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39 ratings | 16 reviews | avg rating:4.64

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James Carter

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://www.jayjamescarter.com

Twitter

jayjamescarter

Genre

History, Nonfiction

Member Since

October 2019

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I first visited China in 1992. Studying in the Manchurian city of Harbin, I saw a grim, post-industrial present but a remarkably vibrant past that opened windows onto the ways that Chinese and western cultures had influenced one another to create something unique.

Since then, in my training at Yale and my work as a professor of History at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, I have explored the interaction between China and the West, focusing my writing, teaching, and research not on big stories and great leaders but on smaller moments. The travels of a Buddhist monk from Manchuria to Hong Kong. Basketball games turned violent at the Harbin YMCA in the 1920s. Most recently, the Shanghai Champions’ Stakes of 1941

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

James Carter Walking in Shanghai past the relics of the old Shanghai Race Club. When I first encountered it, it was an art museum with a fancy restaurant on top. W…moreWalking in Shanghai past the relics of the old Shanghai Race Club. When I first encountered it, it was an art museum with a fancy restaurant on top. When I dug a little and learned what had once been there, I wanted to know more, and thought it was a perfect way to explore the relationship between Chinese and foreigners in Shanghai.

I've always liked the idea of using the events of a single day to bring big historical arcs into focus and make those processes personal. At the same time, I've been researching pivot points in Chinese history where Chinese and Western people and ideas interacted. The Shanghai Race Club seemed the perfect place to explore those interactions, and those last moments before Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War changed the city forever were a moment that had seemingly endless possibilities and a rich cast of characters from around the world.(less)

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James Carter’s books

Average rating: 3.98 · 110 ratings · 19 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 92 ratings — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2010 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Creating a Chinese Harbin: Nationalism in an International City, 1916–1932 3.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars