Dr. John S. Major is an independent scholar of Chinese history, former associate professor of East Asian history at Dartmouth College and director of the China Council of the Asia Society. He holds an appointment as Senior Lecturer at the China Institute, New York, and is a member of the Columbia University Faculty Seminar on Early China. A specialist in the intellectual history of early China, he is the author, co-author, or editor of nearly thirty books spanning the fields of East Asia, world literature, and local and family history.
A Huguenot on the Hackensack is the first full-length study of David Demarest, an early European settler of northeastern New Jersey and progenitor of a large and locally influential family. The book examines Demarest's life, the legacy of his family, and the wider "Jersey Dutch" community in which the family played a prominent part. The book looks beneath accumulated layers of legend and older historical interpretations to formulate a new and more realistic (and more interesting) account of Demarest's...
Silk has long been considered a symbol of wealth and luxury. But thousands of years ago, the production of silk cloth was one of China's most prized secrets. So how did silk become one of the most sought-after materials in the world?
With lavish illustrations and a highly informative text, The Silk Route traces the early history of the silk trade-from the mulberry groves of China to the marketplace in Byzantium-and explores how two of the world's greatest empires were brought together,...