Books

Isna Marifa's novel "Mountains More Ancient" relates the history of Southeast Asians enslaved in Africa, treading a path of graceful reconciliation with history's complexities. (Nikkei montage/Courtesy of Isna Marifa) 
Books

Books: Author highlights Asian slavery at Cape of Good Hope

Isna Marifa's novel tells powerful, painful story through rare insights into everyday events

18 January 2023
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, center, and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha pose for a photo on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November 2019. China has worked hard to build influence in Southeast Asia, but it has struggled to win trust in the region.
Books

Books: China's influence campaigns fail to build trust

Joshua Kurlantzick's book offers comprehensive view of how Beijing attempts to sway global opinion

11 January 2023
In "A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On," Hong Kong novelist Dung Kai-cheung deftly evokes the inner emotions of recent college graduates, office workers, gang members and lonely singles in search of rescue from anonymity as much as love. (Courtesy of Dung Kai-cheung, Columbia University Press)
Books

Books: Urban chronicler turns purchased objects into prose

Dung Kai-cheung's catalog of consumerism brings recognition to Hong Kong writers

9 January 2023
"Emperor," the latest novel by former journalist and intelligence agent John Fullerton, is a gripping tale packed with details that could have been lifted from the international media's front pages. (All photos courtesy of John Fullerton) 
Books

Books: Doing laps with the Chinese 'emperor'

Espionage novel takes a close look at Beijing's ambitions in Taiwan

4 January 2023
Recent novels by Malaysian female authors Karina Robles Bahrin and Preeta Samarasan both reflect on issues of race and identity in the multiethnic, predominantly Islamic Southeast Asian nation. (Nikkei Montage/photos courtesy of the authors)
Books

Books: Female novelists investigate Malaysia's ethnic puzzle

Two new novels explore identity and race issues unsettled since independence

16 December 2022
In "Another Bangkok," author Alex Kerr presents the city neither as an object of academic study nor a source of tourist delight, but as a very personal experience. (Nikkei montage; source photos courtesy of Penguin Random House)
Books

Books: Finding a 'wonderland' in Thailand's capital

Fun and orderliness in Alex Kerr's 'Another Bangkok: Reflections on the City'

29 July 2022
A Moken fisherman returns with a sea turtle. (Courtesy of E. Bouvet,1992)
Books

Books: Understanding Southeast Asia's sea nomads

Misjudged group has played a major role in regional economic development

6 May 2022
"Designing Modern Japan," by historian and design expert Sarah Teasley, has much to offer readers interested in Japan's cultural history. The image on the right is a line drawing of an electric percolator from 1946. It was part of a project to produce household goods for the Allied Occupation. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Masayuki Hayashi/courtesy of Sara Teasley)
Books

Books: How design revolutionized Japan

Innovators used form and aesthetic sense to reform country's economy and social system

4 May 2022
How could hard-right candidate Marine Le Pen, left, rack up such a strong result against sitting Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election? Quite easily, argue Eric Protzer and Paul Summerville, co-authors of the recently published book "Reclaiming Populism." (Source photo by AP) 
Books

Books: French election highlights the why, when and where of populism

Emerging conundrum unsettling advanced economies highlights 'Japanese exception'

23 April 2022
Homes and stores line a main thoroughfare in one of the Tonle Sap's largest floating villages. (Photo by Brian Eyler)
Books

Books: Disaster looms for Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake

Once bountiful, 'world's largest inland fishery' nears ecological collapse

15 April 2022
In addition to showcasing a rich variety of artwork, Rupert Mann's "Bangkok Street Art and Graffiti" contains essays peppered with interviews that address the history of street art and graffiti, from its origins in the U.S. and Europe to its rise in Thailand. (Nikkei montage/source photos by River Books and Tom Vater) 
Books

Books: For creative protest, in Thailand the writing is on the wall

Illustrated book traces history of political street art and graffiti

13 April 2022
In "The Perils of Interpreting," China scholar Henrietta Harrison has written an exhaustive academic account that nonetheless reads like a swashbuckling adventure novel. (Source photos courtesy of Princeton University Press.) 
Books

Books: China and the West lost in translation

Interpreters play unsung role in keeping communications open

21 January 2022
Claudio Sopranzetti's book "The King of Bangkok" is underpinned by more than a decade of anthropological research in Thailand. (Courtesy of University of Toronto Press)
Books

Books: King of Bangkok highlights rich lives of ordinary people

Unique images and probing interviews lay out visions of a turbulent Thailand

19 January 2022
Ai Weiwei's wonderfully comprehensive memoir -- written in compelling, straightforward prose -- is as searing as any of his celebrated art. The photo on the right shows the artist in New York City's Lower East Side in 1985. (Source photos courtesy of Ai Weiwei Studio)
Books

Books: Ai Weiwei's memoir is a mesmerizing portrait of an iconoclast

In '1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows,' exiled Chinese artist brings his story full circle

12 January 2022
Kaoru Takamura's novel "Lady Joker" is well worth the wait for anyone interested in a panoramic portrait of modern Japanese society, including its dark corners, as well as fans of intelligent mysteries. Shown at right is Ezaki Glico President Katsuhisa Ezaki, whose kidnapping in 1984 helped inspire the novel. (Nikkei Asia montage/photo by Kyodo)
Arts

Books: Hit Japanese mystery novel proves life is stranger than fiction

'Lady Joker' delves into bizarre kidnapping and corporate extortion case of the 1980s

10 June 2021