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Midnight in Chernobyl

The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

by Adam Higginbotham ...

A New York Times Best Book of the YearA Time Best Book of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner**From journalist Adam Higginbotham, the New York Times bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” (The Wall Street Journal)—a powerful investigation into ... ... Read more

Was $16.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

A New York Times Best Book of the YearA Time Best Book of the YearA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner**From journalist Adam Higginbotham, the New York Times bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” (The Wall Street Journal)—a powerful investigation into ...
... Read more
China

A History

by John Keay ...

An authoritative account of five thousand years of Chinese history.**"Exquisitely written." —**GuardianMany nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past.Keay's ... Read more

Was $16.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

An authoritative account of five thousand years of Chinese history.**"Exquisitely written." —**GuardianMany nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past.Keay's
... Read more
Destiny Disrupted

A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes

by Tamim Ansary ...

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle)We in the West share a common narrative of world history. But our story largely omits a whole civilization whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed through the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the ... Read more

Was $15.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

“A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of the Islamic world” (San Francisco Chronicle)We in the West share a common narrative of world history. But our story largely omits a whole civilization whose citizens shared an entirely different narrative for a thousand years as the Islamic world saw it, from the time of Mohammed through the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the
... Read more
The Prophet

The Life of Leon Trotsky

by Isaac Deutscher ...

This 3-part biography of Leon Trotsky was hailed by Graham Greene as one of “the greatest . . . in the English language”—a must read for those interested in Russian history and international communism.Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused such intensities of fierce admiration and reactionary fear as Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. His extraordinary life and extensive ... Read more

Was $19.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

This 3-part biography of Leon Trotsky was hailed by Graham Greene as one of “the greatest . . . in the English language”—a must read for those interested in Russian history and international communism.Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused such intensities of fierce admiration and reactionary fear as Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. His extraordinary life and extensive
... Read more
Stalin’s War

A New History of World War II

by Sean McMeekin ...

A prize-winning historian’s major new history of the Second World War, arguing that Stalin’s USSR was the war’s driving force.**“A provocative revisionist take on the Second World War … McMeekin is a formidable researcher.” —**Financial TimesWe remember World War II as a struggle between good and evil, with Hitler propelling events and the Allied powers saving the day. But Hitler’s armies did not ... Read more

Was $18.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

A prize-winning historian’s major new history of the Second World War, arguing that Stalin’s USSR was the war’s driving force.**“A provocative revisionist take on the Second World War … McMeekin is a formidable researcher.” —**Financial TimesWe remember World War II as a struggle between good and evil, with Hitler propelling events and the Allied powers saving the day. But Hitler’s armies did not
... Read more
The Gates of Europe

A History of Ukraine

by Serhii Plokhy ...

A New York Times BestsellerThe definitive history of Ukraine from antiquity to today.**“An admirable new history.... In his elegant and careful exposition of Ukraine’s past, Mr. Plokhy has also provided some signposts to the future.” ―**EconomistAs Ukraine is embroiled in an ongoing struggle with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independen... ... Read more

Was $14.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

A New York Times BestsellerThe definitive history of Ukraine from antiquity to today.**“An admirable new history.... In his elegant and careful exposition of Ukraine’s past, Mr. Plokhy has also provided some signposts to the future.” ―**EconomistAs Ukraine is embroiled in an ongoing struggle with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independen...
... Read more
Dead Mountain

The True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

by Donnie Eichar ...

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident—unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes ... Read more

$1.99 USD

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident—unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes
... Read more
The Last Tsar

The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs

by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa ...

The definitive history of the self-destruction of the autocratic Romanov dynasty.**“Filled with revelations and fresh insights and rich with observations.” —**The Wall Street JournalIn 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest, that culminated in Tsar Nicholas II’s dramatic fall from power. Though Nicholas’s life is often described as tragic, a trove of ... Read more

Was $16.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

The definitive history of the self-destruction of the autocratic Romanov dynasty.**“Filled with revelations and fresh insights and rich with observations.” —**The Wall Street JournalIn 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest, that culminated in Tsar Nicholas II’s dramatic fall from power. Though Nicholas’s life is often described as tragic, a trove of
... Read more
The Rising Sun

The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945

by John Toland ...

Series series Modern Library War
“[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-TimesThis Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, ... Read more

$14.99 USD

“[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-TimesThis Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words,
... Read more
The Vietnam War

A Military History

by Geoffrey Wawro ...

“Remarkable… the best overview of America’s misadventure in Southeast Asia, and it is sure to become the standard one-volume book on the war.” – Thomas E. Ricks, New York TimesThe Vietnam War cast a shadow over the American psyche from the moment it began. In its time it sparked budget deficits, campus protests, and an erosion of US influence around the world. Long after the last helicopter ... Read more

Was $19.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

“Remarkable… the best overview of America’s misadventure in Southeast Asia, and it is sure to become the standard one-volume book on the war.” – Thomas E. Ricks, New York TimesThe Vietnam War cast a shadow over the American psyche from the moment it began. In its time it sparked budget deficits, campus protests, and an erosion of US influence around the world. Long after the last helicopter
... Read more
The Soviet Century

by Moshe Lewin ...

This classic Soviet Union history traces the USSR from 1917 to its fall, offering “a master class in understanding the structures and intricate workings of the Soviet system” (Ian Kershaw, historian and Hitler biographer).Today, the Soviet Union remains the most extraordinary but tragic attempt to create a society beyond capitalism. Yet its history was one that for a long time proved impossible to ... Read more

$9.99 USD

This classic Soviet Union history traces the USSR from 1917 to its fall, offering “a master class in understanding the structures and intricate workings of the Soviet system” (Ian Kershaw, historian and Hitler biographer).Today, the Soviet Union remains the most extraordinary but tragic attempt to create a society beyond capitalism. Yet its history was one that for a long time proved impossible to
... Read more
Everyday Stalinism

Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s

by Sheila Fitzpatrick ...

Here is a pioneering account of everyday life under Stalin, written by one of our foremost authorities on modern Russian history. Focusing on urban areas in the 1930s, Sheila Fitzpatrick shows that with the adoption of collectivization and the first Five-Year Plan, everyday life was utterly transformed. With the abolition of the market, shortages of food, clothing, and all kinds of consumer goods ... Read more

$18.99 USD

Here is a pioneering account of everyday life under Stalin, written by one of our foremost authorities on modern Russian history. Focusing on urban areas in the 1930s, Sheila Fitzpatrick shows that with the adoption of collectivization and the first Five-Year Plan, everyday life was utterly transformed. With the abolition of the market, shortages of food, clothing, and all kinds of consumer goods
... Read more
Slaves of the Emperor

Service, Privilege, and Status in the Qing Eight Banners

by David C. Porter ...

Honorable Mention, 2026 Joseph Levenson Prize (China, pre-1900), Association for Asian StudiesShortlisted, 2024 Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, Canadian Historical AssociationChina’s last imperial dynasty governed a vast and culturally diverse territory, encompassing a wide range of local political systems and regional elites. But the Qing empire was built and held together by a single imperial elite: ... Read more

$25.19 USD

Honorable Mention, 2026 Joseph Levenson Prize (China, pre-1900), Association for Asian StudiesShortlisted, 2024 Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, Canadian Historical AssociationChina’s last imperial dynasty governed a vast and culturally diverse territory, encompassing a wide range of local political systems and regional elites. But the Qing empire was built and held together by a single imperial elite:
... Read more
The Last Man

A Biography of Xi Jinping

by Lucy Hornby ...

A groundbreaking and revelatory new biography of Xi Jinping by award-winning foreign correspondent Lucy Hornby.As the world stands on the brink of a new era in U.S.-China relations, understanding Xi Jinping – the leader of 1.4 billion people and a country vying for global superiority – is essential. With the specter of a Taiwan crisis or a Communist Party succession struggle looming, insight into ... Read more

$16.99 USD

PRE-ORDER

A groundbreaking and revelatory new biography of Xi Jinping by award-winning foreign correspondent Lucy Hornby.As the world stands on the brink of a new era in U.S.-China relations, understanding Xi Jinping – the leader of 1.4 billion people and a country vying for global superiority – is essential. With the specter of a Taiwan crisis or a Communist Party succession struggle looming, insight into
... Read more
Nagasaki

The Last Witnesses

by M. G. Sheftall ...

Series Book 2 - Embers
The second volume in a prize-worthy two-book series based on years of irreplicable personal interviews with survivors about each of the atomic bomb drops, first in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, that hastened the end of the Pacific War.On August 6, 1945, the United States unleashed a weapon unlike anything the world had ever seen. Then, just three days later, when Japan showed no sign of surrender, ... Read more

$14.99 USD

The second volume in a prize-worthy two-book series based on years of irreplicable personal interviews with survivors about each of the atomic bomb drops, first in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, that hastened the end of the Pacific War.On August 6, 1945, the United States unleashed a weapon unlike anything the world had ever seen. Then, just three days later, when Japan showed no sign of surrender,
... Read more
Lenin's Tomb

The Last Days of the Soviet Empire (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

by David Remnick ...

Winner of the Pulitzer PrizeOne of the Best Books of the Year: The New York TimesFrom the editor of The New Yorker: a riveting account of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which has become the standard book on the subject. Lenin’s Tomb combines the global vision of the best historical scholarship with the immediacy of eyewitness journalism. Remnick takes us through the tumultuous 75-year period of ... Read more

$13.99 USD

Winner of the Pulitzer PrizeOne of the Best Books of the Year: The New York TimesFrom the editor of The New Yorker: a riveting account of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which has become the standard book on the subject. Lenin’s Tomb combines the global vision of the best historical scholarship with the immediacy of eyewitness journalism. Remnick takes us through the tumultuous 75-year period of
... Read more
Conspirator

Lenin in Exile

by Helen Rappaport ...

Helen Rappaport's Conspirator is a vivid account of Vladimir I. Lenin's years of exile in Europe, showing that this often-overlooked period shaped the life of one of the 20th century's most important figures. In the years leading up to the Russian Revolution, Lenin traveled between the capital cities of Europe, developing a complex network of collaborators and co-conspirators that would play a ... Read more

Was $12.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

Helen Rappaport's Conspirator is a vivid account of Vladimir I. Lenin's years of exile in Europe, showing that this often-overlooked period shaped the life of one of the 20th century's most important figures. In the years leading up to the Russian Revolution, Lenin traveled between the capital cities of Europe, developing a complex network of collaborators and co-conspirators that would play a
... Read more
Pure Land

History, Tradittion, and Practice

by Charles B. Jones ...

An introductory guide to the beliefs and key concepts of Pure Land Buddhism, the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in East Asia.Pure Land is a brief introduction to the history and practices of Pure Land Buddhism, a popular and growing global tradition. Pure Land practices center on Amitābha Buddha, rebirth in his pure buddha-land, and the guaranteed attainment of buddhahood. It constitutes ... Read more

$13.99 USD

An introductory guide to the beliefs and key concepts of Pure Land Buddhism, the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in East Asia.Pure Land is a brief introduction to the history and practices of Pure Land Buddhism, a popular and growing global tradition. Pure Land practices center on Amitābha Buddha, rebirth in his pure buddha-land, and the guaranteed attainment of buddhahood. It constitutes
... Read more
The Diary of Lady Murasaki

by Murasaki Shikibu, Richard Bowring ...

Translated by Richard Bowring ...

The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace - the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting ... Read more

$10.69 USD

The Diary recorded by Lady Murasaki (c. 973-c. 1020), author of The Tale of Genji, is an intimate picture of her life as tutor and companion to the young Empress Shoshi. Told in a series of vignettes, it offers revealing glimpses of the Japanese imperial palace - the auspicious birth of a prince, rivalries between the Emperor's consorts, with sharp criticism of Murasaki's fellow ladies-in-waiting
... Read more
MacArthur's Korean War Generals

by Stephen R. Taaffe ...

Series series Modern War Studies
Winner: Captain Richard Lukaszewicz Memorial Book AwardWedged chronologically between World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War—which began with North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June of 1950—possessed neither the virtuous triumphalism of the former nor the tragic pathos of the latter. Most Americans supported defending South Korea, but there was considerable controversy during the war as to ... Read more

$23.99 USD

Winner: Captain Richard Lukaszewicz Memorial Book AwardWedged chronologically between World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War—which began with North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June of 1950—possessed neither the virtuous triumphalism of the former nor the tragic pathos of the latter. Most Americans supported defending South Korea, but there was considerable controversy during the war as to
... Read more
The Wall Dancers

Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet

by Yi-Ling Liu ...

**An eye-opening exploration of the Chinese internet that reveals the intricate dance between freedom and control in contemporary China“The Wall Dancers is history told in a gripping, novelistic style. It is at once a crash course in contemporary Chinese politics and culture and an epic story about human drive, desperation, and ingenuity against inordinate odds. Yi-Ling Liu has written a ... Read more

$14.99 USD

**An eye-opening exploration of the Chinese internet that reveals the intricate dance between freedom and control in contemporary China“The Wall Dancers is history told in a gripping, novelistic style. It is at once a crash course in contemporary Chinese politics and culture and an epic story about human drive, desperation, and ingenuity against inordinate odds. Yi-Ling Liu has written a
... Read more
Transforming Empire in Japan and East Asia

The Taiwan Expedition and the Birth of Japanese Imperialism

by Robert Eskildsen ...

Series series History (R0)
This book examines the history of a military expedition the Japanese government sent to southern Taiwan in 1874, in the context of Japan’s subordination to Western powers in the unequal treaty system in East Asia. It argues that events on the ground in Taiwan show the Japanese government intended to establish colonies in southern and eastern Taiwan, and justified its colonial intent based on the ... Read more

$107.09 USD

This book examines the history of a military expedition the Japanese government sent to southern Taiwan in 1874, in the context of Japan’s subordination to Western powers in the unequal treaty system in East Asia. It argues that events on the ground in Taiwan show the Japanese government intended to establish colonies in southern and eastern Taiwan, and justified its colonial intent based on the
... Read more
Japan's Total Empire

Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism

by Louise Young ...

Series Book 8 - Twentieth Century Japan: The Emergence of a World Power
In this first social and cultural history of Japan's construction of Manchuria, Louise Young offers an incisive examination of the nature of Japanese imperialism. Focusing on the domestic impact of Japan's activities in Northeast China between 1931 and 1945, Young considers "metropolitan effects" of empire building: how people at home imagined and experienced the empire they called Manchukuo ... Read more

$24.69 USD

In this first social and cultural history of Japan's construction of Manchuria, Louise Young offers an incisive examination of the nature of Japanese imperialism. Focusing on the domestic impact of Japan's activities in Northeast China between 1931 and 1945, Young considers "metropolitan effects" of empire building: how people at home imagined and experienced the empire they called Manchukuo
... Read more
China's Last Empire

The Great Qing

by William T. Rowe, Timothy Brook ...

Series Book 6 - History of Imperial China
In a brisk revisionist history, William Rowe challenges the standard narrative of Qing China as a decadent, inward-looking state that failed to keep pace with the modern West.The Great Qing was the second major Chinese empire ruled by foreigners. Three strong Manchu emperors worked diligently to secure an alliance with the conquered Ming gentry, though many of their social edicts—especially the ... Read more

$24.69 USD

In a brisk revisionist history, William Rowe challenges the standard narrative of Qing China as a decadent, inward-looking state that failed to keep pace with the modern West.The Great Qing was the second major Chinese empire ruled by foreigners. Three strong Manchu emperors worked diligently to secure an alliance with the conquered Ming gentry, though many of their social edicts—especially the
... Read more

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