Asie

Asien? Na mal schauen. Sich rituell mit geschichtsvergessenen Japanern in einem Onsen zu waschen oder in einem rosaroten Maid-Café in Tokio zu feiern, ist das eine. Verbrennungszeremonien in Nepal zu erleben und zwischen heiligen Kühen und irren Affen Kathmandu zu entdecken, etwas ganz anderes. In Agra mit Massen von begeisterten Indern das Taj Mahal zu besuchen ist zwar herzerweichender, aber nicht so witzig wie "Opfer" fantasievoller Schuhputzer in Delhi zu werden. Eine wütende Tänzerin in Sri Lanka zu beruhigen, die nicht genug Blumenketten bekam, ist so schrillend komisch wie es beeindruckend ist, die Tempel von Kyoto zu sehen. Einen Auswanderer in Indien zu treffen ist so spannend wie es kurios ist, mit Tuk-Tuk-Fahrern in Colombo zu verhandeln. Einen "Sex-Tempel" in Nepal zu bestaunen ist so verwunderlich wie es aufregend ist, Fahrpläne in Japan zu verstehen. Also Asien? Unbedingt!

What's it like covering East Asia as a foreign correspondent? In Spilling Ink, American journalist Jonathan Adams reveals the gritty reality of reporting from the world's most dynamic region. Lured by the biggest story of the twenty-first century - the Rise of China - Adams' first taste of Asia was interning in Hong Kong for the International Herald Tribune. After working as a Newsweek stringer and Taipei Times "copy-monkey," he made the leap to full-time freelancer, choosing fascinating but underreported Taiwan as his base. Adams' decade-long adventure takes the reader from backstreet meetings with sex workers and fortune-tellers to the interviews with presidents (and inadvertently making the news rather than just reporting it). We track down Catholic vigilantes in a violent corner of Mindanao, experience the frenzied build-up to the Beijing Olympics, chase serious stories on algae blooms and labour relations, and pay the bills with clickbait stories on Japanese maid cafes and penis festivals. And along the way we see the death of old media and the emergence of a new, leaner model. Spilling Ink (originally published under the title Welcome Home, Master) is an honest, funny, and revealing behind-the-scenes look at foreign reporting, a nuts-and-bolts account of finding, pitching and writing stories, of making a living as a freelance newsman. Part-travelogue, part Asian journalism primer, the book explains why Adams loved the job and why he ultimately left it.

Edward Hamilton Aitken (1851, Satara, India -1909, Edinburgh) was a civil servant in India, better known for his humorist writings on natural history in India and as a founding member of the Bombay Natural History Society. He was well known to Anglo-Indians by the pen-name of Eha. He entered the Customs and Salt Department of the Government of Bombay in April 1876, and served in Kharaghoda (referred to as Dustypore in The Tribes on my Frontier), Uran, Uttara Kannada and Goa Frontier, Ratnagiri, and Bombay itself. In May, 1903, he was appointed Chief Collector of Customs and Salt Revenue at Karachi, and in November, 1905, was made Superintendent in charge of the District Gazetteer of Sind. He retired from the service in August 1906.

"Il coraggio dei sogni" è una storia che attraverso la montagna, l'esplorazione e l'amicizia appassiona, diverte e commuove, ispirando inclusione e umanità. Doveva morire in una valanga, invece ha scritto un libro. Tarcisio Bellò (Marostica, 1962) non è un alpinista professionista, ma ha scalato ad alti livelli sui Quattromila delle Alpi, in Sudamerica e Himalaya (Everest, Dhaulagiri, K2), definendo il suo alpinismo: non l'egoistica salita a tutti i costi, bensì esplorazione e solidarietà. Con quello spirito per 20 anni, dal 2000, ha salito e dato il nome a decine di vette di 6000 e 5000 metri nelle catene di Hindu Kush e Hindu Raj, a nord del Pakistan, consentendo di mappare tutta l'area. Al contempo, insieme alla gente del luogo ha realizzato molti progetti solidali, fra cui un acquedotto e un ponte in metallo. Nel 2009 ha avviato le fondazioni del Centro dedicato all'amica Cristina Castagna, morta quell'anno sul Broad Peak: ospiterà la prima Scuola di Alta Montagna del Pakistan, con lo scopo di sviluppare il turismo alpinistico locale.

Exklusive Einblicke in eines der verschlossensten Länder der WeltSPIEGEL-Reporterin Susanne Koelbl ist gelungen, was kaum einem Journalisten gestattet wird: Sie durfte durch Saudi-Arabien reisen, ohne Beschränkungen und staatliche Aufsicht. Für mehrere Monate hat sie sich durch ein Land treiben lassen, das gerade den tiefgreifendsten Wandel seiner Geschichte erlebt. Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman öffnet das Land, zeigt aber zugleich eine dunkle, aggressive Seite. Susanne Koelbl hält diesen historischen Aufbruch aus nächster Nähe fest. Ihr Buch gewährt Einblicke in die Welt der Machthaber und Ultrakonservativen genauso wie in das verborgene Leben der Frauen. Aktualisierte Ausgabe mit einem neuen Nachwort und zahlreichen Farbabbildungen. Ausstattung: mit Abbildungen

"You see, Japan does not actually rest atop an infinite pile of turtles, but on the back of a giant carp . . ."In his mid-thirties, Australian freelance writer and PhD graduate Michael Guest headed for Japan on a whim, worked as tenured Professor in a national university, and stayed fifteen years. Memoir and cultural reflection, his captivating story is one of growth, adaptation and an ever-deepening appreciation of an enchanting, at times perplexing, society.The author is a specialist in modern literature and humanities, with many academic and media articles to his credit, alongside international academic conference lectures. Guest takes an intellectual step beyond other books on culture and the expatriate experience in producing a rich and witty read. In his original take on the creative non-fiction memoir, we pursue the elusive spirit of the country. Notably, the book offers an insider's view of the nuances of university and professional college cultures, and the challenges and opportunities encountered in a career in Japan.A very human account of a stranger in a strange land, Tatami Days is a series of adventures coming to grips with Japanese people and their culture. From everyday customs such as sake and chopstick etiquette; through temple practices, pachinko halls, and wonderful foods; to Noh, Kabuki and avant-garde theatre, we are taken right into the Japanese psyche. Social mores, conventions, historical background, and the underlying meanings of everyday actions are explored and reflected upon. Interactions with the Japanese are engaging, at times amusing, and illustrate the character of the people brilliantly.The Japanese have great reverence for the natural world, and the entrancing pictures Guest paints of scenery, historic places and city life are superbly executed, complete with underlying context. We are with the author, an honest, sensitive and insightful observer, for every faux pas, humorous or otherwise, that anyone might make, stepping into the unknown, discovering tools for understanding and connection. His journey is also one of self-discovery, enforced by isolation and the consciousness of being forever discerned as an outsider. Anyone fascinated with Japan and its people, or contemplating spending time there, will find this book to be particularly delightful and valuable. As a lived study in cross-cultural communication,Tatami Days offers insightful perspectives on developing cultural awareness, understanding and sensitivity. The book would make an excellent discussion raiser if used in an educational context, such as courses on Japanese life, or cultural awareness for international training and development.

A vivid, often uncanny catalogue of distant lands and their peoples. Tales of far places endure. Mandeville's Travels in the British Museum (Volume I) stands as a singular piece of medieval travel literature: part chronicle, part myth, wholly a record of curiosity and how stories circulated. This classic exploration narrative gathers observation and hearsay into an idiosyncratic map of the known and the imagined. Medieval geography accounts appear alongside legendary voyages themes, producing a blend that records early world exploration as much in belief as in measurement. The prose shifts between sober description and extravagant fancy; that instability is the work's chief fascination. Readers of medieval adventure books recognise the hallmarks of wonder and oddity; collectors of classic exploration narrative value its provenance and character. At the same time the text rewards careful attention from scholars and historians tracing the circulation of ideas: as a historical travelogue collection based on fourteenth-century manuscripts and associated with the British Museum archives, it provides direct testimony to how late-medieval Europe pictured distant shores. Similar to Marco Polo in its catalogue-like reach but more florid in detail, the book sits at the meeting point of ethnography, myth and storytelling.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Placed in an armchair travellers collection or on the shelf of classic-literature collectors, it bridges readable pleasure and research value: accessible narrative energy alongside the serious evidence of medieval geography accounts. Librarians, scholars and historians may use the book for teaching and reference, while casual readers can savour the sense of early world exploration and the strange, attractive mosaic of legendary voyages themes. It is living testimony to how the medieval imagination navigated the unknown.

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