non-fiction
Book reviews
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Book review- Asia’s Cauldron
The South China Sea has been the biggest flash point in Asia for the past few years. Surrounded by multiple nations, but heavily contested by one that is furthest away from it, the sea is a vital conduit for regional trade with over $5 trillion worth of shipping passing through it each year. It is […]
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South Africa
Book review- The Last Train to Zona Verde
In The Last Train to Zona Verde, American writer Paul Theroux journeys along the western side of Africa starting from Cape Town, the continent’s southernmost city. It’s an ambitious trip, Theroux’s last in Africa, that would have seen him travel up the western part of the continent. But Theroux does not complete it. Dispirited, beaten down and […]
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Book review- Ten Cities That Made an Empire
At its peak, the British Empire owned territories around the world on almost every continent from Africa to Asia to Australia. I’m sure most of us have been to countries that made up this empire. At its core were illustrious cities like Bombay, Hong Kong, Cape Town and New Delhi, which provided the industry, commerce, […]
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Book review- Finding George Orwell in Burma
It is a good thing I didn’t read this book before I went to Myanmar (Burma). If I did, I probably wouldn’t have had such a carefree mindset. Finding George Orwell in Burma is an American writer’s attempt in 2003 to trace Orwell’s life in the country which had a huge influence on him. Orwell spent five […]
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Book review- Indonesia Etc
Completely made up of islands, and thus the world’s largest archipelago nation, Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation and fourth most populous, as well as Southeast Asia’s largest economy. But for such a huge, diverse country, Indonesia is still obscure to the world other than Bali. Elisabeth Pisani decided to do something about this by […]
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China
Book review- The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China
China is a large country with an area of 3.7 million square miles and, though the majority Han ethnic group make up 90% of its population, has over 50 ethnic groups. As a result, beyond the heavily-populated Han-majority provinces with teeming megacities and factory zones, there is a lot of ethnic and cultural diversity on […]
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