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The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China

The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China

  • Downloads：5972
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-11 01:16:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jonathan Kaufman
  • ISBN：0735224439
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Summary

In vivid detail。。。 examines the little-known history of two extraordinary dynasties。--The Boston Globe

Not just a brilliant， well-researched， and highly readable book about China's past， it also reveals the contingencies and ironic twists of fate in China's modern history。--LA Review of Books

An epic， multigenerational story of two rival dynasties who flourished in Shanghai and Hong Kong as twentieth-century China surged into the modern era， from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

The Sassoons and the Kadoories stood astride Chinese business and politics for more than one hundred seventy-five years， profiting from the Opium Wars; surviving Japanese occupation; courting Chiang Kai-shek; and nearly losing everything as the Communists swept into power。 Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how these families ignited an economic boom and opened China to the world， but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil on their doorsteps。 In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London， Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling， family rivalry， political intrigue， and survival。

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Reviews

Antony ，

This incredibly fascinating story makes up for the sometimes disjointed storytelling

Ladygrey ，

Really interesting history that I had known very little about。 Well written and intriguing Great book overall for anyone interested in the topic！

Audrey Tiernan ，

A tremendous， well researched compelling read that brings to life the influence of two Jewish families， The Sassoons and Kadoories and how they influenced and helped to shape China， as well as Hong Kong。 It is a fascinating read packed with information。 Well written and exciting— in many ways reads this book reads like a thriller。 You’llWant to visit both Shanghai and Hong Kong when you are done。

Temple Dog ，

I was expecting more。

Caren Beeman ，

It was interesting。

Pat ，

If you know Shanghai's places， but not its history， this is a great place to start。 If you know Shanghai's places， but not its history， this is a great place to start。 。。。more

John B ，

Academic historians may critique some of the claimsmade in the book， and perhaps parts of the book tread ground already well-covered by historians， but the content is riveting nevertheless。

Gail Gibson-milliron ，

Interesting。 Had no idea about these significant Jewish families as wealthy as the Rothschilds。 A window into significant historical events in China。

Marklutherlawoffice ，

Probably one of the best books I have read all year。 So interesting。 I never knew about the Sassoons or the Kadoories in Shanghai， Hong Kong， Bagdad， London。 What a wonderful read about two remarkable Jewish dynasties in the Far East。

Ummo Bruns ，

One of the best books I have red since years！ What a great historical insight on China in general and Shanghai in particular！ Fantastic work by Jonathan Kaufman！

Marion ，

Absolutely unaware of this history of two families who transformed the economic future of Asia。 The backstories of war， privation， and their determination was fascinating。

Andrea Gao ，

It's good to read this book while I'm in shanghai during the pandemic。 It's good to read this book while I'm in shanghai during the pandemic。 。。。more

Desiree ，

Amazing history of the Sassoons and Kadoories familiesboth originally from Bagdad then settled in ChinaNever knew the start of The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kongwas of these families

Sandra Rosner ，

Once I started reading I was practically unable to stop， which says a lot since this is not fiction。 I knew nothing of these two Jewish families and their lives and business dealings were fascinating。 It filled in details of other things I have read about making such an interesting picture。

Ginny T。 ，

I like to mix literary fiction with historical nonfiction， and I really enjoyed this detailed history of two Jewish families from Baghdad who planned and executed a multi-generational triumph of business success primarily based in China。 The Rothschild banking dynasty developed as a result of Mayer Rothschild of Germany sending his five sons to different European capitals。 （He described it as shooting his quiver of arrows out into the world。） Similarly， two Jewish merchants in the early 1800s in I like to mix literary fiction with historical nonfiction， and I really enjoyed this detailed history of two Jewish families from Baghdad who planned and executed a multi-generational triumph of business success primarily based in China。 The Rothschild banking dynasty developed as a result of Mayer Rothschild of Germany sending his five sons to different European capitals。 （He described it as shooting his quiver of arrows out into the world。） Similarly， two Jewish merchants in the early 1800s in Baghdad each had multiple sons， and that progeny was sent to China， India and Europe。 In China， the Sassoons and the Kadoories grew in different arenas， but there was no mistaking their multigenerational personal rivalry。 Like knowing to invest in portside warehouses after China was forced to accept imports of opium from British India， both families knew how to capitalize on what would come next in the development of China， helping build it into a global economic powerhouse。 Anyone interested in the history of China will find this vein rich and fascinating。The writing is detailed， but it's clear and has a forward lean—I found I wanted to know what happened next。 。。。more

Zubair Habib ，

Sweeping epic！ Well written and fascinating story。 Weaves politics ， economics and history。

Shalom ，

An eye-opening window into foundational events of modern history。 The narrative is entirely focused on these two Baghdadi Jewish families， but the myriad intersections with world-shaping forces make for a far broader stage。 Well-written， never getting bogged down in detail， but painting a rich tapestry。 The only shortcoming might be an over-reliance on family histories （though never sychophantic or hagiographic）， probably unavoidable given the paucity of sources for some periods。

R。J。 Gilmour ，

Kaufman's book looks at the history of two Jewish families that settled in Shanghai， the Sassoon family and the Kadoorie family， and the world that they helped make between World War I and World War II。 It is a fascinating look at the history of the city and the families and how they helped develop the world around them as it changed。 Kaufman's book looks at the history of two Jewish families that settled in Shanghai， the Sassoon family and the Kadoorie family， and the world that they helped make between World War I and World War II。 It is a fascinating look at the history of the city and the families and how they helped develop the world around them as it changed。 。。。more

Paula ，

It was really interesting to learn the history of these two prominent Jewish families living in China in the 1900s， as well as the existence of a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai during WWII。 Fun tidbits about how the women in these families were ostrasized if they tried to do "men's work" of taking over a business。 There was a lot of repetition though， which made the last 10-20% of the book really boring。 It was really interesting to learn the history of these two prominent Jewish families living in China in the 1900s， as well as the existence of a Jewish ghetto in Shanghai during WWII。 Fun tidbits about how the women in these families were ostrasized if they tried to do "men's work" of taking over a business。 There was a lot of repetition though， which made the last 10-20% of the book really boring。 。。。more

Stuart ，

This book may not be for everyone， but for me -- it was amazing， interesting， captivating， and informative。 Kaufman has thoroughly researched and written a fantastic history of the role that two immigrant Jewish families played in the development of Shanghai， for the good and the bad （opium trade， worker exploitation， etc。）。 I found myself googling different buildings that were referenced in the book， and learned more about Shanghai and Hong Kong （and many other places） that I could have ever im This book may not be for everyone， but for me -- it was amazing， interesting， captivating， and informative。 Kaufman has thoroughly researched and written a fantastic history of the role that two immigrant Jewish families played in the development of Shanghai， for the good and the bad （opium trade， worker exploitation， etc。）。 I found myself googling different buildings that were referenced in the book， and learned more about Shanghai and Hong Kong （and many other places） that I could have ever imagined。 。。。more

Natalia ，

One of the most interesting non-fiction books I have read in ages。 I loved learning about Shanghai's and Hong Kong's unexpected history and its ties to the Jewish world。What blew me away the most were the absolute brilliant and strong women that were operating within the business world of the Sasoons and Kadooris。 Those ladies were way ahead of their time （even more than their astonishing male relatives） and I wish they would not have been sabotaged like they ended up being。 This is clearly a re One of the most interesting non-fiction books I have read in ages。 I loved learning about Shanghai's and Hong Kong's unexpected history and its ties to the Jewish world。What blew me away the most were the absolute brilliant and strong women that were operating within the business world of the Sasoons and Kadooris。 Those ladies were way ahead of their time （even more than their astonishing male relatives） and I wish they would not have been sabotaged like they ended up being。 This is clearly a recommended read for history buffs。 。。。more

Michele ，

If you want to read a fantasy book， this might be the one。 The author gives his version of history by defining drug smuggling as "enlightened business" in the introduction。 Do yourself a favor， read another book。 This author is an embarrassment to the Jewish people and it's history。 If you want to read a fantasy book， this might be the one。 The author gives his version of history by defining drug smuggling as "enlightened business" in the introduction。 Do yourself a favor， read another book。 This author is an embarrassment to the Jewish people and it's history。 。。。more

Teresa Scott ，

Very interesting account of the Jewish families who moved from Baghdad to London to Shanghai （some by way of India）。 I was completely unaware of this part of history。 I listened to this book on Audible and think perhaps it would have been better to read it as a book。 There were a lot of details that I think got lost and made the story， at times， difficult to follow。

Ingrid Stoffel ，

Interesting and excellent history of Shanghai。 Well researched， but hard to follow， one does need to keep referencing the character pages。

R ，

This is the history of the Sassoon and Kadoorie families。 It was a good read and I learned about the Jewish experience from a different perspective。 The book included many deeply moving scenes and situations。

Anita R ，

This is a very informative and interesting book about the two prominent Jewish families that helped finance and form modern China。 I enjoyed reading about the generations of each family that helped developed China and the influence they had on the government。 The Sassoon and the Kadoorie families became extremely wealthy and valuable to China。 However， There were too many details， names， dates and facts in the book and it became very confusing with all the information。 The story kept going back This is a very informative and interesting book about the two prominent Jewish families that helped finance and form modern China。 I enjoyed reading about the generations of each family that helped developed China and the influence they had on the government。 The Sassoon and the Kadoorie families became extremely wealthy and valuable to China。 However， There were too many details， names， dates and facts in the book and it became very confusing with all the information。 The story kept going back and forth and it was difficult keeping track of the sequence of events 。 Less information and more focus of a few specific events would have make the book more enjoyable。 I did learn a lot about the influence of these very wealthy Jewish families ，how they became so wealthy and how they spent their money 。 。。。more

Bill ，

The Last Kings of Shanghai is a different perspective on colonialism。 In primarily following just two families， it shows the impact of imperialism in a more personal way。 Members of both families made immoral choices along the way， such as selling opium in the nineteenth century or ignoring the Tiananmen Square massacre in the twentieth， to make a profit。 But they also made life-saving decisions。 They， however， seldom really saw the Chinese as their equals， and living in a European Shanghai bubb The Last Kings of Shanghai is a different perspective on colonialism。 In primarily following just two families， it shows the impact of imperialism in a more personal way。 Members of both families made immoral choices along the way， such as selling opium in the nineteenth century or ignoring the Tiananmen Square massacre in the twentieth， to make a profit。 But they also made life-saving decisions。 They， however， seldom really saw the Chinese as their equals， and living in a European Shanghai bubble made the Sassoons and Kadoories blind to the realities of the lives of most people in China。 That ultimately cost them， Victor Sassoon and Elly Kadoorie， much of their fortunes。 The starving masses in China joined the Communists and overthrew the capitalist government of China。 The Kadoories rebuilt in Hong Kong， but Victor Sassoon left China。 Is there a lesson in this history of China that can be applied to a resurgent China today？ Maybe。 Author Jonathan Kaufman seems to believe there is。 In an unimportant side note， Kaufman says China's 27 day war with Vietnam in 1979 taught them their weapons were still inferior to Russian weapons。 That may be true， but I recall reading in a book called the The Arms Bazaar， or something like that， that the Vietnamese had also kept all the American-made weapons the US had left behind and that was why China lost。 Ancient history now， but maybe something to look into。 。。。more

J。crockatt ，

Brilliant！

Melissa ，

Fascinating history I never knew， that explains so much about the relations between China and the West even today and tells a different sort of Holocaust story。 While Kaufman doesn't shy away from the dark legacies of colonialism and rampant capitalism， he also fairly demonstrates the enduring legacies of both that have benefited millions。 So many thoughts surfaced as I was reading this - legacies， history （both embraced and erased）， the many shades of gray between dark devils and shining angels Fascinating history I never knew， that explains so much about the relations between China and the West even today and tells a different sort of Holocaust story。 While Kaufman doesn't shy away from the dark legacies of colonialism and rampant capitalism， he also fairly demonstrates the enduring legacies of both that have benefited millions。 So many thoughts surfaced as I was reading this - legacies， history （both embraced and erased）， the many shades of gray between dark devils and shining angels， and how one person can literally change the world for so many。 。。。more

peter simon ，

Wonderful read 。learnt a lot about modern China， 19th to 21st century。Fascinating story about two Jewish families originally from Baghdad who prospered in Shanghai and Hong Kong。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0