A STUDY OF THE EARLY LITERATURES ON THE SILK ROAD是同作者《早期丝绸之路文献研究》一书的英文版，是作者对早期丝绸之路考证研究的专着。 《早期丝绸之路文献研究》对东方和西方的有关丝绸之路的古代文献资料进行了细致的考证、研究，求得不同语种文献的相互印证，从而确认古代东西交流的史实。全书分上卷、下卷、附卷三部分，对于《穆天子传》、《西域图记》、《历史》、《地理志》等中外古籍均有详实的考证和独到的比较研究。

Topping a Pulitzer Prize-winning effort is tough; finding originality in a World War II narrative is even tougher. Yet Rick Atkinson accomplishes both with The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944. His previous work, An Army at Dawn, won the 2003 Pulitzer in history, but Atkinson has managed to set the bar even higher with his second installment in "The Liberation Trilogy." He descends upon each battlefield with rich historical perspective, tactical analysis, and chilling frontline observations. Cocksure Hollywood bravado is sparse, as Atkinson depicts soldiers fighting for honor, not glory. "We did it because we could not bear the shame of being less than the man beside us," explains one soldier's diary. "We fought because he fought; we died because he died." The result is an incredible portrayal of the courage, sorrow, and determination that came to define our greatest generation. --Dave Callanan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. Starred Review. Atkinson surpasses his Pulitze

Starred Review. The transfer of power from the British Empire to the new nations of India and Pakistan in the summer of 1947 was one of history's great, and tragic, epics: 400 million people won independence, and perhaps as many as one million died in sectarian violence among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. In her scintillating debut, British author von Tunzelmann keeps one eye on the big picture, but foregrounds the personalities and relationships of the main political leaders—larger-than-life figures whom she cuts down to size. She portrays Gandhi as both awe inspiring and, with his antisex campaigns and inflexible moralism, an exasperating eccentric. British viceroy Louis Dickie Mountbatten comes off as a clumsy diplomat dithering over flag designs while his partition plan teetered on the brink of disaster. Meanwhile, his glamorous, omnicompetent wife, Edwina, looks after refugees and carries on an affair with the handsome, stalwart Indian statesman Nehru. Von Tunzelmann's wit is cruel—Gandhi... wanted to s

A timely and incisive portrait of a country on the tipping point After developing his acclaimed style of firsthand reporting with his bestselling graphic novels Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea and Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China, Guy Delisle is back with The Burma Chronicles. In this country notorious for its use of concealment and isolation as social control—where scissors-wielding censors monitor the papers, the de facto leader of the opposition has been under decade-long house arrest, insurgent-controlled regions are effectively cut off from the world, and rumor is the most reliable source of current information—he turns his gaze to the everyday for a sense of the big picture. Delisle’s deft and recognizable renderings take note of almsgiving rituals, daylong power outages, and rampant heroin use in outlying regions, in this place where catastrophic mismanagement and ironhanded rule come up against profound resilience of spirit, expatriate life ambles along, and nongovernmental organizat

A unique guide to every UNESCO World Heritage site. The global list has proved a valuable tool in the battle to preserve the world's heritage. Managed by the World Heritage Committee with strict criteria, only the world's most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it onto the List. Major sites Details of all 878 UNESCO sites including!.the remarkable Dazu Rock Carving of China!!the last substantial expanse of monsoon forest in Thailand, the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex!.Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania which contains the highest mountain in Africa one of the largest volcanoes in the world!.one of the greatest Mayan temples Tikal in Guatemala!the legendary Acropolis in Athens!..the ancient Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan!.the unique ecosystem of the Serengeti, Tanzania. / Over 650 colour photographs / De*ions of 878 UNESCO World Heritage sites / Location map for every 878 site Background The World Heritage List includes properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the

Walter Laqueur, a professor of history and an expertcommentator on international affairs, has written and edited morethan twenty-five books. Barry Rubin is deputy director of the BESA Center for StrategicStudies and editor of the Middle East Review of InternationalAffairs. He has written many books on Middle East politics.

A delightful treasury of observations and insights into the lives of all sorts of creatures -- from jackdaws and water-shrews to dogs, cats and even wolves -- this is a wonderfully written introduction to the world of our furred and feathered friends!

History is always a popular subject and British history has created some of the most lively and fascinating stories there are! Britain as we know it today has been shaped by centuries of political turmoil between state and church, as well as international conflicts, making its history a fascinating insight into how modern Britain has emerged. For this special, hardback edition of British History For Dummies, we’ve added over 100 black and white and colour photos for an even more explosive experience of British history. British History For Dummies Illustrated Edition: British history is still a major topic of interest, emphasised by the continual TV coverage and documentaries Inside you’ll find rip-roaring stories of power-mad kings, executions, invasions, high treason, global empire-building and forbidden love- not bad for a nation of stiff upper lips! Includes fascinating information in the fun For Dummies style- from the Stone Age right through to modern day Britain and ever

There are many ways to tell Israel's story, and most will raise the ire of someone. Here the Strobers (Giuliani: Flawed and Flawless) aim to corral these conflicting viewpoints to tell the nation's history; to a very limited extent, this goal is achieved. Various opinions are expressed about the British during the Mandate period (1920–1947) and a number of interpretations are given on the Oslo peace process (early 1990s), but this portrait of Israel's history needs filling in. Rather than starting with the 19th century Zionist movement that led to the country's founding, the authors open the book with a chapter on the Holocaust. Other significant facts of Israeli history are equally overlooked. Though Israel's Labor Party ruled steadily for nearly a quarter of the country's 60-year history, there is scant discussion of Labor-led politics. In spite of the Strobers' ambition to show the diversity of Israeli experiences, Jews with roots in Arab lands—who make up roughly half the Israeli-Jewish population—r

From the end of the Roman Empire the knight emerged to rule the battlefield for almost 1,000 years. Only in the early 1500s, with the development of firearms, did the knight cease to play such a central military role. But despite being extinct for around 500 years, the legacy of the knight survives to this day. The idea of chivalry, which was so central to the concept of knighthood, lives on; the honour of knighthood still exists in military orders; and the tradition of bravery and sacrifice are still held in high regard in the 21 st century. In addition to the enduring principles of knighthood, we have also inherited a stunning architectural legacy from the knights of past centuries, with castles surviving in fields, villages and cities throughout Europe. With over 140 stunning, high-quality maps and illustrations The Historical Atlas of Knights and Castles brings the subject to life, revealing all aspects of knights and castles, mapping the spread of the Norman influence, the crusades and other imp

One of the most dramatic and shameful episodes in World War IIwas the doomed Warsaw uprising of 1944—an uprising that failedbe cause the Allies betrayed it. Now that story comes to its fullterrible life in this gripping account by the bestselling historianNorman Davies.

The British may have claimed the 19th century by force, and the Chinese may cast a long shadow over the 21st, but the 20th century belongs to the United States. This is the premise behind Harold Evans's robust, sweeping, spectacularly illustrated account of the people and events that gave rise to America's political and cultural dominance in the last 100 years. Evans begins in the 1880s, when it was still uncertain whether America, with its diverse peoples, manifold beliefs and impossible ideals, would even survive its own democratic experiment or manage to reconcile an increasingly headlong materialism with the original virtues of the Republic. He shows how, from that time forward, the citizens of the United States saw increases in wealth and personal freedom unequalled in history, paralleled by the growing power and influence of the country abroad. He covers upheavals and victories with succinct and insightful prose, aided by a splendid array of 900 fresh, remarkable images. Here are the central politic

The third planet from the sun is mankind's home - but how well do you know it? Its molten core, for instance, is hotter than the surface of the sun. Now, TIME presents an unrivaled portrait of Planet Earth: its violent history, its vast oceans, its constantly changing geology, its life-sheltering atmosphere, its fascinating life forms, and its imperiled climate. TIME joins scientists in the field, visits with indigenous people and consults with experts to report on the biggest story of this year and every year: Planet Earth. And we visit the Earth's extremes: the longest rivers, tallest mountains and driest deserts on the planet. This beautifully illustrated volume, featuring the work of award-winning photographers, presents a portrait of our wondrous planet--and of all the beings that call it home--that is revelatory, awe-inspiring and essential.

In a reappraisal of Iran's modern history, Ervand Abrahamiantraces its traumatic journey across the twentieth century, throughthe discovery of oil, imperial interventions, the rule of thePahlavis and, in 1979, revolution and the birth of the IslamicRepublic. In the intervening years, the country has experienced abitter war with Iraq, the transformation of society under theclergy and, more recently, the expansion of the state and thestruggle for power between the old elites, the intelligentsia andthe commercial middle class. The author is a compassionateexpositor. While he adroitly negotiates the twists and turns of thecountry's regional and international politics, at the heart of hisbook are the people of Iran. It is to them and their resiliencethat this book is dedicated, as Iran emerges at the beginning ofthe twenty-first century as one of the most powerful states in theMiddle East.

Written by the Orthodox historian Rabbi Berel Wein, The Oral Law of Sinai is an extraordinary and beautifully illustrated book that explores the Talmud—a law book that is a faithful transmission of the Oral Law of Sinai. As Rabbi Wein explains, the Talmud is two separate books comprising the Oral Law. This work offers an explanation of the first book of the Talmud, the Mishnah.

What do the thousands of images of bras and panties on perfectly sculpted bodies that we see spread across billboards and magazines say about our society? Many women indulge in lingerie to please men. Yet, since Antiquity,women have always kept lingerie hidden away under outer garments. Thus,lingerie must be more than erotic bait. Authors Muriel Barbier and Shazia Boucher have researched iconography to explore the relationship of lingerie to society, the economy and the corridors of intimacy. They correlate lingerie with emancipation, querying whether it asserts newfound freedoms or simply adjusts to conform to changing social values. The result is a rigorous scientific rationale spiced with a zestly humour. And the tinier lingerie gets, the more scholarly attention the authors believe it deserves.

Between 1625 and 1640, a distinctive cultural awareness ofcensorship emerged, which ultimately led the Long Parliament toimpose drastic changes in press control. The culture of censorshipaddressed in this study helps to explain the divergent historicalinterpretations of Caroline censorship as either draconian orbenign. Such contradictions transpire because the Caroline regimeand its critics employed similar rhetorical strategies thatdepended on the language of orthodoxy, order, tradition, and law,but to achieve different ends. Building on her two previous studieson press censorship in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, CyndiaClegg scrutinizes all aspects of Caroline print culture: bookproduction in London, the universities, and on the Continent;licensing and authorization practices in both the Stationers'Company and among the ecclesiastical licensers; cases before thecourts of High Commission and Star Chamber and the Stationers'Company's Court of Assistants; and trade regulation.

From the Gracchi to Nero is an outstanding history ofthe Roman world from 133 BC to 68 AD. Fifty years since publicationit is widely hailed as the classic survey of the period, goingthrough many revised and updated editions until H.H. Scullard’sdeath. It explores the decline and fall of the Roman Republic andthe establishment of the Pax Romana under the early Principate. Insuperbly clear style, Scullard brings vividly to life Gracchi’sattempts at reform, the rise and fall of Marius and Sulla, Pompeyand Caesar, society and culture in the late Roman Republic, theAugustan Principate, Tiberius and Gaius, Claudius and Nero, andeconomic and social life in the early Empire.

In Battlegrounds, Michael Stephenson assembles an impressive roster of the world’s best military historians and writers, including Dr. David Chandler, Richard Holmes, John Warry, and Brendan Morrissey, to discuss the impact of geography on military strategy and history. This collection of essays, illustrated with vintage and modern maps, offers geographic adventure around the world, across centuries, and through every kind of terrain, shedding new light on famous battles and introducing less well-known—but nevertheless significant—moments in military history. Throughout military history, battles have often been determined by certain “geographic imperatives”—characteristics of the terrain that significantly affect the nature of the fighting. Confrontations, therefore, have essentially been decided by an army1/4s ability to adapt to geographical features, giving rivers, mountains, and beaches lead roles in the political shaping of the world. From Alexander the Great’s attack across the

An absorbing, revelatory, and definitive account ofone of the greatest tragedies in human history Adroitly blending narrative, de*ion, and analysis, RichardJ. Evans portrays a society rushing headlong to self-destructionand taking much of Europe with it. Interweaving a broad narrativeof the war's progress from a wide range of people, Evans revealsthe dynamics of a society plunged into war at every level. Thegreat battles and events of the conflict are here, but just astelling is Evans's re- creation of the daily experience of ordinaryGermans in wartime. At the center of the book is the Naziextermi?nation of the Jews. The final book in Richard J. Evan'sthree-volume history of Hitler's Germany, hailed "a masterpiece" by The New York Times, The Third Reich at War lays bare themost momentous and tragic years of the Nazi regime.

Olaudiah Equiano's 1789 narrative tells the remarkable story of his childhood in Africa, his kidnapping and subsequent years as a slave and seaman, and his eventual road to freedom in the Caribbean and in England. The text reprinted here is that of the 1789 first edition. It is accompanied by explanatory annotations, textual notes, and a map of Equiano's travels. "Contexts" provides essential related public writings on the work by James Tobin, Gustavus Vassa (Olaudiah Equiano), and Samuel Jackson Pratt; general and historical background by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Eav Beatrice Dykes, Wylie Sypher, Charles H. Nichols, Nathan I. Huggins, and David Dabydeen; related travel and scientific literature by Anthony Benezet, John Matthews, and John Mitchell; eighteenth-century works by African authors James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, John Marrant, and Quobna Ottabah Cugoano; and English debates about the slave trade by Thomas Clarkson, John Wesley, and William Wilberforce, as well as antislavery verse by Thomas Day a

This is the first full-scale one-volume survey of thedemographic history of the United States. From the arrival ofhumans in the Western Hemisphere to the current century, Kleinanalyzes the basic demographic trends in the growth of thepre-conquest, colonial and national populations. He surveys theorigin and distribution of the Native Americans, the post-conquestfree and servile European and African colonial populations and thevariation in regional patterns of fertility and mortality to 1800.He then explores trends in births, deaths, international andinternal migrations in the nineteenth century and compares themwith contemporary European developments. The profound impact ofhistoric declines in disease and mortality on the structure of thelate twentieth century population is explained. Finally the latetwentieth century changes in family structure, fertility andmortality are evaluated for their influence on the evolution of thenational population for the 21st century.