Martin Booth

Shadowed by the unhappiness of his warring parents, a broad-minded mother and a bigoted father, Martin Booth's memoir of his childhood in Hong Kong in the early 1950s is a journey into Chinese culture and an extinct colonial way of life.

Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood

Gweilo

a history

Opium

Traces the more than two-thousand-year history of the Triads, the one-time Chinese secret society that has evolved into an international criminal fraternity, bound by ritual and archaic oaths, involved in world-wide extortion, gambling, prostitution, money laundering, fraud, narcotics, immigrant smuggling, and other criminal enterprises. Reprint.

The Global Phenomenon of the Triads

The Dragon Syndicates

Known as Signor Farfalla--Mr. Butterfly--to his neighbors in the southern Italian town where he lives, an inconspicuous gentleman who spends his days painting, idling at local cafes, and getting together with his friend, the town priest, over a glass of brandy, discovers that his mysterious past is about to be revealed and a deadly menace is closing in on him. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

A Novel

A Very Private Gentleman

A historical overview of the marijuana debate recounts how cannabis became outlawed throughout the western world, describing the medical, religious, political, legal, and social factors that contributed to current opinions while revealing the impact of cannabis legislation on the global economy. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

A History

Cannabis

As Soviet Communism self-destructs, Alexander Bayliss, a British citizen who spent years in the gulag for spying and who stayed in the Soviet Union after his release, remembers the tribulations of his past and faces a shattering choice. A New York Times Notable Book of 1999. Booker Prize shortlist. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

The Industry of Souls

Joe Sandingham, a down-and-out ex-British Lieutenant living in a seedy Hong Kong hotel, struggles to maintain hope and trust and obliterate from his memory the horrors of his years in a Japanese prison camp. Reprint.

Hiroshima Joe

The American

111 Places in Bristol That You Shouldn't Miss

Nicholas Highgate, separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, is smuggled to the mainland by his Chinese nurse and disguised as a Chinese boy. As he grows to manhood he witnesses the atrocities and deprivations of the Japanese occupation and is himself drawn into the Communist resistance activities. The book ends when the Japanese surrender and Nicholas is reunited with what remains of his family.

Music on the Bamboo Radio

When a family moves to an old English country estate, Sebastian, the son of an alchemist, is accidentally awakened from a centuries-long sleep. The evil enemy of Sebastian's father has also been awakened and continues to pursue his sinister plan.

The Alchemist's Son

Doctor Illuminatus

The locals in the southern Italian town where he lives call him Signor Farfalla--Mr. Butterfly: for he is a discreet gentleman who paints rare butterflies. His life is inconspicuous--mornings spent brushing at a canvas, afternoons idling in the cafes, and evening talks with his friend the town priest over a glass of brandy. Yet there are other sides to this gentleman's life: Clara: the young student who moonlights in the town bordello. And another woman who arrives with $100,000 and a commission, but not for a painting of butterflies. With this assignment returns the dark fear that has dogged Signor Farfalla's mysterious life. Almost instantly, he senses a deadly circle closing in on him, one which he may or may not elude. Part thriller, part character study, part drama of deceit and self-betrayal, The American (A Very Private Gentleman) shows Martin Booth at the very height of his powers.

(A Very Private Gentleman)

After her owner is arrested while poaching, Jet is requisitioned by the British Army and sees duty on the beach at Dunkirk, searching for survivors of Germany's bombing raids on English cities, and in Italy at the end of the war.

War Dog

"Along with Eric Schlosser's Reefer Madness , this could become a staple at neighborhood head shops . . . the only hash book you'll ever need." — Kirkus Reviews To some it's the classic "gateway drug," to others it is a harmless way to relax, or provide relief from crippling pain. Some fear it is a dangerous drug with addictive properties; to others still it is a legal anomaly and should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, and by whatever name it is known, cannabis—or marijuana, hashish, dope, pot, weed, grass, ganja—incites debate at every level, and the effect it has on the cultures and economics of every corner of the globe is undeniable. In this definitive study, Martin Booth crafts a tale of medical advance, religious enlightenment, political subterfuge and human rights; of law enforcement and custom officers, cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, musicians, and happy-go-lucky hippies and potheads. Booth chronicles the fascinating and often mystifying process through which cannabis, a relatively harmless substance, became outlawed throughout the Western world, and the devastating effect such legislation has on the global economy. Above all, he demonstrates how the case for decriminalization remains one of the twenty-first century's hottest topics. "Amazingly informative and riveting . . . quite intoxicating." — Financial Times (UK) "Even-handed, adult and good-humoured . . . original and thought-provoking." — The Sunday Telegraph (UK) "Fascinating . . . a clear-headed and sustained case." — The Sunday Times (UK) "Well-researched." — The Seattle Times

Lovely Banner O'Brien overcame every obstacle and won her coveted medical diploma. Still, she longed to escape from Oregon...and the nightmares that left her shaking, screaming one man's name. So Banner fled to the Washington Territory to work with the arrogant and handsome Dr. Adam Corbin. Although Banner respected his skills, she was unnerved by the very nearness of this moody, powerful man. His past was a mystery that would challenge her to the utmost...for Banner was determined to win Adam's heart.-- "A wonderful, sensitive love story that will remain in your heart for a long time". -- Romantic Times

A Hong Kong Notebook

The Dragon and the Pearl

George MacBeth

The Book of Cats

- The ultimate insider's guide to Bristol - Features interesting and unusual places not found in traditional travel guides - Part of the international 111 Places/111 Shops series with over 650 titles and 3.8 million copies in print worldwide - Appeals to both the local market (more than 520,000 people call Bristol home) and the tourist market (more than 460,000 people visit Bristol every year!) - Fully illustrated with 111 full-page color photographs - Revised and updated edition Bristol is one of the UK's biggest cities but is small enough to sometimes feel like a village. It is a city built on trading with much of its former maritime heritage now transformed into buzzing independent harbourside businesses in which to eat, drink and let your hair down. Both water and green spaces abound. And you'll have to get used to hills when exploring this cosmopolitan city because like Rome, Bristol was built on seven of them. Step away from the obvious - the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain (both designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel), or the wonderful We The Curious where science and art collide - and discover unexpected treasures such as secret gardens, hidden memorials to the past and unusual modes of transport. Journey through the old haunts of world famous pirates; past the Oscar-winning animation studio home to Morph and Wallace & Gromit; along shopping streets that sell everything from handcrafted violin bows to locally-made gin; and through an indoor market selling everything from spices to fossils. If you know where to look, Bristol will unravel its secrets in front of your eyes.

Pip and her twin brother, Tim, awaken an alchemist's son from a centuries-long slumber when their family moves to an old English country estate, and he enlists them in the fight against an evil alchemist who seeks to create a homunculus.

Evil has returned to Rawne Barton - this time in the form of a malevolent chemistry teacher, Yoland, whose aim is to gain power by stealing souls. Pip and Tim, newly started at secondary school, manage to get Sebastian, the alchemist's son, into their class so that he can uncover Yoland's evil plans. But Yoland has help - not only in the form of a stunted familiar who is also pretending to be a schoolboy, but from a mysterious supply teacher - who turns out to be Malodor, the evil alchemist from Doctor Illuminatus. A truly nail-biting climax takes place at a nuclear power station, where Yoland seeks to harness immense power to his ultimate spell.

Martin Booth

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