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Historical Dictionary of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution and Civil Unrest)
P. R. Kumaraswamy Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0810853434 |
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Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture (Encyclopedias of Contemporaryculture)
Sandra Buckley Manufacturer: Routledge ProductGroup: Book Binding: Library Binding ASIN: 0415143446 |
Book Description
Offering extensive coverage, this is a new reference that reflects the vibrant, diverse and evolving culture of modern Japan, spanning from the end of the Japanese Imperialist period in 1945 to the present day.
Covering areas such as literature, film, architecture, food, health, political economy, religion, and technology, entries range from shorter definitions, histories or biographies to longer overview essays giving an in-depth treatment of major issues.. Suggestions for further reading, a comprehensive system of cross-referencing, a thematic contents list and an extensive index all help navigate the reader around the encyclopedia and on to further study.
With over 700 alphabetically arranged entries, this comprehensive work will be an invaluable reference tool for students of Japanese and Asian Studies, as well as providing a fascinating insight into Japanese culture for the general reader
Entries include: Acupuncture * Aerospace Industry * Cherry Blossoms * Commuting * Department Stores * Economic Recovery * Employment * Environment and Anti-Pollution * Exporting Japanese Culture * Feminism * Information Society * Japanese Management Systems * Karaoke * Literacy * New Religions * Noodles * Poetry * Silk * Tokyo Olympics * Yen * and many more.
Customer Reviews:
Not Just Pop Culture.......2002-02-21
Popular culture often attracts the wrong sort of writer -- virgin territory may be a fertile ground for pioneers and innovators, but also for charlatans and ne'er-do-wells. Japanese popular culture has been lucky in the past, with excellent researchers like Schodt, Schilling, Powers and Kato, but also a large number of self-appointed pundits. This book, luckily, falls into the former camp more often that not.
The first thing anyone does with an Encyclopedia is look up stuff they already know -- often an unfair test of the editor's broader achievement. The first places I checked contained several minor typographical errors; Yurusei Yatsura for Urusei Yatsura, Ikeda Ryoko for Ikeda Riyoko, and the wrong release date for Neon Genesis Evangelion. The entry for Murakami Haruki notably points out that A Wild Sheep Chase was the third in a four-book series, but seems, presumably at the editing stage, to have accidentally assigned the first book, Hear the Wind Sing, as the umbrella title for the whole. But these errors can all easily be altered on a reprinting, and the size of the book makes it likely that print-runs are small, and that by the time you read these words, such minor problems will have already been fixed.
The general thrust of the articles remains objective and critical in the best sense of both words. For a Japanese scholar, this is a book that demands to be read from cover to cover, not just because you only realise what you *don't* known when you stumble across it, but also because the filing system mixes English and Japanese words with impunity. Bathing is filed under "Ofuro", but "Ikebana" is filed under Flower Arranging; luckily an index helps sort this out. Some of the choices for inclusion are also a little baffling. While it is noble to include an entry pointing out that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is *not* a Japanese product, the entry occupies the same word-count as that for the entire 40-year run of Ultraman.
With "only" 634 pages to play with (trust me, they fill up fast), the book sensibly points readers towards more in-depth studies. You may not get all the answers you want from an entry, but in most cases, you can close this book with a better idea of where you should look next. The suggestions for further reading (included in almost every entry) are an excellent addition for researchers, though occasionally of debatable provenance. The entry on pornography, for example, cites a single essay as a resource (the editor's own), but not more comprehensive works such as Japan's Sex Trade, Permitted & Prohibited Desires or, frankly, The Erotic Anime Movie Guide.
It is important to consider the ... price ... in context. When buying something of this weight, I tell myself if it costs as much as ten lesser books, it should do the work of twenty. This is certainly true in this case. I have no choice but to award this book the full five-star rating Amazon allows, since whatever niggles I may have, it is still an informative tome, liable to occupy me for considerably longer than many of its lesser brethren.
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Encyclopedia of Mongolian and the Mongol Empire
Christopher P. Atwood Manufacturer: Facts on File ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0816046719 |
Customer Reviews:
a must HAVE.......2005-08-09
Encyclopedia of Mongolian and the Mongol Empire.......2004-09-26
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Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre [Two Volumes]
Samuel L. Leiter Manufacturer: Greenwood Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 031333529X |
Book Description
From puppets to living players and musical speech to colloquial prose, Asian theatre is a rich world of contrasting expressions. While it has thrived for centuries and embodies the folk traditions of the Asian people, it also reflects contemporary concerns and innovative theatrical practices. At a time when Asia is of tremendous importance to the West, its theatre is a key to understanding its culture as well as the heritage of Asian Americans. This book is a detailed and authoritative survey of traditional and contemporary Asian theatre. The Encyclopedia includes hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries written by more than 90 expert contributors. In addition, it draws upon the expertise of a distinguished advisory board, including:
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Japan : An Illustrated Encyclopedia
Kodansha International Manufacturer: Kodansha, Limited ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 4069310983 |
Book Description
A current and comprehensive source of information on contemporary Japanese society, history, and culture. This monumental work is packed with data on the economy, government, and politics of Japan, as well as articles on Japanese art, culture, and history. In addition to the main entries and over 4,000 fullcolor illustrations, nearly 100 feature articles and pictorial essays expand on subjects of particular interest 4,000 color photos and illustrations 2 million words in 12,000 entries Easy-to-use reader's guide to entries 20 pages of maps 14 page bibliography of major works on Japan Japanese-English bilingual title entries and indexCustomer Reviews:
The definitive resource on Japan, wrapped like a candy........1996-10-19
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The Vietnam War: An Encyclopedia of Quotations
Howard J. Langer Manufacturer: Greenwood Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0313321434 |
Book Description
This is the story of the Vietnam War told through quotations in chronological sequence. Starting with the beginnings of Vietnamese history, it traces the events preceding the French war, continues through the American war, and ends with its aftermath. All sides of the controversy are represented. Here are the voices of warriors, presidents, generals, government leaders, civilians, aid workers, pilots, infantrymen, nurses, historians, war correspondents, sociologists, POWs, peasants, draft dodgers, guerillas, and war resisters. They speak from government capitals, hooches, hospital wards, jungle trails, landing zones, aircraft carriers, draft boards, Buddhist temples, and prison cells. They talk of firefights, ambushes in the jungle, bombing raids, coups, assassinations, suicides, demonstrations, atrocities, and teach-ins. Here are Ho Chi Minh, Lyndon Johnson, Giap, Westmoreland, Kennedy, De Gaulle, Eisenhower, Nixon, McNamara, Kissinger, and many people you have never heard of. Meet Hanoi Hannah, who broadcast propaganda from the North Vietnamese capital; John McCain tells you what it was like to be shot down over enemy territory and taken prisoner; John Kerry tells a U.S. Senate committee why he opposes the Vietnam War. You will learn about My Lai, Agent Orange, Kent State, the Pentagon Papers, and the plan to free American POWs that went awry. Features include a chronology, biographical sketches, Medal of Honor winners, bibliography, nineteen photos, and an index.
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The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0195506499 |
Book Description
This unique publication will provide a wide-ranging and intellectually challenging reference to indigenous Australian art, covering documented archaeologically traditions, art styles of the early contact period and the nineteenth century, and the development of the remarkably diverse contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art practices that have attracted so much attention in recent years. The Companion will draw upon much original research on art and culture in remote Aboriginal communities, and on the emergence of Aboriginal art in urban institutions, markets, and exhibitions. Academics, graduates, and general readers will find concise and authoritative analysis on specific topics and regional traditions, unavailable even in specialist databases. Distinguished indigenous and non-indigenous scholars have been commissioned to write on individuals, artistic traditions, and historical shifts. The Companion will address more fully than any previous book important regional variations and historical developments in relation to colonial occupation and white Australian society over time. The Companion's primary emphasis is upon visual art, though survey entries on indigenous literature, theatre, and music among other areas provide a wider context. Essays, 'boxes' and 'voices' will be commissioned from well-established and emerging indigenous and non-indigenous writers. The presence of key historical figures such as Oodgeroo Noonucal and Kevin Gilbert will be heard through excerpts from previously published material or the use of archival sources made available for the first time. The visual component in the Companion is not viewed as simply an adjunct to or illustration of the written text, but is seen to be vitally important to its rationale. Visuality has contributed to the growing critical acclaim and widespread popularity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art nationally and internationally. Therefore extensive illustrations in colour and in black and white will be included to not only offer a critical understanding of objects and events but to acknowledge the key role visuality plays in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. The 400 illustrations will be extensively captioned and some of the entries will be read as visual storyboards, equally as important as the essays. Complementing this focus on visuality, there will be additional reference material: maps, diagrams, chronologies providing a comprehensive listing of the major exhibitions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, locally and oveseas and guides to further reading.Customer Reviews:
An excellent overview.......2001-08-23
If you are interested in the art works of other cultures, or even art in its broadest sense, you will find many of the works presented in this volume to be quite different, even provocative. Others are as spectacular as any landscape known to the Western world.
This is an excellent introduction to a complex topic, and a worthy addition to any library.
Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture.......2001-06-15
It presents information in an easy to read format with enough detail to satisify most readers. It even includes sections on contemporary Aboriginal artists including Lin Onus. There are many colour illustrations of artwork to illustrate the narrative text.
A must have book for those interested in the history and contemporary state of Aboriginal Art and Culture in Australia.
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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan (Cambridge World Encyclopedias)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0521403529 |
Book Description
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan is the essential reference to all facets of Japan past and present. Up to date, authoritative and wide ranging in scope, it covers all the general reader, student, business person, journalist, researcher, tourist or armchair traveler would want to know. A highly absorbing read, the Encyclopedia is also filled with the facts, figures and general data on Japan that make it an indispensable source of information. Learn, for example, that the safest place to be during an earthquake in Japan is in a bamboo grove; or that one of the greatest delicacies of Japanese cuisine, the fugu, is deadly poisonous in the hands of an unskilled chef. Also included are the latest statistics on Japan's dramatically aging population, a complete listing of its prime ministers, and valuable data on the powerful Japanese advertising industry.
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Singapore The Encyclopedia
Manufacturer: Editions Didier Millet ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 9814155632 |
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Encyclopedia of Japanese Descendants in the Americas: An Illustrated History of the Nikkei
Kikumura-Yano Akemi Manufacturer: AltaMira Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0759101493 |
Book Description
The Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive guide to the history of Japanese immigrants in the western hemisphere. It is the story of the Nikkei (people of Japanese descent and their descendants) from early immigration to the present, as they settle
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Hausa Women in the Twentieth Century
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 029913024X |
Book Description
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, with populations in Nigeria, Niger, and Ghana. Their long history of city-states and Islamic caliphates, their complex trading economies, and their cultural traditions have attracted the attention of historians, political economists, linguists, and anthropologists. The large body of scholarship on Hausa society, however, has assumed the subordination of women to men.Customer Reviews:
Brilliant Analysis.......2001-02-25
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Hausa Women in the Twentieth Century
Catherine M. Coles Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000ORT6ZE |
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Aandp Coloring Workbook
Elaine Merieb , and Elaine Nicpon Marieb Manufacturer: Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0805367497 |
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Valuing Tropical Forests: Methodology and Case Study of Madagascar (World Bank Environment Paper, 13)
Randall A. Kramer , Narendra P. Sharma , and Mohan Munasinghe Manufacturer: World Bank Publications ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0821334077 |
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