When Charles de Gaulle learned that France's former colonies in Africa had chosen independence, the great general shrugged dismissively, "They are the dust of empire." But as Americans have learned, particles of dust from remote and seemingly medieval countries can, at great human and material cost, jam the gears of a superpower.In The Dust of Empire, Karl E. Meyer examines the present and past of the Asian heartland in a book that blends scholarship with reportage, provid...

Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gone native, North American museums now possess the greatest collections of Chinese art outside of East Asia itself. How did it happen? The China Collectors is the first full account of a century-long treasure hunt in China from the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion to Mao Zedong's 1949 ascent.The principal gatherers are mostly little known and defy invention. They includ...

In a world replete with stories of sectarian violence, we are often left wondering: Are there places where people of different ethnicities, especially with significant Muslim minorities, live in peace? If so, why haven't we heard more about them, and what explains their success?To answer these questions, Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac undertook a two-year exploration of oases of civility, places notable for minimal violence, rising life-expectancy, high literacy, and pragmatic compr...

Over the past 25 years, the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization has reached a critical mass and maturity. It is not only possible but also essential to scale it so that an immense amount of untapped human innovative potential can be unleashed for the benefit of our people. Further, R&D centers and existing entrepreneurial ecosystems can be made more impactful.Firstly, this book succinctly identifies the entire field of innovation into one comprehensive and m...

A brilliant narrative history tracing today’s troubles back to the grandiose imperial overreach of Great Britain and the United States.Kingmakers is the gripping story of how the modern Middle East came to be, as told through the lives of the Britons and Americans who shaped it. Some are famous (Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell); others infamous (Harry St. John Philby, father of Kim); some forgotten (Sir Mark Sykes, Israel’s godfather, and A. T. Wilson, the territorial...

**NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side comes an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group.“Revelatory. . . . Persuasive, timely and necessary.” —The New York Times**In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the mos...

Edge of Eternity is the epic, final novel in Ken Follett’s captivating and hugely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Winter of the World, this is a compulsive, gripping blockbuster about the fight for personal freedom set during the Cold War.A FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICE1961, and in the United States George Jakes, a bright young lawyer in the Kennedy administration and fi...

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti*Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World ...

**The New York Times bestsellerA New York Times Notable and Critics’ Top Book of 2016Longlisted for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for NonfictionOne of NPR's 10 Best Books Of 2016 Faced Tough Topics Head OnNPR's Book Concierge Guide To 2016’s Great ReadsSan Francisco Chronicle's Best of 2016: 100 recommended booksA Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2016Globe & Mail 100 Best of 2016“Formidable...

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett’s uniquely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Edge of Eternity, this is a gripping epic of global conflict and personal drama.A BATTLE OF IDEALS1933, and at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise, but Daisy is more int...

A New York Times BestsellerThe world’s leading intellectual offers a probing examination of the waning American Century, the nature of U.S. policies post-9/11, and the perils of valuing power above democracy and human rights.In an incisive, thorough analysis of the current international situation, Noam Chomsky argues that the United States, through its military-first policies and its unstinting devotion to maintaining a world-spann...

**GET YOUR COPY OF M L STEDMAN'S BRAND NEW NOVEL, A FAR-FLUNG LIFE OUT NOW!___________________Discover the sweeping Sunday Times bestselling and prize-winning novel, made into a major motion picture starring Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, and Rachel Weisz.**NEARLY FIVE MILLION COPIES SOLD'An extraordinary book. Unforgettable' Guardian'Irresistible . . . a high concept pl...