Everytime when I read his book, I know how much he loved the world and took care of people & natures. Hong Kong was one of his favorite places. And this is a photo-love story of Hong Kong.

For those who grew up in Hong Kong in the late 50's and early60's, thisbook brings back all the memory of what Hong Kong was. Hong Kong's landscape had changed at least 3 to 4 times in the past thirty years. Most of the familiar street corners are now huge faceless shopping malls. This book reminds me what Hong Kong was, the one which would stay with me for the rest of my life. It is a must have for the mature boomers from that era.

The best part is that this book is updated by KPMG Peat Marwick annually to incorporate the latest changes in Hong Kong legislation, even after Mr. Flux's retirement. It is a useful guide for novices as well as professionals. I have been using it as a reference manual for 12 years.

This is by far the best book on Hong Kong taxation I have ever come across. It is presented in a clear and readable format suitable for study and as a professional reference. As a tax professional, and having followed this book since 1994-95 to the present 1998-99, I have found Hong Kong Taxation: Law and Practice to be much like a fine wine, improves with age. The revised chapters now have unsurpassed clarity in explaining the complex issues such as source of profits and the effects of changing legislation and case law on Hong Kong Taxation. David Smith, the current bearer of the torch, has applied his clever writing style to the book and annually updated the book to include the latest changes in case law and legislation as well as recently adding two new chapters on Stamp Duty and Estate Duty to make this a comprehensive reference on all Hong Kong tax ideal for both the tax professional and student. What keeps me coming back to Hong Kong Taxation: Law and Practice year after year is that it is updated annually, Smith and to a lesser extent now, Flux, have a clear writing style aimed at the tax professional (cases are described in just enough detail for the reader to understand, but not so much that the point is lost - emphasis on quality not quantity), changes from year to year are clearly highlighted, and new concepts/changes in legislation are explained clearly and with detailed examples. Lastly, what makes this book very credible is David Smith is an active and prominent member of the Hong Kong tax community respected by his peers and colleagues for his keen insights into all aspects of tax. Hong Kong Taxation: Law and Practice and the Davids actually make tax a pleasurable read!

This is an indispensable guide to trails in and around Hong Kong island. Stokes exposes the reader to aspects of Hong Kong that are overlooked by most tourist. The reader soon realizes that there is a treasure of wild places on this relatively small island. I was inspired to explore all the trails he suggested.

Inexhaustable hiker Ed Stokes has produced THE book of Hong Kong's natural beauty. The photographs alone raise this large book to coffee-table status, but the text offers fascinating glimpses of the SAR's (that's Special Administrative Region's) history.

It served me well when I wanted to find some new places to hike in Hong Kong. No really useful maps here (that's not the point of the book), but all the photos are accurately labeled, making his discoveries - like old abandoned villages and picturesque coves - a snap to find on government maps.

Really a valuable keepsake for anyone living in or visiting Hong Kong.

Published shortly after Hong Kong's handover to China in July 1997, Tim Nutt and Chris Bale made history by capturing the inspeakable of the 6 million of this Asian capital.

Ten individuals, all Hong Kong natives, express unspoken thoughts, feelings, emotions, and scopes as they prepare thier hearts and totter toward the new era in history, Hong Kong's return of sovereignty to Chinese after more than 150 years of coloniality.

Heart-felt sharings of many are combined with captions and beautiful full-color photographs and artwork for an uplifting view of the transformation of the financial and business capital.

This book is a pictorial history of the colony that will serve as a witness to the past, present and future of the Pearl of the Orient. The countenance, the pulse, and the heart-beat of the people are captured in this collage. Highly recommended.

This is a book which provides insight into the feelings and memories of Hong Kong residents (permanent and transient) as the city prepared for the Hand-over to China. It is rare to find such a personal compilation. The thoughts and stories of ten individuals are profiled; while shorter quotes, liberally scattered throughout the book, reflect the feelings of many more. Incredible photographs capture the culture and ambience of the region as well as the variety of landscapes. Colourful and insightful drawings and paintings from disabled children are a very special highlight to the book.

Recommended highly for all those who know and love Hong Kong as well as those who want to get to know its heart.

Stephen Vines claims that _Hong Kong: China's New Colony_ is unconventional, as "a personal account of living through" the transition. True enough, as the writing is anything but objective. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to dismiss this writing simply because of its bias, because it is also a very informative look at significant events and issues leading up to, and surrounding, the handover of Hong Kong to China.

The books claims to have a central theme of China's desire to acquire a colony (and hence the title), but I think a more accurate constant theme would be that the potential and likelihood of the Chinese Communist Party to crash the party that is Hong Kong. Throughout the book, the Chinese government is depicted in a thoroughly negative light, making it clear that Vines has little trust for the Chinese government to properly handle the SAR, and dislike for the current regime. This is fine, but it occasionally comes close to obscuring the information the book is presenting.

The flow of the book can be a little jumpy at times, with little logical progression of the chapters. The author often jumps from politics, to economy, back to politics, etc. Clearly the focus of the book is on both the politics and economics of the handover, but it may have been clearer if they were dealt with on their own terms.

Despite some drawbacks, the book deeply explores many key elements in Hong Kong and how the handover affects them. It is in these explorations that this work really shines. It effectively paints a picture of the complications and backgrounds of some of the major issues that cause concern to the people and businesses of the region.

One note of annoyance, Vines is inconsistent with the phonetic transcription of key figures and places. Mao Zedong is most early transcribed as "Mao Tse-Tung" (alongside "Lin Biao", which is transcribed in a different system, p.61) but thereafter always re-referred to as "Mao Zedong". Additionally, the PRC capital is always referred to as "Peking", which is markedly anachronistic in an age where "Beijing" is the standard transcription. For names of individuals who personally transcribe otherwise, it's acceptable, but not for more recognised entities for which another form (i.e. Pinyin) is now standard.

The book is thoroughly pessimistic, but interesting well enough. For those who have an interest in learning more about some of the issues concerning the Hong Kong handover, or even looking for an introduction to the event, _Hong Kong: China's New Colony_ is a good place to start.

This book covers the first year of Chinese rule in Hong Kong, by the reporter Steve Vines, whose articles on Hong Kong for the English paper the Independant were one of the few largely fearless sources of information for Hong Kong residents like myself during the 1990's, in the increasingly paranoid world of pre-handover Hong Kong (the local papers were terrible). Vines pulls a few punches this time around (he now has business interests in Hong Kong), but there is a lot of fascinating information on the place for those of us who left with or soon after the British.

For those visiting for the first time (or simply from the armchair), this book will make a good follow up to the usual Hong Kong classics: Jan Morris' Hong Kong, Austin Coates' Myself a Mandarin, Bo Yang's The Ugly Chinaman, Timothy Mo's The Monkey King, and Paul Theroux's Kowloon Tong - all great for an understanding of Hong Kong (including the bits Hong Kong doesn't like to talk about).

This collection of very nice photographs shows the reader the contrast between Hong Kong's past and present. They take him from one landmark to another, seemingly in no particular order. Ms. Wiltshire's British slant, however, does show through occasionally in the text.

It is a very good book about a very interesting theme. It has superlative photos and a good text supporting them. Anyone who loves Hong Kong will certainly like it.

The book is great, if you are running a cronicicle with kuei-jin, some mages, Dark Kingdom wraiths, or Shen Shapechangers. But westerners stay away. The culture difference would be brutal (;->). Otherwise, a good book. PS- Don't try and do the story, but get the sword

Disregard the idea of a story it brings if you want. It could limit you. But storytellers know how hard it is to create and keep a full guide of an area, complete with NPCs. This guide has it all, even the maps, havens, characters, plots, you'll ever need to get a full world of darkness crossover. If you like storytelling with all types of characters this is the book to have.

It's a free-for-all. It dispels any notion that mystery writers--when they start out--always take it slow, take time to warm up, blossom three books later. Yellowthread Street, the debut novel in the series of the same name--is a fireworks display, crackling with nonstop humour, frenzy, jagged but compelling style, and crazy subplots buttressing a crazy main story. Typical Marshall, right out of the gate--and, if anything, this first entry is the most gonzo of all I've read. So far.

The top dog is Inspector Harry Feiffer, who investigates a series of jewellery-store robberies, where the perpetrator wields a nasty blade called a kukri, targeting the fingers of unhelpful store owners or staff. Feiffer is also busy fielding phone-calls from his concerned wife, as well as an anonymous caller with a grudge. Then--when it turns out that certain jewellery stores that were robbed are connected to organized crime--Feiffer has got a posse of gangsters to worry about; he and they hunt the finger-chopping robber simultaneously, but gangsters like to use machine-guns, indulge in shoot-outs, and also employ henchmen who dabble in clubs with spikes.

Detectives Auden, Spencer, and O'Yee also appear for the first time, all working bizarre cases. A cinema-owner anticipates being held up now that an American destroyer has docked in the harbour, a married couple from New Jersey have become separated and are both beckoning the cops to help find each other (???), and there's been a double axe-murder (oh wait, Feiffer's handling that case too). The cops' heads spin--as may the reader's--as they try to wrap up each case in time to help Feiffer face the gangsters and the finger-chopper in a violent finale.

Ed McBain had mined this territory a few years earlier in a frenetic little gem called Hail Hail The Gang's All Here!, so Marshall's opener is not totally original. But he takes frenzied, multi-scenario, multi-cop loopiness to another level, and then actually tones it down in later Yellowthread Street books. I tend to prefer the more controlled chaos of most of the follow-ups, but what a daring debut!

This was the first in the series of ficitonal murder mysteries set in Hong Bay, Hong Kong. Protected by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Fieffer, Detective Inspector Christopher O'Yee, and Detectives Phil Auden and Bill Spencer, Hong Bay seems to be an authentic, frenzied, violent part of Hong Kong. While the station deals with a 'lost' American tourist and his harridan wife, more serious crime intrudes, with a Mongolian who is demanding 'protection' from local merchants, and attacking those who resist. The denouement is typical Marshall, a combination of fast action, violence, and chaos, with chaos being the most prominent factor. In this book, Spencer is the 'new guy', and Marshall convincingly shows us how Spencer has a difficult time fitting in with the other detectives. But as experienced Yellowthread Street readers know, the detectives prevail---at a price. Marshall is the pre-eminent writer of humorous, suspenseful police procedurals writing these days, and I am continually impressed by his expertise. Long may the detectives of Hong Bay continue to fascinate us!

I picked this book to read because the premise sounded so original and it kept its promise. There are a series of paintings of nude women who appear to be asleep or dead on display in a gallery in Hong Kong. Jordan Glass, a world class photo journalist, discovers the paintings and is shocked to discover that one of them looks exactly her. The first page in this book is a little tricky. I wonder how many readers go back and read the first two paragraphs a second time before continuing with the story. Iles, in the tradition of the best mystery writers, doesn't come right out and tell the reader who the suspect could be, but he paints a picture and leaves it to the reader to pick up on his clues. So much more fun that way. There are ups and downs in this story. It bogs down in a few places, but the pace soon picks up again. At times, the suspense is so great, the reader is tempted to take a peek at the end. But it's a complicated story and the reader would miss out on a lot by doing that. A very good read.

With the exception of BLACK CROSS, I have read every Greg Iles' novels. DEAD SLEEP is one of his best books ever written right after 24 HOURS and THE QUIET GAME.

In his latest novel, his main character is Jordan Glass, a professional photographer and journalist. During the past year and a half she has been taking unnecessary risks in her job and losing focus of her life. Thirty years ago her father went missing while working as a photojournalist during the Vietnam War and a year ago, a serial kidnapper based in New Orleans, kidnapped her identical twin sister. She left behind two kids and a husband and up to that point the FBI had no clues as to her whereabouts.

While trying to put her life together, Jordan goes to Hong Kong to work on her dream project, publishing a book on her pictures of weather phenomena. A friend of hers encourages a visit to a museum where she can see some beautiful watercolors on display. During her sightseeing she can't help but wonder as to why everybody in the building was staring at her. It is not until she sees an exhibit titled 'The Sleeping Women' when her life is torn asunder. This particular exhibit involves several paintings of nude female models that appear to be dead in the pictures. Jordan's sister is one of them. This takes her on an nightmarish ride in which she works with the NOPD and the FBI in trying to find the person responsible for those pictures and as the fate of her sister and the other missing girls. It seems each portrait represents a missing New Orleans woman kidnapped during the same time frame a Jordan's sister.

The story is very suspenseful and it kept me up until the wee hours trying to finish this book. I really enjoyed the characters in the book. My only complaint with the book involved the identity of the painter. I thought his reason for his madness was a little clichéd in mystery novels. Do not let this stop you, it is still a great book.

Greg Iles is my newest favorite novelist. His power of language and imagination are amazing. Every one of his novels is amazing (I have read 5 of the 6 he has written and I am reading the sixth now.). Each novel has a totally different premise with totally different characters. There is a bias toward the southern but the novels are worldwide in scope. This one begins in Hong Kong and goes to New York before ending up in New Orleans with a side trip to the Cayman Islands.

Iles has a wonderful sense of life, mystery and history and how they blend together to form one tapestry. He also has a wonderful gift to construct words that will keep you engrossed for the entire book.

In Dead Sleep a professional combat photographer sees pictures of dead women in an art exhibition in Hong Kong including a portrait of her twin sister who had been killed in New Orleans. She is compelled to track down the artist and ends up ensnared in a pattern of serial killing with macabre overtones (like Robert Parker and Stuart Woods, Iles now has a female protagonist). She inevitably ends up working with the FBI in a very strained relationship (it says something about the Bureau or about modern literary convention that you can only work with the FBI in a strained relationship).

I cannot recommend Iles books to highly and this certainly maintains the standard.

There's nothing quite like the thrill of a new James Bond adventure.. be it film, or book. Bond is Back in print.. and he's in good hands. Benson has Fleming's master spy right where his fans want him. Some of Gardner's novels unfortunately just had 007 as a passenger in the plots, but Benson has put Bond back in the driving seat.. with a cruel twist or two. This is the Bond we know from Fleming. I hope Benson's next effort is as good! Only one little nagging problem... while it's great to see Bond in Australia.. his encounter with a pack of Dingos was not entirely accurate. "They growled and bared their teeth, then barked fiercely." Sorry, Mister Benson.. Dingos make no sound!

ZERO MINUS TEN is BensonÕs first Bond novel and itÕs quite good. I particularly enjoyed the lengthy description of the Mahjong game, BondÕs ordeal in the Australian outback, and that fact that his villain is kind of a drunk. IÕve read and re-read all the Fleming and Gardner Bond books, and despite what some cranky Amazon reviewers say, Benson really knows his Bond. But if you're looking to just sample a Benson/Bond, I recommend you leap right to his third book, HIGH TIME TO KILL, which is his best so far. Then, if you get hooked, continue through his "Union Trilogy" with the next book DOUBLESHOT, then pick up the concluding chapter this summer (as far as I know itÕs called NEVER DREAM OF DYING, but this could change). Then come back and read ZERO MINUS TEN and THE FACTS OF DEATH which are equally good.

It's been a long time, but what we have here is the best of the non-Fleming Bond books, surpassing John Gardner's first effort, License Renewed and Kingley Amis' pastiche, Colonel Sun. The only rule that Raymond Benson seems to have followed was to write a Bond adventure he, a great Bond fan himself, would want to read.

With a stylistic nod to Ian Fleming, Benson allows Bond to follow a complicated trail of conspiracy through Macao mah-jhong parlors, Hong Kong triad rituals, corrupt echelons in the People's Liberation Army, a trek through the Australian outback, until finally reaching a moment of truth just as Britain is handing over Hong Kong to the Chinese.

The loyal Bond fan will be delighted to find that Benson has done his homework. He has Fleming's journalistic eye for detail and successfully recreates the noted "Fleming effect" of verisimilitude despite some rather outlandish situations.

Having visited Hong Kong on several occasions, I can state that he nailed the detail and the atmosphere of several locations, including the Chinnery Bar in the Mandarin Oriental--just the sort of clubby place that Fleming would have loved.

The whole book injects a freshness into the character and the series of novels, which, quite frankly, were growing stale under Gardner's stewardship.

Benson remains true to the character, provides some great villains and action set-pieces, sexy women and at least two terrific physical ordeals for 007.

Zero minus Ten is great fun, especially for Bond enthusiasts. Not to be missed.