Books About Asian History
Candi Ruman
We have a vast range of interviews recommending books on every aspect of Asian life and culture, doing justice to the diversity and size of Asia. We have interviews covering the literature of Indonesia, Georgia, Japan and Israel, among others. On China, we have interviews on Chinese philosophy, on Confucius, on Chinese food, religion in China, China and the internet, reform in China, China and the USA and a host of other topics, including Hong Kong and Tibet. Elsewhere we have numerous interviews on India and Pakistan, as well as on Singapore, Japan, Turkey, North Korea, Syria, Georgia and the Caucasus, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Burma and Palestine, to name a handful.
We cover a range of conflicts, both current and historical. Julia Lovell discusses the opium wars, Nikolaus van Dam chooses his best books on the Syrian civil war and Thomas de Waal chooses the best memoirs related to the Armenian genocide and on conflict in the Caucasus. Andrew Exum discusses the war in Afghanistan. Marc Lynch looks at the origins of the Arab uprising. Iftikhar Malik looks at Pakistan, Partition and Identity.
Many visitors to Sri Lanka have been beguiled by its charms, from its hill towns to its beaches, its ancient temples to its friendly people. And yet, for a quarter of a century until 2009, it was torn apart by a brutal civil war. Here, Sri Lanka-born political economist Razeen Sally, author of Return to Sri Lanka: Travels in a Paradoxical Land, recommends the best books to get a better understanding of Sri Lanka and the complexities that make the country so fascinating to visit and read about.
Many visitors to Sri Lanka have been beguiled by its charms, from its hill towns to its beaches, its ancient temples to its friendly people. And yet, for a quarter of a century until 2009, it was torn apart by a brutal civil war. Here, Sri Lanka-born political economist Razeen Sally, author of Return to Sri Lanka: Travels in a Paradoxical Land, recommends the best books to get a better understanding of Sri Lanka and the complexities that make the country so fascinating to visit and read about.
He was born Temjin and was afraid of dogs as a child. He went on to create the largest land empire the world has ever known, but was more than just a bloodthirsty conqueror. Timothy May, Professor of Eurasian History at the University of North Georgia and author of a number of books on the Mongol Empire, separates the facts from the myths and explains how the modern world would have looked very different without Genghis or, more accurately, Chinggis Khan.
He was born Temjin and was afraid of dogs as a child. He went on to create the largest land empire the world has ever known, but was more than just a bloodthirsty conqueror. Timothy May, Professor of Eurasian History at the University of North Georgia and author of a number of books on the Mongol Empire, separates the facts from the myths and explains how the modern world would have looked very different without Genghis or, more accurately, Chinggis Khan.
All eyes are on China as it occupies an increasingly important role on the world stage and its economic growth continues to barrel on. But behind the Chinese Communist Party's apparent competence lies a deep insecurity about its relationship with its own citizens, particularly those who question its right to rule them. American historian and Sinologist Jeffrey Wasserstrom picks the best books of 2020 on China.
Kim Jong-un's posturing over nuclear weapons is a distraction from more pressing concerns: the extreme poverty and disenfranchisement of his people, says North Korean defector Hyeonseo Lee. She chooses five books for understanding the hermit kingdom.
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May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month. With the increasing hostility and violence toward Asian Americans, many are eager to learn and educate others about the experiences of Asian Americans while striving to recognize their historical, cultural, and literary contributions.
It's been over 45 years since the publication of Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" (1976), a memoir of a young Chinese girl growing up in California living between two languages, two cultures, and two traditions.
Noted by The New York Times as one of the best 50 memoirs in the last 50 years, this work beautifully blends Chinese mythology and autobiography, expressly articulating the changing nature of inhabiting two separate worlds.
A literary pioneer, Kingston paved the way for Asian American immigrant stories to be accepted by mainstream publishing houses, helping to open the door for today's writers to expand our understanding of AAPI history and what it means to be Asian in America.
If you love Kingston's "The Woman Warrior," you'll thoroughly enjoy "Everything I Never Told You" (2014), the debut novel of Celeste Ng, a Chinese American, New York Times bestselling author. Though Ng's name may be more familiar to students who've seen the small-screen adaptation of her second novel, "Little Fires Everywhere" (2017), her first work is a must read.
The novel opens with lines revealing the drowning of Lydia, the favorite daughter of Marilyn and James Lee. As the secrets of Lydia's life are revealed, the shroud covering her family's deepest, darkest secrets is also lifted.
Written by George Takei, an American icon known primarily for his role as Mr. Sulu in the original "Star Trek" TV series, "They Called Us Enemy" (2019) is a graphic novel and memoir that recounts Takei's childhood, exploring what it was like to grow up as a Japanese American living in internment camps during World War II.
The book's vivid illustrations bring Takei's experiences to life and shine a new light on America's dark history. The depiction of a barbed-wired childhood, as well as the economic and social impact of internment, helps readers understand the egregious loss of freedom experienced by many Japanese Americans.
Offering compelling insight into Asian American history, Erika Lee and Judy Yung's "Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America" (2010) addresses the forgotten past of Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West." Nestled in San Francisco Bay, Angel Island served as an immigration station primarily for Asian immigrants to restrict their entry following the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
This work draws fascinating comparisons between Ellis Island, the poetic symbol of the American Dream, and the treatment of Asian Americans on Angel Island who were subjected to harsh scrutiny and hostility due to being perceived as a threat.
"Edinburgh" (2001) is the semiautobiographical debut novel by award-winning novelist Alexander Chee. In this engaging book, Chee delves into the the difficult topic of sexual abuse, a topic further complicated by cultural conventions of silence and shame.
Celebrated as the 2020 Pushcart Prize winner for his essay "Old School," Allen Gee is an expert on the lives of Asian Americans living in the margins. In his collection of essays titled "My Chinese-America" (2015), Gee addresses complex issues that are often shrouded in Asian silence, such as masculinity, immigration, adoption, racial profiling, and the model minority myth.
By thoughtfully exploring what it means to be Asian in modern-day America, Gee gives readers clear insight into the complexities of how some Americans simultaneously bestow racial privilege on Asians while harboring negative stereotypes that promote racial division among minorities.
"On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" (2019) is the debut novel of Ocean Vuong, a Vietnamese American poet and 2014 MacArthur Foundation Fellow. This coming-of-age story opens as a letter that the main character, Little Dog, pens to his mother, Rose. Though knowing she'll never read it, Little Dog writes anyway, inviting his mother to tumble through time with him.
This private-letter-made-public recounts Little Dog's life growing up as the son of a Vietnamese refugee in New England, and the complexities of their tenuous mother-son relationship. The novel lyrically slips in and out of memories that tackle issues such as abuse, culture clash, drug addiction, PTSD, and sexuality.
Written by Singaporean American Kevin Kwan, The New York Times bestseller "Crazy Rich Asians" (2013) was so popular that it was adapted into a 2018 movie and quickly emerged as a renowned blockbuster. The romantic comedy is the first novel in a trilogy, followed by "China Rich Girlfriend" (2015) and "Rich People Problems" (2017).
The novel explores the life of Rachel Chu, a Chinese American woman who travels across the globe to Singapore, the homeland of her boyfriend, Nicholas Young. There, she encounters obstacles many second-generation Asian Americans face, such as not being considered Asian enough.
Through humor, Kwan's characters contend with issues like wealth, parental expectations, masculinity, and filial piety. Within the book's lush landscape, Kwan also highlights the beautiful blending of Southeast Asian cultures that makes this island-country so unique.
"Arranged Marriage" (1995) by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is her first collection of short stories. It earned the American Book Award. The work chronicles the life of young girls and women of South Asian descent and their immigration journey to America. They are impacted by their experiences crossing the ocean and the various life circumstances they encounter.
"Searching for Sylvie Lee" (2019) is the third novel by New York Times bestselling writer Jean Kwok. In this mystery, Kwok subtly delves into the difficult topic of favoritism in Asian culture and addresses the taboo subjects of mental health, family secrets, and being "enough."
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