In 1976, Peter Mann left England for Hong Kong. As a police inspector, he commanded a sub-unit and led a district vice squad in Kowloon before joining the colonial government. He then served as district officer for Wan Chai. From raids on gambling dens to organising governors’ visits, his work involved him in all levels of Hong Kong society. Come [...]
Share If you cannot view this email, please Click Here to view an online version. Unsubscribe/Update Profile | Share With Friends | Subscribe Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong NewsletterNovember 2017 New book: The Dictionary of the Asian Language The Dictionary of the Asian Languageby Todd Crowell, with cartoons by MingOf course there is no single Asian language. But plenty of vogue [...]
Join us for the sixth edition of "Meet the Authors" at Bookazine! Don't miss the chance to talk to two great writers: John Saeki, author of a colourful and alternative portrait of Hong Kong in the 1950s, The Tiger Hunters of Tai O; and Alice Poon, author of a historical novel about Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, The Green Phoenix. When: Wednesday [...]
Under-resourced and ill-prepared, three constables at the squalid Police Station on Cheung Chau stood no chance against a ruthless pirate gang in 1912. Five more policemen lost their lives in a bloodbath in Wan Chai that might have been averted. But travel forward just a little and the outcome at a hold-up in Canton Road is very different. These three [...]
Share If you cannot view this email, please Click Here to view an online version. Unsubscribe/Update Profile | Share With Friends | Subscribe Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong Newsletter October 2017 Chinese Ghosts Revisited Chinese Ghosts Revisited: A Study of Paranormal Beliefs and Experiences by Charles Emmons Do the Hong Kong Chinese experience ghosts, hauntings, spirit mediumship, ESP and other paranormal [...]
Eating Smoke author Chris Thrall is the subject of a fascinating new podcast on BFBS, the British Forces Broadcasting Service. 'Coming Home: Chris Thrall' is a feature-length story about addiction, redemption and recovery chronicling Royal Marine Chris Thrall's journey from Royal Marine Commando to a crystal meth addicted gang member of the notorious Hong Kong Triads. Chris joined the Royal [...]
Author John Saeki talks us through the process of writing his new novel, The Tiger Hunters of Tai O. The Tiger Hunters of Tai O came into existence as a direct result of hiking on Lantau island. Hikes are a great way of putting yourself in touch with places that have resisted change over the decades. You can walk off [...]
Come and hear author David Leffman talk about the “Mercenary Mandarin” at the Royal Geographical Society next week (Wednesday September 20th, 6.30pm, in Central, Hong Kong). In his talk, Leffman covers the extraordinary life of Victorian adventurer William Mesny, who spent most of his adult life in China, becoming a smuggler, a prisoner of the Taiping rebels, an arms dealer [...]
Come and meet seven Hong Kong authors -- Rachel Cartland, Larry Feign, Feng Chi-shun, Peter Mann, Jason Ng, Graham Reels and Guy Shirra -- as they celebrate, discuss and debate the 20 years that have passed since Hong Kong's handover to China in 1997. Thursday June 15, 6pm-7.30pm, at Bookazine in Prince's Building, Central. Free entry, and wine will be [...]
Syd Goldsmith’s first taste of China’s Cultural Revolution is blood on his tongue. It’s 1967. Hong Kong is simmering, plagued by communist-led riots and strikes, crippled transport, punishing water-rationing, takeover threats from Beijing and roadside bombs. And Syd — the only Caucasian Foreign Service Officer at the American Consulate General who speaks Cantonese — is made responsible for reporting and [...]
Fifty years ago today, Syd Goldsmith was almost beaten to death by an angry mob in Hong Kong. On May 11, 1967, amid rumours of unrest at a factory, Syd, then a young US diplomat on his first offshore posting, was sent out into the streets to get a first-hand look. He quickly found himself in deep trouble amid the [...]
Lena Sin, one half of the team behind How to Hong Kong, tells us how their illustrated book came about... The idea for How to Hong Kong sprung from my husband’s mind, not mine. Though it would become something of an obsession for me, I was steadfastly against it at the beginning. “I think you should write a book about [...]
Ray Hecht says: I’ll be in Shanghai on March 24th, at Garden Books, for a public reading from my novel South China Morning Blues. I’m very excited to be able to do this in Shanghai, the most epic city in China. Last year on my book tour I was able to travel to Beijing, among other cities, and of course all [...]
I was pleased to be interviewed about local book publishing by Elaine Yau of the South China Morning Post. We held the interview in the Blacksmith office in Fo Tan and then went to the roof of the industrial building next door for a fun photo shoot by Xiaomei Chen (who has some great photo essays on her website). "Hong [...]
On the evening of Wednesday January 18th, you're invited to Bookazine's first "Meet the Authors" session in Prince's Building, Central. Among the writers present will be Peter Mann with his new memoir Sheriff of Wan Chai. Wine will be served and stories will be told. Full details in the evite above. Hope to see you there!
Fred Schneiter spent 30 years working in and around China, and came to recognise the value of keeping an open mind and learning something new every day. You’re likely to learn something too if you read this excerpt from his book, Getting Along with the Chinese. Chinese Mice Don’t Eat Cheese IN THE EARLY DAYS of our wheat food [...]
Share If you cannot view this email, please Click Here to view an online version. Unsubscribe/Update Profile | Share With Friends | Subscribe Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong Newsletter November 2016 New book: How to Hong Kong How to Hong Kong: An illustrated travel journalby Lena Sin and Nicholas Tay In this joyful travel sketchbook, Hong Kong is captured through the [...]
In 1976, Peter Mann left a gloomy England for the last corner of the British empire: Hong Kong. As a police inspector, he commanded a sub-unit and led a district vice squad in Kowloon, before joining the colonial government’s Administrative Service and working in the fields of transport, housing, security, environment and tourism. He also served as District Officer for [...]