A Biography of Cao Cao
Rafe de Crespigny is an Australian sinologist, now aged 90. He specialises in the history of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. His…

This is a slim book by Agatha Christie, unlike her usual crime detective tales. She shows her playful style here. She lets us peep into…
View More A delightful memoir – Come, Tell Me How You LiveThis 2-hour documentary is excellent. It details how the Nazis seized the art treasures of France and Italy as well as from the homes of…
View More The plunder of Europe’s art treasures – The Rape of EuropaRereading this wonderful memoir just prior to the Singapore general election, I can’t help but wonder whether the current generation of Singaporeans truly appreciate the…
View More A giant of a man – The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan YewNot up to the usual high standards of an Agatha Christie movie or a TV series, I am afraid. The movie is touted as a…
View More Not up to mark – Agatha and the Curse of IshtarThis is an intimate memoir of a run for the Presidency, the challenges facing a woman candidate and how Hillary coped with a loss that…
View More A fascinating memoir on coping with loss – What HappenedThis book is about the writer’s observations and interactions with Egyptians after the fall of Hosni Mubarak to the election of Morsi, the coup by…
View More Interactions with Egyptians – The Buried: Life, Death and Revolution in EgyptThe Nazis during World War 2 seized many of Europe’s art treasures. The Rape of Europa in book and DVD form here is about this.…
View More WW2: Saving the art treasuresThe Khyber Pass is the stuff of legends. Barely 30 miles long and no wider than 30 feet in places, it is the only entry…
View More The Khyber PassThis is an excellent book which I had read many years ago. It gives a vivid picture of the Chinese diaspora to all countries that…
View More Excellent history – Sons of the Yellow Emperor: Story of the Overseas ChineseA trip to Shanghai would not be complete without reading these 6 books. A stay would also not be complete without staying at the historical…
View More Shanghai – A decadent city