moghul Delhi, plundering the enormous treasures of India, repeatedlydefeating Ottoman Turkey, and overrunning most of what is now Iraq.Butsuspicion and avarice led him to persecute the Persian people as savagely asany foreign conqueror had done. ‘The Sword of Persia' recreates the story of aremarkable, ruthless man, capable of both charm and brutality, who became amonster of insane cruelty. It is a rich narrative, full of dramatic incident,including much new research into original Iranian and other material, whichwill prove indispensable to historians and students. ISBN-13: 978-1845119829, I B Taurus Co Ltd, £14.99

FALNAMA: The Book of Omens

Whetherby consulting the position of the planets, casting horoscopes or interpretingdreams, the art of divination was widely practised throughout the Islamicworld. The most splendid tools ever devised to foretell the future wereillustrated texts known as the Falnama (Book of Omens). Notable for their monumentalsize, brilliantly painted compositions and unusual subject matter, themanuscripts, created in Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey in the 16th and early17th centuries, are the centre piece of Falnama. This is the first book devotedto these extraordinary manuscripts, which remain largely unpublished, and shedsnew light on their artistic, cultural and religious significance. Accompaniesthe exhibition at the Sackler in Washington DC. ISBN-13: 978-0500515112, Thames & Hudson, £39.95

Masterpieces of IslamicArt: The Decorated Page from the 8th to the 17th Century by Oleg Grabar

Arenowned scholar of Islamic art, history and culture, Oleg Grabar introduces inthis book a wide range of illuminated manuscript masterpieces from the 8th tothe 17th century. The heroes of grand epics such as Alexander the Great arefound side-by-side with mythical monarchs, sultans, and even monsters.Illuminated manuscripts of the Qur'an, epic poetry, and scientific works from theEgyptian, Syrian, Persian, Mughal and Ottoman empires await discovery. The bookopens with an essay which contextualises the works-the originals of whichreside in the Louvre, French National Library, National Library of Cairo, theBritish Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Topkapi Museum, the FreerGallery of Art and the collections of the Aga Khan and Khalili families.Following is a selection of two hundred full-colour illustrations accompaniedby the author's insightful commentary. Including examples of some of theworld's most beautiful artistic expressions, this collection of carefullychosen works not only illustrates an important period in art history but alsoserves as a monument to the achievements of Islamic culture. ISBN-13: 978-3791343792, Prestel, £50

The British Museum PocketTimeline of Islamic Civilizations by Nicholas Badcott

At theback of the book is a 12-page foldout timeline which can be detached anddisplayed on a wall or noticeboard, offering a quick visual reference to thekey periods, events and developments of Islamic civilisations fromapproximately the 7th to the 19th centuries. The book offers introductions toeach of the periods and dynasties, with short sections on particular themes andon the great achievements of Islamic art and culture over the centuries. Bothbook and timeline are richly illustrated throughout with colour photographs, includingnumerous objects from the British Museum's collections. ISBN-13: 978-0714131337, British Museum Press, £7.99

The Conference of theBirds: A Study of Farid ud-Din Attar's Poem Using Jali Diwani byFarah K Behbehani

The Conference ofthe Birds, written in the 12thcentury by the Persian poet and mystic Farid ud-Din Attar, tells how the birdsof the world gather in order to search for a mythological king, the Simorgh.Each of the birds represents a different human type a coward, a lover and muchof the poem consists of tales told by their leader in answer to theirobjections to the journey or their questions about it. Farah K. Behbehani hasselected stories from this great work of Persian literature (in English versetranslation) about thirteen of the birds and their journey, illustrating theArabic name of each bird in Jali Diwani calligraphy, an ornamental cursive scriptdeveloped by the Ottomans which is characterised by its profuse embellishment.Aline from the Arabic version of the poem that captures the essence of eachbirds story is also illustrated calligraphically and explained by a graphicsystem that enables the reader to understand the flow of the text in eachcomposition.This exquisite and beautifully designed book concludes with aglossary of the Arabic alphabet in Jali Diwani script and interpretations ofthe letters according to Sufi mystical values. ISBN-13: 978-0500514627, Thames & Hudson, £85

Rivers of Paradise: Waterin Islamic Art and Culture Edited by Sheila S Blair and Jonathan M Bloom

Formillennia the collection, distribution and symbolism of water have playedpivotal roles in the lands where Islam has flourished. This book is the firstto address this important subject. A diverse spectrum of scholars covers a widerange of topics: from the revelation of Islam in the seventh century to today'sconservation and development issues, from watering oases in the Moroccan desertto the flooded plains of Bengal. Illustrated with beautiful colour photographsand newly drawn plans and maps, this book will provoke readers to appreciateand acknowledge the essential, if often invisible and transitory, roles thatwater played in the arts of the Islamic lands and beyond. ISBN-13: 978-0300158991, Yale University Press, £45

Ardehsir Mohasess: Art and Satire in Iran

Thisbook brings together approximately 70 of Mohassess's rarely-seen drawings, onloan from the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and from several privatecollections in this country. Many of these have never been published in a bookor catalogue, and several of the early works were censored in his nativecountry. The book reveals this artist's significant impact on both theinternational art scene and news media.The catalogue is organised in twosections: works created before the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and those createdafter the Revolution. Ardeshir Mohassess has been living in self-imposed exilesince 1976. After enduring harassment from his native country's nationalpolice, he immigrated to the US, where he has remained. Today, he is consideredto be one of the most significant living Iranian artists. ISBN 978 1851 4956 41, Asia Society, US$35

FICTION

The Immortals byAmit Chaudhuri

Shyamjihas music in his blood, for his father was the acclaimed ‘heavenly singer' and guru, RamLal. But Shyam Lal is not his father, and knows he never will be. MallikaSengupta's voice could have made her famous, but being the wife of a successfulbusinessman is a full-time occupation in itself. Mallika's son, Nirmalya,believes in suffering for his art, and for him, all compromise is failure:those with talent should be true to that talent. No matter what. Written inhaunting, melodic prose, The Immortals tells the story - or stories - of Shyam,Mallika and Nirmalya: their relationships, their lives, their music. More thanthat, though, it is also the story of music itself, of music as art, and anexploration of its place in the modern world of money and commerce. ISBN-13: 978-0330455800, Picador, £16.99

In Other Rooms,Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Thelinked stories in In Other Rooms,Other Wonders illuminate a placeand a people as they describe the overlapping worlds of an extended Pakistanilandowning family: the servants and dependents in Mr. K.K. Harouni'soverflowing Lahore household, the peasants on his estates who rely on hisfavor, and the parallel world of his industrialist brother, who has distancedhimself from the feudal past. Inextricably bound to each other, the charactersconfront the advantages and constraints of station, the dissolution of oldways, and the shock of change. These richly textured stories reveal - at timeshumorously, at times tragically - the complexities of Pakistani class andculture, as they describe the loves, triumphs, misunderstandings and tragediesof this diverse group of characters. ISBN-13: 978-0747597131, Bloomsbury, £14.99 

The Case of the MissingServant by Tarquin Hall

Meet VishPuri, India's most private investigator. Portly, persistent and unmistakablyPunjabi, he cuts a determined swathe through modern India's swindlers, cheatsand murderers. In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centers and malls arechanging the ancient fabric of Indian life, Puri's main work comes fromscreening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties andfamily priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering hismaidservant, it takes all of Puri's resources to investigate.How will he tracethe fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than onebillion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants? And why ishis widowed ‘Mummy-ji' attempting to play sleuth when everyone knows Mummiesare not detectives? With his team of undercover operatives - Tubelight, Flushand Facecream - Puri ingeniously combines modern techniques with principles ofdetection established in India more than two thousand years ago - long before‘that Johnny-come-lately' Sherlock Holmes donned his deerstalker. The searchfor Mary takes him to the desert oasis of Jaipur and the remote mines ofJharkhand. From his well-heeled Gymkhana Club to the slums where the servantclasses live, Puri's adventures reveal modern India in all its seethingcomplexity. ISBN-13: 978-0091925635, Hutchinson, £12.99

Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein

Usman isvisiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artistcalled Lydia who has, like himself, come out of an unhappy marriage. Just asthe lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usmanhas to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind. Two years later, Lydiaimpulsively abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where thetwo are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels distanced from his lifeand realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl. Abeautiful account of a marriage that is in turns wry and unashamedly romantic. ISBN-13: 978-1846590566, Telegram Books, £6.99

Jeff in Venice,Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer

JeffAtman, a journalist, is in Venice to cover the opening of the Venice ArtBiennale. He is expecting to see a load of art, go to a lot of parties anddrink too many bellinis. He's not expecting to meet the spellbinding Laura, whowill completely transform his few days in the city. Another city, anotherassignment: this time on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi. Amid the crowds,ghats and chaos of India's holiest Hindu city a different kind oftransformation lies in wait. A beautifully told story of erotic love andspiritual yearning, Jeff in Venice,Death in Varanasi is playful,stylish, sensual, comic, ingenious and utterly captivating. It confirms GeoffDyer as one of Britain's most exciting and original writers. ISBN 978-1847672704, Canongate Books, £12.99

Black Orchids byGillian Slovo

When thegenteely impoverished and rebellious Evelyn marries the charming Emil, scion ofa privileged Sinhalese family, she thinks that her dream of a life in Englandcan now at last come true. So the family travel, with their young son Milton,from Ceylon to Tilbury Docks. But this is England in the 1950s and, no matterhow hard Evelyn wishes that it would, England does not take kindly tostrangers, especially families who are half black and half white. A profoundand moving novel, this is the story about the search to feel at home in yourown skin. ISBN-13: 978-1844083138, Virago Press, £7.99

The Wasted Vigil byNadeem Aslam

A Russianwoman named Lara arrives in Afghanistan at the house of Marcus Caldwell, anEnglishman and widower living in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains. Marcus'daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara's brother, a Soviet soldier whodisappeared in the area many years previously. But like Marcus' wife, Zameen isdead; a victim of the age in which she was born. In the days that follow,further people arrive at the house: two Americans who have spent much of theiradult lives in the area; a young Afghan teacher; and a radicalized young manintent on his own path. And Nadeem Aslam paints a moving, beautiful andpowerful portrait of a land and a people torn apart through love and war. ISBN-13: 978-0571238804, Faber and Faber, £7.99

The Vagrants byYiyun Li

The much-anticipated first novel from theGuardian First Book Award-winning Chinese writer. In the provincial town ofMuddy Waters in China, a young woman named Gu Shan is sentenced to death forher loss of faith in Communism. She is twenty-eight years old and has alreadyspent ten years in prison. The citizens stage a protest after her death and,over the following six weeks, the town goes through uncertainty, hope and fearuntil eventually the rebellion is brutally suppressed. They are all taken on apainful journey, from one young woman's death to another. We follow the pain ofGu Shan's parents, the hope and fear of the leaders of the protest and theirfamilies. Even those who seem unconnected to the tragedy -- an eleven-year-oldboy seeking fame and glory, a nineteen-year-old village idiot in love with ayoung and deformed girl, an old couple making a living by scavenging the town'sgarbage cans -- are caught up in a remorseless turn of events. Yiyun Li's novelis based on the true story which took place in China in 1979. ISBN 978-0007196654, Fourth Estate, £7.99

The Mao Case by QiuXiaolong

Tucked away from the building sites of modernShanghai are the beautiful mansions once owned by the smartest families in1930s China. They have since been bought by rich businessmen and high-rankingmembers of the Communist Party. All except one.The owner is an old painter whoholds a glittering party each night: swing jazz plays for his formerneighbours, who dance, remember old times and forget for an evening the terrorsthat followed. But questions are being asked. How can he afford such alifestyle? His paintings? Blackmail? A triad connection? Prostitution?Inspector Chen is asked to investigate discreetly what is going on behind theelegant façade. But, before he can get close to anyone, one of the girls isfound murdered in the garden and another is terrified she will be next. Chen'squest for answers will take Chen to a strange businessman, triads, Chairman Maohimself and a terrible secret the Party will go to any length to conceal. ISBN-13: 978-0340978597, Sceptre, £7.99

The China Lover  by Ian Burama

Ian Buruma's epic novel is the richlyimagined story of one woman's struggle to survive in the face of war andoccupation in the Far East during the Second World War. It should appeal toanyone who loved Memoirs of a Geisha. When Sidney Vanoven is sent to occupiedJapan, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, it is his dreamposting. By day, he works in the censor's office watching Japanese films; atnight he immerses himself in the sensual pleasures of Tokyo. His job leads himinto the circle of the beautiful film star Shirley Yamaguchi, a passionate andindomitable woman, whose wartime secrets hint at deception and betrayal. As hebecomes increasingly aware of her story, it seems to point at the dark heart ofJapan itself. In "The China Lover", Ian Buruma has created a saga of modernJapan that is epic in scale, richly imagined and vividly populated. It is quitesimply unforgettable. ISBN-13: 978-1843548027, Atlantic Books, £8.99

Ghost Train to the EasterStar by Paul Theroux

Thirtyyears ago Paul Theroux left London and travelled across Asia and back again bytrain. His account of the journey - The Great Railway Bazaar - was a landmarkbook and made his name as the foremost travel writer of his generation. NowTheroux makes the trip all over again. Through Eastern Europe, India and Asiato discover the changes that have swept the continents, and also to learn whatan old man will make of a young man's journey. Ghost Train to the Eastern Staris a brilliant chronicle of change and an exploration of how travel is ‘thesaddest of pleasures'. ISBN-13: 978-0141015729, Penguin, £8.99

Occupied City (TokyoTrilogy 2) by David Peace

‘We allknow what this could be: we know it could be dysentery, we know it could betyphoid. In the "Occupied City", we all know what this could mean -' Tokyo,January 26th, 1948. As the third year of the US Occupation of Japan begins, aman enters a downtown bank. He speaks of an outbreak of dysentery and says heis a doctor, sent by the Occupation authorities, to treat anyone who might havebeen exposed. Clear liquid is poured into sixteen teacups. Sixteen employees ofthe bank drink this liquid according to strict instructions. Within minutestwelve of them are dead, the other four unconscious. The man disappears alongwith some, but not all, of the bank's money. And so begins the biggest manhuntin Japanese history. In "Occupied City", David Peace dramatises and exploresthe rumours of complicity, conspiracy and cover-up that surround the chillingcase of the Teikoku Bank Massacre: of the man who was convicted of the crime,of the legacy of biological warfare programmes, and of the victims andsurvivors themselves. The second part of his acclaimed "Tokyo Trilogy" - and anextraordinary picture of a city in mourning - "Occupied City" is furtherevidence of a singular and formidable novelist. ISBN 978-0571232024, Faber and Faber, £12.99

Burnt Shadows byKamila Shamsie

In a prison cell in the US, a man standstrembling, naked, fearfully waiting to be shipped to Guantanamo Bay. How did itcome to this? he wonders. August 9th, 1945, Nagasaki. Hiroko Tanaka steps outonto her veranda, taking in the view of the terraced slopes leading up to thesky. Wrapped in a kimono with three black cranes swooping across the back, sheis twenty-one, in love with the man she is to marry, Konrad Weiss. In a splitsecond, the world turns white. In the next, it explodes with the sound of fireand the horror of realisation. In the numbing aftermath of a bomb thatobliterates everything she has known, all that remains are the bird-shapedburns on her back, an indelible reminder of the world she has lost. In searchof new beginnings, she travels to Delhi two years later. There she walks intothe lives of Konrad's half-sister, Elizabeth, her husband James Burton, andtheir employee Sajjad Ashraf, from whom she starts to learn Urdu. As the yearsunravel, new homes replace those left behind and old wars are seamlesslyusurped by new conflicts. But the shadows of history - personal, political -are cast over the entwined worlds of the Burtons, Ashrafs and the Tanakas asthey are transported from Pakistan to New York, and in the novel's astonishingclimax, to Afghanistan in the immediate wake of 9/11. Sweeping in its scope andmesmerising in its evocation of time and place, "Burnt Shadows" is an epicnarrative of disasters evaded and confronted, loyalties offered and repaid, andloves rewarded and betrayed. ISBN-13: 978-1408800874, Bloomsbury, £7.99

Censoring An Iranian LoveStory by Shahriar Mandanipour

Trulyoriginal, Censoring an Iranian Love Story is an incredibly imaginative yetalways charming love story set in contemporary Iran that crackles with wit,verve and social comment: Sara falls in love with Dara through secret messageshidden in code in the pages of books that have been outlawed, but thensomething quite extraordinary and unexpected happens. Through adeptly handledasides to the reader, as well as anecdotes, codes and metaphors, and cheekyreferences to the wonderfully rich Iranian literary heritage, the novel buildsto offer a revealing yet often playful and hopeful comment on the pressures ofwriting within the tightly prescribed Islamic regime, pressures that naturallyare heightened where affairs of the heart are concerned. ISBN-13: 978-1408701607, Little, Brown, translated by SaraKhalili, £14.99

Seven Days in the Art Worldby Sarah Thornton

FromLondon to Beijing to New York, art sales are booming, and the art worldreceives the sort of breathless media attention once reserved for celebritiesand royals. In "Seven Days in the Art World", Sarah Thornton, a brilliant youngsociologist, looks at all aspects of buying, selling, and creating serious art.Thornton has exceptional access, and brings a keen critical eye to her coverageof this glamorous milieu, offering the first authoritative account of what isnow a multi-billion dollar global marketplace-cum-playground for anever-expanding number of collectors, investors, and enthusiasts. ISBN-13: 978-1847080844, Granta, £8.99

Sunset Oasis byBahaa Taher

WhenMahmoud Abd El Zahir is sent to govern the remote Egyptian oasis of Siwa in thelate 1890s, he knows the danger he faces: two of his predecessors weremurdered. But having been accused of disloyalty to the current regime and itsBritish overlords, he has little choice. Rather than stay behind in Cairo, hisIrish wife Catherine insists on going too, hoping to reinvigorate theirrelationship. Once at Siwa, Mahmoudfinds himself not only fiercely resented but caught between two warringfactions, while Catherine, with her Western ways and seemingly avariciousinterest in the local archaeological sites, succeeds in alienating the entirecommunity - all except for a beautiful young woman, herself an outcast, whoseattempt at friendship spells disaster. In this novel, BahaaTaher weaves together several voices to capture a society at war with itselfand a marriage in trouble. This is a striking, haunting work by one of the Arabworld's most celebrated writers. ISBN 978-0340924877, Sceptre, £18.99

Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw

From theauthor of the internationally acclaimed, Costa Award-winning The Harmony SilkFactory comes an enthralling new novel that evokes an exotic yet turbulent andoften frightening world. 16-year-old Adam is an orphan three times over. He andhis older brother, Johan, were abandoned by their mother as children; hewatched as Johan was adopted and taken away by a wealthy couple; and he had tohide when Karl, the Dutch man who raised him, was arrested by soldiers duringSukarno's drive to purge 1960s Indonesia of its colonial past. Adam sets out ona quest to find Karl, but all he has to guide him are some old photos andletters, which send him to the colourful, dangerous capital, Jakarta. Johan,meanwhile, is living a seemingly carefree, privileged life in Malaysia, but iscareening out of control, unable to forget the long-ago betrayal of hishelpless, trusting brother. ISBN-13:978-0007289882, Fourth Estate, £16.99

MISCELLANEOUS

Vermeer's Hat: TheSeventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World by Timothy Brook

Throughthese intimate pictures, Timothy Brook shows the rapidly expanding world of the17th century from the beaver-trappers of Canada and the silver mines of theAmericas to Delft itself and the China seas. In one painting, a Dutch militaryofficer leans toward a laughing girl. In another, a woman at a window weighspieces of silver. In a third, fruit spills from a porcelain bowl onto a Turkishcarpet. The officer's dashing hat is made of beaver fur, which Europeanexplorers got from Native Americans in exchange for weapons. Beaver pelts, inturn, financed the voyages of sailors seeking new routes to China. There - withsilver mined in Peru - Europeans would purchase, by the thousands, theporcelain so often shown in Dutch paintings of this time. Fascinating andinformative. ISBN-13:978-1846681202, Profile Books, £9.99

Eat my Globe: OneMan's Search for the Best Food in the World by Simon Majumdar

Simon is obsessed with food. He is ableto remember every meal he has ever eaten and comes from a family of food loverswhose relationships are all based around food. In the midst of a mid-lifecrisis, Simon Majumdar decided to pack in his 9 to 5 day job and embark on atrip of a lifetime: to go everywhere and eat everything. Part travelogue,part memoir the book is a culinary tour of the world that Simon has alwaysdreamed of making. From Philly Cheese steak in the US to mouldy shark inIceland, he crosses the globe in search of variety and the ultimate tasteexperience. He also meets a fascinating array of people, whose foodie passionimpresses even Simon. Both witty and inspirational, this is an eye-opening lookat the world through food. ISBN 978-1848540170, John Murray, £12.99

The Duel: Pakistanon the Flight Path of American Power by Tariq Ali

Pakistanstands on the front line of the war against terror. Yet this long-time ally ofthe West, whose links with the US have caused enormous friction within thecountry, is in deepening crisis. As President Pervez Musharraf struggles tocling to power through states of emergency, press curbs and imprisonment of hisopponents, a range of forces threaten to destroy him and tip the country into afull-blown civil war. Drawing on extensive first-hand research and personalknowledge, Tariq Ali investigates both the causes and the consequences ofPakistan's rapid spiral into political chaos. Shedding new light oncontroversial questions (did the US greenlight the execution of PresidentZufikar Ali Bhutto in 1979? Is NATO negotiating to grant the Taliban a role inAfghanistan? Are those now jockeying for power any less corrupt thanMusharraf's current cronies?) he examines the various disparate elements andeach of the key individuals whose conflicts are tearing Pakistan apart. ISBN 978-1847393746,Pocket Books,£8.99

Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir ThomasStamford Raffles by Henry J Noltie

Anillustrated catalogue of the 123 colourful natural history drawings of theRaffles Family Collection, acquired by the British Library in 2007. In February1824 Sir Stamford Raffles and his wife Sophia set sail for Britain on the Fame,with the collections made during his six years on the Indonesian island ofSumatra. These included two to three thousand drawings, priceless Malay manuscriptsand living animals including a tiger specially tamed for the voyage - a‘veritable Noah's Ark.' Tragically the ship caught fire with the loss of allthe collections. During the ten weeks until the next boat sailed a Chinese anda French artist managed to replace about 80 of the drawings that, with earlierdrawings, including some made on the Malaysian island of Penang for the EastIndia Company surgeon William Hunter, form the core of the collection. ISBN-13: 978-0712350846, British Library PublishingDivision, £20

Buddhist Art: AnHistorical and Cultural Journey by Giles Béguin

Buddhism and its art is the one trulyunifying factor of the entire Asian continent and has become a fundamental partof ourshared world heritage. To draw a unique portrait of this art in a singlework is a formidable undertaking due to the great plurality of traditionsspanning different countries and regions over various epochs. Furthermore, thevariability in the state ofconservation of Buddhist monuments and theirdecorations provides additional challenges. A passionate scholar of Buddhist art, Giles Béguin haschosen to organise his work in the form of an historical atlas. Thus togetherwith beautiful photography, plans and reconstructions of the monuments and theirmagnificent works of art, this book also contains previously unpublishedcartography. The author takes the reader on an historical and cultural journeyacross the vast continent of Asia stretching from India, Sri Lanka and Gandharato countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Burma in Southeast Asia up to theHimalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Tibet before arriving at the far easterncivilisations of China, Korean and Japan. ISBN 9789749863879, River Books, £45