James Clavell - The Asian Saga 
1924-1994
|
James Clavell was born in 1924. During WWII he was captured and was a prisoner of war in Changi prison in Singapore. That experience later became his inspiration for King Rat in 1962. In the early '60's he lived in Hong Kong where he wrote Tai-pan in 1966. James Clavell died September of 1994 in Swizerland after a short illness.His literary genius will be sorely missed. Of all his books I enjoyed Shogun,(1975)the most. |
King Rat,1962
The story occurs in a Japanese-run POW camp during WWII. The King, an American who was a nobody before the War, has managed through keen business sense and a variety of scams, to place himself at the top of the heap - among several thousand pathetic, diseased, starving prisoners--a study of human suffering, survival, competition, ethics, and beliefs.
Tai-Pan,1966
The book's main character, Dirk Struan, is a power hungry, manipulative opium tycoon, who is willing to do anything to succeed,a pirate, smuggler, and ruthless individual,he finds glory beyond his wildest dreams as the Tai-Pan, or supreme leader, of Hong Kong.
In Tai Pan you will find the exitement of horse racing, power, wealth and also a captivating love story.
Shogun,1975
"Shogun" is...amazing.
A bold English adventuer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in a mighty saga of a time and place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust and the struggle for power.
Set in the 1600's of medieval Japan, this is a tale of the Japanese lord Toranaga, the English pilot Blackthorne, the beautiful Mariko, and a host of many other unforgettable, stirring characters. Read this novel for the adventure, the customs, the people, the bonds and friendships, the impossible romance; and fall in love with Japan..
Noble House,1981
The setting is Hong Kong, 1963. These are days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing and natural catastrophes -- fire, flood, and landslide. Yet they are days filled as well with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong -- the heart of Asia -- rich in every trade... money, flesh, opium, power.
Whirlwind,1986
Instead of his normal Japanese or Chinese locales Clavell delves into Iran, circa 1979. The Revolution is going on and it's looking bad for the European and American members of an Iran-based helicopter company, secretly owned by the Noble House of Hong Kong. Clavell flawlessly combines the small struggles in life, like taboo, cross-cultural loves, business, life and death, with the religous zealously that swept across a nation and changed it dramatically.
Go sightseeing in Honkong.
Webcam Views of Hongkong.
