Hong Kong Noir
From the bestselling author of Diamond Hill. Hong Kong pathologist Feng Chi-shun was once part-owner of a dive bar in Kowloon City: a rough part of town which was home to the Sun Yee On triad gang. During that time, he heard a lot of stories. The 15 tales in Hong Kong Noir offer a glimpse of what happens in the shadows.

Roots, Fruits, Shoots and Leaves
Have you ever wondered about that wacky-looking fruit staring back at you in the local wet market? Or did you want to know how to cook a particular Chinese vegetable, but don’t have the language skills? Roots, Fruits, Shoots and Leaves gives you the answers!

Hong Kong Unveiled
Hong Kong Unveiled is an 'Access All Areas' pass into Chinese culture and customs.  Invited to a Chinese wedding or business function and don’t know the correct form? This book will lead you through the minefield where an innocent mistake could see you lose your friend or your business connection. Want to change a run of bad luck? Or are your jokes falling flat with your Chinese friends? Find out how and why in this far-ranging book. 

Kowloon: Unknown Territory
What do "deep water pier", "nine dragons city" and "mandarin's lake" have in common with "Wong Tai Sin", the name of a Taoist deity? They're all districts in Kowloon. This book is an exploration of what is often seen as Hong Kong's shadow-side, from the viewpoints of community, consumerism, art, food, fashion and sex – 15 years after the handover.

The Curious Diary of Mr Jam
He tried to bring comedy to Asia, but everyone just laughed at him
Sam Jam’s whole life had been a tragic mistake. As a humorist in Asia he had repeatedly been sacked, blacklisted and chased out of buildings. But he refuses to believe that his audiences of conservative Muslims, Communist officials, religious police and Asian citizens in general have no sense of humour.

Walking the Tycoons' Rope
Robert Wang fled the Chinese civil war at the age of five and came to Hong Kong with nothing. The colony was a harsh place in the 1950s and 1960s. But he was determined to rise to the top – and through hard work and resolve, he got there. Robert’s rags-to-riches story offers a rare look inside the unimaginably wealthy world of Hong Kong’s property tycoons.

Hong Kong for Kids
Hong Kong’s best selling parents’ guide is back, completely revised and more comprehensive than ever before, with 70+ outing ideas! Filled with exciting child-friendly activities to do, see and experience, Hong Kong for Kids gives parents and educators all the important information they need to have a successful and stress-free outing with kids.

Master of None
Does a man need a stint in jail to complete his life experiences? From Stanley Prison, corporate high-flyer John T. Hung recounts his life in a sweep of Hong Kong history over five generations – from his family roots in the 19th century through World War II to the present. The story tracks the richness of his mixed heritage and upbringing, his steady rise and precipitous fall from the pinnacles of corporate Hong Kong to the life-destroying court case and heartbreaking incarceration.

Don't Joke on the Stairs
China – what’s not to love? Join longtime Hong Kong resident and Cantonese fundamentalist Cecilie Gamst Berg as she ploughs through the non-stop surreal-fest that is today’s China, stopping occasionally to ruminate about the travails of trying to make Cantonese a world language. In this book you’ll find answers to everything you wanted to know about China, such as: What does “the slippery are very crafty” really mean?

Eating Smoke
Chris Thrall left the Royal Marines to find his fortune in Hong Kong, but instead found himself homeless and hooked on crystal meth. Soon he began working for the 14K, Hong Kong’s largest crime family, as a doorman in one of their nightclubs in the Wan Chai red-light district. This is his true story.

The Alphabet of Vietnam
There is a darkness in men's hearts that war sets free. When their war is over, they bring that darkness back home with them. It's a short trail from the jungles of Vietnam to the forests of the Appalachian Mountains.
This complex tale involves a journey to Vietnam and into the dark past: a past where Clausewitz, the philosopher of war, meets de Sade, the philosopher of man's own individual evil.

Dragon Bones
Wedged deep in the Himalaya between India and China, the secretive kingdom of Bhutan guards its independence while around it, Sikkim and Tibet have been swallowed by the giants and Nepal is rife with unrest.
Murray Gunn and his French wife came to love and better understand Bhutan while living there for two years — but risked their marriage in the process. A travel memoir of discovery and change.

Explore Macau
Walking is the best way to get to know any city, and Macau — the former Portuguese colony returned to China in 1999 — is made for walking. Only seven miles square, one can easily walk from the Border Gate to the A-Ma Temple at the tip of Macau in a day. This guide describes eight routes around the urban peninsula and its outlying islands, sufficient to explore and understand this fascinating old city and its unique blend of European and Asian architecture, cuisine and cultures.

Waiting for the Dalai Lama
Why does the issue of Tibet rouse such passions on both sides? And is there any way to find common ground? Chinese-speaking journalist Annelie Rozeboom worked as a foreign correspondent in China for ten years. During that time she was able to interview numerous Tibetan people inside and outside Tibet, as well as Chinese residents, Western observers and the Dalai Lama himself. As these people explain their life stories, it becomes clear to the reader why they think the way they do.

Hong Kong State of Mind
A collection of essays by a popular blogger who zeroes in on the city’s idiosyncrasies with deadpan precision. At once an outsider looking in and an insider looking out, Jason Y. Ng has created something for everyone: a travel journal for the passing visitor, a user’s manual for the wide-eyed expat, and an open diary for the native Hong Konger looking for moments of reflection.

The Eurasian Face
No one represents the move towards diversity better than Eurasians – those individuals with a mix of Caucasian and Asian heritage. Once a source of shame, the Eurasian face has become the face that sells. It is the face with which everyone can identify. This book of interviews and portraits reveals how Eurasians see their place in the world today.

Lama of the Gobi
The Fourth Noyon Incarnate Lama of the Gobi Desert caused so many scandals that the Manchu Emperor banned his reincarnation. So when a young child was enthroned as the Fifth, the Emperor issued an edict of execution on the boy and all associated with the event. The child was only saved by the intervention of the Panchen Lama and the young Dalai Lama. Their efforts proved well worthwhile, for the boy went on to become one of the greatest creative geniuses of 19th-century Mongolia.

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!

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

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

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

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.

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!

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?

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.

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 Foreign Correspondents' Club. 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.

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. Through his conversations with the people he meets along the way, the Chinese-speaking Earnshaw paints a portrait of a nation struggling to come to terms with its newfound identity and its place in the world.

Sleeping Chinese
Shanghai shut-eye? For documentary evidence of Chinese demonstrating the art of extreme napping, check out Bernd Hagemann's new book! “When China wakes, she will shake the world,” warned Napoleon. This may be true. But let’s not forget that hardworking people need their sleep too.

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." A warm memoir of a hard time and place.

Wordjazz for Stevie
The painful, loving and powerfully written story of a Hong Kong girl who was profoundly handicapped and lived for only eight years — yet who changed the world. She inspired her father to found two charities. Read this book, be moved by it. Let it change your life too.