In 1600 Adams was the first English man to step on Japanese shores - one of only nine survivors of a Dutch trading expedition. He became the shogun's advisor and ship builder, and a samurai.... read more
The 60 years following the Portuguese arrival in the Moluccas in 1511 saw an epic global struggle for the sources and distribution of this new geyser of wealth. Told with verve and authority... read more
From the home of the indigenous Formosans to a European trading post, from a Japanese colony to the last bastion of the Republic of China. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understan... read more
A wander through the city's various districts by one of Korea's foremost architects: his love of old Seoul, with its low-rise neighbourhoods and narrow streets, is palpable.The Korean taste ... read more
Eight decades of Japanese architecture and design, approached chronologically. More illustrations than there are pages; the author has spent four of these decades based in Japan.
From the perspective of the people who have worked and lived there since 1862, when it was a fishing village, rather than of the imperial powers who controlled it.