Charles Armstrong

North Korea, despite a shattered economy and a populace suffering from widespread hunger, has outlived repeated forecasts of its imminent demise. Charles K. Armstrong contends that a major source of North Korea's strength and resiliency, as well as of its flaws and shortcomings, lies in the poorly understood origins of its system of government. He examines the genesis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) both as an important yet rarely...

International intrigue, stolen jewels, blackmail, murder and romance in a stately home in England.

Christie's third novel, "The Murder on the Links," published in 1923, is a pivotal work in the development of her iconic detective, Hercule Poirot. This intricate mystery, set in northern France, showcases Christie's evolving mastery of the whodunit format and her skill in crafting complex, misleading plots. The novel is particularly noteworthy for its use of multiple narrators and its exploration of the unreliable narrator trope, techniques that...

The last great literary work of the Middle Ages and the first important book of the Renaissance, Dante's Divine Comedy culminates in this third and final section, Paradiso. The 14th-century allegory portrays a medieval perspective on the afterlife, tracing the poet's voyage across three realms - Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise - to investigate the concepts of sin, guilt, and redemption. Expressed in sublime verse, the trilogy concludes with this challenging...

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in the middle of the 13th century and what is principally known of him comes from his own writings. One of the world's great literary masterpieces, "The Divine Comedy" is at its heart an allegorical tale regarding man's search for divinity. The work is divided into three sections, "Inferno", "Purgatorio", and "Paradiso", each containing thirty-three cantos. It is the narrative of a journey down through Hell,...

In Agatha Christie's short story, "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat," Poirot's suspicions are aroused when he hears of a sweetheart deal on a flat. Doing a little freelance investigating, he soon learns that the flat is at the center of a case of international espionage and a potentially fatal double-cross. This short story originally appeared in the May 9, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In Agatha Christie's short story, "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb," the widow of a famous Egyptologist consults Poirot on the suspicious death of her husband and an American financier, Bleibner. The mystery takes Poirot and Hastings to Egypt to investigate the site of an archaeological dig. But who could want the two men dead? This short story originally appeared in the September 26, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

In Agatha Christie's short story, "The Double Clue," Poirot investigates the robbery of a collection of medieval jewelry from the safe of a dealer. Since the theft occurred during a dinner party, the suspects could be any of the guests. But which one? This short story originally appeared in the December 5, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

The incredible story of a once-venerable Swiss bank that produced a litany of financial scandals and whose collapse reveals the amorality at the heart of the global banking system. Credit Suisse was a 166-year-old bastion of global banking. But a veneer of high-class service disguised a darker, much dirtier reality. From its sterile Zurich headquarters, Credit Suisse banked dictators and drug dealers, hid stolen Nazi gold, and helped corrupt bankers...

In Agatha Christie's "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan," Poirot and Hastings are called on to solve the case of Mrs. Opalsen's missing set of pearls, apparently stolen during a stay at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel. The two suspects are Mrs. Opalsen's maid and the hotel chambermaid, but both blame the other. Who is the real thief? This short story originally appeared in the March 14, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.