Product Description

An exploration of the economic power of the overseas Chinese, particularly their domination of the Pacific Rim. The overseas Chinese are a vast, highly interconnected net of 55 million expatriate Chinese who control up to two trillion dollars in assets, and not only dominate the Pacific Rim but are making increasing inroads into the West. Part economic analysis, part Pacific Rim history, and part chronicle of fortunes won, lost and won again, this book tells who the overseas Chinese are and how they got to be so powerful. Spanning thousands of years, it encompasses stories of murder and betrayal, bravery and corruption; of triads syndicates, kingmakers, merchants, emperors, generals, spies and pirates. The book is also a cautionary tale - for the Chinese stategies that have proven so successful for so long are just as effective today. Sterling Seagrave is the author of "The Soong Dynasty".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #302581 in Books
• Published on: 1996-07-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 430 pages

From the Back Cover
A community of fifty-five million expatriates. Up to two trillion dollars in assets. A highly integrated network of influence and favour. A firm base on the Pacific Rim. Ambitions to influence the West. Imagine the potential power of such an organisation. You don't have to. This is the empire of the Overseas Chinese.

The Lords of the Rim uncovers a complex web of operations which already dominates the Far East and which is now making inroads into the West. Spanning thousands of years and drawing on exhaustive research, it encompasses stories of murder and betrayal, bravery and corruption, of emperors and generals, spies and pirates, and predicts just how the world will change over the coming decades.

About the Author
Sterling Seagrave
Sterling Seagrave grew up on the China-Burma border. For many years an investigative reporter in Asia, he is the author of Yellow Rain, The Marcos Dynasty, Dragon Lady, the bestselling The Soong Dynasty, Lords of the Rim and The Yamato Dynasty. He and his wife and co-author Peggy Seagrave live in Europe.

Customer Reviews

An exciting reading for everybody interested in Asia
This book gives you what our European school history lessons do not provide: an overview over the exciting history of the Chinese, written in a way that you do not feel bored at all. Seagrave manages to make you familiar with the background of the Chinese culture and the development of the Chinese history, which is necessary to gain an understanding of todays development in Asia. He gives you facts and dates, but he also tells you stories which makes reading exciting. He takes you through the different dynasties in a way that you get an understanding that the Chinese call themselves the "Middle of the world". Did you know that the famous "Sindbad the Seafarer" we know from our history lessons and from Tales of the 1001 nights was probabely a Chinese eunuch send by his emperor to explore new business and trade relationships in South East Asia, India and Africa? And he gives you an idea of a nation without a state which has gained a lot of money by working hard, building up global enterprises from the scratch. He also gives you an insight in the world of the Chinese triads, the gangs fighting each other, and about the forces behind the economies of the South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia. After reading this book, you have not only spend an exciting reading time, but also gained a lot of historical knowledge which enables you to understand todays political, economical and cultural development in China and South East Asia much more better.

Excellent book, for me the best of S. Seagrave books
Thrilling and lively, documented and precise, this book is an excellent overview of the itinerary of the oversea chinese history with detailed analysis in each country where they have settled.

A fascinating introduction to Overseas Chinese history
For those with an interest in the Overseas Chinese and their history, this book is a fascinating introduction. Seagrave's fluid, highly readable, yet scholarly account draws the reader into a world of intrigue and mystery, success and failure. His descriptions of such individuals as the explorer Sun Bao and the soldier-adventurer Coxinga tell of the impact of the Chinese on regions outside China. Despite the impact of such men on the region, their exclusion from many western text books is indicative of the secretiveness by which many Overseas Chinese conduct business today-a secretiveness which has come about through a nessecity to protect assets and personal wealth. Seagrave has written a book which covers a broad sweep of history. It is a fast-paced account that easly allows the reader to go back and re-read individual chapters with it's excellent style.