Wordjazz for Stevie

Dim Sum:
a survival guide
Why limit yourself to the English menu when ordering dim sum? Cantonese teacher Liza Chu has a part-time career as a Hong Kong dim sum guide, and she has distilled her knowledge of Chinese cuisine and dining etiquette into this practical guidebook to eating out. Let Liza show you how to yum cha like a local!

The Great Walk of China
How long would it take to walk across the world's most populous country? Graham Earnshaw is finding out. The Great Walk of China is a journey into China's heartland, away from its surging coastal cities, where the ripples of prosperity are only just beginning to be felt.

Sleeping Chinese
Shanghai shut-eye? For documentary evidence of Chinese demonstrating the art of extreme napping, check out Bernd Hagemann's new book!

Diamond Hill
"Diamond Hill was one of the poorest and most backward of villages in Hong Kong when Hong Kong itself was poor and backward. We moved there in 1956 when I was almost 10. I left when I was 19. Those were the formative years of my life. It’s a time that I remember well and cherish."

No Minister & No, Minister
The outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong had only a short-term impact on the local economy, but left the city with a political hot potato. Mike Rowse launches his new book — subtitled The True Story of HarbourFest — at the FCC. Click for more details.

Apologies Forthcoming
It was some decade. The universities were closed. Students were at war. Poetry was banned. And the word “love,” unless applied to Mao, was expressly forbidden. Artists were denounced, and many opted for suicide. This is the time — its madness, its passion, its complexity — that Xujun Eberlein brings vividly to life in her moving collection of short stories about the millions who lived during China’s Cultural Revolution.

Chinese Gods
Who are they? Where did they come from? What do they do? Chinese folk religion is the underlying belief system of more than a billion people. Go into any home, office or restaurant and you will see altars, statues or paper ‘good luck’ images. And wherever there is a Chinese community there are temples and Earth God shrines. But what is the religion that makes sense of all these expressions of belief?

Wing Chun Warrior
Duncan Leung was introduced to Wing Chun Kung Fu by his childhood friend, famed screen star Bruce Lee. At the age of 13, he became the formal disciple of sixth-generation master Yip Man. Yip taught him how to apply Wing Chun to actual fighting. Since moving to Virginia Beach in 1976, Leung has taught US Navy SEALs, members of the FBI, and various SWAT teams. Now you can read his true fighting tales!

CHINA: Portrait of a People
Following in the footsteps of Marco Polo and Mao Zedong, Tom Carter made his own Long March throughout the People's Republic. On his route through over 200 cities and villages, Carter left footprints in every province, becoming one of the few Westerners to have done so. This small-format book fills the need for a better understanding of the diverse Chinese people.

NEWS
Book Giveaway
Every month, we give away copies of our newest title to the first three people to correctly answer our prize question. Go to our blog to find out more!

Apologies Forthcoming
"Chinese-American authors such as Iris Chang and Amy Tan have made a significant contribution to factual and fictional literature, but few have a tale to tell as piquant as Xujun Eberlein's." — South China Morning Post

Forging the Future
Blacksmith Books was profiled in Time Out — read the article here. The magazine also asked how to get a book published in Hong Kong, and Blacksmith's Pete Spurrier was one of the local publishers interviewed.

Wordjazz for Stevie
"This may be the most moving story you will ever read.” — Sunday Telegraph

Look inside the book
We're offering a sneak peek inside Blacksmith Books titles. Just click on the links on each book's page to see sample pages pop up in PDF format. Try it now by going here.

Business Republic of China
"[Leblanc] is propelled forward by the strength of his stories. And this is a man with some cracking stories to tell. ... While other similar works can come across as either too academic or too broad and macro-focused, Business Republic of China is rich in practical detail. Leblanc’s experiences make for instructive reading for any foreign executive doing business in China." — China Economic Review

Wing Chun Warrior
"The story of Duncan Leung — childhood friend of Bruce Lee and disciple of Wing Chun master Yip Man — is valuable not only for the insights it offers into Chinese martial arts but also for its portrayal of the lost Hong Kong of the 1950s and 1960s." — Asia Times

CHINA: Portrait of a People
"A striking, kaleidoscopic vision of China's lands and people." — The Beijinger
"Anyone interested in China should love owning it." — Cairns Media Magazine
"Well worth having on your bookshelf." — South China Morning Post
“Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures the heart and soul of the Chinese people.” — Anchee Min

King Hui
"Hui’s story gives us glimpses of a Hong Kong – the opium dens, the pool halls, the nightclubs, the casinos and the girls, girls, girls – not adequately reflected in official histories of the city." — Asia Times

Reel Life
Yeeshan Yang’s investigative work Whispers and Moans has been brought to the big screen by Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau. Starring Athena Chu Yan, the movie premiered at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, where Yau was honoured as Director in Focus.

China lifts ban on French Spiderman
Just months after he was expelled from China for climbing Shanghai's tallest building without permission, a daring French climber is preparing to scale another Chinese peak – but this time at the invitation of the government. Alain Robert, dubbed the French Spiderman for his ascents up some of the world's tallest buildings without climbing gear, will scale one of China's best known mountains in the northern province of Hunan.

Hong Kong On Air... on air
Click the play buttons to watch TV right here!