{"product_id":"when-america-first-met-china-an-exotic-history-of-tea-drugs-and-money-in-the-age-of-sail-9780871404336","title":"When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail","description":"Brilliantly illuminating one of the least-understood areas of American history, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin now traces our fraught relationship with China back to its roots: the unforgiving nineteenth-century seas that separated a brash, rising naval power from a battered ancient empire. It is a prescient fable for our time, one that surprisingly continues to shed light on our modern relationship with China. Indeed, the furious trade in furs, opium, and bêche-de-mer--a rare sea cucumber delicacy--might have catalyzed America's emerging economy, but it also sparked an ecological and human rights catastrophe of such epic proportions that the reverberations can still be felt today. Peopled with fascinating characters--from the \"Financier of the Revolution\" Robert Morris to the Chinese emperor Qianlong, who considered foreigners inferior beings--this page-turning saga of pirates and politicians, coolies and concubines becomes a must-read for any fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's \u003cem\u003eMayflower\u003c\/em\u003e or Mark Kurlansky's \u003cem\u003eCod\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/10\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780871404336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.60w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Independent Publisher Book Awards - Gold Medal Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/04\/2012 pg. 44\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews Fall Preview\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2012 pg. 21\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2012 pg. 18\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2012 pg. 79\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker (The)\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/19\/2012 pg. 91\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Best Nonfiction\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2012 pg. 12\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2013\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Eric Jay Dolin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44589907443893,"sku":"9780871404336","price":23.76,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5b5ea140-88a7-421a-b944-01174543ef4c.jpg?v=1724734036","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/when-america-first-met-china-an-exotic-history-of-tea-drugs-and-money-in-the-age-of-sail-9780871404336","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}