The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China

I loved how the book brings the history of China alive through these two amazing families. Very well written and easy to read. Each challenge is a mystery live through in the pages of the book.

having studied and worked under jewish people, i feel closer to jewsish than any other ethnic group. born and raised in shanghai, i love shanghai more than any other city in the world. so the book is a fun read for me.

This is a marvelous book giving me the background of Shanghai during early 1900s, in additional to Sassoons and Kadoories families. I heard of anecdotes of Shanghai history from my grandparents. This book feeds me a better, although brief, informative description of the Shanghai and Chinese history during the period. I never heard the 2 family names when I was a kid in Shanghai a long time ago. However, I realized that I had more encounters with them than I was aware of. I boarded the Chinese Welfare Children Fund kindergarten where it used to be Kadoories family house and garden. I went to Marble House called Children Palace for children’s activities during elementary school. I marveled the architecture of the Sassoons house (Peace Hotel) when I visited Shanghai recently. This is a great book for catching up Shanghai and China history through the stories of the 2 Jewish families and their contribution to Shanghai commercialization. It also entails the future of China in light of the recent Hong Kong development, and freedom of society versus economic progression.

Never in a million years did I consider the lives of Jews in China, but this eye-opening book offered revelation after revelation of the lives of member of two Sephardic families and the different methods they used to essentially rule over Shanghai into the 20th century. Shanghai was a free-for-all, pretty much an independent state not subject to Beijing's rule (at least for foreigners). This is a story of culture clashes unlike any other. And also a story of cultural cooperation. Imagine German Jews being given visas to "independent" Shanghai, and living out WWII in that city. Living conditions may not have been great for these refugees, but through the efforts of Jews already in that city, and a cooperative Chinese ambassador willing to issue visas, they survived the Holocaust. There's even a museum in Shanghai dedicated to these refugees. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed it very much. Should have read it before visiting Shanghai and Hong Kong - would have given more context. So I’d recommend it to anyone visiting these cities to read it. So fun!

This is a well-researched book on the history of Jewish families from the Middle East who created business empires in East Asia when Shanghai was an international trade center. It describes a Shanghai of long ago when it had one of the most international and cosmopolitan populations before WWII and the establishment of the People's Republic ended that period of openness. The narrative is good at describing how these families rose in economic power and how they maintained it during Shanghai's heyday of laissez faire economics. This is a fascinating look at a long ago era.

Here is a thoroughly researched, easy to read, fascinating story of the Sassoon and Kadoorie family dynasties. It opened up a chapter of Asian and Jewish history which is too often neglected. What an insightful read!

The Last Kings of Shanghai sweeps through the 19th and 20th centuries, telling the story of two families of the Jewish diaspora, originally based in Baghdad, the Sassoons and the Kadoories, who end up accumulating astounding wealth through trade. For decades they rule the elegant waterfront of Shanghai, living in the opulent splendor of their own grand hotels and mansions, while the Chinese, whom they barely notice, struggle to survive. Through the improbable lens of these families we glimpse the tumult of the great transitions that ended the centuries of dynastic empires in China – from the collapse of the Qing dynasty to Sun Yat-sen to Chaing Kai-Shek to Mao – all of which led to today’s People’s Republic. Kaufman offers an absorbing and innovative angle on the story of east meets west. An educational precept suggests that we learn by beginning with the familiar and gradually edging into the unfamiliar. For me nothing could seem more exotically enigmatic than the history of China. This book is an exciting read because, in addition to depicting fascinating characters, it lifts a curtain and makes intelligible what had previously been opaque. Kaufman takes a journalistic stance on the behavior of these tycoons and lets the reader do most of the moral judging (if there be any). Certainly vis a vis the Chinese, the Kadoories and the Sassoons exhibit little generosity or even curiosity. But there is a moment of true redemption for both families during World War II. While the US turns away refugees from the Holocaust, Shanghai embraces them in droves. The Sassoons and the Kadoories participate in welcoming 18,000 Jews. Horace Kadoorie, perhaps the most empathetic member of these clans, sets up a school for the children. I hope many people will read this book. Surely you want to know what happens to Lawrence and Horace when the Communists take over and where all those Jewish refugees finally land when the war is over. And what about Victor? He is the hero and anti-hero of the book. You really want to know how his life takes a turn.

Ein Thema und Protagonisten, welche hierzulande kaum bekannt sind. Stoff für ein mehrteiliges Film-Epos. Ich bin auf das Buch durch eine Empfehlung von Dr. Markus Elsässer gekommen.

Who is controlling the Real Estate of Shanghai

Buen libro buen escrito

This was a page turner I’d read again. It was a fascinating journey through the late 1800s and 1900s business empires of two families that shaped China pre Communism. I learned so much and it gave insight into how the communism movement took hold thereafter.

Although I lived in Hong Kong during the 1970s, The Kadoories were real just names to me and the Sassoons with their involvement in the development of Shanghai were ancient history. This book vividly brings their story to life and explains their pivotal importance in rehoming Jewish refugees. The book is written in a pacy style making it eminently readable. For those who like me want to learn more about the wider Sassoon family I suggest that you follow this with 'The Global Merchants - The Enterprise and the Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty' by Joseph Sassoon. Also fascinating. Great insights into an extraordinary family.