The Silk Road was the current name for a complex of ancient trade routes linking East Asia with Central Asia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean world. This network of exchange emerged along the borders between agricultural China and the steppe nomads during the Han Dynasty (206BCE-220CE), in consequence of the inter-dependence and the conflicts of these two distinctive societies. In their quest for horses, fragrances, and spices, gems, glassware, and other exotics from the lands to their west...

Winner of the James Coleman Award for Best Book from the Rationality and Society section of the American Sociological Society Winner of the Outstanding Recent Contribution from the Social Psychology section of the American Sociological Association. Winner of the Best Publication Award from the Mental Health section of the American Sociological Association Honorable Mention, PROSE Book Award, Cultural Anthropology and Sociology, from the Association of American Publishers. When people are faci...

Designed for advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate courses in semiconductor or microelectronic fabrication, Fabrication Engineering at the Micro- and Nanoscale, Fourth Edition, covers the entire basic unit processes used to fabricate integrated circuits and other devices.

The study of Islamic philosophy has entered a new and exciting phase in the last few years. Both the received canon of Islamic philosophers and the narrative of the course of Islamic philosophy are in the process of being radically questioned and revised. Most twentieth-century Western scholarship on Arabic or Islamic philosophy has focused on the period from the ninth century to the twelfth.

It is a measure of the transformation that is currently underway in thefield that, unlike other refer...

This third edition of Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms thebasis of their legitimacy.

In particular...

Make discussion work easy for students with Bookworms Club. These collections of graded short stories have been specially selected for Reading Circles - small groups of students who meet to talk about stories. With role sheets to help students prepare for the discussions, and stimulating graded stories, Bookworms Club provides the magic formula for getting students to talk in English.

Covering both trade and international finance, this innovative text provides a thoroughly up-do-date and comprehensive treatment of each area. Throughout, the theory is illustrated with empirical evidence and an abundance of relevant case studies. It includes an online study guide.

Water dominates our lives: we live on a planet with much water and our lives depend on it in many ways. Despite the seeming abundance of water on the planet - with over 70% being salt water - human activity and prevailing climate conditions are placing more pressure on our supply of water than ever before, however. With this pressure comes a need to understand the physical principles of hydrology - the study of the occurrence, movement, and physical properties ofnon-oceanic water on and below...

This brief history of America will span the earliest migrations to the present, reflecting Paul S. Boyer's interests in social, intellectual, and cultural history, including popular culture and religion. It will reflect his personal view of American history, in which a sense of paradox and irony loom large.

While noting positive achievements-political, economic, social, and cultural-he will also discuss the United States's failures to live up to its oft-statedideals; although America has figu...

Evans' International Law is widely celebrated as an outstanding collection of interesting and diverse writings from the leading scholars in the field. Bringing together a broad range of perspectives on all the key issues in international law, it is a unique and invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike.