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Tai-Pan | 
 enlarge | Author: James Clavell
Publisher: Dell
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
New (32) Used (323) Collectible (9) from $0.01
Rating:  85 reviews
Sales Rank: 24044
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 736
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0440184622
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780440184621
ASIN: 0440184622
Publication Date: September 1, 1986
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Dirk Straun, a pirate, smuggler, and ruthless individual, finds glory beyond his dreams as the Tai-Pan, or supreme leader, of Hong Kong. Reissue.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 80 more reviews...
 :) August 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not quite as good as Shogun, I would rate this 3.5 stars rather than 4. I had a harder time reading this, because the conflict centered more on the Westerners than what was happening in China (as opposed to Shogun) but it is still a good read, and I am now reading Gai-Jin.
Lots of pirate adventures set in Asia August 11, 2008
This is one of those books you don't want to put down. Great story that spans the life of its hero Dirk Struan. I can picture Sean Connrey playing Struans role in a movie. He would be the perfect Scottish ships captain. If there could be any criticism of this book, it would be that Struan is too strong of a character. He always out fights, out smarts, and has all the women attracted to him. The author introduces some unique pigeon allowing the characters of different cultures to communicate. It was also worth noting at while the British (and other Europeans) look down on the Chinese for their lack of sophistication and strange cultural practices, the Chinese saw them as barbarians. Of course our hero Struan was wise enough to listen, test, then adopt some of the Chinese practices. This was a great story and setting, I'm anxious to read some of the Clavell's other books.
 pirates, gold, guns, Hong Kong, glory April 25, 2008
This book probably got me first interested in historical fiction. Wildly entertaining at the same time vastly informative regarding the early days of Hong Kong and the early era of global trade. Many of the events portrayed feel like they resonate into the present. Even reading it in the days of my infancy as a reader, its length did not at all get in the way of its being a highly compelling read. Actually, this work may have been among the first to have brought me to appreciate the ultimate payoff in investing in the reading of good book. Certainly got me to read more and read more.
Fantastical good in spite of the fact I didn't really enjoy reading it March 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Shogun was kind of an odd book for me because even though I loved it, really loved, I didn't really enjoy reading it. The same thing happened with "Tai-Pan."
This is a highly political and informative novel about the opium-tea-silver trade and the beginnings of British Hong Kong but it's more tedious somehow because there is so much conversation compared to the action parts of the book and the bitter rivalries between the traders can be hard to understand.
In spite of all this something about this book left me a little awed. Most likely it was May-may, the Tai-Pan's (a kind of king/leader/president of company) Chinese mistress who with her exuberant spirit and hilarious English made parts of this book a joy. Maybe it was the education I got on how hard a group of drug smugglers really fought to hold on to a worthless piece of rock which would one day be one of the world's greatest harbors. Maybe it was the completeness of the ending. Maybe it's magic. Who knows. But this is a great book even if I didn't really like it.
Anyway you put it this book is "fantastical good" (as May-may) would say but it lacks the emotion of "Shogun" and was at times a bit like wading through sand. In spite of all this I feel compelled to give it a five star rating. Read it and you'll find out why.
Top 5 Book List January 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is on my Top 5 Book list.
Dirk Struan is a remarkable character, I believe the stongest male character to become part of a book. If you like stories blended with history, culture and a strong protagonist, you'll ove it. James Clavell alongside Frederick Forsyth and Noah Gordon are the top writers for this type of reading.
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