Welcome!
The world is looking at the Asia-Pacific region with new interest. Blacksmith Books publishes non-fiction about Hong Kong, China and the wider region – mostly in the fields of biography, business, culture, current affairs, food, history, photography and travel. And through bookshops in Asia, the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, we present the works of our local and expat authors to a worldwide readership.
From this website, we deliver books all over the world. Delivery within Hong Kong, Macao and other parts of China is free of charge.
Please use the links to explore. And thanks for reading.
Recent publications
What people are saying about our books
“Through Carter’s journey of self-discovery, we end up discovering a little more about ourselves — and a land so vast, so disparate, that 638 pages of photos barely manage to scratch the surface.”
“Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures the heart and soul of the Chinese people.”
“The recipes are clear, with many dishes illustrated with mouth-watering pictures and, best of all, they work. This is a valuable contribution to the Chinese culinary scene.”
“It’s that sense of commonality that makes Street Life Hong Kong by its end a celebration of our city and the spirit of the people who inhabit it.”
“Hui’s story gives us glimpses of a Hong Kong – the opium dens, the pool halls, the nightclubs, the casinos and the girls, girls, girls – not adequately reflected in official histories of the city.”
“Year of Fire Dragons is not only a riveting coming of age story, but also a testament to the distance people will travel for love.”
“Jason Y. Ng is back with a new book of insights after casting his perceptive gaze over the good, bad and ugly side of city life.”
“Hong Kong for Kids is an invaluable resource for helping us design fun, wonderful learning activities for our students all over Hong Kong.”
Recent blog posts and news
Free talk by Les Bird: “Revisiting Hong Kong’s Vietnamese Refugee History”, October 13th
This session of Tai Kwun Conversations accompanies the opening of a new permanent heritage exhibition at F Hall, which makes reference to the historical function of Victoria Prison as a place of detention for Vietnamese boat people and undocumented immigrants from different places. It brings together two speakers from diverse backgrounds to share personal and [...]
Book extract: Riding out Typhoon Rose in Hong Kong
Riding Out Typhoon Rose by Iain Ward Typhoon Rose was one of the worst storms to hit Hong Kong in the last fifty years. Winds gusted between 130 knots (150 mph) and 150 knots (172 mph) and some 12 inches of rain fell during the storm. Over 150 people were killed (no one knows the [...]
Book excerpt: Hong Kong footballer Derek Currie tells of playing alongside Kenny Dalglish as teenagers
The photo is from Kowloon's Kai Tak Stadium tonight, as Liverpool FC play AC Milan: stadium CEO John Sharkey presents Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish with a copy of When ‘Jesus’ Came to Hong Kong, Derek Currie's book about being the first European football star to play in Asia. Currie came to the city [...]
Video: watch Bill Lascher’s FCC talk about wartime China
The Foreign Correspondents' Club's wall exhibition this month has featured the photography of Melville Jacoby -- an American freelance journalist, United Press stringer, and foreign correspondent for TIME and LIFE magazines who covered WWII in China, French Indochina (present-day Vietnam) and the Philippines. This photo collection of wartime Chungking (Chongqing) was inspired by the book [...]
Photo exhibition of wartime China: on show at the FCC this month
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) is a well-known gathering spot in Hong Kong. It has a surprisingly tumultuous history. Founded in Japanese-occupied China in 1941, the Club’s first base was in Chongqing (Chungking), a city controlled by Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. As the Chinese civil war intensified, the club moved with the action, first to [...]