The Orient Express; The Khyber Pass Local; the Delhi Mail from Jaipur; the Golden Arrow of Kuala; the Trans-Siberian Express; these are just some of the trains steaming through Paul Theroux's epic rail journey from London across Europe through India and Asia. This was a trip of discovery made in the mid-seventies, a time before the West had embraced the places, peoples, food, faiths and cultures of the East. For us now, as much as for Theroux then,...

From the romantic conflicts of the Victorian Great Game to the war-torn history of the region in recent decades, “Tournament of Shadows” traces the struggle for control of Central Asia and Tibet from the 1830s to the present. The original Great Game, the clandestine struggle between Russia and Britain for mastery of Central Asia, has long been regarded as one of the greatest geopolitical conflicts in history. Many believed that control of the...

A land of enormous proportions, countless secrets, and incredible history, Central Asia was the heart of the great Mongol empire of Tamerlane and scene of Stalin's cruelest deportations. A remote and fascinating region in a constant state of transition-never more so than since the collapse of the Soviet Union-it encompasses terrain as diverse as the Kazakh steppes, the Karakum desert, and the Pamir mountains. In The Lost Heart of Asia, acclaimed,...

A vivid, often surprising account of South Asia today by the author of An End to Suffering In his new book, Pankaj Mishra brings literary authority and political insight to bear on travels that are at once epic and personal. Traveling in the changing cultures of South Asia, Mishra sees the pressures-the temptations-of Western-style modernity and prosperity, and teases out the paradoxes of globalization. A visit to Allahabad, birthplace of Jawaharlal...

Spector follows up on Eagle Against the Sun, his account of the American struggle against the Japanese in World War II, with a chronicle of the aftermath of this crucial conflict. He tells the fascinating story of the deadly confrontations that broke out--or merely continued--in Asia after peace was proclaimed. Under occupation by the victorious Allies, this part of the world was plunged into new power struggles, or back into old feuds, that in some...

With this vibrant and illuminating travelogue that shows just how much the world has changed in the 30 years since he wrote "The great railway bazaar," Theroux returns to the rails of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, India, China, Japan, and Siberia for an exceptionally detailed and entertaining update that will entice fans and newcomers alike.

In 1271 Marco Polo set out on a journey to China to meet the Mongol Emperor Kublaï Khan. He returned with stories that would take a lifetime to tell. Featuring exotic creatures, strange customs, extraordinary legends, and political intrigues, The Travels of Marco Polo reveals the fantastical treasures of the East in the words of the legendary medieval explorer. Conjuring up a forgotten world filled with mystery where wonder lurks around every...

A brief overview of the geography, wildlife, history, and people of Asia.