U. of Washington Press
Documenting China; a reader in seminal twentieth-century texts.
This collection of sixteen Chinese language texts on history, politics and cultural identity provide advanced language students with substantive, difficult and rewarding material with which to expand their translation skills while developing the critical reading and evaluation tools necessary for professional academic level language fluency. The primary documents address topics related to modern milestones in Chinese history including cultural and social reforms, the evolution of Maoist thought, Tiananmen Square and Chinese hybrid politics, culture and economics. Each Chinese text is accompanied by an explanation and notes in English and limited glossaries are provided. Hillenbrand is a professor of modern Chinese at Wadham College, Oxford and Starr is a professor of Asian theology at Yale Divinity School. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Explorers & scientists in China's borderlands, 1880-1950.
Drawn from papers presented at a symposium on Chinese history held at the University of Washington in January 2007, this collection of eight scholarly essays examines the history of western explorers and scientists operating in the outer frontiers of China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Topics discussed include natural historians in remote regions, race and science in southwestern China, geological studies and American missionaries in rural China and their influence on nation building. The volume includes black and white photographs and several maps. The contributors are academics from American and Chinese universities. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Exploring Fort Vancouver.
This visually appealing, color-illustrated work for general readers and students explores objects from the collection of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site on the Columbia River to examine the growth of technology in the region and shed light on trade, material culture, and diet during the early days of the settlement of the West. The book highlights the process of archaeological discovery and how archaeologists learn about the past from the objects they find. The role of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in education and historical preservation is also examined. On every page, the book offers color photos of artifacts and scenes at Fort Vancouver and b&w historical photos. Wilson is an archaeologist for the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service. Langford is curator for the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Food for the flames; idols and missionaries in central Polynesia.
Curious, meticulous, and deeply interested in the history and cultures of the Pacific, King, a biochemist affiliated with the U. of California, Berkeley, turned his attention to objects gathered by British missionaries in Polynesia in the 1800s. Ironically, the missionaries were present to try to eradicate indigenous beliefs, and they did plenty of that, including making bonfires of religious objects, or idols; but some objects were collected and shipped to London, where they sat in the British Museum relatively undisturbed and unexamined for more than a century. King relates the history and context of such collecting activities, sets the objects in their cultural context, and examines the details of their construction out of stone, feathers, wood) and, more importantly, their meanings. This is an elegantly produced, abundantly illustrated volume. Distribution in the US is the U. of Washington Press. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Is it a house? Archaeological excavations at English Camp, San Juan Island, Washington.
Archaeologists summarize the excavations in a forested shell midden in the San Juan Island National Historical Park near the shore of Garrison Bay and adjacent to the glaciated upland. The excavations were mostly carried out from 1988 to 1991, and the material was processed for a decade and analyzed for two decades. The topics include field methods, paleotopography and stratigraphy, ground stone artifacts, bone and antler tools, mammals, birds, shellfish, and fish. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Rising tides and tailwinds; the story of the port of Seattle, 1911-2011.
This illustrated history of the Port of Seattle examines the unique characteristics of the governmental agency in charge of Washington's industrial transportation hubs, and documents, though historical photographs and ephemera, the successful development of public sector maritime and aviation management. The work covers roughly a century of Seattle Port history from the chaotic early years and the intransigence of transportation barons, through the state appropriation of transportation services, through the milestones in civic, economic and social improvements influenced by Port policies, to the current efforts of the Port to implement ecological conservation programs in the Puget Sound. Oldham and Blecha are historians for HistoryLink.org, an online encyclopedia of Washington history. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
William H. Johnson; an American modern.
As part of its promotion of often-overlooked major modern American artists, this Smithsonian Institution publication features essays by leading scholars on African American art and Johnson (1901-1970). Drawn from the collection of the James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Morgan State U. in Baltimore, the selected paintings illustrate the influences on, and evolution of, his vernacular style reflecting positive images of black rural and urban life. Published in association with the U. of Washington Press. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
