Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan in October 2007, after eight years of exile, hopeful that she could be a catalyst for change. Upon a tumultuous reception, she survived a suicide-bomb attack that killed nearly two hundred of her compatriots. But she continued to forge ahead, with more courage and conviction than ever, since she knew that time was running out--for the future of her nation and for her life.

In Reconciliation, Bhutto recounts in gripping detail her final months in Pakistan and offers a bold new agenda for how to stem the tide of Islamic radicalism and to rediscover the values of tolerance and justice that lie at the heart of her religion. She speaks out not just to the West but also to the Muslims across the globe. Bhutto presents an image of modern Islam that defies the negative caricatures often seen in the West. After reading this book, it will become even clearer what the world has lost by her assassination.

First published in 1906, this classic nine-volume history of the nation of India places it among the storied lands of antiquity, alongside Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. Edited by American academic ABRAHAM VALENTINE WILLIAMS JACKSON (18621937), professor of Indo-Iranian languages at Columbia University, it offers a highly readable narrative of the Indian people and culture through to the time of its publication, when the nation was still part of the British Empire. Volume IV, Part 2 of Medi]val India from the Mohammedan Conquest to the Reign of Akbar the Great, by British scholar STANLEY LANE-POOLE (1854-1931), features entertaining and enlightening treatments of: [ the united empire of Akbar the Great [ Akbars reforms: the divine faith [ the great Moghul and European travellers [ Shah Jahan the Magnificent [ Aurangzib, the puritan emperor [ the fall of the Moghul empire [ and much more. This beautiful replica of the 1906 first edition includes all the original illustrations.

The Syrian war has been an example of the abuse and insufficient delivery of humanitarian assistance. According to international practice, humanitarian aid should be channelled through a state government that bears a particular responsibility for its population. Yet in Syria, the bulk of relief went through Damascus while the regime caused the vast majority of civilian deaths. Should the UN have severed its cooperation with the government and neglected its humanitarian duty to help all people in need? Decision-makers face these tough policy dilemmas, and often the "neutrality trap" snaps shut. This book discusses the political and moral considerations of how to respond to a brutal and complex crisis while adhering to international law and practice. The author, a scholar and senior diplomat involved in the UN peace talks in Geneva, draws from first-hand diplomatic, practitioner and UN sources. He sheds light on the UN's credibility crisis and the wider implications for the development of international humanitarian and human rights law. This includes covering the key questions asked by Western diplomats, NGOs and international organizations, such as: Why did the UN not confront the Syrian government more boldly? Was it not only legally correct but also morally justifiable to deliver humanitarian aid to regime areas where rockets were launched and warplanes started? Why was it so difficult to render cross-border aid possible where it was badly needed? The meticulous account of current international practice is both insightful and disturbing. It tackles the painful lessons learnt and provides recommendations for future challenges where politics fails and humanitarians fill the moral void.

Central Asia has become the battleground for the major struggles of the 21st century: radical Islam versus secularism, authoritarianism versus identity politics, Eastern versus Western control of resources, and the American 'War on Terror'. Nowhere are these conflicts more starkly illustrated than in the case of Tajikistan. Embedded in the oil-rich Central Asian region, and bordering war-torn Afghanistan, Tajikistan occupies a geo-strategically pivotal position. It is also a major transit hub for the smuggling of opium, which eventually ends up in the hands of heroin dealers in Western cities. In this timely book, Lena Jonson examines Tajkistan's search for a foreign policy in the post 9/11 environment. She shows the internal contradictions of a country in every sense at the crossroads, reconciling its bloody past with an uncertain future She assesses the impact of regional developments on the reform movement in Tajikistan, and in turn examines how changes in Tajik society (which is the only Central Asian country to have a legal Islamist party) might affect the region. The destiny of Tajikistan is intimately connected with that of Central Asia, and this thorough and penetrating book is essential reading for anyone seeking to make sense of this strategically vital region at a moment of transition.

Social network are nowadays inherent parts of our lives and highly developed communication technique helps us maintain our relationships. But how did it work in the early 19th century, in a time without cell phones and internet? A Chinese Hong Merchant in Canton Trade named Houqua (1769-1843), who lived in isolated Qing China, gives us an outstanding answer. Despite various barriers in cultures, languages, political situations and his identity as a Chinese merchant strictly under control of the Qing government, Houqua established a commercial network across three continents: Asia, North America and Europe. This book will not only uncover his secrets and actions in his Chinese social network especially patronage relationships in traditional Chinese society, but also reconstruct his intercultural network, including his unique and even "modern" friendship with some American traders which lasted almost half a century after Houquas death.

This book deals with Singapore's transition from a British Crown Colony to a state in the Federation of Malaysia, and expulsion from the Federation to become a separate independent nation. For the leaders of Singapore's PAP Government, Malaysia was a traumatic experience. Yet, but for it, they might never have found the resolve and the secret of building this extraordinary nation, this nation based on Singapore alone that they and an entire generation had once believed an impossibility. This story of nation-building deals with topics on national (army) service, economic development, education in schools and in universities, housing and home ownership. It deals also with issues of ethnicity and national identity in the context of challenges from within and without, in the latter case from globalization and global Islamism.

To understand contemporary Irana??s notoriously complex politics, it is essential to grasp the monumental changes initiated by Mohammad Khatami. The previously little-known cleric stormed to victory in Irana??s 1997 presidential elections with nearly 70 percent of the vote, encouraging Irana??s reform movement to flourish during his eight year tenure as president. Ghoncheh Tazminia??s book offers a thought-provoking, astutely close-up yet systematic analysis of Khatami the man and the reform movement that supported him. She provides us with the first insight into Khatami and his politics, unravelling from the inside the dramatic emergence and consequences of Irana??s vibrant reform movement. Balanced and analytical, this book provides a comprehensive and finely detailed introduction to the subtleties of contemporary Irana??s complex political culture. At the same time it is an important reference point for a critical period of Irana??s post-revolutionary trajectory, especially given the controversial Post-Khatami developments in the country following the election of President Ahmadinejad.And with the Ahmadinejad view of Iranian politics creating a measure of discord in the country, Khatamia? ?s role as a player on the Iranian political scene remains firm.

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aAn excellent resource.a
--"Library Journal"

China's dramatic transformation over the past fifteen years has drawn its share of attention and fear from the global community and world leaders. Far from the inward-looking days of the Cultural Revolution, modern China today is the world's fourth largest economy, with a net product larger than that of France and the United Kingdom. And China's dynamism is by no means limited to its economy: enrollments in secondary and higher education are rapidly expanding, and new means of communication are vastly increasing information available to the Chinese public. In two decades, the Chinese government has also transformed its foreign relations--Beijing is now consulted on virtually every key development within the region. However, the Communist Party of China still dominates all aspects of political life. The Politburo is still self-selecting, Beijing chooses province governors, censorship is widespread, and treatment of dissidents remains harsh.

In China, leading experts provide an overview of the region, highlighting key issues as they developed in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Edited with an introduction by David B. H. Denoon, an authority on China, this volume of articles covers recent events and key issues in understanding this growing superpower. Organized into three thematic sections--foreign policy and national security, economic policy and social issues, and domestic politics and governance--the essays cover salient topics such as China's military power, de-communization, growing economic strength, nationalism, and the possibility for democracy. Thevolume also contains current maps as well as a "Recent Chronology of Events" which provides a decade's worth of information on the region, organized by year and by country.

Contributors: Liu Binyan, David B.H. Denoon, Bruce J. Dickson, June Teufel Dreyer, Michael Dutton, Elizabeth Economy, Barry Eichengreen, Edward Friedman, Dru C. Gladney, Paul H. B. Godwin, Merle Goldman, Richard Madsen, Barry Naughton, Lucian W. Pye, Tony Saich, David Shambaugh, Robert Sutter, Michael D. Swaine, and Tyrene White.

The past two decades have brought revolutionary changes in the understanding of the Indian civilization. This book, as an overview of this new understanding, is for the general reader. It is based on several invited lectures at Stanford University, the Berkeley and Irvine campuses of the University of California, and an invited address at the OHM (Dutch Public TV) Congress in the Hague.

Overwhelmed with shame and anger, the old Sultan himself led a third campaign. Leaving the marches over against the Mongols in the care of Prince Mohammad, and placing trusty deputies in charge of Delhi and Samana, he took his second son Bughra Khan with him, and crossing the Ganges made straight for Lakhnauti, in total disregard of the rains which were then in season. from Chapter IV: The Slave Kings - The Turks in Delhi First published in 1906, this classic nine-volume history of the nation of India places it among the storied lands of antiquity, alongside Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. Edited by American academic ABRAHAM VALENTINE WILLIAMS JACKSON (18621937), professor of Indo-Iranian languages at Columbia University, it offers a highly readable narrative of the Indian people and culture through to the time of its publication, when the nation was still part of the British Empire. Volume III, Part 1 of Medi]val India from the Mohammedan Conquest to the Reign of Akbar the Great, by British scholar STANLEY LANE-POOLE (1854-1931), features entertaining and enlightening treatments of: the Mohammedan invasion the idol-breaker, Mahmud of Ghazni the men of the mountain: Ghazni and Ghor the slave kings: the Turks in Delhi zenith of the slave dynasty the coming of the Moghuls and much more. This beautiful replica of the 1906 first edition includes all the original illustrations.