Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I enjoyed the book because Carl Crow did live an interesting life (journalism, marketing and hobnobbing with China's elite), in an interesting place (Shanghai) at an interesting time (pre World War 2).
That said, I have a few complaints. It is obvious that the author was working with very incomplete archival material, as the book has a "distance" from the subject that if he had talked to many people who had known Carl Crow should not be present. I felt like I was reading a summary of other reports, rather than a book that made Carl Crow really come alive. It is unfortunate that no one wrote a good biography before he died or shortly thereafter.
Secondly, I think the editing was terrible. Numerous times throughout the book, I read something and I said "Didn't I just read that?", and there it was - a similiar fact or statement in the paragraph above. No excuse for that kind of thing...
By far the best part of the book for me was when Japan invaded and the recently evacuated Carl Crow decided to go back to China, via the Burma Road, to report on the resistance and drum up support for China in America. This had the makings of engrossing book right there but unfortunately it was only one chapter of this effort.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Carl Crow, a Tough Old China Hand: The Life, Times, and Adventures of an American in Shanghai
