The son from the West : From comfort to danger zone

Cromer, Evelyn200707UU

Books, Manuscripts

Find it!
Remove The son from the West : From comfort to danger zone from your current list Save The son from the West : From comfort to danger zone to your current list

Total copies: 1

Available: 1

Availability by location

Place reservation

Summary

In this autobiography, The Rt Hon the Earl of Cromer looks back at a life spent in great part in the Far East and spanning a period of enormous change. This is the compelling yarn of a young man of noble birth who jettisoned the expectations of his famous banking family to strike out on his own. Ignoring the airline advertisements, he set out on an aging steamer for Thailand clutching little more than a vague invitation to a royal household in Bangkok. 'Adopted' by a Thai princess, he quickly learned the language, and there begins a tale of fleeting loves and mayhem. Struck by a tropical disease and abandoned in a Buddhist temple in the jungle, he recovers only to be persecuted by corrupt Thai policemen, trailed by government spies, nearly murdered by American soldiers, shot at by the Vietcong, ambushed by the Khmer Rouge and bloodied by rampaging rioters in Beijing. A hectic career spanning teaching English to the Thai police force, covering the war in Laos and Vietnam for an international newspaper, managing companies in Singapore, Jakarta, Manila and Hong Kong all come to life in this fast-moving story of Asian inscrutability, intrigue and sometimes, sheer calumny. A fascinating collage of eastern and western characters, some venal and some lissomly beautiful, flit across the pages as Far Eastern countries emerge from colonialism, unrest and war in the 1970s and 80s. Critical of the cosseted life of the typical expatriate we are introduced to oriental princes, Chinese businessmen, communist bureaucrats and Asian courtesans. Then one of the great hongs (trading houses) of Hong Kong gives Evelyn Errington (Earl of Cromer) the long-dreamed-of opportunity to become a pioneer in the greatest market of all, the sleeping giant of China. As China awakens, so does his business expand over seventeen years until the thriving enterprise is broken and destroyed by myopic management in London. How the hong threw away Errington's efforts and successes at a time when the world was struggling to gain an entry into China is a riveting must-read book for anyone interested in China and the Far East.Review: "Written with great flair and self deprecating humour... funny, perceptive and disarmingly honest... this is a book that businessmen in the East can read for profit and the rest of us can read for pleasure."Daily Mail.