Religion has power structures that require and justify its existence, spread its influence, and mask its collaboration with other power structures. Power, like religion, is in collaboration. Along this line, this book affirms that one could see and study the power structures and power relations of a religion in and through the missions of empires. Empires rise and roam with the blessings and protections of religious power structures (e.g., scriptures, theologies, interpretations, tradition...

Theologies on the Move: Religion, Migration, and Pilgrimage in the World of Neoliberal Capital speaks to the reality that many religions have developed in motion, with people exploring new boundaries, migrating, and being displaced. Consequently, major religious traditions form as they come into contact with other religions and cultures, typically in situations of struggle and pressure. Due to neoliberal capitalism, more people are on the move today than ever before. Most are driven by nec...

The author, M P Joseph, a Civil Servant from the distant Indian state of Kerala spent many delightful years in Cambodia working for the UN when the country had just morphed from a war-torn Communist moth into a fascinating free market butterfly. Through mesmerizing characters who personify the ancient soul of Cambodia and epitomize its modernizing mind, the author conjures up a vision of contemporary Cambodia and its people. Their lives and loves, their joys and tribulations, their hopes a...

Bang Kwang Prison is one of the most notorious penal institutions in the world. Located seven miles north of Bangkok city in the Nonthaburi Province, the prison is home to over 8,000 inmates, among them ruthless killers, rapists, drug traffickers, conmen and thieves.The Bangkok Hilton is understaffed, overcrowded, and filled with inmates who struggle with insanity as they spend the first months of their sentences chained in leg irons. Prisoners outnumber guards by 50 to 1. Until no...

Between 1975 and 1979 the seemingly peaceful nation of Cambodia succumbed to one of the most bloodthirsty revolutions in modern history. Nearly two million people were killed. As head of the Khmer Rouge's secret police, Comrade Duch was responsible for the murder of more than 20,000 of them. Twenty years later, not one member of the Khmer Rouge had been held accountable for what had happened, and Comrade Duch had disappeared. Photographer Nic Dunlop became obsessed with the idea of finding...

Warned by a Hong Kong fortune-teller not to risk flying for a whole year, Tiziano Terzani — a vastly experienced Asia correspondent — took what he called “the first step into an unknown world. . . . It turned out to be one of the most extraordinary years I have ever spent: I was marked for death, and instead I was reborn.”Traveling by foot, boat, bus, car, and train, he visited Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Geo...

[Buy this book now only at the iUniverse.com bookstore. Order from bookstores everywhere in 4-6 weeks!]Southeast Asia is a world filled with mystery and intrigue, and one that doesn't give up its secrets easilyas the author and his wife soon found out! Walking To Singapore is an often hilarious, but always informative look at the daily lives and disparate cultures of the region, and provides insight into the history of the region, the best (and most bizarr...

"Wanna stand in the face of a charging elephant, get hit by a motorcycle, eat giant water bugs, blowtorch your mouth on some of the hottest chili peppers on earth, then go watch a sex change operation? Of course you don't, but, happily, Jerry Hopkins has done all that and more—lots more—in this darkly humorous, deeply affectionate, clear-eyed but never patronizing portrait of Thailand, his adopted home. Highly recommended." —Tim Cahill, author of Lost in My Own Backyard, Hold t...

Mr Fernando led me into a dark room that was lined with book-cases and smelled of leather and damp. The polished, concrete floor of the library was covered with white jasmine flowers that had blown through the windows during the storm. He began to select from the shelves a collection of disintegrating books. ‘If you are going to read any of them, it should really be this one,’ he said as he passed me two thick volumes, embossed with gold lettering and spotted with damp. The work was simply...

Winner of the Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Book, this newly designed collection paints a unique portrait of a complex and captivating land. One contributor lives as a monk for a month, gaining an inside look at monastic life. Another discovers Bangkok’s riverine pleasures, a world away from its car-choked streets. Yet another finds refuge as the houseguest of an isolated tribesman. Through these engaging personal stories, readers witness how Thailand satisfies just about any travele...

Dr Iain Corness fell in love with Thailand on a holiday in 1975, and finally managed to move there permanently in 1997. As a settled farang, or foreigner, he enjoys a unique perspective on Thai life and all its eccentricities; looking in from the outside while also getting to see the things most foreigners don’t.His stories and anecdotes are full of the joys of life, and celebrate this exotic and exciting land in all its glory with painfully funny observations. From a date with a f...

This illustrated Travel Guide is a part of the Mobi Sights series our concise guides that only feature the most essential information on city attractions. This guide is designed for optimal navigation on eReaders smartphones and other mobile electronic devices. Inside you will find a locator map and a list of top attractions linked to individual articles. Addresses telephones hours of operation and admissions information are included. The guide also features a walking tour with our suggest...