Showing titles in Asia

When the travel bug bit, J. Maarten Troost took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure - dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as cattle penis with garlic), and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead) - he reveals a vast, complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think.

After crossing the final mountain passes of Turkish Kurdistan, Ollivier sets foot in Iran, keen on locating vestiges of the silk trade as he passes through Persia's modern cities and traditional villages, including Tabriz, Tehran, Nishapur, and the holy city of Mashhad. Beyond urban areas lie deserts: first Iran's Great Salt Desert, then Turkmenistan's forbidding Karakum, whose relentless sun, snakes, and scorpions pose continuous challenges to Ollivier's goal of reaching Uzbekistan.

Japan has an enthralling and versatile culture; on the one hand, it is sharp in the traditions dating back thousands of years; on the other, it is a civilization in a continual state of rapid change, with constantly shifting fads, fashions, and technological progress that continuously pushes back the limits of the possible. This is part of what makes it such a mesmerizing country to visit.

Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage - a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions.

Outfitted with a pair of ratty sand shoes and a knapsack full of trade goods, Eric Hansen set off to cross the rainforest of Borneo, one of the last places on earth largely untouched by Western civilization. For seven months Hansen hunted wild pig, gathered roots, and lived among tribes whose longhouses were still decorated with the headhunting swords of their ancestors, completing one of the great adventures of our time.

It was 1956, and Eric Newby was earning an improbable living in the chaotic family business of London haute couture. Pining for adventure, Newby sent his friend Hugh Carless the now-famous cable - CAN YOU TRAVEL NURISTAN JUNE? - setting in motion a legendary journey from Mayfair to Afghanistan, and the mountains of the Hindu Kush, northeast of Kabul. Inexperienced and ill prepared (their preparations involved nothing more than some tips from a Welsh waitress), the amateurish rogues embarked on a month of adventure and hardship in one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth.

Join Gordon Alexander in Nepal as he drags his "heavy ass" over the Himalayas in this hilarious, adventure-soaked account of the Three Passes Trek, culminating in a visit to Everest Base Camp. Together with guide Subash and porter Nima, Gordon tackles high passes in excess of 5,400 meters (17,700 feet) and explains how high altitude affects a mildly overweight road builder from sea level in the tropics. Each part of the journey brings new challenges, including sub-freezing temperatures, almost falling into a crevasse, and alarmingly warm beer.

After backpacking her way around India, Sarah Macdonald decides she hates the country with a passion. When a beggar at the airport reads her palm and insists she will one day return, and for love, she screams "Never!" and gives the country, and him, the finger.

A classic of modern travel writing, An Area of Darkness is Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul’s profound reckoning with his ancestral homeland and an extraordinarily perceptive chronicle of his first encounter with India. Traveling from the bureaucratic morass of Bombay to the ethereal beauty of Kashmir, from a sacred ice cave in the Himalayas to an abandoned temple near Madras, Naipaul encounters a dizzying cross-section of humanity: browbeaten government workers and imperious servants, a suavely self-serving holy man, and a deluded American religious seeker.

Persimmon Wind - part memoir, part martial arts history, and part travelogue - relates Dave Lowry's experiences as he travels to Japan to reunite with his sensei, visit the graves of others of his martial lineage, and explore a country and culture that profoundly influenced his life. Lowry's account reveals a Japan unlikely to be witnessed by the average Westerner. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the martial arts, Lowry acts as an interpreter of sorts, deftly describing for the listener the myriad ways in which Japan's subtle, yet rich customs and rituals inform and enrich the seemingly mundane practices of life.

The Japanese people have always seen themselves as a nation uniquely apart. Their exquisite art forms and elegant culture, military prowess and technological precision, have long been the envy of friend and foe alike. Today, even as Japan adapts to a rapidly changing world, its traditional culture and consensus-based philosophy have proved remarkably resilient. Culture Smart! Japan will broaden your perception and understanding of this complex, rich, and dynamic society.

Full of blunt humor, travel wisdom, and the occasional swear word, The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide combines travel instruction with travel inspiration for the only “can’t put this book down” travel guide on the market. Following a similar layout and format to Lonely Planet, The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide is a comprehensive travel guidebook in every sense but is filled with female-friendly content that makes trip-planning fun and approachable (while steering women clear of scams, creeps, and sketchy locations).

Taking listeners from the snows of the Pamir Mountains to the backstreets of Kashgar—a Central Asian city that could be the setting for One Thousand and One Nights—to the Tian Shan Mountains to the endless Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Bernard Ollivier continues his epic foot journey along the Great Silk Road hoping to make his way to Han China and reach, at long last, the legendary city of Xi'an.

Don't let your time on the road go to waste—turn it into an opportunity to improve your language skills, and become a confident speaker of Korean. Picture yourself easily communicating with locals, discovering the rich Korean culture, and forming meaningful connections—all while stuck in traffic. Learn Korean in Your Car Like Never Before! makes it possible to turn your daily commute into an immersive language-learning experience, accelerating your progress like never before.

In Abroad: American Expats that Thrive Personally and Professionally Living in Foreign Countries, you will read nine uniquely inspiring chapters written by eight expat entrepreneurs currently living outside of their home countries. Authors have committed to sharing their stories, including their ups and downs, in order to encourage others interested in moving abroad to ultimately take the leap.

Over the years the American writer Emma Larkin has spent traveling in Burma, she has come to know all too well the many ways this police state can be described as "Orwellian". The life of the mind exists in a state of siege in Burma, and it long has. The connection between George Orwell and Burma is not simply metaphorical, of course; Orwell's mother was born in Burma, and he was shaped by his experiences there as a young man working for the British Imperial Police.

Faced with buying a car and getting a real job - or taking the money and blowing it on a six-month adventure around Asia...well, there really is no contest! Who wouldn't want to visit exotic places, like Borneo, Cambodia, and China? Who wouldn't want to tackle the world's most dangerous hiking path, tangle with the Vietnamese Mafia, and suffer days in the dreaded Mongolian saddle? And who wouldn't want to try five-organ soup? All he has to do is survive long enough to realize his dreams.

Dan has joined the backpacker trail in far South East Asia. He wants nothing but peace, and to relax. But trouble finds him soon enough. Kimberly Smith is a CIA agent. She is flown into Myanmar to help locate another CIA agent, missing in action. When Dan saves Kim from an ambush, their fates become entwined. Ignoring the instant spark between them, Dan leaves her alone. But when Kim is attacked and abducted before his eyes, he defends her with all his might. They escape, but they are now pawns in a CIA operation that could bring the world's two superpowers to a global conflict.

This book was made for the many decent guys who come to Thailand for whatever reason and find themselves ensnared in a nightmare. This book will save some of you guys a fortune - and it's going to stop you from falling into the traps that have caught up with so many guys before you. You decent guys don't deserve derision - you deserve to know what's going on around you. You need to know what to look out for and when to extricate yourself from a situation.

The audio edition of On the Grand Trunk Road is finally available, revised and updated with new material. Focusing on Coll's journeys in conflict-ridden India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan as a bureau chief for The Washington Post, On the Grand Trunk Road reveals a little-seen area of the world where violence, corruption, and greed have had devastating effects on South Asians from all walks of life.