Other Horizon Publications

The Bomoh - Magician and Spiritualist
by A Rafi
ISBN: 9789810578800
Price: SGD16.00 (w/o GST)
Non-fiction - Paperback

In this book, the author presents a general description of the legendary bomoh, how he acquired his spiritually inherited knowledge and how this was influenced and developed over a period of several centuries. Also, how this knowledge was used in exorcisms, seances and to cure those suffering from mysterious illnesses, the makingof talismans, amulets and charms and secret techniques used for invoking spirits and powerful jin.
Western writers described the bomoh as a witchdoctor and shaman who can transform himself into a `were tiger', invoke spirits to enter his body and dispel them. He also had the power to control the weather. People of different faiths and levels of society in Southeast Asia still valued the bomoh's advice and mystic power, as their ancestors had done a thousand years before.

Butterfly in The Wind
by Rei Kimura
ISBN: 9789810578817
Price: SGD18.00 (w/o GST)
Non-fiction - Paperback, 188pp

Shimoda 1856.Okichi Saito is engaged with the carpenter Tsurumatsu, when menacing shapes of black ships appear in the bay: the US demand the opening of the Japanese market.
The envoy, Townsend Harris, the later consul General, is enticed by Okichi’s beauty as he spots her walking from a bathhouse.
Japanese officials, who consider the 15 year old girl only as a pawn in their negotiations, deliver her to “Old man Harris” to perform “personal services”.
Five years later Harris returns home because of ill health. Okichi is free now, but a wounded person, scorned by the townsfolk, forever a “tojin”’ - a foreigner’s concubine. In these circumstances, her reunion with Tsurumatsu ends as a tragic love story.

Yasukuni, The War Dead and The Struggle for Japan's Past
by John Breen (Editor)
ISBN: 9789810595265
Price: SGD38.00 (w/o GST)
Military - Hardback

This book is the first authoritative volume in English on Yasukuni, the controversial Shinto shrine in the heart of Tokyo, dedicated to the Japanese war dead. Twelve convicted and two suspected Class A criminals are enshrined at Yasukuni, while the shrine’s museum narrates and account of Japan’s actions in the Second World War that is best described as revisionist. Visits to the shrine by cabinet members often set off protests at home and abroad, especially in China, Korea and Taiwan, and Yasukuni remains a source of considerable mistrust between the Chinese and Japanese governments. This volume sets out neither to commend Yasukuni nor to condemn it; it seeks, rather, to present authoritative yet divergent views. It accommodates chapters by Japanese intellectuals; it carries multiple Chinese perspectives; and there are also contributions from Western commentators who offer their own insights on the shrine and its place in post-war Japanese diplomacy, ideology and history. Praises for the Book“By bringing together a wide range of perspectives and casting Yasukuni in multiple historical, ideological, political and religious frameworks that cut across Japanese, Chinese and international perspectives, this volume contributes much that is fresh and provocative.”- Mark Selden, Japan Focus

Gurkhas At War
eyewitness Accounts from World War II to Iraq
edited by J.P. Cross & Buddhiman Gurung
ISBN: 9789810578787
Price: SGD30.00 (w/o GST)
Military - Paperback

Gurkhas at War, the result of in-depth interviews conducted by editors J.P. Cross and Buddhiman Gurung, offers these remarkable soldiers a voice in print for the first time. These first-person narratives centre on the sixty-year period from the outbreak of World War II to the confrontation in East Timor, including the lengthy battles against the Japanese in the Burmese jungle, compaigns against the Communists in Malaya and Hong Kong, as well as more recent deployments in the Falklands Campaign and Gulf War. We also gain insight into the changes wrought by Indian independence, which forcibly divided the Gurkha allegiance between the ex-colony and her old master.
The tactless mismanagement of the various `handovers', and the punitive measures directed at many Gurkhas who disputed their resettlement, remain a painful memory for those subjected to the change. The editors - who traveled 5,000 miles to rescue material from surviving soldiers - provide a thorough introduction to Gurkha culture, a historical overview of each campaign fought, and record some of the peculiarities of their encounters with these most resilient of soldiers.

- The first time the Gurkha soldiers; voice has been heard at length.
- Historical overviews of Gurkha operations.
- Vivid, first-person descriptions spanning more than sixty years of warfare.

The Mongol Art of War
by Timothy May
ISBN: 9789810578981
Price: SGD38.00 (w/o GST)
Military - Hardback

The Mongol armies that established the largest land empire in history, stretching across Asia and into Eastern Europe , are imperfectly understood. Often they are viewed as screaming throngs of horsemen who swept over opponents by sheer force of numbers rather than as disciplined regiments that carried out planned and practiced manoeuvres.
In this pioneering book, Timothy May demonstrates that the Mongol military developed from a tribal levy into a disciplined and complex military organization. He describes the make-up of the Mongol army from its inception to the demise of their empire, and he shows how it was the strength, quality and versatility of Mongol military organization that made them the pre-eminent warriors of their time.

- First book-length study of organization of war under Genghis Khan
- Exposes myths and misunderstandings about Mongol warfare
- Analyzes Mongol strategy, tactics, fighting methods
- Vivid accounts of Mongol armies in action

Absent History
by Ban Kah Choon
ISBN: 9789810447885
Price: SGD24.50 (w/o GST)
History - Paperback

This book is an account of the multi-faceted activities of the Special Branch as it
tackled problems of religious extremism, espionage and sedition from 1915 to 1942. It
documents the severe threats to security and stability beneath the placid peacefulness
of that period. Drawing upon previously unavailable archival materials, Absent
History reveals the often-privileged view that the Special Branch had of the events and
strands of Malayan/Singapore history.

Chinese Thought: An Introduction
edited by Donald H. Bishop
ISBN: 9789810445584
Price: SGD28.50 (w/o GST)
Non-fiction - Hardback

As China comes on the world stage again, people are increasingly becoming interested in the philosophies and philosophers of that ancient land. The Chinese philosophical tradition is a long and venerable one.



Dynasties of India and Beyond - Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
by Inder Malhotra
ISBN: 9789810505769
Price: SGD38.00 (w/o GST)
General insterest - Hardback

Although the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty alone has hogged the world's attention so far - because of its uniquely dazzling dominance and durability - it is not the only within India, leave alone the neighbouring countries of South Asia and beyond. This book is not only a perceptive study of the remarkable and complex phenomenon of dynastic rule but also a fascinating account of the Indian subcontinent's social and political history during the second half of the twentieth century.

Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World - Transmission and Responses
by Peter Riddell
ISBN: 9789810445638
Price: SGD30.00 (w/o GST)

The primary goal of this study is to open various windows into Islamic religious thought in the Malay-Indonesian world over a period of around seven centuries, commencing with the establishment of Islam in the region during the latter part of the 13th century, and continuing on until the present day.
This work may arouse interest in Muslim Southeast Asia in both academic and general circles. Similarly, it is hoped that the present study will be applicable in western academic contexts where studies of Southeast Asia are being conducted. It should prove to be a useful reference for undergraduate studies focusing upon Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. It may also be of interest to Islamic and Middle East Studies.

Ho Chi Minh - The Missing Years, 1919-1941
by Sophie Quinn-Judge
ISBN: 9789810486495
Price: SGD30.00 (w/o GST)
History - Paperback

This book explores Ho's pre-power political career, from his emergence at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to his organization of the Viet Minh united front at the start of the Second World War. Using previously untapped sources from Comintern and French intelligence archives, the author examines Ho's life in the light of two interconnecting themes - the origins and institutional development of the Indochinese Communist, and the impact on early Vietnamese communism of political developments in China and the Soviet Union.

The Just Prince
by Joseph A. Kechichian & R. Hrair Dekmejian
ISBN: 9789810519483
Price: SGD35.00 (w/o GST)
Business - Paperback

This guide to practical political philosophy combines penetrating contemporary analysis with the entertainment value of The Thousand and One Nights, and the deep insight of Sun Tzu.
The Sulwan al-Muta' is an 800-year-old handbook for statesmen written by a Sicilian Arab who pressented this advice to a 'just prince' based on Islamic morality, European realism and a broad-ranging knowledge of different cultures. Warm, wise and witty, the work is explicated using straight philosophical discourse as well as the delirious narrative whirl of fables-within-fables so beloved of ancient and mediaeval Oriental literature.
The translators have preceded their presentation of Ibn Zafaar's text with a highly original analysis of the qualities any leader needs in order to attain and retain command. They demostrate that the wisdom found in the Sulwan is comparable to, but far less cynical than, Machiavelli's The Prince . The authors also show that the notion of a 'just prince' is, even today, easily within reach for those who would lead others.

I Will Sing To The End
by Ian MacLeod
ISBN: 9789810536992
Price: SGD18.00 (w/o GST)
Memoir - Paperback

Dorothy MacLeod escaped on the last ship from Singapore before the city was captured by the Japanese in February 1942. Tragically over three years later she died of debilitating dysentery and malnutrition in a prisoner of war camp off Sumatra .
Ian MacLeod spent fifty years researching the background to his mother's internment and this book is the result of his quest to find the truth behind her life and death in the camp.
It is an uplifting story of fortitude and the sustaining love of family and friends. Most of all it is a tribute to the courageous woman with the golden voice who bravely “sang to the end”.

Single Picky Girl – A Collection of Columns
by Janice Wong
ISBN: 9789810538781
Price: SGD15.00 (w/o GST)
Non-fiction - Paperback

- Who should pay on a date?
- When is the best time to quit a job?
- Why is parallel parking so difficult?
- Why does Mr Right always come at the wrong time?

Single Picky Girl is funnily serious and seriously fun. This book brings together 41 columns in Streats, The New Paper, and The Straits Times. It records a twenty something girl coming to grips with adult life and its rules, or lack thereof, which sometimes make her invent her own.

Chinese Military Theory – Ancient and Modern
by Chen-Ya Tien
ISBN: 9789810535704
Price: SGD28.00 (w/o GST)
Business - Paperback

This is a pioneering work. It includes extensive analysis and discussions of ancient Chinese military theories right up to modern and contemporary times. The author argues that Chinese military theory is closely related to the socio-economic conditions of Chinese society. He bases his historical and contemporary analysis on primary documents and a thorough and complete search of all available materials. The author also locates Chinese military theory in the present strategic situation of China and speculates about the direction and future of China 's development.

Rehearsal For War, The Underground War Against the Japanese
by Ban Kah Choon and Yap Hong Kuan
ISBN: 9789810443429
Price: SGD22.50 (w/o GST)
History - Paperback

In 1957, while working on his thesis, Yap Hong Kuan was given unprecedented access to Special Branch files that provided him with detailed information on the underground resistance forces that fought the Japanese and went on to form the nucleus of the field regiments of the Malayan Communist Party. Owing to the sensitive nature of the material, Yap's thesis was prohibited from publication for more than 40 years. The text has now been rewritten and updated by Ban Kah Choon who has added much new information. This book provides a comprehensive and insightful account of the motivations, leaders, doctrines and organizational structure of the underground resistance forces that fought the Japanese Occupation army from 1942 to 1945.


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