New Release Books by Justin Wintle

One of the quickest ways to understand a people or a culture is to learn their proverbs. This anthology, first published in 1984, compiles in dictionary form proverbs from the Islamic world, particularly the Middle East and North Africa. The Arabs were the first to gather and annotate their own proverbs – the earliest collections date from the n

Burma is a country where, as one senior UN official puts it, “just to turn your head can mean imprisonment or death.” Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the world’s foremost inspirational revolutionary leaders. Considered to be Burma’s best hope for freedom, she has waged a war of steadfast nonviolent opposition to the country’s vicious militant regime. Because of her resistance to the brutality of the Burmese government, she has been under house arrest since 1989. She has endured failing health, vilification through the Burmese media, and cruel imprisonment in one of the world’s most dreadful and inhumane jails. Suu Kyi has fought every hardship the junta could put her through, yet she has never once wavered from her position, never once advocated violence, and persevered in her message of peaceful resistance at all costs, earning her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, placing her among the likes of such renowned champions of peace as Gandhi, King, and Mandela. She is a truly heroic revolutionary. In Perfect Hostage, the most thorough biography of Suu Kyi to date, Justin Wintle tells both the story of the Burmese people and the story of an ordinary person who became a hero.

When the Vietnam War finally ended in April 1975 with the communist capture of Saigon, Vietnam itself became a closed country, out of bounds to western travellers and journalists. By 1989, however, such was Vietnams economic plight that the government decided the time had come to open its doors again, albeit most gingerly. By a stroke of good fortune Justin Wintle became the first writer from the West to be allowed to journey around the whole of Vietnam. This is Justin Wintles classic account of what he found in postwar Vietnam, and how, for three months, he played cat and mouse with those charged with keeping him in line, while developing a profound love for more ordinary Vietnamese and the astonishing landscapes they inhabit.

Home to a quarter of the world's population, China is the rising super-power of the 21st century. The Rough Guide Chronicle gives you the country's core history in accessible style and handy format, covering more than four thousand years from the earliest kingdoms to today's communist republic. Featuring a continuous time-line, sidebars on Confucius, the Terracotta Army, the invention of printing, Mao Zedong and a host of other topics, plus dozens of illustrations and quotations, The Rough Guide Chronicle is a vital reference for travellers and students alike. Book jacket.

Like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King And Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi Has Become An Iconic Figure. Awarded The Nobel Peace Prize In 1991, She Has Steadfastly Opposed Burma S Brutal Military Regime, Instituted By General Ne Win In 1962, Since 1988. But Her Leadership Of The Burmese Democracy Movement, And Her Ardent Advocacy Of Human Rights, Have Landed Her In Desperate Trouble.In 1989 She Was Placed Under House Arrest For The First Time. Today She Is Again Under House Arrest, Seemingly For Good. In The Years Between She Has Faced Constant Physical And Psychological Harassment. In 2003, During An Attempt On Her Life At Depayin, She Witnessed The Massacre Of Scores Of Her Followers.Aung San Suu Kyi Has Also Endured Involuntary Separation From Her Family Her English Husband Dr Michael Aris, And Their Two Sons. Aris S Death In 1999 Was Yet Another Cruel Twist Of The Knife. But Having Given Her Commitment To Her People, Nothing Can Deflect Suu Kyi From The Course She Has Adopted.Crucially, Her Martyred Father General Aung San Led Burma To Independence From The British. But If Aung San S Legacy Has Profoundly Affected His Daughter'S Choices, So Too Has The Disciplined Upbringing Given Her By Her Widowed Mother, Daw Khin Kyi.Justin Wintle Gives Us The Fullest Biography Of Aung San Suu Kyi To Date, Asking Searching Questions Along The Way. Is Aung San S Status As Hero Really Vouchsafed? And Is Aung San Suu Kyi S Insistence On Non-Violence Really Best Calculated To Bring Down A Junta Incapable Of Acting In Good Faith?There Are No Easy Answers. But By Also Telling Her Father S Story, And, Vitally, The Story Of The Burmese People At Large, Wintle Lays Bare The Ambiguities Which Nourish A Tragedy That Is National As Well As Personal.

'The Rough Guide History of Islam' is a concise history of Islam's fourteen-hundred year evolution, beginning with the Prophet Mohammed and continuing right to the present day. It traces the emergence of a succession of empires in the wake of the Arab conquests, continuing right through to modern-day fundamentalism. Featuring a continuous time-line, in-depth side-bars on Islam's ideas, leaders and other topics, plus dozens of illustrations and quotations, the Rough Guide History is a vital reference source.

Spain is one of the great nations of Europe, and the Rough Guide History provides an essential overview of its often turbulent development, from its early incarnation as one of Rome's most important colonies, through the Islamic conquest and the creation of the New World empire, to the aftermath of the 20th century Civil War. Featuring a continuous time-line, sidebars on the Spanish Inquisition, Cervantes, Goya, General Franco and a host of other topics, plus dozens of illustrations and quotations, the Rough Guide History is a vital companion for travellers and students alike.

Examines the wars fought in Vietnam since 1945--the anti-colonial war against the French, the war of national reunification between the north and south, and the war against American forces