Abstract: China’s diverse industrial sector is the driving force of the nation’s post-1978 economic “miracle.” While conditions will change in the coming decades as nations in South and Southeast Asia and Africa with lower cost labor and land make inroads, China remains a vibrant manufacturing sector that must be credited with both the nation’s new-found
Abstract: Despite two millennia of widespread ecological degradation and an unmatched human population, China is one of the world’s most biologically diverse countries. Its vast land area encompasses an astonishing variety of biomes, ecosystems, flora, and fauna. New nature conservation policies include the rapid expansion of the nation’s protected area system, but daunting challenges remain.
Abstract: China is home to roughly half the world’s large dams and probably a similar fraction of smaller ones. These structures alter the flow of thousands of the country’s rivers, creating hydroelectricity, providing irrigation and flood control, and flattening stretches of river that would otherwise be unnavigable. Yet dams are controversial: they can bring significant
I’ve felt low this week and I’m not sure why. Of course I know why. The world’s in a mess, and my own country is amongst the worst of it. But I’m not sure why it struck me so hard this week. The feelings come in waves: I feel tense, angry, overwhelmed. I just want to be
W E B Du Bois, a great US intellectual & civil rights activist, grew up right here in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I can think of no more appropriate way to affirm that Black Lives Matter than to quote some passages by Du Bois today. I’ve been browsing his writings, and am astonished at their range. He
I started the Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines both as an excuse to eat and as what I thought would be a pleasant escape from the political drama of publishing about China. That led to our publishing books like The Way of Eating and Asian Cuisines, and to my work on gastrodiplomacy. Now, during the COVID-19 crisis, we’re planning a major project on
“Both hands!” cried John, the laird of the castle. I had missed again, and as I whirled on I breathlessly sympathized with him. How hard could it be, he must wonder, to get that second hand in place? I tried again, hooking arms with the next man, spinning, spinning again, and - damn - my second
While the coronavirus continues to change our lives, it does feel as if we’re lifting our heads from the crash position. It's still scary, but less out of control and panicky. I hope this is true for you. For me, the new normal is watching people use Zoom for the first time (”How do I
We want to make sure you know about some of the ways in which publishers - including Berkshire - are making our books and reference publications available online at reduced cost, or even free, during the COVID-19 crisis. We're well aware that taking classes and doing research papers online is a huge challenge for many students, schools,
Great Barrington, MA - COVID-19 has delayed the launch of a record-setting marketing deal expected to boost international appreciation of English and European cheeses. The image and words of the Nobel Prize winning poet T S Eliot, as well as characters from the musical Cats, will be used to promote cheese and cheese products throughout the world. The
