Paul French

The revealing story of the legendary Wallis Simpson’s controversial and formative year in China in the 1920s. ‘Compelling’ Dr Amanda Foreman ‘Fascinating’ Lisa See ‘Riveting’ Anne Sebba ‘Surprising’ Anne de Courcy ‘Convincing’ Hugo Vickers ‘Intriguing’ Julia Boyd ‘A book of fascinating revelations’ Laurence Leamer ‘Magisterial, beautifully written and impeccably researched’ Alexander Larman In her memoirs, Wallis Simpson 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. That year, however, was also used to damn her in the eyes of the British Establishment. Determined to ‘save’ the monarchy, the British government’s ‘China Dossier’ of Wallis’s rumoured amorous and immoral activities in the Far East portrayed her as sordid, debauched, influenced by foreign agents, and unfit to marry a king. But little was really known about how she spent that mysterious period in her life – until now. Paul French, the New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian of China, uncovers a completely different picture, portraying 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. Despite the many challenges she faced, from violent riots to the breakdown of her abusive first marriage, it was there that she established her confidence and independence, developed her unique fashion sense, and forged friendships that would last a lifetime. She emerged from that year as the elegant, stylish, cosmopolitan and worldly woman for whom a king gave up his throne. Wallis Simpson: Her Lotus Year in 1920s China takes a headlong dive into Wallis’s early, formative years – and into the chaotic and thrilling China of the period – to explore the untold story of a woman too often maligned by history.

The Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City

For the third in his acclaimed Destination series, Paul French journeys to the former Portuguese enclave of Macao, for him as much a place of the imagination as of reality. Constantly portrayed as the louche, sinful sister of Hong Kong, it was also a key trade entrep t and early melting pot on the South China Sea. From the Macao of artists George Chinnery and George Smirnoff, the writers Deolinda da Concei o and Maurice Dekobra, to the pulp fiction fantasies and cinematic fever dreams of Josef von Sternberg and Jean Delannoy; from those like Dr Pedro Lobo and Ian Fleming who came to Macao to chase gold as well as those who sought refuge from war and the combatants who sought secret passage through 'neutral' Macao; from the earliest days of the China coast trade and its assorted cast of adventurers to the bizarre tales the changing times in the colony created. Did Japan really try to buy Macao in 1934? Who really sailed with Macao's pirate queen Lai Choi San? Who were the Portuguese rebels who sought to declare Macao a republic in the 1920s?Following the format of Destination Shanghai and Destination Peking, Destination Macao contains 18 true stories of fascinating people who lived in or visited Macao in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The revealing story of the legendary Wallis Simpson’s controversial and formative year in China in the 1920s. ‘Compelling’ Dr Amanda Foreman ‘Fascinating’ Lisa See ‘Riveting’ Anne Sebba ‘Surprising’ Anne de Courcy ‘Convincing’ Hugo Vickers ‘Intriguing’ Julia Boyd ‘A book of fascinating revelations’ Laurence Leamer ‘Magisterial, beautifully written and impeccably researched’ Alexander Larman In her memoirs, Wallis Simpson 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. That year, however, was also used to damn her in the eyes of the British Establishment. Determined to ‘save’ the monarchy, the British government’s ‘China Dossier’ of Wallis’s rumoured amorous and immoral activities in the Far East portrayed her as sordid, debauched, influenced by foreign agents, and unfit to marry a king. But little was really known about how she spent that mysterious period in her life – until now. Paul French, the New York Times bestselling author and award-winning historian of China, uncovers a completely different picture, portraying 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. Despite the many challenges she faced, from violent riots to the breakdown of her abusive first marriage, it was there that she established her confidence and independence, developed her unique fashion sense, and forged friendships that would last a lifetime. She emerged from that year as the elegant, stylish, cosmopolitan and worldly woman for whom a king gave up his throne. Her Lotus Year takes a headlong dive into Wallis’s early, formative years – and into the chaotic and thrilling China of the 1920s – to explore the untold story of a woman too often maligned by history.

A Danger Shared: A Journalist's Glimpses of a Continent at War provides a searing visual history of wartime Asia as seen by foreign correspondent Melville Jacoby. In this meticulously curated collection of never-before-seen images, readers experience glamorous Macau soir es, visit Guangxi farms, and witness wartime Chongqing's wreckage and resilience. Along the way, Jacoby treats Filipino fishermen and Hanoi flower-sellers with the same care as the Soong Sisters, Chiang Kai-Shek, and other icons. Through scenes of everyday friendship, toil, and commerce alongside bombed classrooms, anxious refugees, and exhausted soldiers, A Danger Shared documents humanity's persistence at a cataclysmic historical moment.

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.

Now one of Kirkus Reviews' "Best Books of the Year" From Paul French, the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Peking--winner of both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction--comes City of Devils, a rags-to-riches tale of two self-made men set against a backdrop of crime and vice in the sprawling badlands of Shanghai.Shanghai, 1930s: It was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, fascism and communism outrun, names invented, and fortunes made--and lost. "Lucky" Jack Riley was the most notorious of those outlaws. An ex-U.S. Navy boxing champion, he escaped from prison and rose to become the Slots King of Shanghai. "Dapper" Joe Farren--a Jewish boy who fled Vienna's ghetto--ruled the nightclubs. His chorus lines rivaled Ziegfeld's. In 1940, Lucky Jack and Dapper Joe bestrode the Shanghai Badlands like kings, while all around the Solitary Island was poverty, starvation, and war. They thought they ruled Shanghai, but the city had other ideas. This is the story of their rise to power, their downfall, and the trail of destruction left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams could come true.

'Shanghai's champion storyteller - He grips his reader to the end' Economist'Gripping, breakneck ultra-noir reminiscent of vintage Ellroy' David Peace, author of Red or Dead'If you love Richard Lloyd Parry and David Grann, don't miss City of Devils' Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me1930s Shanghai was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, oppression outrun, fortunes made - and lost. This is the story of 'Lucky' Jack Riley, the Slot King of Shanghai, and 'Dapper' Joe Farren, owner of the greatest clubs and casinos. It tells of their escape from American prisons and Vienna's ghetto, their rise to power, and the trail of destruction they left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams seemed possible.

For the privileged a cosmopolitan pleasure ground; For the desperate a port of last resort. A pot of gold at the end of an Oriental rainbow; A thick slice of hell denounced from the pulpit. The start of a journey for many; The end of the road for some. A place to find fame, or to seek anonymity; Rogues, chancers, showgirls, criminals... For so many people from so many lands, there was one phrase that sent a tingle of hope or a shiver of anticipation down every spine: "DESTINATION SHANGHAI"

An evocative account by Paul French, author of the acclaimed Midnight in Peking, of the infamous nightlife district of pre-communist Beijing Through portraits of eight White Russians, Americans, and Europeans who lived and worked in the Badlands in the 1920s and 1930s, Paul French brings the area and its era vividly to life. A small warren of narrow hutongs, the Badlands sat just inside the eastern flank of the Tartar Wall, which at that time enclosed the old Imperial City of Peking. Its habitu s were a mix of the good, the bad, and the poor unfortunates, among them the fiery brothel madams Brana Shazker and Rosie Gerbert; the pimp Saxsen, who had no regard for the women he exploited; and the young prostitutes Marie and Peggy, whose dreadful working lives drove them into separate pits of madness and addiction. There was the cabaret dancer Tatiana Korovina, a White Russian girl who did not succumb to the vice of the district but instead married, had a family, and eventually left China to lead a long and happy life. There was the American Joe Knauf, who dealt violence and fear as well as drugs, and finally the enigmatic Shura Giraldi, of indeterminate sex, who was to some a charmer and to others a master criminal, but to everyone the uncrowned King of the Badlands.

North Korea continues to make headlines, arousing curiosity and fear in equal measure. The world’s most secretive nuclear power, it still has Gulag-style prison camps, allows no access to the Internet and bans its people from talking to foreigners without official approval. In this remarkable and eye-opening book, internationally best-selling author Paul French examines in forensic detail the history and politics of North Korea, Pyongyang’s complex relations with South Korea, Japan, China and America, and the implications of Kim Jong-un’s increasingly belligerent leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. As an already unstable North Korea grows ever more unpredictable, antagonizing enemies and allies alike, North Korea: State of Paranoia delivers a provocative and frightening account of a potentially explosive nuclear tripwire.

North Korea continues to make headlines, arousing curiosity and fear in equal measure. The world’s most secretive nuclear power, it still has Gulag-style prison camps, allows no access to the Internet and bans its people from talking to foreigners without official approval. In this remarkable and eye-opening book, internationally best-selling author Paul French examines in forensic detail the history and politics of North Korea, Pyongyang’s complex relations with South Korea, Japan, China and America, and the implications of Kim Jong-un’s increasingly belligerent leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. As an already unstable North Korea grows ever more unpredictable, antagonizing enemies and allies alike, North Korea: State of Paranoia delivers a provocative and frightening account of a potentially explosive nuclear tripwire.

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.

Winner of the both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Non-Fiction Dagger from the author of City of Devils Chronicling an incredible unsolved murder, Midnight in Peking captures the aftermath of the brutal killing of a British schoolgirl in January 1937. The mutilated body of Pamela Werner was found at the base of the Fox Tower, which, according to local superstition, is home to the maliciously seductive fox spirits. As British detective Dennis and Chinese detective Han investigate, the mystery only deepens and, in a city on the verge of invasion, rumor and superstition run rampant. Based on seven years of research by historian and China expert Paul French, this true-crime thriller presents readers with a rare and unique portrait of the last days of colonial Peking.

This all-new work chronicles the experiences of Paul French who, upon leaving the British Army's 21 SAS (V), sought adventure and excitement in C Squadron of the Rhodesian SAS. Upon passing the arduous Rhodesian SAS selection course, Paul was thrown into the maelstrom that was the Rhodesian Bush War. Here he participated in the SAS's infamous raid on Joshua Nkomo and numerous other operations against insurgent liberation forces. Passing selection for Ron Reid-Daly's elite counter-insurgency specialists, the Selous Scouts, the author took part in 'externals' against FRELIMO and ' attachments' with the Mozambique National Resistance. Paul continued to serve on operations with the Rhodesian SAS until the end of the 'Chimurenga' in 1980. Paul then went on to join the South African Defence Force's elite 6 Reconnaissance Commando. A career in private security followed, with a series of assignments in Angola, Iraq and Somalia. This impressive book pulls no punches. It gives a unique and purposefully opinionated insight into the workings of the Rhodesian SAS and the Selous Scouts. It tells of the missions that succeeded and of the many that failed. It notes simply and succinctly the sheer stress and danger of special forces operations - all of which were deep in enemy-held territory with the threat of capture and death. Attempts to blow rail lines, helicopter assaults, pseudo-operations, the laying of deadly ambushes and risky parachute inserts are candidly related, accompanied by an unparalled selection of photographs, most of which have never been published before.

Det er en bok som retter seg mot mennesker som sliter med psykosesymptomer, men er også svært nyttig lesestoff for fagfolk.Plages du av stemmer eller bilder som andre ikke ser eller hører? Tror du at andre mennesker prøver å skade deg eller kontrollere deg? Føler du at det er noe merkelig som pågår rundt deg som du ikke kan forklare, eller at det skjer ting med deg som har en spesiell mening? Er du redd for at andre kan lese tankene dine eller at spesielle tanker blir plantet i deg? Denne boken gir deg en steg-for-steg hjelp til å forstå dine problemer, den hjelper deg til positive forandringer og bidrar til bedring. Du får hjelp til å forstå hvorfor og hvordan slike problemer utvikler seg, og hva som vedlikeholder dem. Gjennom spørsmål og oppgaveark får du hjelp til å identifisere og se mønsteret i erfaringene dine. Du lærer hvordan du kan forandre tanker, følelser og atferd.Boken er skrevet av internasjonalt anerkjente fagpersoner innenfor psykosefeltet og kognitiv terapi. Den er oversatt fra engelsk av Bjørn Inge Follevaag og faglig tilrettelagt av psykologspesialist Marit Grande, TIPS Sør-Øst, Oslo Universitetssykehus, Ullevål og psykiater Lars Linderoth, Rehabiliteringspoliklinikken, Bærum DPS.

A unique and a definitive guide to every street in Shanghai and its former allowing historians, researchers, tourists and the just plain curious to navigate the city in its pre-1949 incarnation. This A-Z includes the former International Settlement, French Concession, External Roads area with an extensive index, detailed map and alphabetical entry for every road.

'Fat China' provides an in-depth analysis of the growing problem of obesity and body image in China as urban lifestyles change and a sizeable middle class emerges. Rising obesity rates are examined in relationship to changing diets, modern lifestyles, investment from foreign fast food and supermarket retailers and urban planning. Crucial to this analysis is the likely effects on China's future development and already overburdened healthcare system.