Thousands of prices just dropped across Thryft
Our price drop is now live! Find lowered prices on thousands of one-of-a-kind finds across Thryft
Free delivery on all orders above RM80 to Malaysia
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Find more of what you love

Get thoughtful picks from Thryft’s ever-changing collection of pre-loved books, vinyl and CDs—plus occasional sales and events.

By signing up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Thryft. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Just Arrived

Somebody Else's Century: East and West in a Post-Western World

by Patrick Smith
RM45.00 MYR
Somebody Else's Century: East and West in a Post-Western World
Somebody Else's Century: East and West in a Post-Western World

Modernity Beyond Western Imitation

Patrick Smith examines how Japan, China, and India adopted Western technologies and ideas while defending their traditions. Across three essays, he distinguishes modernization from becoming modern and explores the phenomenon known as doubling. Blending reflection with reportage, Smith considers Asia’s relationship with history and its emerging post-Western identity.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Just Arrived

Somebody Else's Century: East and West in a Post-Western World

by Patrick Smith
RM45.00 MYR
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

ISBN: 9780375425509
Author: Patrick Smith
Publisher: Pantheon
Date of Publication: 2010-08-31
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: History, Sociology
Related Topics: Anthropology, World History, Asia
Goodreads rating: 4.13
(rated by 32 readers)

Description

From one of our foremost experts on Asia and its history comes this brilliant dissection of the relationship between East and West. In three succinct essays, Patrick Smith investigates the East’s endeavor to adopt Western technology and all that we consider modern. He underscores a crucial distinction between modernization (the simple emulation of the West) and the true task of “becoming modern.” He examines the strategies that three prominent cultures—those of Japan, China, and India—evolved as they encountered materialistic foreign cultures and imported ideas while defending their own traditions. The result, Smith explains, has often been called “doubling”—a division of the self wherein Asians are receptive to Western products and ideas but simultaneously reject these same imports to emphasize the validity of the “unmodern.” Employing an exceptional combination of reflection and reportage, Smith also examines the often troubled relationship Asians have with history as a result of their encounters with the West. Finally, he considers Asia’s twenty-first-century attempt to define itself without reference to the West for the first time in modern history. The author foresees a new balance in the East-West dialogue—one in which the East transcends old ideals of nationhood (another Western import). Smith asserts that there are fundamental lessons in Asia’s long struggle with the West. In the twenty-first century, the East will challenge the West just as the West once challenged the East. This is a book of exceptional significance and extraordinary depth.
 

Modernity Beyond Western Imitation

Patrick Smith examines how Japan, China, and India adopted Western technologies and ideas while defending their traditions. Across three essays, he distinguishes modernization from becoming modern and explores the phenomenon known as doubling. Blending reflection with reportage, Smith considers Asia’s relationship with history and its emerging post-Western identity.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

History Books

Shop all
From Pakatan Harapan to Perikatan Nasional: A Missed Opportunity for Reforms for East Malaysia?
Anantha Raman Govindasamy | Iseas - Yusof Ishak Institute

From Pakatan Harapan to Perikatan Nasional: A Missed Opportunity for Reforms for East Malaysia?

In one line

Malaysia’s unfinished federal promise, viewed from Borneo

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Very Good

RM45.00 MYR

Harvard Rules: Lawrence Summers and the Battle for the World's Most Powerful University — Sex, Ambition, and Elite Power at America's Institution
Richard Bradley | Harper Perennial

Harvard Rules: Lawrence Summers and the Battle for the World's Most Powerful University — Sex, Ambition, and Elite Power at America's Institution

In one line

Ivy League power, ego, scandal, and upheaval

Goodreads 3.37

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR RM41.00 MYR 21% off

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar - Thryft
ko ko thett, Brian Haman | Ethos Books

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar

In one line

Poetic defiance capturing Myanmar's turbulent spring.

Goodreads 4.61

Condition: Well Read

RM22.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 32% off

80% off est. retail
Granta 173: India
Thomas Meaney | Granta Magazine

Granta 173: India

In one line

A many-voiced portrait of India now

Goodreads 3.9

Condition: Very Good

RM45.00 MYR RM34.00 MYR 24% off

All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America
Michael Wolff | Hachette Intl

All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America

In one line

Insider chaos from Trump’s wildest comeback

Goodreads 3.75

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
Mahatma Gandhi | Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule

In one line

Reflections on Indian independence, modernity, and morality.

Goodreads 3.79

Condition: Very Good

RM182.00 MYR RM78.00 MYR 57% off

Declaration Universelle Des Droits De L'Homme Dans 6 Langues ONU
Various | Folio

Declaration Universelle Des Droits De L'Homme Dans 6 Langues ONU

In one line

Multilingual exposition of universal human rights.

Goodreads 4.5

Condition: Well Read

RM15.00 MYR

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Michael Lewis | Penguin

Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon

In one line

Spectacular crypto tycoon's rise and catastrophic fall.

Goodreads 3.83

Condition: Well Read

RM63.00 MYR RM41.00 MYR 35% off

75% off est. retail
Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods
Amelia Pang | Algonquin Books

Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America's Cheap Goods

In one line

Exposing hidden human costs in global consumerism.

Goodreads 4.35

Condition: Good

RM41.00 MYR RM34.00 MYR 17% off

72% off est. retail
The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story
Sebastian Payne | Pan Macmillan

The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story

In one line

Insightful chronicle of Boris Johnson’s political descent.

Goodreads 3.7

RM52.00 MYR RM26.00 MYR 50% off

65% off est. retail

Sociology Books

Shop all
Deepening the Understanding of Social Media’s Impact in Southeast Asia
Ross Tapsell | Iseas - Yusof Ishak Institute

Deepening the Understanding of Social Media’s Impact in Southeast Asia

In one line

For readers exploring Southeast Asia’s overlooked digital diversity

Goodreads 0.0

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR

The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing
Sonia Faleiro | Bloomsbury Publishing

The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing

In one line

True crime explores misogyny, shame, and violence.

Goodreads 3.76

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM22.00 MYR 35% off

58% off est. retail
The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love
Rachel Feder | Quirk Books

The Darcy Myth: Jane Austen, Literary Heartthrobs, and the Monsters They Taught Us to Love

In one line

Examining Darcy's monstrous influence on romance.

Goodreads 3.14

Condition: Like New

RM60.00 MYR RM41.00 MYR 32% off

To Gather Your Leaving: Asian Diaspora Poetry from America, Australia, UK & Europe
Arin Alycia Fong, Justin Chia, Boey Kim Cheng | Ethos Books

To Gather Your Leaving: Asian Diaspora Poetry from America, Australia, UK & Europe

In one line

Poetic navigation of belonging and global mobility.

Goodreads 3.9

Condition: Very Good

RM26.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 42% off

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar - Thryft
ko ko thett, Brian Haman | Ethos Books

Picking off new shoots will not stop the spring: Witness poems and essays from Burma/Myanmar

In one line

Poetic defiance capturing Myanmar's turbulent spring.

Goodreads 4.61

Condition: Well Read

RM22.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 32% off

80% off est. retail
We-Think
Charles Leadbeater | Profile Books

We-Think

In one line

Collaborative innovation reshaping society's dynamics.

Goodreads 3.65

Condition: Very Good

RM63.00 MYR RM48.00 MYR 24% off

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
Adam Kay | Picador

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

In one line

Darkly funny Christmas on the hospital front line

Goodreads 4.11

Condition: Very Good

RM43.00 MYR

Clean: The New Science of Skin
James Hamblin | Riverhead Books

Clean: The New Science of Skin

In one line

Reshaping perceptions of skin health and hygiene.

Goodreads 3.89

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR RM37.00 MYR 29% off

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
Anne Applebaum | Doubleday

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

In one line

Sharp insight into democracy's authoritarian temptations

Goodreads 3.89

Condition: Very Good

RM45.00 MYR

63% off est. retail
Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competitive Age
Matt Feeney | Basic Books

Little Platoons: A Defense of Family in a Competitive Age

In one line

Examines family's role against societal competition.

Goodreads 3.74

Condition: Well Read

RM56.00 MYR RM26.00 MYR 54% off

You might enjoy this if…

View book details