Book excerpt: For the privileged a cosmopolitan pleasure ground; For the desperate a port of last resort. A pot of gold at the end of an Oriental rainbow; A thick slice of hell denounced from the pulpit. A place to find fame, or to seek anonymity; Rogues, chancers, showgirls, criminals... For so many people from so many lands, there was one phrase that sent a shiver of anticipation down every spine: "DESTINATION SHANGHAI"