Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Politics & government

THE GREAT WALL IN 50 OBJECTS

William Lindesay

Enhanced by stories of their discovery, and those of their modern-day keepers,The Great Wall in 50 Objects is a personal and historical exploration of a world wonder.

The culmination of a lifetime's field work and research, William Lindesay selects fifty artefacts from around the world to tell the story of the Great Wall from the second century BC to the late-twentieth century.

Abraham Ortelius' pioneering world atlas, the unexpected origins of 'wolf smoke', the proliferation of the blunderbuss in the fifteenth century Great Wall theatre of war, even Kafka's classic short story 'At the Building of the Great Wall' are some of the unique objects that were shaped by China's most famous national landmark. Enhanced by stories of their discovery, and those of their modern-day keepers,The Great Wall in 50 Objectsis a personal and historical exploration of a world wonder.

William LindesayOBE was born in Wallasey, UK, in 1956, and studied geography and geology at Liverpool University. His interest in the Great Wall of China started early and in 1987 he made what China's official Xinhua News Agency described as 'the most successful foreign exploration of the Great Wall'. As a Great Wall historian, Lindesay has published several accounts of his explorations and expeditions and initiated campaigns to preserve and protect China's most famous cultural landmark for which he was awarded an OBE in 2006. Lindesay currently lives in Beijing with his family.

Available products
Book Published 2015-11-16 by Penguin Australia
Book Published 2015-11-16 by Penguin Australia

Comments

William Lindesay lives and breathes Great Wall history and he exudes it with an engaging passion.

China: Penguin China

For years, Lindesay has hiked and studied the Great Wall with exceptional passion. To him, it seems, the Great Wall is not a mere structure, a political icon, or a cultural curiosity, but a treasure trove of stories.

Lindesay presents a coherent and highly informative account of the geography, history, and material culture of China's Great Wall. His compelling and well-written account is rich in profound and often quite unexpected insights.

William Lindesay has a knack for approaching the iconic Great Wall of China in ways that are creative, idiosyncratic, and deeply personal . . . He has succeeded again with The Great Wall in 50 Objects.

William Lindesay shows us the Wall in a completely new light by looking at the smaller objects that make up its history . . . Through these objects we feel the Great Wall transform from architecture into a living part of the history and culture of China.

If you are going to China, and intend to see the Great Wall (or even if, unwisely, you don't), take this book on the plane with you, and absorb as many of its intriguing nuggets of Wall-lore and China-lore as you can – it will make your visit infinitely richer