Bibliography
Here are the reference materials used for the podcast, along with my comments and recommendations.
Opium Wars: Conquest and Surrender
Lovell, Julia. The Opium War Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of Modern China, New York: The Overlook Press, 2011. Print.
If you can read only one book on the topic of the Opium Wars I would recommend Julia Lovell’s book as the only one that you will need to read. *** RECOMMENDED
Hanes, William Travis, and Frank Sanello. Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, IL: Source, 2002. Print.
One of the few books that provides a detailed overview of the Second Opium War.
Loch, Henry Brougham. Personal Narrative of Occurrences during Lord Elgin’s Second Embassy to China in 1860. London: J. Murray, 1900. Print.
First person account of the events that occurred during the second envoy to China. An amazing story of personal survival. *** RECOMMENDED
Dreyer, Edward L. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Edward Dreyer does a tremendous job of translating and analyzing Chinese text in order to write a biography Zheng He. *** RECOMMENDED
Levathes, Louise. When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-1433. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994 (Reprinted 2010). Print.
Hsu, Immanuel C. Y. The Rise of Modern China. Fifth Rd. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.
Premier U.S. historian that literally wrote the textbook on modern China. *** RECOMMENDED
Bown, Stephen R. Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, 1600-1900. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2010. Print.
An intense and interesting read on the history of the trading companies that setup the initial global trading networks. *** RECOMMENDED
Robins, Nick. The Corporation That Changed the World: How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multinational. London: Pluto, 2012. Print.
Pack a lunch and get ready to dive into a deep read about the history of the East India Company.
MacMillan, Margaret. Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World. New York: Random House, 2007. Print.
A bit off topic but a good read about Mao Tse-Tung and the U.S. & China relations.
Dormandy, Thomas. Opium: Reality’s Dark Dream. New Haven: Yale UP, 2012. Print.
Opium history written from a doctor’s perspective.
Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud. Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2010. Print.
Moxham, Roy. Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. Print.
Wilson, Jon E. The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India. New York: Public Affairs, 2016. Print.
Revisionist historical account of Company and British Raj. Author provides excellent analysis of changes to political and social systems under British rule.
Tharoor, Shashi. An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India. New Delhi: Aleph, 2016. Print.
Writes from today’s perspective, I wish I could have used more as reference but the time period covered is primarily during the British Raj. Well worth reading!
Dodwell, H. H. Dupleix and Clive: The Beginning of Empire. 1967 Reprint. N.p.: Forgotten Book, 1920. Print.
Early writer of Robert Clive. One of the few detailed accounts of Joseph Dupleix and Robert Clive in India. Writes about Clive as a heroic figure.