Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Books
D
on't expect too much variety in English-language reading material
in Shanghai, and what is available will mostly be expensive imports.
You will, though, find, cheap editions of Chinese and Western classics
published in English by Chinese publishers. In the reviews below, titles
marked with a
A
are particularly recommended.
History
Robert Bickers
Empire Made Me: An
Englishman Adrift in Shanghai
(Allen
Lane, UK). This readable but carefully
researched tale humanizes the conces-
sion era by focusing on one English
policeman who is both toughened
and corrupted by his experiences.
Nien Cheng
Life and Death in
Shanghai
(Flamingo, UK; Penguin,
US)
.
One of many “my years of hell
in the Cultural Revolution” books,
but this one is better than most,
with absorbing descriptions of life in
Shanghai in the bad old days of dour
ideological purity.
Stella Dong
and Fall of a Decadent City 1842-
1949
(HarperCollins, UK; Harper
Perennial, US)
.
Excellent popular
history, vivid and readable, though
with rather an anti-foreigner bias.
Plenty of salacious stories of opium,
flower girls, squalor and debauchery.
Harriet Sargeant
Shanghai
(John
Murray, UK)
.
Academic and broad-
ranging exploration of the city
during the concession era, giving
equal weight to both Chinese and
foreign inhabitants, and particularly
good on their interrelations.
Society and business
Radha Chadha and Paul
Husband
The Cult of the Luxury
Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with
Luxury
(Nicholas Brealey)
.
Why
do so many Chinese girls spend
two months' salary on a purse? This
examination of the cult of branding
will help you get to grips with the
mores of modern Shanghai.
Tim Clissold
Mister China
(Constable & Robinson, UK)
.
Engaging and eye-opening real-
life horror story of how a Western
venture capitalist lost US$400 million
in China, thanks largely to fraud and
malfeasance by his local partners. It's
not Shanghai-specific but is a must for
anyone thinking of tackling China's
“eccentric” business environment.
James Farrer
Opening Up: Yo u t h
Sex Culture & Market Reform in
Shanghai
(University of Chicago
Press, US). An original and engross-
ing piece of social anthropology,
based on interviews, that uses an
examination of Shanghai's sexual
revolution to make some telling
points.
Sun Tzu
The Art of Wa r.
“Lure
them with the prospect of gain,
then take them by confusion”; this
classic treatise on military strategy is
as relevant now as it was when it was
written, nearly three thousand years
ago. Short and to the point, it's full
of pithy maxims that can be applied
to many aspects of life, particularly
business.
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