When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
| AUTHOR | Dolin, Eric Jay |
| PUBLISHER | Liveright Publishing Corporation (09/03/2013) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Paperback (Paperback) |
Description
Brilliantly illuminating one of the least-understood areas of American history, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin now traces our fraught relationship with China back to its roots: the unforgiving nineteenth-century seas that separated a brash, rising naval power from a battered ancient empire. It is a prescient fable for our time, one that surprisingly continues to shed light on our modern relationship with China. Indeed, the furious trade in furs, opium, and bêche-de-mer--a rare sea cucumber delicacy--might have catalyzed America's emerging economy, but it also sparked an ecological and human rights catastrophe of such epic proportions that the reverberations can still be felt today. Peopled with fascinating characters--from the "Financier of the Revolution" Robert Morris to the Chinese emperor Qianlong, who considered foreigners inferior beings--this page-turning saga of pirates and politicians, coolies and concubines becomes a must-read for any fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower or Mark Kurlansky's Cod.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780871406897
ISBN-10:
0871406896
Binding:
Paperback or Softback (Trade Paperback (Us))
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
432
Carton Quantity:
14
Product Dimensions:
5.50 x 1.00 x 8.20 inches
Weight:
0.80 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Price on Product - Canadian,
Price on Product,
Table of Contents,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
History | United States - 19th Century
History | Asia - China
History | International Relations - Trade & Tariffs
Dewey Decimal:
382.097
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
Brilliantly illuminating one of the least-understood areas of American history, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin now traces our fraught relationship with China back to its roots: the unforgiving nineteenth-century seas that separated a brash, rising naval power from a battered ancient empire. It is a prescient fable for our time, one that surprisingly continues to shed light on our modern relationship with China. Indeed, the furious trade in furs, opium, and bêche-de-mer--a rare sea cucumber delicacy--might have catalyzed America's emerging economy, but it also sparked an ecological and human rights catastrophe of such epic proportions that the reverberations can still be felt today. Peopled with fascinating characters--from the "Financier of the Revolution" Robert Morris to the Chinese emperor Qianlong, who considered foreigners inferior beings--this page-turning saga of pirates and politicians, coolies and concubines becomes a must-read for any fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower or Mark Kurlansky's Cod.
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Author:
Dolin, Eric Jay
Eric Jay Dolin is the best-selling author of the award-winning Fur, Fortune, and Empire; Leviathan, which was chosen by the Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe as a best book of the year; and When America First Met China. He and his family live in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
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List Price $31.99
Your Price
$31.67