Foreign Devil: Thirty Years of Reporting From the Far East

by Richard J. "Dikko" Hughes

Book by Hughes, Richard

Genres: Japan, Journalism, Asia, China

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1972

Reviews

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hughes was an astute and knowledgable Australian-born journalist who lived and worked in 'the Far East' for decades - longer than the 30 years of the title, as this book was published in 1972 and Hughes lived until 1984.

His first posting to Asia, a virgin foreign devil, was to Japan in 1940, the only Australian journalist there, and with no diplomats posted to that country at the time. He escaped from Japan in 1941, in time to avoid internment, but went back as soon as he could, he and fellow journalists racing to get to Tokyo, managing to fill the best hotel before the American army arrived to replace them.

He reported on and from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, India, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore - politics, people, travel, opium, food, women - it seems he could write vividly on anything that sparked his interest.

Of this book, he says that it consists 'of anecdotes and presumptions, excuses and reflections spread over thirty years of great events (roughly 1940-1970). It makes lively, fascinating reading. He met Mao (there is a chapter on the unpublished thoughts of Chairman Mao on expunging 'erring comrades' and others, which is both deadly and funny), Nehru, Hi Chi Minh, chou En Lai, and many senior Japanese men.

He was a legendary personality in his own right, and was used as a character by John le Carré and Ian Fleming in their novels The Honourable Schoolboy and You Only Live Twice. He planned Fleming's Japanese itinerary for the plot for You Only Live Twice and joined him in all the programmed outings, explorations and escapades.

The book is a delight. Both informative and entertaining, and just about primary source material in itself.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting memoir by one of the Far East's most legendary reporters. Trivia note: Hughes was the inspiration for the character Dicko Henderson in Ian Fleming's "You Only Live Twice," played in the movie by Charles Gray (of Rocky Horror "it's just a jump to the left!" fame). Further trivia -- Charles Gray then went on to also play Blofeld in "Diamonds Are Forever," the only time I know of in the Bond films where the same actor was used to play different roles. Which in itself is odd, since they used different actors to play the same character -- Felix Leiter -- in all the other Bonds. But I digress...

[Paul Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book, Foreign Devil includes visits to the post Stalin Soviet Union (and Lake Baikal), Mao's China, a legendary opium den, plus Japan with Ian Fleming. And there's a ghost story.