Blog Archive

Wednesday 4 June 2014

New Arrivals in June

New Arrivals in June



As of 27thth June 2014

(Updated Constantly)



Listed below are books which have arrived at The Penang Bookshelf recently.  (All prices are post free within Malaysia. If you live outside Malaysia, please ask for a quote for postage.)

Prices are shown in Malaysian Ringgit in blue.  If you're looking for prices in other major currencies, you should be able to find them in The Penang Bookshelf Full Catalogue which is updated regularly. Books sold will be so marked. So if you want to order any of them or want further details of any of the books before you make up your mind, do contact me at penangbookshelf@gmail.com.

By the time you read this, some of the titles may already be on the Penang Bookshelf website and eBay store. Do check. Prices are in Malaysian Ringgit in the eBay store and is US Dollars on the main website. Each site has a new arrivals page for the current and previous months. Where the title is underlined, it is linked to a fuller description of the book on www.penangbookshlef.com or in The Penang Bookshelf's eBay store.
The books are all used unless indicated otherwise. Abbreviations used are A = Acceptable, CD = CD Included, DJ = Dust Jacket, EL = Ex-library, F = Fine/AsNew, G = Good,  HB = Hardback, LB = Leatherbound, N = New, NF = Near Fine, PB = Paperback, SG = Author Signed Copy, SC = Slip Case and VG = Very Good


  • A Bibliography of Literature Relating to The Malayan Campaign and the Japanese Period in Malaya, Singapore and Northern Borneo - Justin Corfield (ed) While most of the entries in this bibliography are English language titles, there also articles and books in other languages. 86 pages. (University of Hull, 1988 ISBN: 9780859585576) PB VG RM150
  • A Book, A Pen and A Dream of Far - Saiful Nizam Shukor A collection of poems by a  science fiction novelist, musician, poet and 'New Age consultant.'  (Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia, 2013 ISBN: 9789674301156) PB N RM40

  •  A Geography of Trade and Development in Malaya - PP Courtenay (Bell & Sons, London, 1972) Please see the scan of the contents page for further details. HB G DJ EL RM50


  • Borneo & Beyond: Journey Through A Changing World - Peter Eaton (Pelanduk, 2007 ISBN: 9789679789447) The memoirs of British man who first came to Malaya as a soldier during the "Emergency." He later was headmaster of a school in Kuching, an environmentalist in Papua New Guinea and then came back to education with the Universiti Brunei Darusalam. PB N RM40
  • Borneo People - Malcolm MacDonald (Alfred A Knopf, 1958) HB G DJ EL RM70
  • British Intervention in Malaya 1867-1877 - C Northcote Parkinson - The book concentrates on the ten years when the states of Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Selangor were absorbed into the British Empire. Although at the time colonial officials claimed that they were 'forced' to intervene because of alleged political instability in these states, Parkinson rather sees the British intervention as part of a determined expansion of British rule east of their Indian base. 384 pages with an index and appendices (University pf Malaya Press, 1960) HB G EL RM160
  • Buddhist Trends in Southeast Asia - Trevor Ling (ed) As with all religions, Buddhism in Southeast Asia has adapted itself to local conditions. In this work the varieties of Buddhism in Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand are reviewed by a group of authoritative academics. 189 pages with an index (ISEAS, 1993 ISBN: 9789813035812) PB VG RM100
  • Chinese Beliefs and Practices in Southeast Asia - Cheu Hock Tong (ed) 
  • Class and Communalism in Malaysia: Politics in a Dependent Capitalist State - Hua Wu Yin The author seeks to demonstrate how colonial policies were easily transformed into communalist policies following independence. Basing his work on previously unpublished British colonial records, he moves on to look at how political processes are manipulated by capital and class in 'nominally independent countries.' 230 pages including notes, a bibliography and an index (Zed Books, 1983 ISBN: 9780862321819)   HB G EL RM80
  • Datu Bandar: Abang Hj Mustapha of Sarawak - Bob Reece 
  • East of Kinabalu: Tales From the Borneo Jungle - Leslie Davidson - The author, an employee of the global company, Unilever, was one of the people responsible for establishing the Tugud palm oil plantation estate in Labuk, Sabah. This is his account of his experiences from the early 1960s until his retirement a decade later. (Incorporated Society of Planters, 2007 ISBN: 9789679949490) HB VG SG RM120

  • Encountering the Globalizing West - Hashim Hj Musa - The author seeks to set forth a Malay Islamic view of civilisation that he claims comes from a different standpoint than the globalising force of the West. One essential difference that he sees is Malay Islamic culture's emphasis on 'the perfection of the human soul' rather than scientific and technological progress. 109 pages.   (University of Malaya Press, 2004 ISBN: 9789831002278) PB N RM40
  • Equality Under Construction: Malaysian Women's Human Rights Report 2010/11 - Empower - Malaysia is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This book is intended to be an audit of how well Malaysia was meeting its obligations under the treaty at the time the book was published. 386 pages (SIRD, 2012 ISBN: 9789671083604) PB N RM60

  • Festival of Hungry Ghosts - Hugh Hickling  (Pelanduk, 1997 ISBN: 9789679789447) A murder mystery set in Sarawak amidst tensions between the Chinese, European and Malay communities by the late Hugh Hickling who led a distinguished career both as a colonial legal officer and then as an academic PB N RM40

  • Generation: A Collection of Contemporary Malaysian Ideas - Amir Muhammad & Others - A collection of previously published articles by three new writers emerging onto the 1990s literary scene in Malaysia. In the heyday of the Mahathir era, they sought to demonstrate that there were other voices to be heard. 199 pages (Hikayat Press, 1997. ISBN: 9789839933918) HB G RM100
  • Geology & Mineral Resources of the Kinta Valley, Perak - FT Ingham & EF Bradford .(Federation of Malaya Geological Survey, 1960)  
  • Glimpses of the Past: Stories from Singapore and Malaysia - Wong Meng Voon (Heinemann, 1989)  SOLD
  • Guerilla Communism in Malaya: Its Social and Political Meaning - Lucian W Pye (Princeton University Press, 1956)
  • I Am Muslim - Dina Zaman - The author, the daughter of a Malaysian diplomat, was mainly brought up outside Malaysia until the age of 15. On returning to the country she set out to discover what being a Muslim meant to her and to her fellow Muslim Malaysians. Because Zaman does not come to discover her faith from a background of traditional teaching, her thoughts can be shocking, even scandalous, but none of that shakes, but rather deepens, her faith. 236 pages (Silverfish Books, 2007 ISBN: 9789833221158) PB N RM50
  • I Can Draw - Delwin Cheah  (One East Museum, 2013 ISBN: 9789671155615) 

  • Iban Longhouse: A Selection of Physical and Spiritual Aspects - Roland Werner (University of Malaya Press, 2013ISBN: 9789831004272)  PB N RM100
  • Indians in Malaya: Immigration and Settlement 1786-1957 - Kernial Singh Sandhu (Cambridge University Press, 1969) HB G EL RM100
  • Islam and Economic Globalization - Hassanuddeen Abdul Aziz - Globalisation, i.e. the spread of Western values and economic influence, has, the author states, been of benefit to the minority and marginalised the majority. It claims to be transparent and offer equal opportunity, but does neither. Having examined the effects of globalisation, the author concludes by proposing an Islamic globalisation based on the gold dinar rather than the US dollar. 90 pages  - (University of Malaya Press, 2010 ISBN: 9789831004883) PB N RM50
  • Islamic Finance: A Comparative Jurisprudential Study - Hassam Elsefy - This work is devoted to the concept of al-damman, a form of guarantee, under Islamic law. He argues that, because of its longer history, its protection of the individual and her/his property is far more effective than similar and more common forms of guarantee under Western legal systems.  (University of Malaya Press, 2007) PB N RM40
  • Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule  - Anthony Milner (Association for Asian Studies, 1982) HB F RM230

  • Malaysian Flavours: Insights into Things Malaysian - Lee Su Kim (Pelanduk, 2005 ISBN: 9789679785173) In this revised and expanded second edition, the author updates her amusing and insightful collection of articles on life in Malaysia at the beginning of the 21st century. The book starts with a few chapters on Manglish, Malaysian English, and then moves onto both enjoyable and annoying aspects of daily living, some reflections on snapshots of history and much else that makes the book a light, but worthwhile, introduction to the country. PB N RM40
  • Putting to Rest: The Claim to Sabah of the Self-Proclaimed Sultanate of Sulu -  Abdul Gani Patail (Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia, 2013) PB N RM50
  • Report from Malaya - Vernon Bartlett (Criterion Books)  HB G EL RM80
  • Redistribution Policies for the Rural Poor of Developing Countries - Yuji Tamura (University of Malaya Press, 2003) PB N RM40
  • Rethinking the Mosque in Modern Muslim Society - Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi (Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia, 2014) PB N RM60
  • Sequel to Colonialism:  The 1957-1960 Foundations for Malaysia - Willard A Hanna (American Universities Field Staff, 1965) HB G EL RM60
  • Singapore & The Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 - John N. Miksic (Singapore University Press, 2013)  PB N RM150
  • Striving for Change - Dzulkefly Ahmad - A collection of essays by one of the moderate wing of Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS), the opposition party with a reputation for wanting to change Malaysia into more of a Muslim state than it is already. The wide range of topics included cover not only the state of the nation as seen from PAS' point of view but also gives the reader an interesting insight into the thought processes of PAS itself. With an introduction by Karim Raslan, a self described 'politically and secular Muslim.' 289 pages (Buku Haraka, 2012 ISBN: 9789833172399) PB N RM50
  • Templer, Tiger of Malaya - Johan Cloake
  • The Chulia in Penang: Patronage and Place-Making Around the Kapitan Kling Mosque, 1786-1957 - Khoo Salma Nasution When the British East India Company established itself in Penang in 1786, it was natural that Indian, either under indenture or as adventurers, would follow. The most numerous group of Indian migrants were plantation workers of whom much has been written. Less well known were the Chulia, Tamil Muslims, who played a vital role in the city's commercial growth. Khoo Salma devotes this extensively researched book to exploring their role in Penang until independence, emphasising particularly the supportive and cohesive functions of the community based around the main Chulia mosque on the island. 529 pages (Areca, 2014 ISBN: 9789675719158) HB N  RM140
  • The Cultural Heritage of Malaya - NJ Ryan 
  • The Headman Was a Woman: The Gender Egalitarian Batek of Malaysia -  Kirk Michael Endicott & Karen L. Endicott - The authors set out to describe the way of life of the Batek, one of the last remaining groups of hunter gatherers in Southeast Asia. They hope that the book will not only benefit other outsiders, but also future generations of Batek, as their traditional way of life changes. The research on which this book is based was carried out mainly in the mid-1970s, but has been updated to 2004. 249 pages including a list of references and * a 37 minute DVD 'The Batek: Rainforest Foragers of Kelantan, Malaysia' showing the way of life described in the book. (Center for Orang Asli Concerns, 2012 ISBN: 9789834324889) PB N RM50
  • The Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941-1945 - Paul H Kratoska (University of Hawaii, 1997) HB F DJ RM140 
  • The Life of Sir Frederic Weld, GCMG - Alice, Lady Lovat (John Murray, 1914) 

  • The Malay Language and How to Learn It - CN Maxwell (Kyle, Palmer, Kuala Lumpur, 1933. 2nd Impression) Not so much a teach yourself book, but rather a guide as to how to learn the language. Please see the scan of the contents page for further details. HB VG RM190
  • The Malay Raja: A Study of Malay Political Culture in East Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula in the Early Nineteenth Century - Anthony Milner (Cornell University, 1977)
    PB VG RM330
  • The Malayan Emergency & Indonesian Confrontation: The Commonwealth Wars, 1948-1966 - Robert Jackson (Pen & Sword, UK, 2011 ISBN: 9781848845558) Please see the scan of the contents page for further details.  PB NF RM120
  • The Underworld of the East - James S Lee (Green Magic, 2000)  PB VG RM60
 
  • The White Crocodile's Tale: My Memoirs -  JMB Hughes The memoirs of a dedicated teacher who taught in various schools in Malaya between 1948 and 1963 including the Penang Free School, where he was headmaster. His family were encouraged to publish this reminiscences by his former pupils, many of whom rose to prominent positions in the arts, business and politics in Malaysia's formative years. 292 pages (Areca, 2014 ISBN: 9789675719127)  HB N RM60
  • Therapeutic Exercises for Stiff Joints and Muscles Ache - Mah Chai Soon (University of Malaya Press, 1997) PB NF RM50
  • Tock Tock Birds: A Spider in the Web of International Terrorism - Tim Hatton (Pelanduk, 2007 ISBN: 9789679789447) An autobiography of a British officer who was both involved with providing protection to civilians at the time of Partition in India and in leading British operations against communist guerillas in Malaya. In Malaya he rose to be Director of Intelligence PB N RM60
  • UMNO Politics: Abdullah Badawi's Dilemma - Yahaya Ismail (Usaha Teguh, 2003) PB VG RM70
  • View Over the Bay - Raymond Flower (Bayview Beach Resort, 1994)   HB VG SG RM80
  • We Are Playing Relatives: A Survey of Malay Writing - Henk Maier (KILTV Press, 2004)
    PB VG RM160
  • Wings Over Malaya - George Richey (Bishop Street Press, 2005) PB VG RM40