San Antonio College Library

Ancestral Leaves follows one family through six hundred years of Chinese history and brings to life the epic narrative of the nation, from the fourteenth century through the Cultural Revolution. The lives of the Ye family -- "Ye" means "leaf" in Chinese -- reveal the human side of the large-scale events that shaped modern China: the vast and destructive rebellions of the nineteenth century, the economic growth and social transformation of the republican...

This book presents a concise introduction to contemporary China. Intended as a first book for those coming new to the subject, it provides the essential information that most people need to know, without going into excessive detail. Its coverage includes the economy, society, politics and international relations; China's history, especially the twentieth century and Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as the People's Republic of China Tibet, and Xinjiang....

Kuwait, unlike most of its neighbors, has a well-established national identity and a long history as a nation, dating back to the eighteenth century. In this book, Dr. Jill Crystal focuses on two recurring themes in Kuwaiti history: one, the preservation of a sense of community in the face of radical economic, social, and political transformations; the second, internal rivalry over the conventions governing relations among members of the community....

"Examining the period 1941 2001, during which time the character of American life changed rapidly."--Jacket.

"To promote democracy, the United States has provided economic assistance, political support, and technical advice to emerging democracies in Eastern and Central Europe, and it has attempted to remove undemocratic regimes through political pressure, economic sanctions, and military force. In Electing to Fight, Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder challenge the widely accepted basis of these policies by arguing that states in the early phases of transitions...

This study not only examines the countries most severely affected by the Asian financial crisis, but also draws lessons from those whose economies escaped the worst problems. The author focuses on the political economy of the crisis, emphasizing long-standing problems and crisis management tactics.

"In 1989 communism crumbled in eastern Europe and with it one of the most conspicuous legacies of the Second World War. This book charts the demise of east European communism and analyses the failure of the communist experiment, the revolutionary events of 1989 and the post-communist aftermath as the legacy of both these processes." "Starting from the premise that communism's proclaimed egalitarian, modernizing goals always enjoyed more support than...