An Eye for the Dragon; Southeast Asia Observed: 1954-1970

New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1970. Book of the Month Club Edition. Hardcover. xvii, [1], 414 pages. Endpaper map. Glossary. The Taste of Durian. Synopsis of the Plot. Bibliography. Index. Dennis Bloodworth (b. 24 May 1919, London, England–d. 14 June 2005, Singapore) was a veteran journalist and writer who wrote extensively on the political developments in Southeast Asia and China. Bloodworth served in World War II, and rose through the ranks of the Intelligence Corps to become a captain. Bloodworth joined The Observer in 1949 and was duly posted to Paris where he assisted “the Chief Correspondent”.5 In 1954, he was posted to Saigon where he covered events in Indochina. Two years later, he moved to Singapore as The Observer’s chief Far East correspondent – a position he held until 1981. During his time in Singapore, Bloodworth covered regional developments, which included the civil war in Indonesia, the communist insurrection in Malaya, as well as political developments in China and Indochina. Besides journalistic writing, Bloodworth also penned fiction and non-fiction works inspired by Asia. He was the first British journalist allowed to visit communist China in 1955. His first literary work, Chinese Looking Glass, was published in 1967, after extensive travel and study of China’s language and culture. The book used the Chinese past to shed light on the Communist present and it became a best-seller in the West. It was even reported that US President Richard Nixon brought this book with him when he visited China in 1972. An Eye for the Dragon: Southeast Asia Observed, 1954–1986 was published in 1987, and it documented his observations of Southeast Asia. The author's aim is to give the reader a taste for the subcontinent. Mr. Bloodworth explains Southeast Asis'a turbuelent contemporary history in terms of the habits of thought of the diverse peoples of the area, habits which have been shaped by their history, philosophies, religions and social traditions. He examine the influence of events of Asian superstition, poverty and nepotism, of attitudes toward smuggling and piracy, graft and 'squeeze." women, sex, astrology, and death, and shows how these mores constantly upset the logical calculations of the white man from the West. The book examines the failure of democracy in Southeast Asia, the area's flirtation with Communism, and its search for a third form of society. Condition: Good / ood.

Keywords: Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Buddhists, Communism, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma, China, Lee Kuan Yew, Sukarno, Philippines, Thailand

[Book #85883]

Price: $25.00

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