J.O.P. Bland, the Times of London correspondent in Shanghai 100 years ago, published this delightful series of musings on the meaning of life and nature of the Chinaman from the perspective of the absolute confidence of the Anglo-Saxon in the days before the Great War. He promises a "record of Idleness," of duck and snipe and leisurely cruises through the backwaters of the Chinese countryside. The book delivers that plus colorful insights into the East-meets-West riddle of the Chinese Empire's last days.