New Book Announcement: “China Smart: What You Don’t Know, What You Need to Know ~ A Past & Present Guide to History, Culture, Society, Language” by Larry Herzberg

China Smart: What You Don’t Know, What You Need to Know ~ A Past & Present Guide to History, Culture, Society, Language, Larry Herzberg (Stone Bridge Press, May 2019) — *China Smart: What You Don’t Know, What You Need to Know ~ A Past & Present Guide to History, Culture, Society, Language*, Larry Herzberg (Stone Bridge Press, May 2019)

How is China organized politically? What are the issues that young people face in today’s China? What is China doing about its problem with pollution? Is the Chinese internet like our internet? What’s China’s role in the world today? And how much do you know about China’s great woman emperor or the Chinese explorer whose voyages may have inspired the legend of Sinbad the Sailor? What are the major Chinese holidays, their superstitions regarding numbers, and the true nature of the Chinese written language?

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New Book Announcement: “Reading India Now: Contemporary Formations in Literature and Popular Culture” by Ulka Anjaria

Reading India Now: Contemporary Formations in Literature and Popular , Ulka Anjaria (Temple University Press, April 2019) — *Reading India Now: Contemporary Formations in Literature and Popular*, Ulka Anjaria (Temple University Press, April 2019)

In an age of social media and reality television, reading and consumption habits in India now demand homegrown pulp fictions. Ulka Anjaria categorizes post-2000 Indian literature and popular culture as constituting “the contemporary,” a movement defined by new and experimental forms—where high- and low-brow meet, and genres break down.

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New Book Announcement: “Under the Indian Umbrella: A Collage of Short-Stories” by Murli Melwani

Under the Indian Umbrella : A Collage of Short-Stories, Murli Melwani, (LiFi Publications, January 2019) — *Under the Indian Umbrella : A Collage of Short-Stories*, Murli Melwani, (LiFi Publications, January 2019)

The 15 stories in the book deal with the contradictions, paradoxes and ironies of Indian life. The combination of setting, memorable characters, clear writing, and themes suggest a vision of an expansive and vast country of wonder. Among the stories, “Hawana of the East” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2012. “Sunday with Mary” was part of the list for Best of the Net 2013 Prize.

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New Book Announcement: “Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change” by Ali M Ansari

Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change, Ali M. Ansari (Gingko, Fenruary 2019) — *Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change*, Ali M. Ansari (Gingko, February 2019)

The most comprehensive account of the politics of reform in contemporary Iran. The surprise election of Hassan Rouhani in 2013 and his re-election in 2017 has focused attention on the dynamics between Islam and democracy in Iran after the hiatus of the Ahmadinejad presidency. With comparisons being drawn between Rouhani and his predecessor but one, the reformist president Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), there has never been a better time for a review and detailed analysis of the rise and fall of the reform movement in Iran.

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New Book Announcement: “They Told Us To Move: Dakota—Cassia” by Ng Kok Hoe et al.

They Told Us To Move: Dakota—Cassia, by Ng Kok Hoe, The Cassia Resettlement Team (Ethos Books, February 2019) — *They Told Us To Move: Dakota—Cassia*, Ng Kok Hoe, The Cassia Resettlement Team (Ethos Books, February 2019)

Dakota Crescent was one of Singapore’s oldest public housing estates and a rental flat neighbourhood for low-income households. In 2016, its residents—many of whom are elderly—were relocated to Cassia Crescent to make way for redevelopment. To help them resettle, a group of volunteers came together and formed the Cassia Resettlement Team.

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New Book Announcement: “Southeast Asia’s Modern Architecture: Questions of Translation, Epistemology and Power”

Southeast Asia's Modern Architecture: Questions of Translation, Epistemology and Power, Jiat-Hwee Chang (ed), Imran bin Tajudeen (ed) (NUS Press, January 2019) — *Southeast Asia’s Modern Architecture: Questions of Translation, Epistemology and Power*, Jiat-Hwee Chang (ed), Imran bin Tajudeen (ed) (NUS Press, January 2019)

What is the modern in Southeast Asia’s architecture and how do we approach its study critically? This pathbreaking multidisciplinary volume is the first critical survey of Southeast Asia’s modern architecture. It looks at the challenges of studying this complex history through the conceptual frameworks of translation, epistemology, and power.

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New Book Announcement: “Las Vegas in Singapore: Violence, Progress and the Crisis of Nationalist Modernity” by Lee Kah-Wee

Las Vegas in Singapore: Violence, Progress and the Crisis of Nationalist Modernity, Lee Kah-Wee (NUS Press, December 2018) — *Las Vegas in Singapore: Violence, Progress and the Crisis of Nationalist Modernity*, Lee Kah-Wee (NUS Press, December 2018)

Las Vegas in Singapore looks at the collision of the histories of Singapore and Las Vegas in the form of Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore’s two Integrated Resorts.

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