Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to one of the most influential nations shaping the modern world. Written by respected scholar John Bryan Starr, this fully revised 4****th offers readers a clear, balanced, and deeply informed exploration of China's economy, political system, history, and social transformation.Drawing on decades of aca...

"A clearheaded, multidimensional tour of China's political, economic, and social landscapes." — Current History"Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations. . . . An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country." — The New York Times Book ReviewFor more than a decade, John Bryan Starr's indispensable guide has introduced un...

Public Schools, Politics and Polarization offers a timely and deeply insightful examination of how political division shapes the governance, leadership, and daily realities of public education in the United States.Drawing on decades of academic research and real-world experience, John Bryan Starr uses a compelling case-study approach to explore how school districts function at local, state, and national levels. Through carefully documented examples-from superintend...

Tired of the sporadic and outdated food holidays that were quietly celebrated each year—most of which were created by food companies to market their products—blogger John-Bryan Hopkins decided to revamp food celebrations and spice them up with his own favorite foods. Creating a food holiday for every day of the year, Hopkins launched Foodimentary.com, which became an immediate overnight success with Google adopting his bespoke calendar. With thousands of fans across multiple platforms, Foo...

"[A] menacingly illustrated book . . . nerdily gushes over the design and use of 130+ historical instruments of combat." — ThrillistOne day a prehistoric guy picked up a rock and threw it at something. And the history of weapons began. Comedy writer and weapon nerd John O'Bryan relays the freaky highlights of man's centuries-old obsession with weaponry. He hilariously explains the mace, the morning star, and the man catcher, while conveying factual informat...

The South Caroliniana Library, located on the historic Horseshoe of the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia, is one of the premier research archives and special collections repositories in South Carolina and the American Southeast. The library's holdings—manuscripts, published materials, university archives, and visual materials—are essential to understanding the Palmetto State and Southern culture as it has evolved over the past 300 years.When opened as the South Carol...

Winner of the Nicholas Bessaraboff PrizeMusical repertory of great importance and quality was performed on viols in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England. This is reported by Thomas Mace (1676) who says that ’Your Best Provision’ for playing such music is a chest of old English viols, and he names five early English viol makers than which ’there are no Better in the World’. Enlightened scholars and performers (both professional and amateur) who aim to un...

The Goose Killer is a hauntingly vivid journey through the forgotten corners of America's past, told through the eyes of a boy who became a soldier, a survivor, and a witness to the rise and fall of a young nation.From the filthy alleys of New York's 10th Avenue to the bloody battlefields of the Civil War and the unforgiving plains of the West, Tommy "Lone Prince", an orphan train child turned soldier, tells his story with unflinching honesty. He i...

TavernBy: Bryan John FarrellTavern: A Historical Novel Based Upon An Early San Francisco Saloon And The Family That Operated It describes an underachiever inheriting his family’s saloon. In the process of dealing with the sale, he must make a choice between a woman’s love and his slacker lifestyle.About the AuthorBryan John Farrell was born in Montana, the last of eight children in an Irish France Catholic family. He was raised in San Francisco with very lit...

SERIES PREMIERE Immortal. Mercenary. Kind of a tool. Meet Simon Pure, the newest UNNAMED hero, created by comic all-stars GEOFF JOHNS (GEIGER) and BRYAN HITCH. British redcoat and all-around rogue, Simon mysteriously became immortal in 1776 after a run-in with the clandestine cabal known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, John Hancock, and many other prominent American Revolutionary War leaders. Since that fateful day, Simon has led a life of adventure and avarice, ...

Discover the creatures of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra with this in-depth exploration of the Four Nations’ animal inhabitants!Part of what everyone loves about the Four Nations is all the strange and wonderful (and sometimes scary!) creatures that inhabit them! From the Air Nomads’ flying bison, to Kyoshi Island’s elephant koi, to the Earth Kingdom’s singing groundhogs and the little purple pentapus, look to this hardcover vo...

THE NORTHERNER, PART TWO The Unnamed's newest American legend clashes with Simon Pure, a man he's grown to despise more than anyone he's ever encountered. But as tensions boil over, Simon uncovers a startling revelation about The Northerner that could shatter everything he holds true. How will their uneasy alliance shape the unfolding mysteries of The Unknown War? The answers lie within…