Lords of the Rim: The Invisible Empire of the Overseas Chinese

Rating:
Summary: Chinese culture
Review: Fascinating. The author selectively chose convenient tidbit from largely unsubstatiated events, and weaved them into delicious and malicious tales of the Chinese.

Had the author written a book about African-Americans with these same set of distorted lenses, he might just convince you as to how vicious, stupid, and manipulative African-Americans are.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting journey through 3,000 years of Chinese history
Review: I read this book on a trip through East and Southeast Asia and it was the perfect traveling companion, putting much of what I was seeing in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok into perspective. When I got back (to the U.S.) the Sino-Democratic Party fund raising scandals were just breaking. It was like opening a new chapter of this fascinating book on realpolitik Chinese style

Rating:
Summary: a wee gem
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this offering of Sterling Seagrave's as normally, his works would be double the thickness of this book but hey, isn't it this saying that don't judge the book by its cover? The book spanned thousands of years, going back through time in China illustrating to us what events led to the exodus of Chinese overseas. I simply couldn't put the book down reading about those legendary statesmen like Sun Ping, Sun Tzu, Wu Tze Shih, Chao Tsao, & so forth. I vaguely knew of what my older generations told me about them when I was a kid but now, everything is coming back to me. Sterling Seagrave is at his best unwoven all the complex threads that have had been set up by those master puppeteer, who in this case is none other than overseas Chinese. I don't believe the author is making up stories here at all. Many readers found the content rather far-fetched but people in the region would disagree with that because South-East Asia is undeniably an interesting place to be. Rather, I'm astounded by his in-depth knowledge of what's happening in the South East Asia. Many of the incidents mentioned were happening in my time & I could still vividly remembered what I read in the newspaper or what I heard from the older generations who used to work for those tycoons. Whilst it's true that the second part of the book is becoming overbearing (probably it's because I have known of the incidents already or that it's already been covered in other Sterling Seagrave's offering), overall, this is still a well-researched book. A job very well-done, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: A vivid and accurate analysis of the reality of China.
Review: I was struck by a feeling of deja-vu and at the same time clarity when reading this book. Having lived in Japan as a junior high and high school student, I am accutely aware of the competitiveness of Chinese students and their families. Furthermore, as a current resident in the Philippines, and previously other islands in the South Pacific, I am aware of the power of the Chinese to control the fundamental survival of their hosts. Should there be a Chinese holiday declared in Asia, other than in South Korea or mainland Japan, one would be hard pressed to buy a screwdriver or a loaf of bread...much less a tank full of gasoline. It is reassuring that the paranoia and mistrust of the decades of the 1930's and 40's, alligned against the possibility of Axis espionage and deception, is today directed elsewhere. The question is where, and why. Consider the fact that I've purchased this boolk in Asia as a paperback, paying one third the publisher's price for what has long been known as 'pirated' books. Publisher received nothing, perhaps author received nothing. Just a small example of chinese businessmen manipulating the market without concern for/ or control by morality or any concept of "fair play".Good enough...go for it!! But let the rest of us be aware and beware!!!

Rating:
Summary: needs a good editor
Review: Lots of anecdotes, allegations and speculation = a hash of a thesis.

Rating:
Summary: Fact or Fiction?
Review: Seagrave has shown, as his other books, his talent for detail and precision which can only come after intensive research and analyses. This book tells a lot of things which I, a Chinese, never got to know. The only thing I don't like is the chapter 'The Fall of the House of Chiang'. If there is a chapter on the rise of the house of Chiang, this chapter will make sense. This could be an excellent magazine article or a column in the New York Times. But inclusion of this chapter in the book under these circumstances is, to me, highly inappropriate and untimely.

Rating:
Summary: Sparkling intro-level history, followed by tabloid pap.
Review: The first part of this book is both entertaining and enlightening, an overview of historical tension in China between bureaucratic North and freewheeling, entrepreneurial South which, the author convincingly argues, has served as the impetus for the international diaspora of the overseas Chinese. Splendidly done.

Unfortunately, the second part purports to analyze the overseas Chinese themselves in a contemporary context, and proceeds to do nothing of the sort. Seagrave instead selects a series of Southeast Asian countries and fries up steamy helpings of tabloidesque gossip about a wealthy or powerful figure who has lived there. Entertaining to be sure, but singularly unhelpful for those of us who naively believed the book might deliver what its subtitle promised. The chapter on Indonesia is particularly miffing, because it focuses on the events surrounding the fall of Sukarno and the rise of Suharto, neither of whom are even ethnic Chinese. The chapter on Taiwan is a lazy regurgitation of the author's previous "Soong Dynasty," which roots out various scandals of Chiang Kai-shek and his family. There is a bountiful load of fertilizer in this topic, but it is entirely unrelated to the issue of Taiwan's role as member of the overseas Chinese community or the immigrant character of its population.

When all the dirty laundry has been aired, Seagrave apparently runs out of space and dispenses with addressing his chosen subject altogether. Ultimately, no clear picture of the overseas Chinese emerges at all. This is a pity, because the book jumps out of the gate with a good deal of promise.

Brent Heinrich, Taipei

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing & Thought Provoking
Review: This book gives a compelling view of the world of the expatriate Chinese, whom many have been settled throughout the world. Some may be rich and some may be poor. It gives a very in-depth explaination of what and how the expatriate Chinese came about and why they are so. Being a descendent of expatriate Chinese myself, I find this book very refreshing and provides me with a clearer picture of the intricacies of the workings of the Chinese, particularly in South East Asian countries. Besides that, Mr. Seagrave has also shown how the networks of the Chinese have come about and gives me a sense of things to come about. After reading this book, the reader will no doubt gain a better understanding of the cultural differences between the west and the east, particularly the Chinese. This points to a greater opportunity of cooperation and understanding between cultures and thus between governments and businesses of the west and the east.

Rating:
Summary: Important
Review: This is a Very Important Book, beautifully written by perhaps the only person who can tell the unvarnished story. It should be required reading in every school or institution. Students should be made aware of how the Real World works. And the book should be available (as elsewhere) in paperback as well as hard cover.