Destination Shanghai

by Paul French

18 true stories of those who went…

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”

Genres: China

340 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2018

About the author

PAUL FRENCH was born in London and lived and worked in Shanghai for many years. His book Midnight in Pekingwas a New York Times bestseller and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He received the Mystery Writers’ of America Edgar award for Best Fact Crime and a Crime Writers’ Association (UK) Dagger award for non-fiction. His book City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir received much praise with The Economist writing, ‘…in Mr French the city has its champion storyteller.’ Both Midnight in Peking and City of Devils are currently in development for film.

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Shanghai ... the one city on earth that took in the outcast, the stateless, those without papers, émigrés, refugees ... those rejected and exiled came to this great and modern city of China.” And their stories are told in Paul French’s excellent collection of essays.

[Mike Paine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm finding that anything by Paul French is a good read, loved this one.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely buy new books, most of the time I pick up a used book. This one I picked up new based on the description on Amazon. Well when I got it, I was a bit disappointed. While the book was modtly as advertised, the description had led me to believe that there would be some stories of Chinese people coming to Shanghai as well as the westerners. Sadly there were none. It did look, at first glance, like the stories would be about movie stars for the most part. Thankfully that impression was incorrect.

Most of the stories take place in the 20s and 30s when Shanghai was a sort of clearing house for everyone imaginable. Russian refugees, Jews, Romani, entertainers in varying degrees of popularity, criminals, and so on.

The book is broken up into a number of essays/vignettes, detailing a particular person/persons doings in Shanghai. While some were lacking in details, others were very colorful and detailed.. There was even a murder mystery. I found them all to be pretty entertaining. The author seems to have put in a good effort in tracking peoples activities, while in Shanghai, and sometimes before and after their stay.

Overall a very good effort, and an interesting read.

[Richard Rogers]

Shanghai in that time period = golden reading

[Martin Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul French is an expert on Shanghai between the World Wars and that expertise shines through in Destination Shanghai. Like its sister book, Destination Peking, it is a series of vignettes that bring the city and times to life through the experiences of sojourners. And what a interesting cast of people: well known literary lights like Eugene O'Neill, Andres Malaux, and Louis L'Amour; Russian spies and leftwing sympathizers like Anges Smedley and Irene Weitemeyer; crooks like C.C. Julian; and a chapter on the gypsies of Shanghai. It's like popcorn--a delight that can be savored kernel by kernel or by the handful.