Non-Secondhand Books

The diaries of the last British Governor, five weeks on the Sunday Times best-seller list In June 1992 Chris Patten went to Hong Kong as the last British governor, to...

How did a 'chai wallah' who sold tea on trains as a boy become Prime Minister of India? On May 16, 2014, Narendra Modi was declared the winner of the...

'Chinese' or 'Any other Asian'. The boxes that people of vastly varied East and South East Asian heritage have to tick when declaring their ethnicity on many forms in the...

A beautifully illustrated children's book detailing the fascinating history of the Great Wall of China Embark on an unforgettable time-travelling journey along one of the world's greatest landmarks- the Great...

'A beautiful and unique retelling of Medea. I loved it!' Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie Irwin 'Absorbing and thoughtful... full of page-turning drama and vibrantly drawn characters . Bold and...

The first book to present the amazing swords and armour belonging to the most famous Samurai in Japanese history! In Japanese Swords and Armor , Samurai sword expert Paul Martin...

Created specifically for fans of Japanese 'cool culture,' A Geek in Japan is one of the most iconic, hip, and concise cultural guides available. Reinvented for the internet age, it...

A comprehensive guide to understanding Vietnam's long and tumultuous history A Brief History of Vietnam explores the turbulent history of a land that has risen from the ashes of war...

Thailand is known for its picturesque beaches and famous temples, but there's much more to this popular holiday destination than many realise. A Brief History of Thailand offers an engaging...

Korean culture developed on a 600-mile-long peninsula, bordered on the north by mountains and three sides by the sea, set apart from the Asian mainland. Korea was one of the...

For millennia, China was the largest and richest nation on earth. Two centuries ago, however, its economy sank into a depression from which it had not fully recovered-until now. China's...

In this unique book, His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells the full story of his 75-year struggle with China to save Tibet and its people. Instant New York Times Bestseller...

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books All moonlight is moving, wherever it may be... Japanese gentlewoman Sei Shonagon invites us to look behind the painted screens in...

A retainer of our domain, Renpeido Chikamatsu Hikonoshin Shigenori, each morning washed his face and hands, dressed himself in Hakama and prayed in front of the kamidana alter ...His prayer...

Now a major motion picture from Jerry Bruckheimer starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon! "A thrilling action ride of a book" ( The New York Times Book Review )--the New...

In December 1525 Babur, the great grandson of the Mongol conqueror Tamberlaine, crossed the Indus river into the Punjab with a modest army and some cannon. At the battle of...

'Michael Sheridan is one of the best informed and wisest writers on China' - Chris Patten, last governor of Hong Kong The Red Emperor presents an eye-opening portrait of Xi...

In this compelling new study, Louise Edwards explores the lives of some of China's most famous women warriors and wartime spies through history. Focusing on key figures including Hua Mulan,...

China's rise as the world's second-largest economy surely is the most dramatic development in the global economy since the year 2000. But China's prominence in the global economy is hardly...

China's rise as the world's second-largest economy surely is the most dramatic development in the global economy since the year 2000. Volume II, which spans China's two turbulent centuries from...

How did upstart outsiders forge vast new empires in early modern Asia, laying the foundations for today's modern mega-states of India and China? In How the East Was Won, Andrew...

The Forty-Seven Ronin vendetta is one of the most famous incidents in Japanese history, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. John A. Tucker seeks to provide a...

Since it was first published in 2005, A History of Thailand has been hailed as an authoritative, lively and readable account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. From...

Volume 3 charts the establishment of the colonial regimes during the period c. 1800 to 1930 and defines this period as one of intensified European penetration, political consolidation by the...

In this unique book, His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells the full story of his 75-year struggle with China to save Tibet and its people. Instant New York Times Bestseller...

Spend 24 hours with the ancient Chinese. The year is AD 17. The Han dynasty is in power and we are in and around Chang'an, the capital and one of...

Napoleon warned 'Let China sleep; when she wakes, she will shake the world'. Lawrence James's magisterial history analyses the relationship between Britain and China between the beginning of the Opium...

The New India is the unforgettable account of the struggle between modern forces and ancient ideas to shape the young country's destiny. It reveals a picture of a nation on...

The New India is the unforgettable account of the struggle between modern forces and ancient ideas to shape the young country's destiny. It reveals a picture of a nation on...

A definitive and ambitious new history of the Indian subcontinent - this is Tony Judt's Postwar for South Asia Shadows at Noon is an ambitious synthesis of decades of research...

This is a book of narrative reportage six years in the making. It describes how ideology and technological ambition have reshaped India's nascent democracy and follows a diverse cast of...

How the Mongol invasions of the Near East reshaped the balance of world power in the Middle Ages For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the...

One of Library Journal 's "Best Arts Books of 2020" The definitive biography of Ravi Shankar, one of the most influential musicians and composers of the twentieth century, told with...

His grandfather was the bloodthirsty Mongol leader Genghis Khan, his mother a Christian princess. Groomed from childhood for a position of authority, Khubilai snatched the position of Great Khan, becoming...

'An important contribution ... Delving lucidly into the most significant ideological battles of the era, this book deftly outlines the thinking and dialogue that laid the foundations of the Republic...

The diaries of the last British Governor, published on the 25th anniversary of the handover In June 1992 Chris Patten went to Hong Kong as the last British governor, to...

Mesmerizing, haunting stories from the Soviet-Afghan War collected by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature From 1979 to 1989 Soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in Afghanistan...

A compelling history of Chinese resistance to state oppression, told through the stories of three remarkable individuals In Wild Grass, Pulitzer Prize-winning Ian Johnson describes a China caught between the...

Two thousand years of Japanese history, told through interconnected portraits of twenty fascinating individuals Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories...

Two thousand years of Japanese history, told through interconnected portraits of twenty fascinating individuals Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories...

The remarkable true story of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, his sacrifice in Auschwitz, and the two men in war-torn Japan whose lives he changed forever The remarkable true story of Saint...

An immersive reconstruction of the life of the most feared and powerful man of the sixteenth century, from the author of The Lion House Istanbul, 1538. The greatest of the...

In this urgent book, we learn why a small island in the East China Sea will be central to the world's future An urgent, indispensable guide to why Taiwan matters...

A panoramic social history chronicling the lives of hundreds of British people of all classes in the most important territory of the British Empire The British in this book lived...

The crucial book for understanding modern China, now updated to include the rule of Xi Jinping In 1850, China was the 'sick man of Asia'. Now it is set to...

Great Game On is the story of the remaking of the world order. Historically, China has sought its security by building dominant relationships with pliant states that accept its pre-eminence....

The most authoritative life of Mao ever written, by the bestselling author of Wild Swans, Jung Chang and her husband, Jon Halliday. The most authoritative life of Mao ever written,...

An inspiring testament to China's dissident historians and activists, from the 1940s to the present A documentary filmmaker who uncovered a Mao-era death camp; an independent journalist who gave voice...