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Tai-Pan

the Epic Novel of the Founding of Hong Kong
Jun 07, 2010The_Bill rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book is fantastic. It's about this amoral force of nature captain of industry type named Dirk Struan, known to the Chinese as the Green-Eyed Devil. He's a Scottish business owner and adventurer who dominates Hong Kong. Well, I say amoral, but what I really mean is that he's a Nietzschean ubermensch - he is a powerful man who follows his own code, and so appears evil to most people. If you're at all interested in Asia, the 1800s (I think), or the tense world of trade and business then you will love this book. Fair warning, though, Clavell's huge potboilers tend to leave off on an anticlimax in order to lead into the next book - so the best parts will come in the middle, rather than at the end.