Welcome to Asia Bookroom

Asia Bookroom is a leading Asian bookselling specialist. We have a large stock of books old and new on China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Sri Lanka/Ceylon, Malaysia, Singapore, Timor Leste, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Himalayan region including Tibet and Central Asia. We stock books old and new on all of these areas - and many Asian themes and topics - for example cookery and food, religion and philosophy, Asian art and many more. Browse our site and subscribe to our mailing list for updates of new books as they arrive.

Busy Month of Events at Asia Bookroom

We run a varied and often very busy events calendar at Asia Bookroom. This February we have a talk every week! The event pictured to the side here shows Xinran when she last visited Asia Bookroom in 2008 to talk about her latest book at the time 'China Witness'. We are very excited that Xinran will be speaking at Asia Bookroom again this month - this time about her latest book 'Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother'.

Check out our events calendar
or Email Us to join our events mailing list and we will let you know in plenty of time of forthcoming talks and other events. The author talks we hold are a wonderful opportunity to hear an author speak about their book or books and ask questions - all while sitting in the book lined walls of Asia Bookroom!

Our Asia book group begins again this month. We meet on March 11 to discuss our first book for the year, The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. Again more information can be found by visiting the book group page.

If you don't reside in Canberra you might like to form your own Asian bookgroup! We can provide you with suggested reading lists drawn our most popular book group books and then provide your group with the books at a special price.

New books are always arriving at Asia Bookroom - below is a very small sample! Subscribe to our e-lists to hear of all new books as they arrive.

Kyoto A Contemplative Guide.
MOSHER, GOUVERNEUR.
AU$35.00
Folding map, black and white photographic illustrations throughout, 368pp, folding map little creased at edge, edges lightly marked, some browning first and last leaves only. An attractive book in dustjacket. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130815) ... more
Stock ID: 130815

Imaging Muslim Women in Indonesian Ramadan Soap Operas
IDA, RACHMAH
AU$19.95
xii + 74 pages, references, paperback. Each year during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Indonesian television stations adopt Muslim themes in virtually all of their programmes, ranging from religious teaching to quiz programs to cooking shows to soap operas. The latter are Muslim-themed serials featuring melodramatic stories about upper- and middle-class women with an emphasis on prayer and devoutness. This study investigates how these serials have contributed to constructing images of contemporary Islamic culture and urban Muslim women in Indonesia. Using textual analysis and audience ethnography, the author shows how women and Islam have been "framed" by the media in transitional Indonesia. Rachmah Ida is a lecturer in communications at Airlangga University in Surabaya, Indonesia. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130987) ... more
Stock ID: 130987

Think Like Chinese.
ZHANG, HAIHUA AND GEOFF BAKER.
AU$39.95
xi + 194pp, timeline, notes, index, paperback. This book explains Chinese thought and business culture from the Chinese perspective. Zhang and Baker show how Chinese language, history, philosophy and ethics continue to shape beliefs and practices in modern China. They share their experiences and observations, garnered from years of investing and managing businesses in China, and provide strategies for overcoming the cultural barrier. Traditional and common Chinese sayings provide the cultural context for guidance on practical matters such as : communication and interpreters, 'face' (mianzi), networking, understanding Chinese work cultures, and Chinese approaches to the law and dispute resolution, intellectual property, investment and partnerships. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 123210) ... more
Stock ID: 123210

The Wandering Lake. Into the Heart of Asia.
HEDIN, SVEN.
AU$32.95
Maps, black and white photographic illustrations, black and whitle line drawings, xiv + 293 pages, index, paperback. The lake of Lop-nor, the 'heart of the heart of Asia', is one of the world's strangest phenomena. Situated in the wild Chinese province of Xinjiang, Lop-nor - 'the wandering lake'- has for millennia been in a perpetual state of flux, drifting north to south, often tens of kilometres in as many years. It was once the lifeblood of the great Silk Road kingdom of Lou-lan, which flourished in this otherwise barren region 2,000 years ago and its peculiar movements confused even Ptolemy, who marked the lake twice on his map of Asia. Following 'the pulse-beats of Lop-nor as a doctor examines a patient's heart', Sven Hedin became captivated by its peripatetic movements and for forty years his destiny was inextricably linked with that of this mysterious lake and the region surrounding it. His last journey to Lop-nor was in 1934, just days after he was released as a prisoner of General Ma Chung-yin (the rebel leader of Xinjiang). Travelling the length of the Konche-daria and Kum-daria rivers by canoe, Hedin embarked on his last Central Asian expedition and proved what he had always suspected - that Lop-nor did indeed shift position - and why. When he camped on its vast banks at night, Lop-nor was deep and full. Today, this once great lake - a mighty reservoir in the desert - is nothing but windblown sand and salty marsh. The third in Sven Hedin's "Central Asia" trilogy, "The Wandering Lake" is arguably his most famous work. It is, typically, a gripping story of adventure and discovery but it is also a rare account of a now-vanished world; a masterpiece by one of history's last great explorers. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130778) ... more
Stock ID: 130778

Patterns on Textiles and Other Objects of the Ede and Mnong in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
HOWARD, MICHAEL.
AU$86.95
Maps, black and white illustrations, black and white and colour photographic illustrations, xix + 163 pages, index, references, quarto, paperback. This is an indispensable contribution to the literature on the material culture of the peoples of Vietnam?s Central Highlands. In addition to providing a great deal of new information on the textiles of the Êdê and Mnông, two of most important ethnic in groups in the Central Highlands, it also discusses baskets and architectural decoration. These and other peoples in the central Highlands have a very rich traditional material culture that has been neglected in Southeast Asian literature to a great extent. The present work amply illustrates just how rich this tradition is and will help to draw attention to a heritage that is rapidly disappearing. Maps, drawings of patterns, black and white photographs, and over 200 color photographs accompany the text. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130424) ... more
Stock ID: 130424

A History of Modern Burma.
CHARNEY, MICHAEL W.
AU$39.95
Maps, black and white photographic illustrations, chronology, xiii + 241pp, notes, bibliography, index, paperback. Burma has lived under military rule for nearly half a century. The results of its 1990 elections were never recognized by the ruling junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement, was denied her victory. She has been under house-arrest ever since. Now an economic satellite and political dependent of the People's Republic of China, Burma is at a crossroads. Will it become another North Korea, will it succumb to China's political embrace or will the people prevail? Michael Charney's book - the first general history of modern Burma in over five decades - traces the highs and lows of Burma's history from its colonial past to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008. By exploring key themes such as the political division between lowland and highland Burma and monastic opposition to state control, the author explains the forces that have made the country what it is today. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 127065) ... more
Stock ID: 127065

Perspectives on Polygamy in Post-reform Indonesia
WENTY, MARINA MINZA
AU$19.95
ix + 66 pages, references, notes, paperback. Polygamy emerged as a political issue in Indonesia following the 1998 reformation that ushered in a period of social change. This period has been characterized by challenges to established institutions and values, particularly from diverse social groups and individuals who have strong views on the practice of polygamy. Various groups emerged in an effort to gain influence within an unstable society, and the issue of polygamy was part of this social foment. Based on research conducted in Yogyakarta, this study identifies and describes the dynamics and causes that have contributed to the increasingly complex debate on polygamy in Indonesia among women's rights activists, state elites, religious leaders, and supporters of shariah. It also elucidates the Indonesian government's views on polygamy, from the New Order through the reform period that followed, and examines how government policies have affected the polygamy debate. Wenty Marina Minza is a researcher at the Center for Population and Policy Studies at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130989) ... more
Stock ID: 130989

A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China.
ELMAN, BENJAMIN A.
AU$95.00 (WAS AU$163.95)
xlii + 847pp, index, bibliography, hardback, light wear to dustjacket, very good, internally clean, copy. In this multidimensional analysis, Benjamin A. Elman uses over a thousand newly available examination records from the Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing dynasties, 1315-1904, to explore the social, political, and cultural dimensions of the civil examination system, one of the most important institutions in Chinese history. For over five hundred years, the most important positions within the dynastic government were usually filled through these difficult examinations, and every other year some one to two million people from all levels of society attempted them. Covering the late imperial system from its inception to its demise, Elman revises our previous understanding of how the system actually worked, including its political and cultural machinery, the unforeseen consequences when it was unceremoniously scrapped by modernist reformers, and its long-term historical legacy. He argues that the Ming-Ch'ing civil examinations from 1370 to 1904 represented a substantial break with T'ang-Sung dynasty literary examinations from 650 to 1250. Late imperial examinations also made 'Tao Learning', Neo-Confucian learning, the dynastic orthodoxy in official life and in literati culture. The intersections between elite social life, popular culture, and religion that are also considered reveal the full scope of the examination process throughout the late empire. Publisher's description. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 130681) ... more
Stock ID: 130681

Asia.
HURLIMANN, MARTIN.
AU$25.00
Map, 4 tipped in colour plates, 289 black and white illustrations, 262pp, index, dustjacket, quarto, endpapers and half title foxed, otherwise a very good clean copy in like dustjacket. A fascinating volume filled with photographic plates by well known photographer Martin Hurlimann. Countries covered are Turkey (12 plates); Lebanon (3 plates); Syria (6 plates); Jordan and Israel (13 plates); Arabia (12 plates); Iraq (26 plates); Soviet Asia (8 plates); Afghanistan (7 plates); Pakistan (10 plates); Kashmir (2 plates); India (48 plates); Ceylon (6 plates); Burma (9 plates); Thailand (6 plates); Indo-China (7 plates); Indonesia and Borneo (17 plates); The Philippines (2 plates); Malaya (4 plates); Himalayas, Nepal, Tibet (25 plates); China (49 plates); Korea (3 plates); Japan (19 plates). (When referring to this item please quote stockid 51508) ... more
Stock ID: 51508

Distinctly I Remember. A Personal Story of Burma.
BRAUND, HAROLD.
AU$25.00
Foreword by Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson. Maps, illustrations, 296pp, index, dustjacket considerably torn and repaired with tape, a good copy. Herbert 303. (When referring to this item please quote stockid 2076) ... more
Stock ID: 2076