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World War I: The African Front: An Imperial War on the Dark Continent
The definitive history of World War I's forgotten front: Britain versus Germany in East Africa to secure the belly of a continent On August 7, 1914, Britain fired its first shots of World War I not in Europe but in the German colony of Togo. The campaign to eliminate the threat at sea posed by German naval bases in Africa would soon be won, but in the land war, especially in East Africa, British troops would meet far fiercer resistance from German colonial forces that had fully mastered the tactics of bush warfare. It was expected to be a "small war," over by Christmas, yet it would continue bloodily for more than four years, even beyond the signing of the Armistice in Europe. Its costs were immense, its butchery staggering (in excess of100,000 British troops and 45,000 native recruits dead). Utmost among the tragic consequences, though, was the waste laid to the land and its indigenous peoples in what one official historian described as "a war of extermination and attrition without parallel in modern times." Imperialism had gone calamitously amok. This eye-opening account of the Great War in East Africa does not flinch at the daily horrors of an ill-fated campaign—not just the combat but also a hostile climate, disease, the terrible loneliness—nor does it fail to recount tales of extraordinary courage and the kind of adventure that inspired fiction like C. S. Forester's The African Queen, William Boyd's An Ice-Cream War, and Wilbur Smith's Shout at the Devil. In all, it demonstrates dramatically why even the most hardened of Great War soldiers preferred the trenches of France to the trauma of East Africa..
Price: $23.10
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The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. The Lost Continent is no exception Following an urge to rediscover his youth (he should know better), the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook. With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. Gentler elements aside, The Lost Continent is an amusing book. Here's Bryson on the women of his native state: "I will say this, however--and it's a strange, strange thing--the teenaged daughters of these fat women are always utterly delectable ... I don't know what it is that happens to them, but it must be awful to marry one of those nubile cuties knowing that there is a time bomb ticking away in her that will at some unknown date make her bloat out into something huge and grotesque, presumably all of a sudden and without much notice, like a self-inflating raft from which the pin has been yanked." Yes, Bill, but be honest: what do you really think?.
Price: $3.99
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Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
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Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
Ever since anonymous spray-can art began appearing on city walls in New York and Philadelphia in the late 1960s, graffiti has been a ubiquitous presence in the urban landscape, its artists largely unsung heroes. As hip-hop culture spread from America, graffiti became a worldwide phenomenon, emerging in the 1980s as the symbolic artistic language of young people everywhere and one of the most potent influences on youth-oriented marketing and design. With more than 2,000 illustrations by over 150 artists from all over the world and interviews with many of them, this visually arresting book is the most comprehensive survey of graffiti art ever published. Today's young graffiti artists incorporate a variety of mediums-including stickers, stencils, oils, acrylics, and oil-based chalk-as well as an ever-expanding range of social commentary. This evolution in style and subject matter has earned graffiti the respect of the art world and guaranteed its long-lasting influence on art, graphic design, and style around the world. Great fun for graffiti and pop-culture buffs, the book is also an essential reference work for anyone involved in the visual arts today. AUTHOR BIO: Nicholas Ganz (also known as Keinom, his pen name) is a graffiti artist who has traveled around the world to gather material for this book. He lives in Essen, Germany. Tristan Manco is a graphic artist and director of Bristol-based Tijuana Design. He is the author of Stencil Graffiti and Street Logos. .
Price: $20.50
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Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century
As the European Union introduces a common currency to world financial markets, Mark Mazower's Dark Continent critically examines the notion of "Europe." The Euro notwithstanding, Mazower argues that the "'Europe' of the European Union may be a promise or a delusion, but it is not a reality." Renouncing the notion of an essential "Europe," Mazower instead explores the conflicts which dominated the continent in the 20th century and the social value systems which informed them. Mazower orders his examination chronologically, commencing with the collapse of Europe's continental empires following World War I and the initial European experiments in democracy and national self-determination which followed. He continues with analyses of state interventions in family health and the importance of healthy progeny, the financial crisis of the 1920s, the Hitler regime, the transformed democracy that emerged following World War II, the gradual erosion of the social state in the 1980s, and, finally, the collapse of communism. He consistently displays a firm grip of European history, directing his argument to readers with a foundational knowledge of the events that shaped 20th century Europe rather than historical novices unfamiliar with the period. Provocatively insightful, Dark Continent makes a convincing argument for a European 21st century characterized by continuity and harmony through divergence. "If Europeans can give up their desperate desire to find a single, workable definition of themselves," Mazower concludes, "they may come to terms more easily with the diversity and dissension which will be as much their future as their past." --Bertina Loeffler.
Price: $9.56
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Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America's Soul
Latin America has often been condemned to failure Neither poor enough to evoke Africa’s moral crusade, nor as explosively booming as India and China, it has largely been overlooked by the West. Yet this vast continent, home to half a billion people, the world’s largest reserves of arable land, and 8.5 percent of global oil, is busily transforming its political and economic landscape. This book argues that rather than failing the test, Latin America’s efforts to build fairer and more prosperous societies make it one of the world’s most vigorous laboratories for capitalist democracy. In many countries—including Brazil, Chile and Mexico—democratic leaders are laying the foundations for faster economic growth and more inclusive politics, as well as tackling deep-rooted problems of poverty, inequality, and social injustice. They face a new challenge from Hugo Chávez’s oil-fuelled populism, and much is at stake. Failure will increase the flow of drugs and illegal immigrants to the United States and Europe, jeopardize stability in a region rich in oil and other strategic commodities, and threaten some of the world's most majestic natural environments. Drawing on Michael Reid’s many years of reporting from inside Latin America’s cities, presidential palaces, and shantytowns, the book provides a vivid, immediate, and informed account of a dynamic continent and its struggle to compete in a globalized world. .
Price: $18.79
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Africa: A Biography of the Continent
"The ancestors of all humanity evolved in Africa," notes photojournalist John Reader at the beginning of this epic, panoramic overview of African history. From the formation of the continent to the present, Reader's informative narrative tells the story of the earliest dwellers and the natural obstacles of desert, jungle, and animals they faced, expertly entwining the development of humanity with the ecological and geographical evolution of the continent. He demonstrates how the physical makeup of Africa is like nowhere else on earth, both supporting and crippling human progress over time. Reader, who has lived and traveled in Africa for many years, explores the migration of humanity as early as 100,000 years ago out of Africa into Europe and South America, forming the earliest indigenous populations in these areas. At the same time he traces the effects of European settlers, slavery, and tribal warfare to the present day's independent states that have suffered through chronic disease, famine, and brutal conflict. Reader's passion for this continent is evident throughout the text, bringing to life his scrupulous research which explores in fascinating detail, the intricate and complex history of Africa. -- Jeremy Storey.
Price: $11.30
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A Concise History of Modern India (Cambridge Concise Histories)
In a second edition of their successful Concise History of Modern India, Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf explore India's modern history afresh and update the events of the last decade. These include the takeover of Congress from the seemingly entrenched Hindu nationalist party in 2004, India's huge advances in technology and the country's new role as a major player in world affairs. From the days of the Mughals, through the British Empire, and into Independence, the country has been transformed by its institutional structures. It is these institutions which have helped bring about the social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place over the last half century and paved the way for the modern success story. Despite these advances, poverty, social inequality and religious division still fester. In response to these dilemmas, the book grapples with questions of caste and religious identity, and the nature of the Indian nation..
Price: $9.99
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Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations, and Continents
Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable sample chapters
“In summary, this is a significant book . . . for a multitude of audiences, including scholars, practitioners, students, expatriates, travelers, and those who are simply interested in culture. . . . This book is also an ideal reference tool, since the metaphors are easy to remember yet rich in contextual value, and are presented in a logical structure for quick consultation. Overall, this book is enormously appealing, genuinely useful, and a worthy addition to any collection.” —THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW, 2002 In Understanding Global Cultures, Third Edition, the author presents the cultural metaphor as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of a nation, a cluster of nations, and even a continent. This title emphasizes that metaphors are guidelines that helps such outsiders to quickly understand what members of a culture consider important. New Features of the Third Edition: - Develops a cultural metaphor for the base culture of China (the Great Wall), showing how it influenced both a unifying cultural metaphor among the large Chinese Expatriate communities living in various nations (the Chinese family altar) and the cultural metaphor for Singapore (the Hawker Centers).
- Provides a description of cultural metaphors for two continents, Africa and Australia
- Groups cultural metaphors by book parts into overriding themes or general types of cultures such as Authority Ranking, Equality matching, Market Pricing, Cleft, and Torn.
Instructor’s Resources on the Web: There is now a Web site where instructors can obtain over 100 concepts, applications, and exercises to enrich the learning experiences associated with the Third Edition. Visit the authors website at www.csusm.edu/mgannon, or click here. (20070401).
Price: $48.56
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Sources of East Asian Tradition: Premodern Asia (Introduction to Asian Civilizations)
In Sources of East Asian Tradition, Wm. Theodore de Bary offers a selection of essential readings from his immensely popular anthologies Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of Korean Tradition, and Sources of Japanese Tradition so readers can experience a concise but no less comprehensive portrait of the social, intellectual, and religious traditions of East Asia. Volume 1 samples writings from the earliest times to 1600, illuminating life in early China and the first imperial age, as well as the profound impact of Daoism, Buddhism, the Confucian revival, and Neo-Confucianism; the origins of Korean culture and political structures, up through the Choson dynasty; and major developments in early and medieval Japan. De Bary maintains his trademark balance of source materials, including seminal readings in the areas of history, society, politics, education, philosophy, and religion, thereby continuing his own tradition of providing an exceptional resource for teachers, scholars, students, and the general reader. .
Price: $26.94
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