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Daunt Books Children's Short Story Competition 2013

Asia

• Subcontinent
• East Asia
• Southeast Asia

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  City of Heavenly Tranquillity by Jasper Becker

  Price: £10.99    Add to Basket

  The great city of Beijing, capital of China from the ninth century, was for a millennium one of the most extraordinary places on earth. At a time when London, Paris, or Rome had only several hundred thousand residents, Beijing held over a million. This book tells the history of this great city, and through it provides a highly engaging summary history of China.,,In the summer of 1997, President Jiang Zemin made a decision to destroy Beijing. There was no announcement, no explanation given, nor any attempt made to justify his decision. Even those working as architects only became aware of what was happening when it was already too late. Expertly moving between historical analysis and reportage, Jasper Becker describes the impact of this systematic destruction, a unique telling of the city's history that encapsulates both the grandeur of its creation and the tragedy of its demise.

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  Vietnam Now by David Lamb

  Price: £11.99    Add to Basket

  Lamb, a correspondent who covered the war, returns 30 years later to examine modern Vietnam.

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  An Area of Darkness by V. S. Naipaul

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  An eye-opening, vivid account of V. S. Naipaul's first visit to India.

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  Feeding the Rat

  Price: £7.99    Add to Basket

  The thrilling biography of climbing legend Mo Anthoine by his fellow adventurer, the poet and journalist, Al Alvarez. Anthoine was an energetic, unpretentious and amusing man who described the desire to climb as a rat constantly gnawing at him that he was compelled to feed. This is an epic story of a true adventurer.

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  A History of Laos by Martin Stuart-Fox

  Price: £23.99    Add to Basket

  A comprehensive and readable history of this country from pre-French colonial rule until the late 1990s.

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  Ai Weiwei Speaks: with Hans Ulrich Obrist

  Price: £5.99    Add to Basket

  Ai Weiwei – the Chinese curator, poet and artist whose Sunflower seeds installation at the Tate Modern sealed his reputation as a global art star – has been detained for ‘economic crimes’ since April 3rd 2011. Throughout his career, he has remained fearlessly critical of the Chinese authoritarian regime and an outspoken advocate of political and artistic freedom. In this series of interviews, Ai Weiwei discusses his artistic life, his infamous blogs and a childhood spent in exile. Complex, thought-provoking and essential reading.

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  Upanisads

  Price: £9.99    Add to Basket

  The central scriptures of Hinduism and the best source of the religious, social and intellectual history of ancient India.

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  The Bhagavad Gita

  Price: £4.99    Add to Basket

  This is most widely read Hindu text in the world. An extract from the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata, it tells of Krishna leading the warrior Arjuna into understanding. This edition from OUP contains an introduction, explanatory notes and an index of Sanskrit names.

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  I Ching or Book of Changes

  Price: £16.99    Add to Basket

  A classic Chinese text that is approximately 5,000 years old containing a series of symbols and laws which provide a method to explore the unconscious and find the path to peace and contentment.

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  Planet India

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  Mira Kamdar explores the cultural and economic impact of the new, modern India on the rest of the world. Hers is the India of Slumdog Millionaire and Booker prize-winning Aravind Adiga: call centres, Bollywood glamour, the youngest population in the world, absurdly rich corporate businessmen and third-world conditions for the majority of the population. Fascinating, contemporary exploration of the threats and opportunities that India represents, both nationally and internationally.

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  Imagining India` by Nandan Nilekani

  Price: £14.99    Add to Basket

  As India's population and economic might flourish, the author, a successful entrepreneur, provides analysis of the country's economic past, and recommendations for its continued growth.

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  Japan: A Traveller's Literary Companion

  Price: £11.99    Add to Basket

  What better way to travel to Japan than accompanied by extracts from the greatest Japanese writers who have done the same. From Hino Keizo's Tokyo to Atoda Takashi's Kyoto, these stories are mesmerising and beautifully written.

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  Pol Pot: The History of a Nightmare by Philip Short

  Price: £14.99    Add to Basket

  The disturbing, chilling biography of a monster: his life, the formation of the Khmer Rouge, his reign and the murder of over 2 million people.

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  An Autobiography by Mahatma Gandhi

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  Written in the 1920s, Gandhi's autobiography tells of his long fight for truth and independence while upholding his commitment to non-violence. Self-deprecating, honest and hypnotic, surely the story of this man's struggle is obligatory reading for the Indiophile.

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  Kipling Sahib by Charles Allen

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  Unlike Kipling's autobiography and his immortal image as the patriotic, paternalist poet, this is the story of his somewhat rebellious youth, his controversial writings and his sympathy for the British lower classes in India. Refreshing, re-evaluation of a much-loved author and the country he so adored.

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  Buddha by Karen Armstrong

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  Karen Armstrong, a former nun, is a highly-respected historian and biographer of comparative religions. Here she brings her usual balanced, objective voice to the life of Buddha and his teachings. A rigorous and refreshing introduction.

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  Open Road by Pico Iyer

  Price: £12.99    Add to Basket

  Based on thirty years of conversations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this is the most recent biography and it focuses on revealing the humanity that lies beneath the image of this global icon.

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  City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore

  Price: £10.99    Add to Basket

  An anthology of essays, stories and profiles describing the Pakistani city of Lahore: from Rudyard Kipling's chronicles, to Mohsin Hamid's essay on exile and Irfan Husain's ode to cuisine.

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  The Indonesia Reader

  Price: £18.99    Add to Basket

  A fascinating chronological cultural and political history of Indonesia made up of over 150 selected articles, documents, memoirs, photographs, stories and speeches.

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  The Tibetan Book of the Dead

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  An ancient Tibetan spiritual text, with an introduction from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which offers guidance on finding inner peace and helping those who are grieving or dying.

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  The Analects by Confucius

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  The sayings of Confucius form the foundation of a social, ethical and intellectual system that is still very influential today. This new translation, with chronology and explanatory notes, is the perfect introduction to his philosophy.

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  What the Chinese Don't Eat by Xinran

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  This is an absorbing, compassionate collection of Guardian articles written by Xinran concerning all things Chinese, from food to sex. An entertaining and uniquely insightful glimpse into modern China.

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  Wild Swans by Jung Chang

  £9.99 Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  The turbulent history of 20th century China told through the stories of three generations of women: a Concubine with bound feet, her Communist daughter and her rebellious granddaughter. This is the perfect introduction to Chinese history by being framed in a grippingly tense, incredibly moving story that gets right inside your head. Winner of the British Book of the Year Award.

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  Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

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  Horrifying true story of how Nien Cheng was imprisoned for six and a half years in solitary confinement on suspicion of being a spy. On her release she would discover her daughter had been beaten to death by the Red Guard. An unbelievable, unsentimental story about unthinkable cruelty and the power of determination and hope.

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  The Good Women of China by Xinran

  Price: £8.99    Add to Basket

  The powerful story of how Xinran stood up to tradition and broke through bureaucratic restrictions to launch her highly successful radio programme where Chinese women called in and talked about what it meant to be a woman in modern China. A courageous and determined woman whose book is a sometimes shocking, always insightful, exploration of the unspoken history and modern reality of China.