Book cover of Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India by Douglas Ober
Asia

Dust on the Throne: The Search for Buddhism in Modern India

Received wisdom has it that Buddhism disappeared from India, the land of its birth, between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, long forgotten until British colonial scholars re-discovered it in the early 1800s. Its full-fledged revival, so the story goes, only occurred in 1956, when the Indian civil rights pioneer Dr. B.R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with half a million of his Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) followers. This, however, is only part of the story.  […Learn More]

Book cover of Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia by Natalie Koch
History

Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia

The iconic deserts of the American southwest could not have been colonized and settled without the help of desert experts from the Middle East. For example: In 1856, a caravan of thirty-three camels arrived in Indianola, Texas, led by a Syrian cameleer the Americans called “Hi Jolly.” This “camel corps,” the US government hoped, could help the army secure the new southwest swath of the country just wrested from Mexico. Though the dream of the camel corps – and sadly, the camels – died, the idea of  drawing on expertise, knowledge, and practices from the desert countries of the Middle East did not. […Learn More]

Book cover of Queens of a Fallen World: The Lost Women of Augustine's Confessions by Kate Cooper
Ancient Civilizations

Queens of a Fallen World: The Lost Women of Augustine’s Confessions

Queens of a Fallen World tells a story of betrayal, love, and ambition in the ancient world as seen through a woman’s eyes. Historian Kate Cooper introduces us to four women whose hopes and plans collided in Augustine’s early adulthood: his mother, Monnica of Thagaste; his lover; his fiancée; and Justina, the troubled empress of ancient Rome. Drawing upon their depictions in the Confessions, Cooper skilfully reconstructs their lives against the backdrop of their fourth-century society. […Learn More]

Book cover of Red Memory: The Afterlives of China's Cultural Revolution by Tania Branigan
Asia

Red Memory: The Afterlives of China’s Cultural Revolution

An indelible exploration of the invisible scar that runs through the heart of Chinese society and the souls of its citizens.

“It is impossible to understand China today without understanding the Cultural Revolution,” Tania Branigan writes. During this decade of Maoist fanaticism between 1966 and 1976, children turned on parents, students condemned teachers, and as many as two million people died for their supposed political sins, while tens of millions were hounded, ostracized, and imprisoned. […Learn More]