Carl Crow : a tough old China hand : the life, times, and adventures of an American in Shanghai

The first biography of Carl Crow - one of the best-known and most successful Americans to live and work in Shanghai between the wars. After a successful career as a newspaperman and the proprietor of China's largest advertising agency in the 1930s he went on to write over a dozen books on China including the best selling series of anecdotes of his time in Shanghai: Four Hundred Million Customers. Carl Crow arrived in Shanghai in 1911 and made the city his home for the next quarter of a century, working there as a journalist, newspaper proprietor, and groundbreaking adman. He also did stints as a hostage negotiator, emergency police sergeant, gentleman farmer, go-between for the American government, and propagandist. As his career progressed, so did the fortunes of Shanghai. The city transformed itself from a dull colonial backwater when Crow arrived, to the thriving and ruthless cosmopolitan metropolis of the 1930s when Crow wrote his pioneering book – 400 Million Customers – that encouraged a flood of businesses into the China market in an intriguing foreshadowing of today's boom. Among Crow's exploits were attending the negotiations in Peking that led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, getting a scoop on Japanese interference in China during the First World War, negotiating the release of a group of Western hostages from a mountain bandit lair, and being one of the first Westerners to journey up the Burma Road during the Second World War. He met most of the major figures of the time, including Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, the Soong sisters, and Mao's second-in-command Zhou En-lai. During the Second World War, he worked for American intelligence alongside Owen Lattimore, coordinating US policies to support China against Japan. The story of this one exceptional man gives us a rich view of Shanghai and China during those tempestuous years. This is a book for all with an interest in Shanghai and China of this period, and those with an interest in the development of journalism and business there. Contents 6 Names and Spelling 8 Acknowledgments 10 INTRODUCTION: A Quarter Century in China 12 1. From the Mid-West to the China Coast 18 2. The China Press Man 28 3. Living at the End of the Wires 36 4. The Collapse of the Qing Dynasty and Opportunities Abound 46 5. Intrigue in Tokyo and World War 68 6. From Fruit Rancher to Spy 82 7. Sun Yat-sen and the Biography That Never Was 94 8. Four Hundred Million Customers and Bringing Billboards to China 100 9. Getting Friendly with Warlords 124 10. Rumblings in Shanghai 144 11. The Life of a China Coast Man 150 12. Fear in Shanghai, the Generalissimo and Three Stripes on the Arm 172 13. Back in the Newspaper Business 182 14. The New Republic and the Soong Dynasty 188 15. More Skirmishes and a City in Flux 196 16. Swallowing Like Whales, Nibbling Like Silkworms 204 17. Final Days in the City of the Dead 214 18. Business Over: The Escape from Shanghai 222 19. Through the Back Door into China 234 20. Tea with Madame Chiang and Whisky with Zhou En-lai 248 21. War Service and Being Proved Right 260 22. The Final Prolific Years 272 EPILOGUE: Gone but Not Forgotten 280 Notes 282 Select Bibliography and Further Reading 308 Appendix 312 Index 314 From The Mid-west To The China Coast -- The China Press Man -- Living At The End Of The Wires -- The Collapse Of The Qing Dynasty And Opportunities Abound -- Intrigue In Tokyo And World War -- From Fruit Rancher To Spy -- Sun Yat-sen And The Biography That Never Was -- Four Hundred Million Customers And Bringing Billboards To China -- Getting Friendly With Warlords -- Rumblings In Shanghai -- The Life Of A China Coast Man -- Fear In Shanghai, Teh Generalissimo And Three Stripes On The Arm -- Back In The Newspaper Business -- The New Republic And The Soong Dynasty -- More Skirmishes And A City In Flux -- Swallowing Like Whales, Nibbling Like Silkworms -- Final Days In The City Of The Dead -- Business Over: The Escape From Shanghai -- Through The Back Door Into China -- Tea With Madame Chiang And Whisky With Zhou En-lai -- War Service And Being Proved Right -- The Final Prolific Years -- Epilogue: Gone But Not Forgotten. Paul French. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [271]-299) And Index.