Frank Ching brings to life 900 years of Chinese history through his own fascinating family tree. Beginning with his search for the grave of his first recorded ancestor, the 11th century poet Qin Guan, & ending with a moving account of his relationship with his father, a victim of China's historic upheaval, Frank Ching introduces a colourful cast of characters. His unbroken family line

Includes::
- among many others
- a lovelorn concubine, a traitor, a military hero, an imperial ghost-writer, a minister of punishments & a woman noted for her skills in both verse & martial arts. There is scarcely an aspect of Chinese life, from shamanism to violent rebellion, that Ching doesn't touch upon in this fascinating work. Through his vivid & personal portraits of his ancestors the history of China itself unfolds: from the days of the ancient empire to its radical transformation today.



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Ladakh, or ' Little Tibet', is a wildly beautiful desert land up in the Western Himalayas. It is a place of few resources & an extreme climate. Yet for more than a thousand years, it has been home to a thriving culture. Traditions of frugality & cooperation, coupled with an intimate & location-specific knowledge of the environment, enabled the Ladakhis not only to survive, but to prosper. Everyone had enough to eat; families & communities were strong; the status of women was high. Then came 'development'. Now in the modern sector one finds pollution & divisiveness, inflation & unemployment, intolerance & greed. Centuries of ecological balance & social harmony are under threat from pressures of Western consumerism. Ancient Futures is much more than a book about Ladakh. Passionately argued, it raises important questions about the whole notion of progress, & explores the root causes of the malaise of industrial society. At the same time, the story of Ladakh serves as a source of inspiration for our own future. It shows us that another way is possible, & points to some of the first steps towards kinder, gentler patterns of living. ...

Cricket defines Englishness like no other national pastime. From its earliest origins in the sixteenth century (or an early version played by shepherds called creag in the 1300s), through the formation of the MCC & the opening of Lord's cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published & the Ashes series was born, this simple sport of bat & ball has captured the imagination of the masses.

Throughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought us from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff's pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes & downright villains.

William Hill Award-winning writer Simon Hughes, no mean player himself, has lived & breathed cricket his whole life & now takes his analytical skills & typically irreverent eye to charting the history of English cricket. But this is no dry, dusty tome. It is the story of the mad characters who inhabit the game, the extraordinary lengths people will go to to watch & play it, the tale of a national obsession. It debunks the myth of cricket sportsmanship, showing the origins of sledging & match-fixing in centuries of subterfuge, corruption & violence. & it takes us beyond sport, to the heart of what it really means to be English.



...

Cricket defines Englishness like no other national pastime. From its earliest origins in the sixteenth century (or an early version played by shepherds called creag in the 1300s), through the formation of the MCC & the opening of Lord's cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published & the Ashes series was born, this simple sport of bat & ball has captured the imagination of the masses.

Throughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought us from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff's pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes & downright villains.

William Hill Award-winning writer Simon Hughes, no mean player himself, has lived & breathed cricket his whole life & now takes his analytical skills & typically irreverent eye to charting the history of English cricket. But this is no dry, dusty tome. It is the story of the mad characters who inhabit the game, the extraordinary lengths people will go to to watch & play it, the tale of a national obsession. It debunks the myth of cricket sportsmanship, showing the origins of sledging & match-fixing in centuries of subterfuge, corruption & violence. & it takes us beyond sport, to the heart of what it really means to be English.



...

Cricket defines Englishness like no other national pastime. From its earliest origins in the sixteenth century (or an early version played by shepherds called creag in the 1300s), through the formation of the MCC & the opening of Lord's cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published & the Ashes series was born, this simple sport of bat & ball has captured the imagination of the masses.

Throughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought us from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff's pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes & downright villains.

William Hill Award-winning writer Simon Hughes, no mean player himself, has lived & breathed cricket his whole life & now takes his analytical skills & typically irreverent eye to charting the history of English cricket. But this is no dry, dusty tome. It is the story of the mad characters who inhabit the game, the extraordinary lengths people will go to to watch & play it, the tale of a national obsession. It debunks the myth of cricket sportsmanship, showing the origins of sledging & match-fixing in centuries of subterfuge, corruption & violence. & it takes us beyond sport, to the heart of what it really means to be English.



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