Historical maps are much more than geographical records. Often they provide insights into a country's politics, trade & war. In 1996, 17 large, h&-drawn & handcoloured maps were discovered in the Princess Abhantri Paja Mansion in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. This magnificent collection is today in the care of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Now, for the first time, Her Royal Highness has graciously allowed five of these precious maps to go on show at the Jim Thompson House, Center for Arts. Together with 80 other related items, the exhibition Siam in Trade & War Royal Maps of the Nineteenth Century gives a fascinating picture of Siamese history & geopolitics during the first three reigns of the Chakri dynasty. ...

Legendary Scottish photographer & travel writer John Thomson (1837-1921) set off for the East in 1862 & over the next ten years undertook numerous journeys to various countries including Siam, Cambodia & China, becoming the first person to photograph Angkor Wat, Cambodia. The photographs from these journeys form one of the most extensive records of any region taken in the 19th century. The range, depth & aesthetic quality of John Thomsons photographic vision mark him out as one of the most important travel photographers. At that time cameras were large & heavy. The photographic images were exposed onto a glass negative & this had to be done in complete darkness, on location, in a portable darkroom tent. Thomson travelled with a large number of cumbersome crates, glass negatives & highly flammable & poisonous chemicals. Given that his journeys took him through difficult terrain & insect-infested jungles, sometimes to regions where a white man had not been seen before, it is all the more remarkable that Thomson was able to make photographs of such beauty & sensitivity. During an era when his contemporaries took portraits in which their subjects looking stilted & wooden, Thomson managed to capture the individuality & humanity of the diverse people of Asia, whether royalty or street vendor. In Siam, Thomson was able to photograph King Mongkut (Rama IV), his royal family & entourage. In Cambodia, Thomson was the first photographer to visit Angkor, to record what is now, one of the most important sites of ancient architecture in the world. These photographs form a unique archive of images documenting 19th century Asian landscapes, architecture, people & customs. The collection of over 600 glass plates traveled back with Thomson to Britain in 1872 & since 1921 has been housed & expertly preserved at the Wellcome Library, London. The 150-year-old glass negatives are in excellent condition allowing the exhibition to showcase very large prints, some life-size. Altogether 43 photographs taken in Siam, six taken in Angkor & 15 from Southern China are displayed in this ground-breaking exhibition. ...

Siberia in the Landscapes of the Imagination guide series; providing an in-depth cultural & account of some of the world’s most memorable & evocative landscapes. Presented as a cultural & literary guide, each title in the series explores the cultural history of a landscape, providing an overview of the area’s development from its earliest roots to the modern day. Particular emphasis is placed on the literary, poetic, architectural, cultural & historical elements that make up the landscape & each title is written & researched by an academic expert. An Epilogue offers suggestion for further reading & indices of literary, artistic & historical names & places & landmarks. ...

Siberia on a double-sided, indexed map at 1:3, 600, 000 from ITMB with coverage extending from Omsk, Nefteyugansk & Vorkuta in the west to the Sakhalin Isl&. All place names are in the Latin alphabet. Topography is presented by altitude colouring with bands in feet. The map shows the region’s road & rail networks, also indicating locations with airports & landing grounds, & symbols highlight various places of interest. Each side has a separate index. Latitude & longitude are shown by very faint lines at 5º intervals PLEASE NOTE: the course of the Trans-Siberian Railway east of Omsk is clearly marked, but coverage of the map in the south-east stops about halfway between Khabarovsk & Vladivostok. Vladivostok itself, as well as Kamchatka & the easternmost part of Chukotka are also not included. ...

Larger in area than the United States & Europe combined, Siberia is a land of extremes, not merely in terms of climate & expanse, but in the many kinds of lives its population has led over the course of four centuries. Janet M. Hartley explores the history of this vast Russian wastel&--whose very name is a common euphemism for remote bleakness & exile--through the lives of the people who settled there, either willingly, desperately, or as prisoners condemned to exile or forced labor in mines or the gulag. From the Cossack adventurers` first incursions into ” Sibir” in the late sixteenth century to the exiled criminals & political prisoners of the Soviet era to present-day impoverished Russians & entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in the oil-rich north, Hartley`s comprehensive history offers a vibrant, profoundly human account of Siberia`s development. One of the world`s most inhospitable regions is humanized through personal narratives & colorful case studies as ordinary--and extraordinary--everyday life in ”the nothingness” is presented in rich & fascinating detail. ...

It's September 1939. The Second World War has begun. Even as the fighting rages in Pol&, Stalin's long time obsession with the missing treasure of Tsar Nicholas II is rekindled. An informant claims to have information about the whereabouts of the man entrusted by the Tsar with hiding his gold. As the news of the informant reaches Stalin, however, the man is knifed to death. Stalin summons Pekkala to the Kremlin & orders him to solve the murder. To accomplish his mission, he must return to Borodok, the notorious Gulag where he himself spent many years as a prisoner. There, he must pose as a inmate in order to unravel the mystery.. . As he returns to the nightmares of his past, is this a mission too far for the great Pekkala? ...

The gastronomic culture of Sicily captured in 80 recipes. It isn t just another cookbook: It offers an authentic insight into ...

With over ninety classic recipes for appetizers, main courses, & desserts, this cookbook takes readers on a culinary tour of Sicily. From urban cuisine to traditional folk meals & the home cooking of the countryside, each dish becomes an excuse to explore Sicily s gastronomic heritage, & to share stories of its life, people, & places. Whether delectable arancini (rice balls), baked stuffed sardines, or cassata, each recipe is organised according to Sicily s regions, & accompanied by a detailed section of wine pairings for each meal. Additional sections with information on olive oil & local products round out the cookbook making it a must-have addition to any home chef s library. ...

Having immersed himself in the islands of Rhodes, Corfu & Cyprus, Lawrence Durrell turns to Sicily, the largest of the Mediterranean islands, with its long & varied history & its spectacular archaeological remains. To equip himself for this formidable task, Durrell joined a tour, the ` Sicilian Carousel`, & the account of his travels with a mixed bag of companions is characteristically sharp & witty. But the deeper theme is Mediterranean civilization, its manifestations & its meaning, not only in Sicily but in Greece, in Italy, in Southern France. The book

Includes:: several poems by Durrell, not previously published, all inspired by different parts of the island & is illustrated by a selection of elegant engravings. Sicilian Carousel is a book to treasure.

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If there is one book that belongs on the shelf of food lovers, it is ” Sicilian Food” by Mary Taylor Simeti. This book is a classic, the definitive work on Sicilian cooking & it is full of authentic, hard to find recipes gleaned from the author`s friends, family & acquaintances on the island itself. Originally published in 1989 under the title ” Pomp & Sustenance: Twenty Five Centuries of Sicilian Food” & then unavailable for almost ten years, Mary Taylor Simeti`s affectionate, exhaustive work has come to be recognized as the definitive book on the food, traditions & recipes of this sun-drenched isl&. The author, an American married to a Sicilian, set out to discover Sicilian food first h&. She haunted former convents & palaces where Palermo`s libraries have been maintained. She tested each ancient recipe herself & updated the methods. Her directions are clear & easy to follow. The book is organized so that the material reflects both the external influences of a series of conquerors, & the domestic changes brought about by peasant, clergy & aristocrat alike. Her chapter titles hint at the enticing discoveries waiting for the reader & the recipes reflect the chapter titles. There are recipes using the vegetable abundance of the Sicilian landscape, for ice cream or granita, &, yes there are recipes for Virgins Breasts & Chancellor`s Buttocks. The book contains more than a hundred illustrations from Sicilian archives & museums & the text"es freely from Homer, Plato, Apicius, Lampedusa, & Pirandello. Simeti`s prose is so descriptive that to read it is to be in Sicily. ...