This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book delves into the widely held belief that the 21st century will be the "Asian Century" by examining the Asia's rapid economic development in the post-war era and the challenges it faces in forging ahead of world leaders in the West. The impact of the current turbulent global political climate on Asia is critically analyzed, employing a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, combining economic, social, political and geopolitical perspectives. Written in an accessible style, the book offers students, business, government, and civil society players powerful insights on Asia.

This is a selected, annotated list of some 2,000 books on Asia in English and French currently in print, chosen with the aim of providing a long-term historical perspective for the general reader. The list is presented in four main parts: Asia as a whole; the Islamic world; India, South and Southeast Asia; the Far East. Subdivisions cover such topics as: general and reference works; history, social science, and law; history of literature; literature in translation; religion and ideas; arts, crafts, architecture, and science; and the lands in modern times.