Mandarin, Guoyu or Putonghua? "Chinese" is a language known by many names, and China is a country home to many languages. Since the turn of the century linguists and politicians have been on a mission to create a common language for China. From the radical intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement, to leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Zedong, all fought to push the boundaries of language reform. Now, internet users take the Chinese language in new and unpredictable directions. David Mos...

Whether as an epic battleground or a cradle of civilizations, Europe has left an enduring imprint on the history of the world for over two millennia.

From megalithic civilizations through ancient times, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of nationalism, two world wars and the years that followed, this book looks beyond a series of distinct national histories to offer the history of Europe as an often shared experience across one continent.

This book delves into events such a...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer turns his eye to the seventeenth-century Dutch Golden Age Twenty years ago, Benjamin Moser followed a love affair to an ancient Dutch town. In order to make sense of this new place, he threw himself into the Dutch museums. Soon, he found himself unearthing the strange, inspiring and sometimes terrifying stories of the artists who shaped one of the most luminous moments in the history of human creativity, the Dutch Golden Age.

As he explored the hidden wor...

Brought to you by Penguin. The origins, consequences and limitations of an ideology that has quickly become highly influential around the world. For much of their history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious and sexual minorities.

It is no surprise then that many who passionately believe in social justice have come to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity if they are to resist injustice. But over the past decades, a healthy appreciat...