Asia Audiobooks | Travel

Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom

An extraordinary history of resistance and the fight for Indian independence from Ramachandra Guha. Rebels Against the Raj tells the little-known story of seven people who chose to struggle for a country other than their own: foreigners to India who across the late 19th to late 20th century arrived to join the freedom movement fighting for independence. Of the seven, four were British, two American, and one Irish. Four men, three women. Before and after being jailed or deported they did remarkable and pioneering work in a variety of fields: journalism, social reform, education, organic agriculture, environmentalism. This book tells their stories, each renegade motivated by idealism and genuine sacrifice; each connected to Gandhi, though some as acolytes where others found endless infuriation in his views; each understanding they would likely face prison sentences for their resistance, and likely live and die in India; each one leaving a profound impact on the region in which they worked, their legacies continuing through the institutions they founded and the generations and individuals they inspired. Through the entwined lives, wonderfully told by one of the world’s finest historians, we reach deep insights into relations between India and the West, and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.

Ramachandra Guha (Author), Sam Dastor (Narrator)

Audiobook

Kingdom of Characters: A Tale of Language, Obsession, and Genius in Modern China

Brought to you by Penguin. A riveting, masterfully researched account of the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese language to the modern world, transforming China into a super-power in the process What does it take to reinvent the world's oldest living language? China today is one of the world's most powerful nations, yet just a century ago it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, left behind in the wake of Western technology. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu shows that China's most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: to make the formidable Chinese language - a 2,200-year-old writing system that was daunting to natives and foreigners alike - accessible to a globalised, digital world. Kingdom of Characters follows the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese script - and the value-system it represents - to the technological advances that would shape the 20th century and beyond, from the telegram to the typewriter to the smartphone. From the exiled reformer who risked death to advocate for Mandarin as a national language to the imprisoned computer engineer who devised input codes for Chinese characters on the lid of a teacup, generations of scholars, missionaries, librarians, politicians, inventors, nationalists and revolutionaries alike understood the urgency of their task and its world-shaping consequences. With larger-than-life characters and a thrilling narrative, Kingdom of Characters offers an astonishingly original perspective on one of the 20th century's most dramatic transformations. © Jing Tsu 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Jing Tsu (Author), Jing Tsu (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order

In The Long Game, Rush Doshi draws from a rich base of Chinese primary sources, including decades worth of party documents, leaked materials, memoirs by party leaders, and a careful analysis of China's conduct to provide a history of China's grand strategy since the end of the Cold War. Taking listeners behind the Party's closed doors, he uncovers Beijing's long, methodical game to displace America from its hegemonic position in both the East Asia regional and global orders through three sequential 'strategies of displacement.' Beginning in the 1980s, China focused for two decades on 'hiding capabilities and biding time.' After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, it became more assertive regionally, following a policy of 'actively accomplishing something.' Finally, in the aftermath populist elections of 2016, China shifted to an even more aggressive strategy for undermining US hegemony, adopting the phrase 'great changes unseen in century.' After charting how China's long game has evolved, Doshi offers a comprehensive yet asymmetric plan for an effective US response. Ironically, his proposed approach takes a page from Beijing's own strategic playbook to undermine China's ambitions and strengthen American order without competing dollar-for-dollar, ship-for-ship, or loan-for-loan.

Rush Doshi (Author), Kyle Tait (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Maurya Empire: History of Events, Causes and Consequences

The Maurya Empire was a South Asian Iron Age historic empire centered in Magadha, created by Chandragupta Maurya in the year 322 before Christ and lasting till 185 before Christ in a loose-knit way. The conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain focused the Maurya Empire, and Pataliputra functioned as its capital city (modern-day Patna). Beyond this royal core, the empire's geographical reach was limited by the dedication of army leaders who ruled the armed cities that dot the landscape. Other than for the far south, the empire briefly controlled the significant city centers and arteries of the Indian subcontinent throughout Ashoka's rule (which was from around 268 to 232 before Christ). After Ashoka's reign, it sank for practically 50 years before liquifying in 185 before Christ with the murder of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and the facility of the Shunga dynasty in Magadha. Let’s explore the details of this empire that’s relatively unknown in the west, but certainly something people in South Asia are often familiar with.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Punjab: Understanding the Sikh in India, Pakistan and Other Regions

Punjab could be mainly in Pakistan at this moment, but the Punjabi people live and have resided in India also. As disputes emerged between the Indians and Pakistani, the border has moved from one area to another. Still, the Punjabi society is probably a vital aspect of India's history. Punjab is a geopolitical, cultural, and historic area in South Asia, situated in the northern area of the Indian subcontinent and incorporating parts of Pakistan and India. The area's limitations are ill-defined and based upon historic accounts. With time, the geographical definition of the name 'Punjab' has moved. It described a really minimal terrain between the Indus and the Sutlej rivers at the time of the Mughal Empire's 16th century reign. So, if this is your cup of tea, I invite you to get started with this book. You will learn about this interesting people, who value their religion and their traditions more than anything, and who stick to old habits despite of technological advances.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

India: History of Events, Causes, and Consequences

Yes! You’ve come across a combo of 3 titles, all about different topics related to the history of India. Take a look at these topics and then decide for yourself. I’m sure this is something you could be intrigued by. Title 1: Kashmir Kashmir is the Indian subcontinent's northern most geographical area. It is quite different from the rest of India. And till the mid-nineteenth century, 'Kashmir' only described the Kashmir Valley, which lies between the Great Mountain Ranges and the Pir Panjal Variety. The Kashmir area ended up being a crucial center of Hinduism and later Buddhism in the first centuries, while Kashmir Shaivism developed later, in the ninth century. This is why so many people attribute significant spiritual meaning to the area. It is no wonder, therefore, that some travelers go to this specific area for spiritual purposes. Title 2: The Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a South Asian Iron Age historic empire centered in Magadha, created by Chandragupta Maurya in the year 322 before Christ and lasting till 185 before Christ in a loose-knit way. The conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain focused the Maurya Empire, and Pataliputra functioned as its capital city (modern-day Patna). Beyond this royal core, the empire's geographical reach was limited by the dedication of army leaders who ruled the armed cities that dot the landscape. Title 3: The Punjab Punjab could be mainly in Pakistan at this moment, but the Punjabi people live and have resided in India also. As disputes emerged between the Indians and Pakistani, the border has moved from one area to another. Still, the Punjabi society is probably a vital aspect of India's history. Punjab is a geopolitical, cultural, and historic area in South Asia, situated in the northern area of the Indian subcontinent and incorporating parts of Pakistan and India. The area's limitations are ill-defined and based upon historic accounts.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

Decoding the Vedic System of Knowledge: Lost Science and Technology in Ancient Indian Epics

The Vedas are among the oldest collections of text in India. Even today, they are taught orally from instructor to student. The teacher painstakingly corrects the pronunciation and intonation of the Vedic texts. Technology has seen virtual classrooms where females also learn and recite the Vedas the way they were changed. Of the three later Vedas, the Samaveda is much the most intricately connected with the Rigveda. Historically, it is of vast importance, for it contains lost technology and scientific matter, all its verses except seventy-five being taken directly from the Rigveda. Its contents are derived chiefly from the eighth and especially the ninth, the Soma book. The Samaveda resembles the Yajurveda in having been compiled only for ritual application, for the verses of which it consists are all meant to be chanted at the ceremonies of the offerings. Removed from their context in the Rigveda, they are strung together without internal connection, their significance depending solely on their relation to particular rites. In form, these stanzas appear in the text of the Sama-Veda as if they were to be spoken or recited, differing from those of the Rigveda only in the way of marking the accent.

Henry Romano (Author), Demitra (Narrator)

Audiobook

Kashmir: History of Its Causes and Consequences

Kashmir is the Indian subcontinent's northern most geographical area. It is quite different from the rest of India. And till the mid-nineteenth century, 'Kashmir' only described the Kashmir Valley, which lies between the Great Mountain Ranges and the Pir Panjal Variety. Today, the word describes the Indian-controlled parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and also the Pakistani-controlled terrain of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-controlled areas of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram System. The Kashmir area ended up being a crucial center of Hinduism and later Buddhism in the first centuries, while Kashmir Shaivism developed later, in the ninth century. This is why so many people attribute significant spiritual meaning to the area. It is no wonder, therefore, that some travelers go to this specific area for spiritual purposes. In this book, we will explore the history of Kashmir, its significance, and the current circumstances.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

Warriors of Ancient Japan: The History of Ninjas and Samurai in the Ancient Orient

This is a combo of 2 topics: Topic 1: The ancient Ninjas in Japan have fueled stories, movies, books and other media to go on and on about the sneaky assassins that terrorized their country. Today, you and I will go in-depth into this topic and find out more about the truth. Some of the stories sound accurate, others have more to it, or are completely false. In a nutshell, this brief book will cover the following topics and more: The most important facts about the Japanese ninjas. Shaolin monks and Japanese pirates. Feudalism compared with European knights. The 7 most famous ninjas. The biggest ninja fight ever in history that took place in 1581. False concepts about ninjas. Daimyo lords in Japan. Ninja training, schools, weapons, and disguises. Educate yourself and figure out where the stories came from, and then connect the dots. This guide will help you along the way. Topic 2: What did the samurai in Japan do? How did they begin? And what was so typical or different about them? These and many other questions will be answered in this quick guide that will cover all the basics of the famous samurai warriors in ancient Japan. You will learn about shoguns, bushido, the Meiji time period, ronin warriors, the Genpei war in 1180, the Kamakura period, the infamous suicide methods for honor (hara-kiri), and much, much more.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mongolian Empire: History of the Mongols and the Rise and Fall of the Empire

The Mongolian Empire was not to be trifled with! Genghis Khan and his followers conquered a vast part of Asia, Europe, and beyond. There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of these conquerors and their achievement. Honor them or despise them, but at least acknowledge their existence. How did the Mongol Empire grow so big? What was it like before the expansion? How did they treat their enemies? How did it end? And how come Mongolia is an area with such a small population now? These questions and many others will be answered in this historical guide. Their dominance, their attitude, and their culture will be explained, as well as their practices of war and various other parts of their society.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

Ancient Empires: The Rise and Fall of the Akkadian, Byzantine, Mongolian and Ottoman Empire

You are in luck, because you are getting extra material out of this combo. The following topics are going to be addressed: Part 1: The Akkadian Empire is one of the oldest civilizations we know of. Dating back to a few thousand years B.C., it presents itself with some archaeological finds, as well as long-forgotten mysteries and unanswered questions that will probably remain that way. However, despite of the many secrets this advanced, vast empire holds, it could definitely be worth our time to explore some of the things we do know. Part 2: The Byzantine Empire has often been overlooked. Yet, this vast empire last for hundreds of years and has had a major impact on the world religions and politics even into the past century. The Byzantine Empire was heavily influenced by the Romans and the Christian culture. Several centuries A.D. It was marked by conquests, emperors, rules, orthodoxy, and the giant capital of Constantinople (which is now Istanbul). Part 3: The Mongolian Empire was not to be trifled with! Genghis Khan and his followers conquered a vast part of Asia, Europe, and beyond. There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of these conquerors and their achievement. Honor them or despise them, but at least acknowledge their existence. How did the Mongol Empire grow so big? What was it like before the expansion? And how come Mongolia is an area with such a small population now? These questions and many others will be answered in this historical guide. Part 4: The Ottoman Empire was so big and lasted for so long, yet it is one of those empires that many common people have forgotten about. The people who lived in what is now Turkey, and in surrounding areas, were mostly devout Muslims who were defending their beliefs and trying to expand the realm to conquer more territory. Shockingly, the empire was slowly falling apart by the time the 20th century came around the corner.

Kelly Mass (Author), Doug Greene (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India

India's relations with the People's Republic of China have captured the popular imagination ever since the 1950s but have rarely merited a detailed understanding of the issues. Individual episodes tend to arouse lively debate, which often dissipates without a deeper exploration of the factors that shaped the outcomes. This book explores the dynamics of negotiation between the two countries, from the early years after Independence until the current times, through the prism of six historical and recent events in the India-China relationship. The purpose is to identify the strategy, tactics and tools that China employs in its diplomatic negotiations with India, and the learnings for India from its past dealings with China that may prove helpful in future negotiations with the country.

Vijay Gokhale (Author), Derek Denzil (Narrator)

Audiobook

Asia Audiobooks in Travel