China Great

Beginning in 1786, Captain John Meares of Great Britain bravely explored the North Pacific, but his attempt to dominate the fur trade between the Northwest Coast and Asia was frustrated when the Spanish navy seized his ships off Vancouver Island. Meares missed the opportunity to explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca or discover the Columbia River. Hence, he was almost a hero.

As heard on NPR's Fresh Air, We Have Been Harmonized, by award-winning correspondent Kai Strittmatter, offers a groundbreaking look, based on decades of research, at how China created the most terrifying surveillance state in history.

When diplomatic efforts to introduce opium to the Chinese market failed, the British Parliament approved an alternative: war. There were two wars: one from 1839 to 1842, and another from 1856 to 1860. They are collectively known as the Opium Wars. The British, who were joined by French and supported by the Americans and Russians, clashed with Imperial China, which was ruled by the Qing dynasty.

While there are many books that explore China’s history, public knowledge is still lacking. Many people can name more than one Roman Emperor, but how many can name a Chinese Emperor?

The United States of America has been the most powerful country in the world for more than 70 years, but recently the US National Security Strategy declared that the return of great power competition with Russia and China is the greatest threat to US national security. Further, many analysts predict that America's autocratic rivals will have at least some success in disrupting - and, in the longer term, possibly even displacing - US global leadership. Brilliant and engagingly written, The Return of Great Power Rivalry argues that this conventional wisdom is wrong.

Did you know that Shah Jahan once planned to build another Taj Mahal in his empire? Ancient sources contradict each other, which can be confusing at times. But that is about to change. With this all-new history book, you can easily explore the gripping events that led to the construction of the Seven Wonders of the New World.

It's a sure sign of fame when a man is known simply by his first name, and Mao Zedong, often referred to simply as Mao or Chairman Mao, was one of the most influential men of the 20th century. He was also arguably the most controversial; as the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao rose from being a communist revolutionary to successfully overthrowing a regime and transforming China into a communist powerhouse in Asia.

A dive into one of China's great poets by the first great populariser of Chinese literature, Arthur Waley.

The relationship between Britain and China has shaped the modern world. Chinese art, philosophy, and science have had a profound effect upon British culture, while the long history of British exploitation is still bitterly remembered in China today. But how has their interaction changed over time? From the early days of the East India Company through the violence of the Opium Wars to present-day disputes over Hong Kong, Kerry Brown charts this turbulent and intriguing relationship in full.

Modern Shanghai: a global city in the midst of a renaissance, where dreamers arrive each day to partake in a mad torrent of capital, ideas, and opportunity. Marketplace's Rob Schmitz is one of them. He immerses himself in his neighborhood, forging deep relationships with ordinary people who see in the city's sleek skyline a brighter future, and a chance to rewrite their destinies.

When Peter Drucker wrote Concept of the Corporation in 1946, he revealed what made the large American corporation tick. Similarly, The Art of Japanese Management by Richard Pascale in 1981 explained the unique practices developed by the Japanese to bring that country's economy out of the ashes. The emerging Chinese juggernauts - the Alibabas, Lenovos, and Haiers - need similar revelation since they are a different breed in their own right.

Explore the vast land of China through the folktales of its people. Included here are such mystifying tales as "The Ghost Who Was Foiled", "The Fairy Bonze", "The Reward for a Benevolent Life", "The Lady of the Moon", "The Ape Sun Wu Kung", and "The Flying Ogre", to name a few.

Franz Kafka se dedicó intensamente a la literatura. Su escritura se caracteriza por una síntesis entre el absurdo, la ironía y la lucidez. Un mundo de sueños que, paradójicamente, describe con un realismo minucioso. Kafka sólo publicó, en vida, algunas historias cortas. Su obra pasó casi inadvertida. Ella nos ha llegado en contra de su voluntad, pues ordenó a su íntimo amigo y albacea literario Max Brod que, a su muerte, quemara todos sus manuscritos.

When the SARS virus broke out in China in January 2003, Karl Taro Greenfeld was the editor of Time Asia in Hong Kong, just a few miles from the epicenter of the outbreak. After vague, initial reports of terrified Chinese boiling vinegar to "purify" the air, Greenfeld and his staff soon found themselves immersed in the story of a lifetime. Deftly tracking a mysterious viral killer, China Syndrome takes listeners on a gripping ride that blows through the Chinese government's effort to cover up the disease and sounds a clarion call warning of a catastrophe to come.

In The China Dream, acclaimed business journalist Joe Studwell takes to task the predictions that China will become an economic juggernaut on the world stage in the 21st century - and instead foresees an economic crisis. He argues that since the days of Marco Polo, Western nations have seen the vast population of the Middle Kingdom as a fantastic opportunity for expanding trade, investing time and resources again and again in the hope to develop it, only to see, century after century, its economy crash.

This book delves into the geopolitical influence of China, providing a comprehensive analysis of its rise as a global power. The author explores various dimensions that contribute to China's growing influence, such as its economic power, military capabilities, strategic positioning, and technological ambitions.

In The Great Great Wall, architectural historian and critic Ian Volner takes a deep dive into the story of Donald Trump’s wall. Volner follows the conception, selling, design, and construction (or lack thereof) of this expensive and consequential barrier, giving listeners a detailed description of what’s happening in Washington, DC - and along the border. He also travels far afield, to China, the Middle East, northern England, and back to our border to examine the barriers we’ve been building for centuries.

I had been in Asia just over two months - something like 10 weeks, or if you’re counting days, about 70 days. Of course, if you’re counting meals, like I was, think about 210. Add iodine-purified water, a permanent layer of dust on my tongue, and let's just say I couldn't always hold down what I did eat. Food was becoming my meaning, my passion, my existence.

A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the 100th anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals?

Much of the material in this book comes from The Bamboo Annals, The Records of the Grand Historian, and later historians who studied those sacred texts. The bamboo annals were discovered in AD 281, inside the tomb of King Xian. The Records of the Grand Historian were reportedly written by Sima Tian and continued by his son, Sima Qian. Only fragments remain today, but the original may have been written just prior to 86 BC.