For more than eighty years, the famous unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor, the legendary bisexual film director, has generated debate and controversy.? Now, best-selling author Charles Higham h
"Deeply researched, valuable." The New York Times Book Review "A shocker . . . stunning . . . absolutely hypnotic. . . . A world of beautiful houses, ceaseless travel, trendset
Thoroughly revised and updated, this vivid biography surveys the life and career of the eminent American film and stage actress, highlighting important episodes and relationships in her life and outst
This full-scale, illustrated biography provides an in-depth profile of the visionary actor/writer/director whose prodigious talents, gargantuan appetites, and personal demons contributed to a tumultuo
His wealth was legendary. His passions were bizarre. Now, the truth about the money, the madness, and the man behind the enigma. Howard Hughes is one of the best known and least understood men of our
Jennie Jerome, also known as Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of England's greatest statesman, was born in Brooklyn, NY, and was the daughter of a Wall Street operator. She was a single-minded and dyn
This synthesis of the latest archaeological discoveries in Southeast Asia begins with the early hunter gatherers and concludes with the early states, with particular reference to Angkor. New ideas and
This synthesis of the latest archaeological discoveries in Southeast Asia begins with the early hunter gatherers and concludes with the early states, with particular reference to Angkor. There has bee
Southeast Asia was the scene of one of the world's major civilisations, that of Angkor, until it was sacked in the early fifteenth century. The origins of Angkor were barely known until recent archaeological excavation and field research began to reveal the region's dynamic development and to raise new questions to serve in its understanding. This important new synthesis focuses on the social world of early mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos and adjacent areas. The book begins when the area was occupied 12,000 years ago by hunters and gatherers. The author stresses the importance of sedentism and domestication. These encouraged the spread of coastal communities into the interior valleys. Particular relevance is seen in the exchange of valuables, including bronze, as symbols of status. The origins of civilisation, for long assumed to result from Indian expansion in the region, are seen as rooted in local changes, along with the selective adoption of Indian relig
Some claim the earliest bronze production in the world occurred in South-east Asia; others say it occurred elsewhere. This book presents the debate surrounding the Bronze Age in the Indochina region, providing a systematic and regional presentaton of the current state of knowledge. It illuminates the question of indigenous technological evolution, contrasted with influence from neighbouring civilisations - in this case Southern China. Higham suggests that the the adoption of metallurgy, copper and tin smelting took place in South-east Asia following a period of trading with China, which provided the exotic bronzes. Using a thematic approach, he provides an up-to-date account of the South-east Asian and Chinese Bronze Age, documenting evidence site by site. This is the first time these regions have integrated in research to provide an understanding of how and why their distinct cultures developed.Tracing developments right through to the Iron Age, Higham identifies the distinct
The first in a series on the origins of the civilization of Angkor, this volume reports on the 1995-96 excavation of the prehistoric settlement of Ban Lum Khao in Northeast Thailand. The book begins w
Dramatic new archaeological discoveries over the past ten years demand a new look at Thailand's past. Drawing on his previous work, Prehistoric Thailand, this book with over 40% new material, covers t
