Rate this book

When America First Met China: An Exotic History Of Tea, Drugs, And Money In The Age Of Sail (2012)

by Eric Jay Dolin(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0871404338 (ISBN13: 9780871404336)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Liverght (division of W. W. Norton)

review 1: The author is enthusiastic about his subject, but I did not find it infectious. He goes in several different directions, giving a brief history of China's maritime trade, explaining why trade was restricted to Canton, and finally getting into the British and American trade. He tackles each trade subject thoroughly and sequentially, moving from one major trade item to the next, starting with seal and otter pelts, along with sandalwood (all nearly depleted within a generation), tea, sea cucumber, and porcelain. We then take an even darker turn with the Opium Wars and the Coolie trade, which the US was more tangential to, but still benefitted from. The experience of reading the book was like going down the wikipedia wormhole, starting with one subject and then moving on t... moreo one after another. The book was therefore informative but somewhat shapeless other than its chronological structure. However, it did make me think about what we are seeing today with China's economic needs: if China wants a certain item, the rest of the world is willing to cause great environmental devastation trying to sell it to China.
review 2: Eric Dolin is a good story teller, who captivates his audience with his popular writing style. I most enjoyed when he uses specifics to get to the heart of the story. For example he details America's first ship employed in the China Trade after US independence is formally acheived, some of the trade and conflict in the Canton system, or mutinies in the coolie trade. I was fascinated by his detail in the development of shipping building in the form of earliest clippers built for the China trade, the sailing times, competition with Britain, commercial factors driving it, and its participatory roots the competitive sprit leading to the popular sporting of today's America's Cup. I would have liked to have heard more detail and less story telling. less

Download links for: When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail

Advertising