Bøger af Paul French

A spellbinding and dramatic account of Shanghai's lawless 1930s and two of its most notorious criminals, by the author of the prize winning Midnight in Peking

New York Times bestselling author Paul French examines a controversial and revealing period in the early life of the legendary Wallis, Duchess of Windsor-her one year in China.Before she was the Duchess of Windsor, Bessie Wallis Warfield was Mrs. Wallis Spencer, wife of Earl "Win" Spencer, a US Navy aviator. From humble beginnings in Baltimore, she rose to marry a man who gave up his throne for her. But what made Wallis Spencer, Navy Wife, the woman who could become the Duchess of Windsor? The answers lie in her one-year sojourn in China. In her memoirs, Wallis described her time in China as her "Lotus Year," referring to Homer's Lotus Eaters, a group living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness, never to return home. Though faced with challenges, Wallis came to appreciate traditional Chinese aesthetics. China molded her in terms of her style and provided her with friendships that lasted a lifetime. But that "Lotus Year" would also later be used to damn her in the eyes of the British Establishment. The British government's supposed "China Dossier" of Wallis's rumored amorous and immoral activities in the Far East was a damning concoction, portraying her as sordid, debauched, influenced by foreign agents, and unfit to marry a king. Instead, French, an award-winning China historian, reveals Wallis Warfield Spencer as a woman of tremendous courage who may have acted as a courier for the US government, undertaking dangerous undercover diplomatic missions in a China torn by civil war. Her Lotus Year is an untold story in the colorful life of a woman too often maligned by history.

Download this book, read it to the end and see "BONUS: Your FREE Gift" chapter after the conclusion. DIY Survival Weapons: New Guide To Homemade Weapons In this world we live in, we have access to dozens of safety systems and alarms, can use dogs for protection, and can install all kinds of locks and cameras around our homes to make sure our families stay safe and sound. But, there are times when these safety measures can fail, and we can be exposed to people we would never want around our family members. Or, there may be times of natural disaster which knocks out the security systems you have in place. In times of desperation such as these, there are people who are willing to do a lot to get what they want, even if that means they put others in harm's way. So what are you going to do to protect your family and your possessions? What can you do to make sure your family and possessions stay safe and sound, even when you are dealing with someone who is potentially dangerous? That's where this book comes in. In it, you are going to learn everything you need to know about self-defense, and how to create a variety of weapons from the things you have on hand in your home. Keep your spouse and children safe. Keep your possessions safe, and rest easy knowing that you have the means you need to protect yourself in any situation that arises. With all the hope that you will never be in such a situation, the peace of mind you will feel knowing you can take care of it will change your life. Let me show you how to create weapons from the everyday things you have on hand, and sleep well tonight, knowing you and your family are safe. Learn the basics of self-defense and when to use it Make weapons out of the ordinary things you have lying around your home Learn how to use these weapons in a variety of situations And much, much more! Download your E book "DIY Survival Weapons: New Guide To Homemade Weapons" by scrolling up and clicking "Buy Now with 1-Click" button!

New York Times bestselling author Paul French (Midnight in Peking) returns to the Chinese capital to tell 18 true stories of fascinating people - many Americans among them - who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century. From the ultra-wealthy Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton and her husband the Prince Mdivani, to the poor "e;American girl"e; Mona Monteith, who worked in the city as a prostitute; from socialite Wallis Simpson and novelist JP Marquand, who held court on the rooftop of the Grand Hotel de Pekin, to Hollywood screenwriter Harry Hervey, who sought inspiration walking atop the Tartar Wall; from Edgar and Helen Foster Snow - Peking's 'It' couple of 1935 - to Martha Sawyers, who did so much to aid China against Japan in World War II; Destination Peking brings a lost pre-communist era back to life.

Based on true stories and new research, Paul French weaves together the stories of those Jewish refugees who moved on from wartime Shanghai to seek a possible route to freedom via the Portuguese colony of Macao - "the Casablanca of the Orient". The delicately balanced neutral enclave became their wartime home, amid Nazi and Japanese spies, escaped Allied prisoners from Hong Kong, and displaced Chinese. Strangers on the Praia relates the story of one young woman's struggle for freedom that would ultimately prove an act of brave resistance.

A gripping and provocative account of one of the world's most secretive countries.

Midnight in Peking is a gripping true murder mystery by Paul FrenchTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4'A first-rate murder story, a thrilling narrative. Hurtles along from one cliffhanger to the next' SpectatorPeking, 1937:The teenage daughter of a British consul is brutally slaughtered. The police investigation is botched; as war looms British and Chinese authorities close ranks. A grieving father vows to uncover the truth - alone.Seventy-five years later, historian Paul French uncovers a stash of forgotten documents revealing the killer's identity . . .For those who loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil this is a riveting and evocative true crime classic.'Gripping, spellbinding . . . drawing the reader from the very first pages into an unwholesome, macabre world' Guardian'Part historical docudrama, part tragic opera . . . it is French's enormous achievement that he pieces together the puzzle. He tells this tale with the skill of an Agatha Christie' Financial Times'Fascinating and irresistible. I couldn't put it down'John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'Vivid, pulsating, riveting. It is the storytelling flair that marks Midnight in Peking so highly: with its false leads and twists . . . it sucks the reader in like the best fiction' ScotsmanBorn in London, Paul French has lived in China for more than 10 years. He is a widely published analyst and commentator on China; his books include a history of North Korea, a biography of Shanghai adman and adventurer Carl Crow, and a history of foreign correspondents in China.

The uninterrupted flow of oil is essential to globalisation and increasingly so as manufacturing and markets move Eastwards to Asia. All too often the movement of oil by ocean is something taken for granted, yet it is fraught with difficulty. This book looks at the way oil is moved and consumed mixing reportage, examples and hard-hitting facts.

China's economy has boomed, but a potentially disastrous side effect - along with pollution and a growing income gap between urban and rural regions - is the effects obesity will have on the country's fragile healthcare system. Today's overweight in China can look to a mixed future of bright economic hopes for their country, and poor and deteriorating health for themselves. From a situation 20 years ago when diets were limited by food availability, and famine was still a recent memory, China's urban centres have seen alarmingly rising rates of obesity. Throughout the country an estimated 200 million people out of a total population of around 1.3 billion were overweight (over 15%). Why is this issue so important? Taking into account that the recent period of stable world economic growth has in large part been driven by the availability of cheap labour in China, which produces much of the goods that keep the retail tills ringing elsewhere in the world, the issue of China's rising obesity is an issue of potentially global economic significance. Consider a scenario just a few years down the line, where there are so many overweight urban Chinese, suffering from obesity-related illness, that the government, in order to pay for increased healthcare treatments, has to raise the levels of income and other tax to pay for this huge and continual expense.For more information please see the book website: http://fatchina.anthempressblog.com