Opium War, 1840-1842: Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century and the War by Which They Forced Her Gates

This is an incredibly detailed account of the Opium War, with an emphasis on the western source material. It gets very deep into opium production methods in Bombay, the methods in which the merchant ships traded with the Chinese, and it is written in a way that makes you feel as if you are walking down 13 Factory Street. I think Fay's work is a tour-de-force, but I would have liked to have seen more work from the Chinese perspective. I found myself rooting for the English and then had to remember that what they did was horrible and destroyed China. I think that this work should be read with Jack Beeching's work on the same subject.

very good book good information

Thoroughly researched, well-written, history of extraordinary events. Even-keeled treatment with no apparent attitude/bias. Bought this book for my daughter's Chines History class at Trinity College and ended up reading it cover to cover myself..

Nearly three decades after it was first published, Fay's book remains the best single volume on the Opium War, and one of the best books on China in the 19th century. It is easy to read, but is scholarly enough for the most fastidious. Unlike the other reviewer I had no particular difficulties with the timeline, although that can be a problem with any historical narrative. Be advised that this is a narrative history and can be read with joy by those who find social or economic histories tedious, but the background of the war is covered in particular detail as well. Fay is not a professional sinologist, and came to this book through his studies of the East India Company, but the book seems none the worse for his wide knowledge. It was recommended to me by some very distinguished historians of China, and their enthusiasm was justified. It is not a weighty tome, like those of Mary Wright or Vincent Shih on China in the 19th century, but it is authoritative on its subject, and like the best of Fairbank, it is great fun to read. Can one say better things about a book? If you are interested in the Opium War, Qing dynasty history, imperialism, or just like reading a good narrative about a war, please indulge yourself-- and read this book.

Anyone unfortunate enough to have to travel through London's Heathrow Airport today will see Stalinist propaganda from the British Government about how protecting Britain from the evils of drug smuggling requires "tougher checks" (presumably the third rate civil servant who authorized these Orwellian signs meant "more thorough" rather than "tougher", but perhaps Britain today really is a place where the government wants leather-jacketed toughs hanging around to keep the citizenry in order.) But there was a time, a mere five generations ago, when British government policy was to manufacture and to facilitate and protect the smuggling of as much opium into China as that country could take. The consequences for the people of China were devastating. Eventually the Chinese government decided to take action against the British, having been far more tolerant of British drug dealing than the British are today; and for the impertinence of trying to keep British opium out of their own country poor old China was invaded by Britain. (Before any readers of this review who happen to be US Americans are tempted to wade in against evil, nasty, Imperial Britain, note that Americans were working hand in glove, or perhaps one should say shoulder to shoulder, with the British on this.)This part of British and Chinese, indeed Western and Asian, history is important but almost completely overlooked. Fay's book is valuable and worth reading because it is one of the few books that covers this subject. It is a readable book, but a very frustrating one—and "readable" only in the sense that it is possible to read what the author has written, not that his style of writing, grammar, and concept of what a sentence should be makes it enjoyable to do so. Other reviewers have noted the lack of the customary essentials in a work of history, such as a timeline and citations for sources. Two other great weaknesses of Fay as an author, in the case of this book, are that his style is frequently long-winded, unstructured and tedious, and pompous too. If ever there was a great book wanting nothing more than a capable and firm-handed editor for it to emerge from a slag-heap of spoilt sentences and garbled grammar, this is it. The second fault with the author's style is that he will insist on making assertions that at best are mere speculations. Throughout the book he tells or implies how people felt or what their motives were, which while perhaps is intended to make the book readable and approachable, has the effect of making it irritating and detracting from what could have been a good account of a tragic and shameful episode of British and Western failure in morals and leadership.Did I need to write this review? Did I need to be so harsh? Possibly not, but it is a reaction to and a measure of the enormous frustration that this author's style can generate. I decided on a two star score by adding five stars for the importance of the subject with minus three stars for style. I agree with another reviewer, who writes that this is possibly the most frustrating book that he has ever read. Nonetheless, I recommend it, through gritted teeth.

An excellent book that gives a clear insight to how the noble houses et.al. behaved in the opium trade especially the British East India company. Whilst we reflect this to be a period that built many of the great trading houses it must be kept in the context of the time in history when not only the British but other countries were seeking to generate considerable wealth from opium. Interestingly a recent major exhibition in the Greenwich Maritime Museum on the East India Company failed completely to show on maps the trade routes for the opium trade - in today's PC climate was this embarrassment of a company that helped build the British empire?? A very good and informative read.