Lightning flashes. Another child disappears...Zorka Circus's big top roars with laughter and cheers, but when it moves on, children vanish.Circus Security Chief Rurik suspects a killer hides among the performers, but they close ranks—they've always viewed lightning-scarred Rurik as the monster. He must find the culprit before anyone else disappears and his home is destroyed by the murders.Into Zorka Circus comes the Skomori clan, despised as gravedigging ghouls. A o...

Empress Wu was stunning in her beauty, in her ruthless elimination of rivals (including sons and daughters), and, most important, in her discernment.Wu Zetian was esteemed for appointing capable officials throughout the realm, and she implemented reforms that improved standards of higher education, gave some status to women, and democratized the recruitment of candidates for official posts by eliminating the requirement that they be nominated by someone within the establishment.

My Nuong's life had been neatly packed inside a gilded cage. Up until recently, My Nuong had no idea how powerless she felt, but there was one place in which she still had dominion, and that was her heart. What started as a fancy daydream made its way into My Nuong's reality when the sheltered girl fell for a mysterious boatman who played his flute on the sea.The boatman, Truong Chi, loved her from afar, and upon meeting in person, fell in love with My Nuong all over again. My Nuon...

Le Loi's exploits to repel China's Ming forces from Dai Viet (a territory that is part of present-day Vietnam) is well known throughout history. However, history often overlooks that his fiery will for freedom from oppression was also backed by the Will of Heaven. Le Loi and his rebels did not fight the Mings alone. The magic sword called Thuan Thien—a loan from the Dragon King, Long Vuong—played no small part in that victory.Those in later dynasties would come to see this as ficti...

I grew up in an unhappy family, which confused me about life. No family joy. No support. No confidence. It seemed everything pushed me into a struggling world. I became extremely sensitive and unstable.At a young age, I always thought about the meaning of my existence and wanted to write a book, but the choice of the topic was uncertain. Until recently, digging into my family history helped me make the decision. A book about my family history over four generations during a cruel an...

Grandma Moon discovered a peculiar taro named Mon in her garden, who could make crops grow during a drought and turn lead into gold. On top of that, the taro claimed to be her son! Their peaceful life was soon interrupted by jealous neighbors and a greedy magistrate with great ambitions. Mon entered the magistrate's service to protect his mother and the village, and in turn, found something unexpected for a taro—true love!Follow Mon's unusual journey and find out how a little taro ...

Hana is troubled by the drought overtaking her village. With her grandmother falling ill, the young girl leaves the village to find answers. On the way, she meets a tree spirit that inhabits her teddy bear, Sora. The two then discover the reason for the drought ravaging the land: the kappa. These water sprites don't like humans and have grown to despise them even more when the river became polluted from the villagers' carelessness. The Kappa King diverted the river flow and vowed to destro...

Digging into Chinese folktales, Mr. Woo tells us stories about falling in love in a world that is distant in time and place, distinct in culture and expectations, each with a touch of the exotic. In these tales dating from the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, dramas unfold in the Imperial palace, along the back roads, and in gardens perfumed with the scent of peony blossoms in the moonlight.Gathered together for the first time in English, seventeen love stories from China bring to ...

Mr. Woo continues his history of China from 1911, when the Qing dynasty was overthrown after the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, to modern times: a tumultuous century that saw chaos and warlords, invasions, regime change, confiscation of property, and later a return to a mixed economy allowing some capitalist features. In fact, China now has over 100 billionaires - but many families lost everything along the way.To understand the context of today's international face-off in the Sout...

The American military has ventured out on many missions within the last few decades. Their adventures had a great amount of support at the beginning but now it's weaning. It is a burden on American society. But the MIC was able and still is flourishing under the structures of American society, this is explored. The main focus being how domestic habits cause international ripples.

An analysis of American pop culture through historical lens, various factors are looked it to see how the entertainment industry is able to produced celebrities such as the Kardashians and Miley Cyrus and how they have such large followings. And what it means for North American society.

A long time ago, there was a good-for-nothing husband who mooched off his wife, his neighbors, and anyone else he could find. Fed up, one day his wife said to him, "I've worked my hands to the bone, and I have had enough! Go learn a trade and support yourself because I won't do it anymore!"He may have been lazy, but the loafer was also clever. He tricked his wife and neighbors into believing that he was a master sniffer—someone who could find anything using only his sense of smell....