Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City by Stella Dong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shanghai from 1850 to 1950 or so was an incredibly interesting place and time. This book captures the zeitgeist very well. Lots of well researched examples of life in the fast lane in Shanghai. It is however quite confusing because important historical events and figures are sort of sprinkled through the book like salt and pepper, rather than being introduced and analyzed clearly as a historian usually would. I was particularly interested to read this book because my maternal grandparents lived in China in the 30's and 40's (my mother was born there) departing Shanghai for the USA in April, 1949 and my wife's grandfather was born and raised in Pudong, before emigrating to Indonesia in the 1920's.

View all my reviews