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Asian Review of Books

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New Books Network

The Asian Review of Books is the only dedicated pan-Asian book review publication. Widely quoted, referenced, republished by leading publications in Asian and beyond and with an archive of more than two thousand book reviews, the ARB also features long-format essays by leading Asian writers and thinkers, excerpts from newly-published books and reviews of arts and culture. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-review

#269

Andrew Bernstein, "Fuji: A Mountain In The Making" (Princeton UP, 2025)

The Great Wave is perhaps the most famous piece of Japanese artwork: a roaring blue wave a... more

11 Dec 2025

44 MINS

44:56

11 Dec 2025

#268

Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" (Yale UP, 2025)

The Assassins and the Templars. Two groups that are now part of popular legend–and not jus... more

04 Dec 2025

47 MINS

47:52

04 Dec 2025

#267

Fahad Ahmad Bishara, "Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History" (U California Press, 2025)

In 1924, the Al-A‘waj, also known as the Crooked, set sail from Kuwait on a trading journe... more

27 Nov 2025

45 MINS

45:10

27 Nov 2025

#266

Ludovic Orlando, "Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World" (Princeton UP, 2025)

In 2016, Ludovic Orlando, a genetics researcher, embarked on the Pegasus Project, an ambit... more

20 Nov 2025

53 MINS

53:11

20 Nov 2025

#265

Justin Marozzi, "Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic Wo...

Slavery has been a ubiquitous practice throughout much of world history–and the Muslim wor... more

13 Nov 2025

40 MINS

40:01

13 Nov 2025

#264

Harini Nagendra, "Into the Leopard's Den: A Bangalore Detectives Club Mystery" (Pegasus Crime, 2025)

Into the Leopard’s Den (Pegasus / Hachette India: 2025), the latest novel in the Bangalore... more

06 Nov 2025

36 MINS

36:55

06 Nov 2025

#263

Stephen C. Mercado, "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technician...

War, and the threat of war, spurs governments to invest in secret military technologies an... more

30 Oct 2025

38 MINS

38:33

30 Oct 2025

#262

Abhimanyu Kumar and Aletta André, "The House of Awadh: A Hidden Tragedy" (HarperCollins India, 2025)

Begum Wilayat Mahal, the self-proclaimed heir to the House of Awadh, has fascinated journa... more

23 Oct 2025

45 MINS

45:42

23 Oct 2025

#261

Moudhy Al-Rashid, "Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History" (W.W. Norton, 2...

In 1923, archaeologist Leonard Woolley stumbled upon a room that dated back to 530BC, the ... more

16 Oct 2025

43 MINS

43:42

16 Oct 2025

#260

Jemimah Wei, "The Original Daughter" (Doubleday/Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2025)

Genevieve Yang, the protagonist of Jemimah Wei’s debut novel [The Original Daughter ] (ht... more

09 Oct 2025

44 MINS

44:25

09 Oct 2025

#259

Erin M.B. O'Halloran, "East of Empire: Egypt, India, and the World Between the Wars" (Stanford UP, 2...

Between the First and Second World Wars, activists across the British Empire began to thin... more

02 Oct 2025

57 MINS

57:35

02 Oct 2025

#258

Rosinka Chaudhuri, "India's First Radicals: Young Bengal and the British Empire" (India Viking, 2025...

In 1831, the India Gazette wrote about a group of radical young thinkers that it credited ... more

25 Sep 2025

52 MINS

52:09

25 Sep 2025

#257

Charles R. Butcher and Ryan D. Griffiths, "Before Colonization: Non-Western States and Systems in th...

Today’s international system is made up of states: Territorial entities with defined borde... more

18 Sep 2025

47 MINS

47:28

18 Sep 2025

#256

Wu Jianren, "New Story of the Stone: An Early Chinese Science Fiction Novel" (Columbia UP, 2025)

What happens if you took one of the classic characters of Chinese literary fiction and dro... more

11 Sep 2025

51 MINS

51:23

11 Sep 2025

#255

Sam Dalrymple, "Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia" (William Collins, 20...

Partition—the rapid, uncoordinated, and bloody split between India and Pakistan after the ... more

04 Sep 2025

53 MINS

53:25

04 Sep 2025

#254

Tracy Slater, "Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Conce...

On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced Executive Order 9066, which au... more

28 Aug 2025

42 MINS

42:03

28 Aug 2025

#253

Nan Z. Da, The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear (Princeton UP, 2025)

I’m Nicholas Gordon, host of the Asian Review of Books podcast, done in partnership with t... more

21 Aug 2025

29 MINS

29:38

21 Aug 2025

#252

Audrey Truschke, "India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" (Princeton UP, 2025)

I’m Nicholas Gordon, host of the Asian Review of Books podcast, done in partnership with t... more

14 Aug 2025

44 MINS

44:10

14 Aug 2025

#251

Eiko Maruko Siniawer, "Ten Moments that Shaped Tokyo" (Cambridge UP, 2024)

How did Tokyo—Japan’s capital, global city, tourist hotspot and financial center—get to wh... more

07 Aug 2025

49 MINS

49:03

07 Aug 2025

#250

Aatish Taseer, "A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile" (Catapult, 2025)

In 2019, famed journalist and writer Aatish Taseer was thrown out of India. Soon after he ... more

31 Jul 2025

46 MINS

46:06

31 Jul 2025

#249

Sanjena Sathian, "Goddess Complex" (Penguin Press, 2025)

Sanjana Satyananda, the main character of Sanjena Sathian’s novel, [Goddess Complex] (htt... more

24 Jul 2025

40 MINS

40:50

24 Jul 2025

#248

James D.J. Brown, "Cracking the Crab: Russian Espionage Against Japan, from Peter the Great to Richa...

The Russians came late to Japan, arriving after the Portuguese and other European powers. ... more

17 Jul 2025

39 MINS

39:49

17 Jul 2025

#247

Paul French, "Destination Macao" (Blacksmith Books, 2024)

Macau–onetime Portuguese colony, now casino hotspot–has long captured the imaginations of ... more

10 Jul 2025

57 MINS

57:39

10 Jul 2025

#246

Zev Handel, "Chinese Characters Across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, ...

For centuries, scribes across East Asia used Chinese characters to write things down–even ... more

03 Jul 2025

44 MINS

44:54

03 Jul 2025

#245

Naomi Xu Elegant, "Gingko Season: A Novel" (W. W. Norton, 2025)

Naomi Xu Elegant’s debut novel, Gingko Season (W. W. Norton: 2025), stars Penelope Lin, a ... more

26 Jun 2025

34 MINS

34:13

26 Jun 2025

#244

John Man, "Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict" (Oneworld Publica...

China, famously, built the Great Wall to defend against nomadic groups from the Eurasian s... more

19 Jun 2025

50 MINS

50:20

19 Jun 2025

#243

Fyodor Tertitskiy, "Accidental Tyrant: The Life of Kim Il-sung" (Hurst UP, 2025)

The Kims, of North Korea, are perhaps the 21st century’s most successful family dictatorsh... more

12 Jun 2025

32 MINS

32:36

12 Jun 2025

#242

Vappala Balachandran, "India and China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic Hist...

China and India have had a tense relationship, disagreeing over territory, support for eac... more

05 Jun 2025

41 MINS

41:34

05 Jun 2025

#241

Chris Aslan, "Unravelling the Silk Road: Travels and Textiles in Central Asia" (Icon Books, 2024)

The Silk Road may be the most famous trade network in history. But the flow of silk from C... more

29 May 2025

45 MINS

45:07

29 May 2025

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#269

Andrew Bernstein, "Fuji: A Mountain In The Making" (Princeton UP, 2025)

#268

Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" (Yale UP, 2025)

#267

Fahad Ahmad Bishara, "Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History" (U California Press, 2025)

#266

Ludovic Orlando, "Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World" (Princeton UP, 2025)

#265

Justin Marozzi, "Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic Wo...

#264

Harini Nagendra, "Into the Leopard's Den: A Bangalore Detectives Club Mystery" (Pegasus Crime, 2025)

#263

Stephen C. Mercado, "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technician...

#262

Abhimanyu Kumar and Aletta André, "The House of Awadh: A Hidden Tragedy" (HarperCollins India, 2025)

#261

Moudhy Al-Rashid, "Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History" (W.W. Norton, 2...

#260

Jemimah Wei, "The Original Daughter" (Doubleday/Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2025)

#259

Erin M.B. O'Halloran, "East of Empire: Egypt, India, and the World Between the Wars" (Stanford UP, 2...

#258

Rosinka Chaudhuri, "India's First Radicals: Young Bengal and the British Empire" (India Viking, 2025...

#257

Charles R. Butcher and Ryan D. Griffiths, "Before Colonization: Non-Western States and Systems in th...

#256

Wu Jianren, "New Story of the Stone: An Early Chinese Science Fiction Novel" (Columbia UP, 2025)

#255

Sam Dalrymple, "Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia" (William Collins, 20...

#254

Tracy Slater, "Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Conce...

#253

Nan Z. Da, The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear (Princeton UP, 2025)

#252

Audrey Truschke, "India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" (Princeton UP, 2025)

#251

Eiko Maruko Siniawer, "Ten Moments that Shaped Tokyo" (Cambridge UP, 2024)

#250

Aatish Taseer, "A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile" (Catapult, 2025)

#249

Sanjena Sathian, "Goddess Complex" (Penguin Press, 2025)

#248

James D.J. Brown, "Cracking the Crab: Russian Espionage Against Japan, from Peter the Great to Richa...

#247

Paul French, "Destination Macao" (Blacksmith Books, 2024)

#246

Zev Handel, "Chinese Characters Across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came to Write Japanese, Korean, ...

#245

Naomi Xu Elegant, "Gingko Season: A Novel" (W. W. Norton, 2025)

#244

John Man, "Conquering the North: China, Russia, Mongolia: 2,000 Years of Conflict" (Oneworld Publica...

#243

Fyodor Tertitskiy, "Accidental Tyrant: The Life of Kim Il-sung" (Hurst UP, 2025)

#242

Vappala Balachandran, "India and China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic Hist...

#241

Chris Aslan, "Unravelling the Silk Road: Travels and Textiles in Central Asia" (Icon Books, 2024)