Having lived in Hong Kong, This book,quite frankly, is one of the best books I've ever read. It should be read with "Typhoon" by the same author.

Back in early 1980's when Pocket books started issuing Star Trek novels, (even before they numbered them), Black Fire stood out as one of the best. Based on the then new premise of Spock as a savior of the Enterprise and the Federation.

Brilliantly written, Black Fire stands out still in my mind as an exceptional rendition of a Stra Trek story (even after reading several hundred Star Trek universe novels over the years)

Buy it if you can find it.

I loved this book, I read it about once every year. Spock in cloak-and-dagger mode is intriguing. As for an earlier comment,(SMALL SPOILER) his suicide attempt was, in fact, quite logical. He was crippled and his companions would not escape (and thereby warn the Federation) without him.(END SPOILER) As far as behaving as we would expect the characters do, I thought they did, especially the Spock-McCoy relationship. Nothing in the book was unreasonable, nothing insofar unreasonable as a lot of Star Trek V (the crew turning on Kirk for example) which is canon while Black Fire is not. BF is an excellent read, like a lot of the 80's ST novels like the Entropy Effect.

I read this book for the first time many years ago, and I think I've probably read it 10 more times since then. One of the most intriguing Star Trek novels ever. Sonni Cooper puts together a first class relationship with Spock and his Romulan friend. A must read (if you can find it).

I just dont get the appeal of this book, I'm sorry. For the most part, all it contains is a bunch of detailed plot information (yes Virginia, including key plot twists and endings) and very little information as to if the movies were any good! Yes, he has some special lists ("movies that rip"), but just not enough. I wanted this book as a reference to all of the HK movies out there, so I could see what was good before plunking down my cash on them - after reading about a few movies, I felt I no longer needed to buy them because I had already seen them. There are much better options.

This book is only helpful for those with little knowledge of Hong Kong films. It's more playful than artistic, yet there are some helpful film reviews included. Some of the information is outdated: Web sites, where to buy HK films, etc..., but if your new to HK films and are interested in the pop culture gems that come out of Hong Kong, then check this book out. For those interested in a more in-depth look at Hong Kong films, I recommend City on Fire, by Lisa Stokes and Micheal Hoover.

Memo to the reader from Denver: did you read the same book I did? Yeah, I'll admit that I wish the authors hadn't gone into quite so much detail about the plots, but how can you say they didn't review any of the films? The authors' enthusiasm for this exhilarating subsection of filmdom permeates every sentence herein; everything they write is filtered through their opinions, which are mostly positive, because, as they explain in the intro, they put the spotlight on the films they loved the most. With the exception of the informative sidebars, there's nothing BUT reviews here.

I love this book. It's not meant to be an HK film encyclopedia, just a feet-wetting introduction to an unjustly overlooked body of work. As that, it's nearly perfect.

This is of interesting read, but I highly recommand reading 'The Coming Collapse of China' or even 'China Dream' to have better pictures!

The author is a Dutch journalist for a Dutch newspaper based in Asia for twentysomething years and his book was translated into English a year later. Over 5 years ago, he wrote with a provocative title; similar to vanWolferen, an author (0-394-57796-5) who popularized the mgmt-speak: "Japan Inc," along with Business Week magazine, in the mid 1980s, when megaconglomerates (keiretsu), such as Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, were conspiring to conquer the world again, this time economically instead of militarily after WW II plus 40 years. Then later Mark Clifford wrote (1-56324-386-5) of a similar business conspiracy being duplicated with the chaebols of "Korea Inc," such as Samsung and Hyundai, after the Korean conflict (1950) plus 40 years. I found that this author has written a profound analysis on a potentially unified China (PRC+HK+TW), and interprets recent history to show the reader how China could set a similar course since the Cultural Revolution (1975) plus 40 years. Although he is a westerner who knows the native language, he appears to give a more neutral, less biased portrait of the emerging giant.

While not explicitly claimed by the author, his experience in reporting about China has started in the late 70s, first from Indonesia and then in the Chinas. This means that he observed the China ferment since the Cultural Revolution. So his writings must have included the Gang of 4 (79), the Four Modernizations (80s), Third Line Project (relo key defense industry away from the vulnerable E coast), and Deng's Reform and Opening (92). His book includes a 3-page bibliography, 18 pages of notes, and a 14-page index for further study. From his vantage point, he could eavesdrop on the whispered goings-on in the CCP and Taiwanese governments in order to validate what is eventually released to the propaganda machines.

Of the key areas in his book, Chap 3, over 30 pages are devoted in describing the westernization of Taiwan, yet he weaves in the overall strategy used by the PRC so that Taiwan will eventually return to the fold (p112). And in Chap 8, a 12-page analysis on why Taiwanese were allowed to create wholly owned factories in the Xiamen SEZ, directly across the Taiwan Straits in Fujian province, PRC. This book is great because it identifies the younger CCP lieutenants that one needs to watch as they gain experience and power. Furthermore in the 13-page Chap 13, he discusses why the greater HK / Canton / Shenzhen SEZ / Guangdong province area will be the first megalopolis that truly will embrace capitalism with Chinese characteristics. The industrial infrastructure is alive and well all united with the Cantonese dialect; the 5th ASEAN Tiger is ready to move. And finally in 15-page next to the last Chap 18, he explains the changes in politics, society, and culture that will take place during China's coming out period that will last through this decade. The author and translator have created an understandable read, one that has deciphered the seemingly conflicting news bytes that are in American press. One that makes it easier to see the forest and the trees, yet helping the reader understand the telltales so you can watch them bend as the wind blows.

Just this year, I see that Wal-Mart is selling refrigerators made by Haier, which is direct from the emerging Chinese capitalists in the PRC. This is the first consumer harbinger with a PRC brand name. This breaks the tradition of OEM contract manufacturing, first of clothing, shoes, and toys, then upscale to TVs, VCRs, and stereo gear. Now China is superceding the OEM manufacture of high tech computer components which are in-magnanimously buried underneath the "Intel inside" sticker on PC cases, which have been made in the PRC all through the 90s. The "Made in China" sticker is being flagerantly and ubiquitously waved in front of the world.

Undeniably since 2K, the march with "China Inc" has begun. After taking some lessons from history and reading van Kemanade's book, it becomes obvious in predicting the events to come. As aptly alluded to in David Sheff's new book (0-06-000599-8), the WTO gates have rang open a year ago (9/01); the modern Marco Polo shall be wise to heed the new adage, "Go east, young man, go east to China!"

I picked this book up at ..., not really knowing what to expect. To my surprise, I ended up with a very detailed account of the economic and political situation in greater China (eastern continental Asia plus Japan, basically).

To begin with, this book really shows how the economic situation dominates the politics and realities of China. The incomplete transformation to a market economy where it is now legal, and even encouraged, to strive for profit is discussed throughout the book at varying levels. Keep in mind that China is still Communist - competition and striving for profit/growth is only somewhat the antithesis of Marxist theory. Reversing Mao's egalitarianism in favor of Deng's "those who can, get rich and it will trickle down" is something that has led to corruption and lack of moral guidance for most Chinese.

It also contains a good portrayal of the conflict between the gerontocracy and the younger (heh, 55-65 being young) generation more inclined to quicker and more complete economic reform. The government's ever changing policy on Confucianism, for example, illustrates the current problem the Communists are having coming up with ideology for the changing situation. This is discussed especially near the end of the book (including some nice information about new folk heroes).

The discussion on Communist theory displays some arguments that since China was never capitalist, they cannot proceed along the normal historical dialectic. I found this quite interesting. It seems the Chinese argue out of everything with paper-thin ideology, which is a recurring theme in this book - regarding relations with Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, America, just about everyone (including internal criticism of government policy).

An important topic also discussed in this book is the nature of the neonationalism present in Chinese today, as well the probable nature of China's Communism in the future. It is suggested that the Communism will evolve to where it is political repression that is the rule, but that out of necessity economic freedom will be increasingly common. This will create problems for the Communist system, even as it attempts to reform itself. The translation is well done, and the statistics are also handled well.

Oh, and for those who have been complaining about the second half of the book dealing with China's economic zones - I really found that part of the book to be the most informative. I assume most of us had very little knowledge of the northeast/xinjiang compared with our knowledge of Taiwan or Hong Kong. There was a good portrayal of Chinese racial relations with the Islamic portion to the west, and in the east with the Russians and Koreans. It was also interesting to learn more about the slow-motion invasion of the Siberia by the Chinese. This involves mass migration and illegal immigration, basically taking over towns that used to be Russian and turning the Russians into the lesser beings (as opposed to the imperialist notions circa old Shanghai), i.e. the mistreated waitresses and desperate barterers traveling to escape the economic problems in Russia itself. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject matter and the will to learn a great deal about internal politics and conflict, as well as the economics signified by the "Inc." in the title.

Hi, we are going to Hong Kong next year, and I bought this book to help me decide where to stay and pick a few highlights that I will want to plan on seeing.

This book is really, really helpful when it comes to listing hotels and restaurants according to regions of the city. There are also quite a few maps that are fairly easy to read and they have laid out the book so that you could take it along on a walking tour of Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, etc. and refer to it very easily. They also include information on public transportation i.e. buses, the subway, etc., how to get to and from the airport, etc. The book is a convenient size to put in a small backpack as well.

The only thing that I would do to improve this book is to add more pictures of some of the things described!

This book also includes lots of useful information on side trips to both Macau and Guangzhou, which are both easy day trips from Hong Kong.

As a native who grew up and used to live in Hong Kong, it is always fun and entertaining to read about these wonderful and exciting accounts about the city from the eyes of foreigners.

A restless and vibrant city with more than 6.5 million inhabited on 1071 square miles, Hong Kong is the center of the Far East, dubbed "Pearl of the Orient". A tour-guide of 200 or so pages probably can't portrait the exciting lifestyles led by locals and all the fun this island has to offer.

Yet Fodor has done quite an awesome job.

In addition to the usual tidbits on "how to get there" and the A-Z guide, Fodor team really does the homework and presents the city with unusual details and point-of-interests that are not commonly known to foreigners. A city made up of the Kowloon peninsula, the Hong Kong Island (where major financial and business center locates), and 235 outer islands, one would have to explore the outlying islands, whether inhabited or not, in order to complete travel experience in Hong Kong. Fodor delivers vivid and lucid photos of the islands as well as shopping guidelines, food and drinks, and destivals and seasonal events.

There is no best time to visit in Hong Kong. You might want to avoid the summer months of hot and humid weather. A stroll around the Central District will expose you to the heart of the city - financial district. You will also find historical monuments left by the British empire, which once ruled over this colony for 150 years. A walk up the mid-level from Central introduced dozens of specialty restaurants which serve from bagels to cajun chicken to pita bread.

Be sure to Fodor with you on your next vacation to Hong Kong. Read and study it and you will find your travel experience rewarding and exciting. Like many tour guides published, local cultures and hang-outs are never sufficient and infact, visitors are usually advised to stay away from "local" areas; yet I recommend you walking through the local neighborhoods i Hong Kong, which are relatively welcoming and safe. You will find surprised delights like roasted goose, exotic Chinese pastries, and hand-made crafts.

I bought this book before I left on a 4 month international exchange w/ my university. While there, I got to see and use the other brands of HK travel guides used by the other exchange students, including Lonely Planet. The Fodor's edition, by far, has the most detailed "key" information than any of the other guides. It's simple to use, I highly recommend it.

WOOO-WEE -- here's a breezy little treatise disguised as a historical novel that would have us believe that men are completely dispensable!!!! First, a look at the male archetypes: Ba-ba, whose mysterious potential is hinted at but, just as mysteriously, never materialized by the author (?!!?!!!) is a shadowy, pre-occupied, slim figure always off in Japan, leaving the females to fend for themselves; glamorous Joan's dates are unfaithful wretches; and Emma's poor husband, whose tragic flaw is being a good guy I guess, was conveniently written out of the story with the clumsiest deus ex machina I have seen since the kind woodcutter jumps in to save the day in Little Red Riding Hood!!!! Secondly, on to the stiff rendering of characters. As one astute reviewer pointed out, in the first few chapters of the book the reader is reminded again and again of the distinguishing traits of each character. Without variation, Foon is the "old servant flashing a gold tooth", Joan is the glamour queen with a mole on her lip, the mother leaves the lingering scent of Shalimar in the room, amazingly enough Emma, intelligent and serious, is the exact counterpoint of her beautiful sister... All of these points would have been fine, had they been made once, even twice would be forgivable, but the poor reader is continually flogged with these blunt tools throughout the read. The book also aspires to, but never achieves, some sort of a look at the politics of race and nation, as a backdrop to the main story about how a family of strong women survives against the odds. However, the author's attempt at finessing the politico/historical backdrop is so contrived and drags out so many old saws, the reader feels she has stumbled into a lumber camp: the Japanese are hateful plundering creatures; the Hawaiians are a peaceful relaxed, sensual people; Americans are jocular bunch, slapping each other on the back and eating bland, tough food; Chinese people are tight with their family and offended by bland, tough food... Do we really need another reinforcement of these stereotypes???!! I give the book one star because I like that the author writes of the relationships between women, I give it a half star for the attempt made on the part of the author to bring to life the world of Hong Kong cinema, I give it another half star for whatever it was in the story that kept me reading to the end, for a total of 2 stars. In conclusion, I would like to quote one astute reviewer who wrote "we expect more from a professional writer."

Night of Many Dreams is the story of two Chinese sisters, Joan and Emma, growing up in Hong Kong during and after World War II. Their mother is a traditional Chinese woman who wants to pair them up with respected and successful husbands; their father runs a business that keeps him in Japan the bulk of the time; and their Auntie Go runs a successful knitting factory and has never married. During the course of the book, they flee the Japanese occupation to the nearby Portuguese island of Macao, return to Hong Kong to start over again, and gradually return to prosperity. The book focuses on the two daughters, both of them strong and independent in different ways, and how they each find their own way. With the mother and aunt as role models, we expect that Joan, the beautiful one, will find a good husband, and Emma, the smart one, will pursue a career. In the end, though, they each make choices that suit their personality without necessarily fulfilling the expectations others had of them.

Like Tsukiyama's Women of the Silk, this book is nicely written and gives a good sense of the culture and values during this time in Hong Kong. I liked this one a little better than Silk, though, because it had a broader array of interesting characters and I felt I came to understand them better, especially Auntie Go, Joan & Emma. Both Joan and Emma seem to grow and learn from their experiences, and I enjoyed seeing how each of them would handle some of the difficult choices they faced. I like how Tsukiyama creates strong female characters who find their own way within their culture, subtly challenging the status quo but without explicitly rejecting the system. I don't know enough about that area's history to know how realistic the story is, but I hope it is plausible.

I can't even remember why I bought this book -- I just happened upon it last week, and once I started reading it, I quickly got sucked into the stories of these women's lives. I read some of the of other comments regarding this book -- that's it's not "historical" and that it doesn't represented men well (except Emma's husband). While this is true, I don't think this is a hinderance at all. Tsukiyama tells a really good story, it's a good read, and you end up caring about the characters immensely. It's a story about women's lives -- and the differences between them. While history does play a part in the plot, it's not the center piece. History doesn't drive the plot, per se, but the different relationships and the difference experiences between daughters and mothers and aunts and, yes, even men drive the plot. I would highly recommend this book if you just want to escape for awhile. You might even see a little bit of yourself in one of these women, and you might even learn a bit more about the women that touch your life.

Just be prepared for the ending. It's tragic, but it completes the circle as well. I think this is when all the women in the story really learn about themselves, if they hadn't before.

I hate to be a party pooper, but I was disappointed with this novel. It was readable enough, but I was never fully engaged and I found the modern-day muckraking journalist subplot unconvincing and unnecessary--almost as if John Lanchester had been persuaded to include it as a way to make the book appeal to readers who might mistake a reporter named Dawn Stone for Danielle Steele.

The descriptions of Hong Kong are very fine, though, and Tom Stewart is an interesting, if disaffected, character. Lanchester writes well. "Longevity can be a form of spite. I am an old man myself now, and recognize the symptoms," is a nice opening for a novel. But a superior book about Hong Kong is Martin Booth's "Hiroshima Joe." That is a book that once read, is not soon forgotten.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the sparks of humor, "What do you say to a 900 pound gorilla with a machine gun?" ("Sir.") My appreciation for it grew after I'd finished my reading and was able to look back on it. Granted, it's not until the last 50 pages of the book that you begin to understand why the first section about Dawn Stone is there. Until the reading is complete, the novel seemed disjointed; but afterward, it seemed remarkably unified. I loved how the characters of the first and last sections set in the modern time completed the story of Tom Stewart. The historical novel which is the largest middle section of the book is incredibly fascinating. The unrequited love of Tom for Sister Maria that is never quite articulated but certainly implied is the emotional glue that holds the tale. In the end, Lancaster brings us to a full circle fulfilled in time. As readers, we gain a greater perspective that supercedes the point of view of any of the individual characters which is a remarkable feat. While the criticisms that there are better Hong Kong novels or that he could have more description might be true, I think Lancaster has masterfully done something different. He weaves the reader through the storylines and then pulls us out of them to give a greater sense of wholeness. If angels live centuries in service, then the readers' perspective comes closer to that more eternal viewpoint through this novel which is breathtaking. Bravo!

A writer who likes to do something different each time out, John Lanchester sets his third novel in Hong Kong (which translates as "fragrant harbor"), his boyhood home, and a character as vivid, complex and contradictory as his human protagonists. A city created by waves of refugees and fortune seekers, vulnerable to attack, it has become a place focused on the energy of the moment, seducing newcomers with dreams of money and power, absorbing them in its push to the future.

The book's primary narrator, English expatriate Tom Stewart, is first glimpsed in a brief prologue as an old man contemplating the South China Sea and a tranquil, if dubious, satisfaction: "Longevity can be a form of spite."

The narration then shifts to the tart, sassy, modern viewpoint of Dawn Stone, looking back on her path to success from her arrival in Hong Kong in 1995 as a young journalist, fired with ambition and wide-eyed cynicism, to her involvement with the island's most powerful man, T.K. Wo.

For the longest section of the book, Stewart returns as a man of 22, embarking for Hong Kong in a spirit of adventure. The path of his life is set on that voyage when a loud-mouthed British businessman and an equally outspoken British nun make a bet that the nun's companion, a younger Chinese nun, Sister Maria, can teach Stewart Cantonese in the six weeks of their voyage.

An enduring friendship and unspoken passion is formed between the determined, idealistic Maria and the pliant, adventurous Tom. His newly acquired Cantonese lands him a hotel management job where he finds his niche in the teeming city and helps out Maria by hiring a boy - Wo Ho-Yan - who has fallen into bad company in China.

But already war is in the air. Civil War between communists and nationalists in China and the Japanese invasion of China have sent waves of refugees to Hong Kong and Japanese invasion of the city seems inevitable. Rumors and pronouncements fly in panic and denial. From the Hong Kong perspective, the bombing of Pearl Harbor is "the good news" as it may deflect Japanese forces.

Stewart is recruited as a British spy and placed in a bank. When the Japanese invade the New Territories, where Maria has been sent, he impulsively goes to find her, and they spend two horrific weeks hiding from the Japanese and aiding refugees. Despite her pleading that Tom flee with her to China, he returns to Hong Kong and his duties to the British. Though interned in a Japanese camp, the business of the bank must go on and Stewart is well placed to accept a radio from one of the city's gang leaders - brother of the boy he had tried and failed to help for Maria. When asked why he bothers to aid the British, Wo Man-Lee replies, "Maybe you win."

His old boss' health broken by the Japanese prison camp (where the author's grandparents were interned), Stewart takes over the hotel's management after the war as Hong Kong's fortunes rise again. Wo Man-Lee's gamble has paid off too and he is rapidly amassing a dynasty, aided by Hong Kong's appetite for debauchery and its easy corruption. Maria, however, has never forgiven him for corrupting his own brother. Stewart passes the years quietly and grows into old age on the sidelines as Hong Kong reels from the Chinese Cultural Revolution and panics over the coming 1997 handover from the British to the Chinese. Stewart's Quixotic and increasingly difficult adherence to a stubborn principle is a mystery to the narrator of the novel's final section, Matthew Ho, a businessman we met briefly through Dawn Stone, who is instrumental in the novel's conclusion.

In one of the books' many ironies, a place with so much history - colonization, invasion, waves of desperate immigrants, its volatile position between China and Britain - dwells only in the present, driven by the insatiable pursuit of money and commerce. Chance plays a major thematic part - if Dawn had missed any of her big breaks, if Stewart had embarked on a different ship, if Ho had missed his flight. And irony informs the structure of the novel, leading to a quiet, masterful, inevitable bombshell of an ending.

Lanchester's writing is assured, traditional. The story is sweeping and tumultuous yet told in a mannered, reflective, personal voice. And Lanchester's ("The Debt to Pleasure" and "Mr. Phillips," both prize winners) Hong Kong is as vibrant, exotic and ruthless a city as ever seduced an immigrant.

This book could have been so much more that what it is. The author had interviews with many of the top stars and directors in Hong Kong Cinema, and yet the interviews of such notables as Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, and Michelle Yeoh are barely a page-and-a-half. While it does provide some wonderful information, the bulk of the book is plot summaries and reviews; while the summaries might be helpful, I think most people would have been more interested in what the people involved in the business have to say. Ultimately, my main take on this book is that it was a squaundered oppurtunity for the author to have access to so many well known stars only to reduce them to 5 or 6 comments in a book of this size. Magazine interviews are longer than the interviews found in this book. It's worth reading, but just speaking for myself, it was little more than a tease.

As some of the other reviews here suggest, this is a bit of a cut and paste job-- Dannen's New Yorker piece on the triads thrown together with reviews and lists compiled by others. But the field has been so spottily documented to date that the serious info and critical context provided here is of real value, even if, as is suggested in one of the reviews above, "Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head" is probably a better choice for the fan who just wants to know what cool movies to rent. I would also recommend a British book which should be available here, "Hong Kong Action Cinema" by Bey Logan.

Hong Kong is often called the Hollywood of the east and in this one volume book, i.e., Hong Kong Babylon: An Insider's Guide to the Hollywood of the East by Fredric Dannen, et al this becomes very clear. The book is well written and is divided into several easy to use sections, i.e., film-makers et al. Highly Recommended.

Very, very mediocre book... All the girls are beautiful and all the men are gentlemen, except one... How boring! Also the facial descriptions are so monotonous and repetitive; all eyes are luminous and all rain drops on eyelashes glitter like diamonds... please, give me a break.. Anyway, this type of writing may appeal to some, obviously...

I, for one, thought this book was GREAT. From the setting of Hong Kong, to the depth of the characters, everything was top notch. James was my favorite, of course. But all the characters were riviting, and the story was unique and very interesting. This book lacked for nothing! I count it among one of my all-time favorites.

I don't see how anyone could find this book lacking in any way. It was great, the characters were great, very memorable, and the plot was fantastic. ALL the characters were very well-written, very real, very well-described. Not to mention the setting of Hong Kong, a place wherein the author made you feel like you were there. I could read this one over and over. James was my favorite character. So classy, handsome, and gentle. This is a wonderful read.

When I lived in Hong Kong in the 90's, Wei's book was a useful introduction to ways to behave around Hong Kong hosts and clients. But the book suffers from a typical Hong Kong problem, the reluctance to prepare the first-time visitor for the more unpleasant "underbelly" of Hong Kong society, which any westerner has to deal with. There is a general sense of insecurity in Hong Kong society which affects all interactions with westerners, business or social, and grows out of the tragic influx of millions of refugees fleeing China to the safety of British Hong Kong - this aspect of Hong Kong is not dealt with by Wei, but is dealt with in Jan Morris's Hong Kong (which contains much other fascinating information). A knowledge of this tragic history (which is often too painful for Hong Kong Chinese to discuss - like any criticism of Hong Kong, it causes loss of "face"), is essential for any understanding of how the place works. The unpleasant fallout from this historical situation, in terms of the societal frustration and bad public behaviour it causes, is dealt with brilliantly in Bo Yang's The Ugly Chinaman and the Crisis in Chinese Culture. Two novels of Hong Kong, Timothy Mo's The Monkey King and Paul Theroux's Kowloon Tong, offer suprisingly accurate takes on many actions and attitudes that the vistor and short term resident in Hong Kong will encounter, but can again be too painful to discuss. All the above books deal with things Betty Wei doesn't, and knowing about them will enrich your understanding of this interesting city during your visit/domicile there. Also helpful for understanding Hong Kong is the "classic" Hong Kong book, Myself a Mandarin, by Austin Coates.

While I've not been to Hong Kong, I've had supervisors and co-workers who were Hong Kong persons, and have done some reading about this unique cultural mix. Thus I can't speak for the accuracy of all details except to say that the ones I can verify are accurate.

The authors' knowledge of the SAR is clearly that of the native, and an effort has been made to explain cultural nuances that a non-Hong Kong author might never have seen. (Example: the way of life of the vast majority of low-paid publicly-housed wage labourers, most of whom are Chinese.) Of course, there's a tradeoff: we do not get the perspective of a non-Hong Kong person as to what stands out. Ideally one author would have been native and another an immigrant.

It was published, however, before the 1997 handover, so a lot has probably changed since then and I can't recommend it for those interested in the politics and government of Hong Kong. For those interested in the culture--which will change only slowly, barring drastic action by Beijing--it's a very useful reference.

This book contains a lot of good historical information on Hong Kong, but it came out before the biggest historical event of recent years -- the return of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule. I hope the authors are working on an updated version. It would also benefit from the inclusion of a good map to give people planning their first visit to Hong Kong a sense of proportion and location.