Invented in China
Francis Bacon said the three greatest inventions are paper and printing, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass. All three were invented in China by the Chinese.…
Coffee table book – China, the Long March
This is a wonderful coffee table book published in 1986 for the 50th anniversary of the Long March. Renowned photographers foreign and Chinese retraced the…
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A brief book – Churchill’s Final Farewell: The State and Private Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill
I won’t call this an illustrated book. It is a text with some pictures. The merit of this book is that it is the only…
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Biography – The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China
The absence of a bibliography is a serious defect in this hardcover edition published by Harvard University Press. It is a pity as Jay Taylor…
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A historical record – Heaven is High, the Emperor Far Away: Merchants and Mandarins in Old Canton
I read this book for my sojourn to Canton, Zhuhai via Macau from 2 to 6 Nov 2019. The city of Canton is nowadays seen…
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A myth – Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China
As of May 2009, this is still the latest substantial biography on the Empress Dowager. Sterling Seagrave in this very thoroughly researched biography of the…
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Too brief – London: A Short History
This is a slim book, about 150 pages. Wilson is a prolific writer. However, this is not an easy history of London to read. It…
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Excellent history – The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj
This is an excellent book on how the men of the Indian Civil Service worked and lived from Chota hazri to sundown; how a mere…
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A wonderful book – Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire
It is appropriate that I finished reading this book at the stroke of midnight 14 August 2007. This first book by the author is a…
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A good travel book – Nine Lives: Encounters with the Holy in Modern India
William Dalrymple is one of my favourite authors. This is his latest book. It is a travel book. There are 9 chapters on his conversations…
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Excellent translation – The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun
Lu Xun is famous for his short stories which point out the lack of compassion and lack of honesty in Chinese society during late Imperial…
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