In 1953, South Korea was rated by the U.N. as the poorest country in the world. Five decades later, it is the fifteenth largest economy. Now, South Korea's decisions on how to manage its society and its role as a modern democracy while also establishing its policy regarding reunification with North Korea will determine where the country will go in the next fifty years. "The New Korea" examines the political, economic, industrial, and societal aspects of Korea today. Will it continue to enjoy an economic boom through new industries while competing against low-wage countries like China and India? Will it return to its role as a stomping ground for other powers? And what should Westerners pay attention to in terms of investment and business opportunities? As South Korea enters the most critical phase of its journey, it is crucial that we understand the factors involving its decisions and evolution. "The New Korea" is a fascinating account of what is and may become the state of this important region.

While much attention has been focused on Japan's meteoric rise as an economic power, South Korea has been quietly emerging as the next industrial giant to penetrate the world market. South Korea is one of a series of countries (ranging from Taiwan, India, Brazil, and Turkey, to Mexico, and including Japan) to have succeeded through borrowing foreign technology rather than by generating new products or processes. Describing such countries as 'late-industrializers,' Amsden demonstrates why South Korea has become the most successful of this group.

Long before Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope en route to India, the peoples of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia engaged in vigorous cross-cultural exchanges across the Indian Ocean. This book focuses on the years 700 to 1500, a period when powerful dynasties governed both regions, to document the relationship between the Islamic and Chinese worlds before the arrival of the Europeans. Through a close analysis of the maps, geographic accounts, and travelogues compiled by both Chinese and Islamic writers, the book traces the development of major contacts between people in China and the Islamic world and explores their interactions on matters as varied as diplomacy, commerce, mutual understanding, world geography, navigation, shipbuilding, and scientific exploration. When the Mongols ruled both China and Iran in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, their geographic understanding of each other's society increased markedly. This rich, engaging, and pioneering study offers glimpses into the worlds of Asian geographers and mapmakers, whose accumulated wisdom underpinned the celebrated voyages of European explorers like Vasco da Gama.

生动呈现近500年的历史，讲述海上帝国兴衰，从人种到作物世界的大融合
1 国内第一本完全以海洋为主题，讲述近代世界历史的著作。
2 亚洲视角，颠覆西方中心主义。书中特别强调欧洲航海建立了强权秩序，带来了殖民和伤害。而中国和亚洲，非洲目前的“一带一路”设想就是要恢复印亚的和平往来，矫正500年以来的霸权秩序。
3 除了讲述霸权历史，作者生动地介绍了文化、人种、物产的交流细节，大量图片和故事，使本书可读性很高。
各个文明的扩张和贸易，崛起与衰落，都和对海洋的控制直接相关。可以说，谁主宰了海洋，谁就主宰了世界秩序。
《深蓝帝国》讲述的正是中国、阿拉伯、葡萄牙、西班牙、荷兰、英国如何进行远洋航行、并扩张势力的故事。但作者强调在欧洲海航扩张伴随着极端的暴力和征服，给其他文明带来了深重的灾难。征服海洋不但能够对其他文明取得控制权，同时也客观上促进了人种、物产和文化的空前交流。这是世界历史中极为丰富和引人入胜的细节。
海上霸权时代的遗产，不论好的坏的，我们都必须在深刻的反思中承载。

We know that each of us is unique, but science has struggled to pinpoint where, precisely, our uniqueness resides. Is it in our genes? The structure of our brains? Our genome may determine our eye color and even aspects of our personality. But our friendships, failures, and passions also shape who we are. The question is: how?Sebastian Seung, a dynamic professor at MIT, is on a quest to discover the biological basis of identity. He believes it lies in the pattern of connections between the brain’s neurons, which change slowly over time as we learn and grow. The connectome, as it’s called, is where our genetic inheritance intersects with our life experience. It’s where nature meets nurture.Seung introduces us to the dedicated researchers who are mapping the brain’s connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse. It is a monumental undertaking—the scientific equivalent of climbing Mount Everest—but if they succeed, it could reveal the basis of personality, intelligence, memory, and perhaps even mental disorders. Many scientists speculate that people with anorexia, autism, and schizophrenia are "wired differently," but nobody knows for sure. The brain’s wiring has never been clearly seen.In sparklingly clear prose, Seung reveals the amazing technological advances that will soon help us map connectomes. He also examines the evidence that these maps will someday allow humans to "upload" their minds into computers, achieving a kind of immortality. Connectome is a mind-bending adventure story, told with great passion and authority. It presents a daring scientific and technological vision for at last understanding what makes us who we are. Welcome to the future of neuroscience.