From the ninth to the fifteenth century, the Angkor Empire was the greatest civilization in Southeast Asia, reaching from the coast of Vietnam to Myanmar, from southern Laos down to the Malay Peninsula. At the heart of this great kingdom ruled by god-kings rose the magnificent towers of Angkor Wat...

Since Cambodia's reopening to the world in the past dozen years, following its genocidal civil war, there has been a burgeoning interest in its history, art and architectural relics. In parallel with this growing popular interest has been a renewal of international scholarly work and corresponding...

With more than two thousand years of Buddhist history, Burma (the country now called Myanmar) is heir to one of the richest traditions of Buddhist art in the world—images of the Buddha are almost everywhere one turns, from huge monumental statues to tiny votive figures. Jean-Pierre Grandjean's...

In his early twenties, John Blofeld spent what he describes as "three exquisitely happy years" in Peking during the era of the last emperor, when the breathtaking greatness of China's ancient traditions was still everywhere evident. Arriving in 1934, he found a city imbued with the atmosphere...

This delightful sketchbook presents a uniquely insightful take on the bemusement and amusement that are the inevitable reactions of the Westerner confronting Japan for the first time. Still unwilling to allow Japan's mysteries to exclude her, the author-artist illustrates...

In the West, Japanese culture comes in the form of Power Rangers, Godzilla movies, and Sanrio products, but of course the indigenous pop culture is much richer. Rather than focus on what the rest of the world has already encountered, Mark Schilling provides an encyclopedic compendium of books, movies,...

The country that we now refer to as Thailand only achieved its present form in the nineteenth century. Before that, there flourished Lanna (meaning "One million rice fields"), a region whose documented history began in the eighth century; in 1931 it was incorporated into Siam and ceased...

Hard Travel to Sacred Places is the record of a personal odyssey through Southeast Asia, an external and internal journey through grief and the painful realities of a decadent age. Wurlitzer—novelist, screenwriter, and Buddhist practitioner—travels with his wife, photographer Lynn...

Japanese Street Slang is the first and only exposé of the rough and ready, raw and down-dirty street language as it is used in Japan today. Here's how they really speak: The hustlers and high rollers, the teens and Tokyo yuppies, the gangsters and their ladies of the night. Witty...

When the Peace Corps sends Susana Herrera to teach English in Northern Cameroon, she yearns to embrace her adopted village and its people, to drink deep from the spirit of Mother Africa—and to forget a bitter childhood and painful past. To the villagers, however, she's a rich American tourist,...

Here is the most complete single-volume collection of the writings of one of the great luminaries of Asian literature. Basho (1644–1694)—who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty—is best known in the West as the author of Narrow Road...

Imperialism. It has been the dominant and dominating political force on planet Earth for centuries—from the age of the great European empires to our own era of giant corporate takeovers. Its influence is felt in every area of our lives, from the global to the deeply personal. In this book,...

Full of astounding adventures, Sailing Alone around the World is the true story of the first man ever to circle the globe alone entirely by sea. In a little over three years, Captain Joshua Slocum completed the feat many experts believed couldn't be done—and he has the stories to prove...

A spiritual life is a creative process, a path of devotion, and a journey of self-discovery. Photographer Derek Biermann traveled to northern India to obtain what became a rare and privileged insight into the sacred lives of devotees following different spiritual paths. He asked each of these individuals...

Following up on Clueless in Tokyo, this colorful sequel continues the author's adventures in the seemingly strange and wonderful culture of Japan. Amusing cartoons and succinct descriptions clarify and explain even the most bizarre of cultural oddities. From the restaurant to the bathroom,...