Book excerpt: "Part economic analysis, part Pacific Rim history, part flamboyant chronicle of fortunes won, lost, and won again, Lords of the Pacific Rim is a rich, engrossing, superbly researched, and spectacularly told account of who the Overseas Chinese are and how they became so powerful. Spanning thousands of years, it encompasses stories of murder and betrayal, bravery and corruption; of triads, syndicates, kingmakers, merchants, emperors, generals, spies, and pirates." "Consistently praised for his scholarship and his ability to weave multiple strands into a fast-paced narrative, Sterling Seagrave provides us with not only a masterly history, but also a cautionary tale - for the strategies that have proven so successful for the Chinese in the past are just as effective today. Lords of the Rim furnishes a fascinating portal into both the past and the future of the world's Pacific economy."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved