Full AspenCat Catalog

While European intellectual, cultural, and commercial life stagnated during the early medieval period, Asia flourished as the wellspring of science, philosophy, and religion. Linked together by a web of religious, commercial, and intellectual connections, the different regions of Asia's vast civilization, from Arabia to China, hummed with commerce, international diplomacy, and the brisk exchange of ideas. Stewart Gordon has fashioned a look at Asia...

"This book presents a transregional approach to the intersection of Islam and developments in other spheres of the human experience across Asia, thus covering a vast territory and a wide time span during which these lands saw much transformation. The primary interest is in offering the big picture of how and why Asia (here meaning the lands beyond the Oxus/Amu Darya river, Uzbekistan) is central to the history of Islam, and vice versa. The theoretical...

"Shadow of the Silk Road records a journey along the greatest land route on earth. Out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran and into Kurdish Turkey, Colin Thubron covers some seven thousand miles in eight months. Making his way by local bus, truck, car, donkey cart and camel, he travels from the tomb of the Yellow Emperor, the mythic progenitor of the Chinese people, to the ancient...

Introduces Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world, describing its ancient beginnings, the first human settlers, and historic climbs.

Who was the Sun King? How did samurai become sumo wrestlers? what was the Black Hole of Calcutta? And why was a California town named Ground Hog Glory. Volume 3: Early Modern Times is the third of a four volume series and covers the major historical events in the years 1600 to 1850, as well as including maps, illustrations, and tales from each culture.

For more than two thousand years, the Eurasian steppes poured forth wave upon wave of fierce, nomadic conquerors. The last and greatest of these were the Mongols.

Discusses the civilizations of China, Japan, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Australia, and Oceania from the beginnings of time until about 600 A.D.

"In this sweeping and insightful history, Henry Kissinger turns for the first time at book-length to a country he has known intimately for decades, and whose modern relations with the West he helped shape. Drawing on historical records as well as his conversations with Chinese leaders over the past forty years, Kissinger examines how China has approached diplomacy, strategy, and negotiation throughout its history, and reflects on the consequences...