Last post : the end of empire in the Far East
"In this masterly and colourful epic John Keay draws on the writings and reminiscences of contemporaries, both rulers and ruled, to chart the extinction of empire. From the 1930 surrender of Weihaiwei ('the other Hong Kong') to that of Hong Kong itself, he explores how the shared experience of recession and war drew the imperial powers together. Making common cause against the challenge of revolutionary ideology, they suffered a common fate at the hands of revolutionary technology." "The backwaters of empire in Bali, Borneo and the Yangtze vie with the showpieces of Shanghai, Singapore, Saigon and Manila. Bizarre personalities from Douglas MacArthur to Dirk Bogarde confront a formidable array of nationalist leaders - Ho Chi Minh, Sukarno, Magsaysay. From Indonesia to Malaysia and Vietnam the West's attitudes to empire are seen to change; but for their subjects it is Japan's triumph in the Second World War and Mao's victory in China which clear the road to independence." "John Keay skirts the 'decline and fall' syndrome usually associated with imperial demise, and argues that, 'like sailing ships and sealing wax', empire simply became outdated. Delving into its origins and operation, he discovers a continuum of economic growth. Empire may itself take some credit for the 'Asian miracle'."--Jacket
Print Book, English, 1997
John Murray, London, 1997