Martin Booth

Over the last three centuries, wherever the Chinese have emigrated, they have taken their outlawed secret brotherhoods. Booth tells the story of the Triads, from their beginnings over two thousand years ago to the unrivalled criminal empire they operate today.

A fascinating chronicle of opium's effect on the world's history and culture discusses its prehistoric use in religious rituals, its role in international wars and in great art, and the current state of the powerful heroin industry. Reprint. 15,000 first printing. LJ. K. NYT.

Nicholas Highgate, separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, is smuggled to the mainland by his Chinese nurse and disguised as a Chinese boy. As he grows to manhood he witnesses the atrocities and deprivations of the Japanese occupation and is himself drawn into the Communist resistance activities. The book ends when the Japanese surrender and Nicholas is reunited with what remains of his family.