A series of books focusing on China's regional development is underway at Oxford University Press. Two titles Guangdong: China's Promised Land and Fujian: Gateway to Taiwan ($195 each) are out already with six more planned. Edited by Brian Hook, the series aim to give academics and business people background and analysis on the dynamics at work in these areas. Pakistan came into existence in 1947. One of the players in this historic event was the English-language paper Dawn, edited by Altaf Husain. In From Mutiny to Mountbatten (Kegan Paul $595), his daughter Zeba Zubair examines Husain's role and the influence of his newspaper in the struggle to establish a homeland for India's Muslims. The Uncommon Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, edited by Bill Adler (Little Brown $150), is a 160-page book comprising snippets from the Great Communicator. Serious and humorous remarks on Reagan's early life and time as president are on offer. In A Woman Doctor's Guide to Miscarriage (Hyperion $140), American gynaecologist Lynn Friedman (with Irene Daria) provides up-to-date information on pregnancy loss, an event seen as routine by medics but potentially devastating to those who experience it. Friedman deals with the myths surrounding miscarriage, looks at the latest research and tackles the emotional upheavals which can result. Lawyer Gerry Spence is not a man to pick a verbal fight with. He tells you why in How to Argue and Win Every Time (Pan $65). He also explains how to gain this useful skill yourself, when to use it, and the best way to employ it at work. How To Think Like a CEO, by D A Benton (Warner $240), has its sights set on the highest rungs of the corporate ladder. The first step is to find out how chief executives operate. It puts forward 22 qualities which potential top managers require (including being gutsy, willing to lead and admit mistakes). It also suggests what behaviour to avoid. Penguin's book of the month for August is Charlotte Lamb's Walking in Darkness ($75). The thriller finds two women, one born to wealth, the other poverty, on a collision course during a presidential nomination campaign. Stephen King's Green Mile monthly serial reaches its penultimate episode in Night Journey (Penguin $25). Prison guards allow killer John Coffey to use his strange powers to assist a sick woman.