Colonized since the 1600s, Taiwan is largely a nation of settlers. Yet within its population of 23 million are some 500,000 Aboriginal people. Genetic research has permeated both the political and popular spheres as Taiwanese nationalists and Chinese nationalists argue over the significance of migration theories and as the media proliferates genetic theories on predispositions to alcoholism. As this book demonstrates, genetics serve, on the one hand, to reinforce claims to a unique national identity and, on the other hand, to reinforce anti-Aboriginal prejudices. Increasingly, genetic research on Aborigines is being integrated into biotechnology planning, both in the country and through controversial US patent applications. The legacy of this work has been mass violations of the rights of Taiwanese Aborigines. Examining a troubling revival of racially configured genetic research and the questions of sovereignty it raises, Living Dead in the Pacific details a history of exploitation and resistance that represents a new area of conflict facing Aboriginal people both within Taiwan and around the world.

Robert Penn Warren once wrote West is where we all plan to go some day, and indeed, images of the westernmost United States provide a mythic horizon to American cultural landscape. While the five states (California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawai'i) which touch Pacific waters do share commonalities within the history of westward expansion, the peoples who settled the region—and the indigenous peoples they encountered—have created spheres of culture that defy simple categorization. This wide-ranging reference volume explores the marvelously eclectic cultures that define the Pacific region. From the music and fashion of the Pacific northwest to the film industry and surfing subcultures of southern California, from the vast expanses of the Alaskan wilderness to the schisms between native and tourist culture in Hawa'ii, this unprecedented reference provides a detailed and fascinating look at American regionalism along the Pacific Rim. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures is the first rigorous reference collection on the many ways in which American identity has been defined by its regions and its people. Each of its eight regional volumes presents thoroughly researched narrative chapters on Architecture; Art; Ecology & Environment; Ethnicity; Fashion; Film & Theater; Folklore; Food; Language; Literature; Music; Religion; and Sports & Recreation. Each book also includes a volume-specific introduction, as well as a series foreword by noted regional scholar and former National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman William Ferris, who served as consulting editor for this encyclopedia.

This is the thrilling saga of war in the air in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II told from the Japanese point of view. It is the story of the men who created, led, and fought in the deadly Zero fighter plane. In their own words, Jiro Horikoshi (who designed the Zero), Masatake Okumiya (leader of many Zero squadrons), and Saburo Sakai (Japan's leading surviving fighter ace) as well as many other men, tell the inside story of developing the Zero and Japan's air force. They tell what it felt like to bomb American ships and to shoot down American airplanes -- and then of their shock when the myth of invincibility was shattered by the new Lightning, Hellcat, and Corsair fighters. They tell of the fight against the growing strength of a remorseless American enemy; and how, in desperation the Japanese High Command ordered the creation of deadly suicide squadrons, the Kamikaze. And finally they reveal their reaction to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

If you know London primarily through novels like WHITE FANG, these stories will provide a new perspective. Full of intriguing characters and snippets of pidgin, they also highlight London's concern with social issues.

A portrayal of how and why Japan waged war from 1931-1945 and what life was like for the Japanese people in a society engaged in total war.

* Unique woodcut illustrations decorate both volumes * Trail map to follow story locations in each volume * For both hikers and armchair adventurers of the PCT Exploring the people, places, and history of the Pacific Crest Trail as it ranges 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada, THE PACIFIC CREST TRAILSIDE READER EBOOK brings together short excerpts from classic works of regional writing with boot-tested stories from the trail. The heart of this anthology is these real trail tales, stories taken from PCT hikers: trailside humor and traditions, "trail angels" and "trail magic," encounters with wildlife and wild weather, stories of being lost and found, rescues, and unusual incidents. Revealing a larger context are historical accounts of events such as Moses Schallenberger's winter on Donner Pass and pioneer efforts like the old Naches Road that ended up creating access to today's trails; Native American myths and legends such as that of Lost Lake near Mount Hood; and selections from highly-regarded environmental writers who have captured the region in print, including Mary Austin in The Land of Little Rain ; John Muir in The Mountains of California; and Barry Lopez in Crossing Open Ground. Readers will also enjoy a few more surprising contributions from the likes of Mark Twain and Ursula Le Guin. For this digital edition of the PCT READER, we combined our two print volumes into a single, robust ebook that features stories from both the CALIFORNIA and OREGON & WASHINGTON volumes. Because the two-volume set is a compilation of old and new essays, however, the editors were not able to obtain digital publication rights for some of the previously published material. So while this combination ebook includes all the newly commissioned stories, as well as many other pieces for which the editors did have digital access, there are approximately four contributions from each of the printed books that do not appear here.

This Element considers patterns of violent behaviour among the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands while their vast region has been undergoing religious change, overwhelmingly toward Christianity. Major topics researched are religion-based violent reactions to early intruders (including missionaries); new religious movements resisting unwanted interference (including 'cargo cults'); anti-colonial rebellions inspired by spiritual impetuses both indigenous and introduced; and the persistence of traditional modes of violence (tribal fighting, sorcery and tough punishments) adapted to altered conditions.

Following the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, a panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs from the celebrated author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany 'Riveting, extraordinary ... tells the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety. The emphasis is not on our differences, but on shared spiritual yearnings' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times, Books of the Year One of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity. They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics of much of the world today. Throughout history they have most often been, in the widest sense, religious. Yet this book is not a history of religion, nor an argument in favour of faith. It is about the stories which give shape to our lives, and the different ways in which societies imagine their place in the world. Looking across history and around the globe, it interrogates objects, places and human activities to try to understand what shared beliefs can mean in the public life of a community or a nation, how they shape the relationship between the individual and the state, and how they help give us our sense of who we are. For in deciding how we live with our gods, we also decide how to live with each other. 'The new blockbuster by the museums maestro Neil MacGregor ... The man who chronicles world history through objects is back ... examining a new set of objects to explore the theme of faith in society' Sunday Times