Champions Day by James Carter
How a single day revealed the history and foreshadowed the future of Shanghai. It is November 12, 1941, and the world is at war. In Shanghai, just weeks before Pearl Harbor, thousands celebrate the birthday of China's founding father, Sun Yat-sen, in a new city center built to challenge European imperialism. Across town, crowds of Shanghai residents from all walks of life attend the funeral of China's wealthiest woman, the Chinese-French widow of a Baghdadi Jewish businessman whose death was symbolic of the passing of a generation that had seen Shanghai's rise to global prominence. But it is the racetrack that attracts the largest crowd of all. At the center of the International Settlement, the heart of Western colonization-but also of Chinese progressivism, art, commerce, cosmopolitanism, and celebrity-Champions Day unfolds, drawing tens of thousands of Chinese spectators and Europeans alike to bet on the horses. In a sharp and lively snapshot of the day's events, James Carter recaptures the complex history of Old Shanghai. Champions Day is a kaleidoscopic portrait of city poised for revolution.
"With the eye of an unusually perceptive flâneur, in “Champions Day” [Carter] tells the story of Shanghai through its former racecourse (now part of the People’s Park)Mr. Carter is a wonderful guide for visitors in search of a long-gone city... Both books are cautionary tales about what happens, in Mr. Carter’s words, when the powerful exploit their environment, inviting war and revolution." -- The Economist
"Champions Day is based on an impressive trawl of the archives of old Shanghai. The details are plentiful and the overall narrative is clear. Carter's prose is punchy and his sense of Shanghai and pre-revolutionary China is keen." -- Mike Cormack - Literary Review
"Champions Day is based on an impressive trawl of the archives of old Shanghai. The details are plentiful and the overall narrative is clear. Carter's prose is punchy and his sense of Shanghai and pre-revolutionary China is keen." -- Mike Cormack - Literary Review
James Carter, professor of history at Saint Joseph’s University, is the author of two previous books on Chinese history and is a Fellow of the National Committee on US-China Relations. He lives in Ewing, New Jersey.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780393635942 |
| ISBN 10 | 0393635945 |
| Title | Champions Day |
| Author | James Carter |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | WW Norton & Co |
| Year published | 2020-07-17 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |