Blacksmith Books

30/09/2025

New books, excerpts and stories in our latest newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/blacksmithbooks/golf-china

Did you know that golf travelled from its birthplace in Scotland to China before it had even arrived in continental Europe? The game has a long history in China, going back to the 19th century, and this new book tells its story.

24/09/2025

Read one mariner's experience of being at sea during one of the most destructive typhoons ever to hit Hong Kong.
https://www.blacksmithbooks.com/2025/09/book-extract-riding-out-typhoon-rose-in-hong-kong/

Typhoon Rose in 1971 was one of the worst storms to hit Hong Kong in the last half-century. Former marine police officer Iain Ward shares his experience.

12/09/2025

More unseen images taken by young American reporter Mel Jacoby in southwest China during World War Two.

12/09/2025

Tomorrow (Saturday 13th September): Ian Gill talks to the Friends of East Asia society in London's Chinatown about "Searching for Billie", his wide-ranging Eurasian family history set in places including Shanghai, Changsha, Chefoo, London and Hong Kong.

https://www.friendsofeastasia.org.uk/forthcoming-events

10/09/2025

Did you know that golf travelled from Scotland to China before it had even arrived in France? The game has a long history in China, going back to the 19th century, and this new book tells its story.
Hard cover, full colour with scores of illustrations. Available in two editions, in English and Chinese.

https://www.blacksmithbooks.com/books/early-golf-in-china-how-golf-spread-from-scotland-to-china/

30/08/2025

Eighty years ago today, reporter George Giffen raced from incarceration in Stanley camp to the SCMP offices to put out the first edition of the newspaper after the Japanese surrender.
The story is told in our book "Searching for Billie", written by Giffen's son Ian Gill.

On this day 80 years ago, the Post’s first issue after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong was published, ending a nearly four-year hiatus.

19/08/2025

All five books in our "China Revisited" series are now available for HK$360, with free shipping in Hong Kong and other places in China.

China Revisited is a series of extracted reprints of mid-19th to early-20th century Western impressions of Hong Kong, Macao and China.

26/07/2025

At Kai Tak Stadium tonight, as Liverpool FC play AC Milan: stadium CEO John Sharkey presents Sir Kenny Dalglish with a copy of "When ‘Jesus’ Came to Hong Kong", Derek Currie's book about being the first European football star to play in Asia.
Currie came to the city in 1970 to play for Hong Kong side Rangers, but before he left Scotland he had played for Cumbernauld United -- "alongside a youngster called Kenny Dalglish", he says.

Read the full story here: https://www.blacksmithbooks.com/2025/07/book-excerpt-hong-kong-footballer-derek-currie-tells-of-playing-alongside-kenny-dalglish-as-teenagers/

16/06/2025

Derek Currie has scored another review...

[𝐍𝐄𝐖 Cha: An Asian Literary Journal 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖] Mario Rustan reviews Derek Currie's 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 ‘𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠’ 𝐶𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐸𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑎 (Blacksmith Books, 2023):

/ I first became aware of the Hong Kong national football team when its junior squad faced Indonesia’s sometime in the mid-1990s. I was struck by the presence of several European faces among the Hong Kong players. As it turned out, by that time it was not uncommon for Hong Kong to recruit residents of diverse racial backgrounds into its national teams, irrespective of their birthplace. Three decades on, even the Indonesian national team features players born in Europe.

Currie was not the first European to play football in Asia, but he was the first to attain stardom—largely because he began much earlier than most, at the age of 21 in 1970. /

⧉ 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://chajournal.blog/2025/06/16/jesus/
。。。。。

13/06/2025

Listen to Hong Kong Shifts author Cynthia Cheng being interviewed by the BBC World Service about the benefits of talking to strangers.

"Really enjoyed chatting with the team at the BBC for the BBC World Service Pick of the World Programme this weekend! 🙌

Tune in to minutes 11:51 to 16:50 as I share learnings from interviewing and sharing the stories of 300+ shift workers for Hong Kong Shifts - why everyone should get out of their comfort zones and take that first step to connect with strangers in our , the power of and being open to surprises, and how every person - no matter their background, culture or profession - is united by a fundamental need to be heard, seen, valued and respected.

Big thanks to the BBC for putting a spotlight on and for spreading our message more widely!"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct7z4t

The man who stops people in the park - and offers tea and conversation

30/05/2025

🎨Are you heading for HKICS 9 this weekend? Then don’t miss out on an engaging conversation featuring illustrator Andrea von Buddenbrock , the artist behind the 2025 Hong Kong International Literary Festival key visual! In this session moderated by Laura Mannering, Executive Director of the HKILF. Andrea will share the creative process of his popular illustrated book “The Ink Trail: Hong Kong”, and the unique challenges he encountered along the way.
Aspiring artists and creatives will also benefit from his expertise on marketing, as he shares valuable strategies for utilizing social media, building a strong online presence through a website, and expanding reach through involvement in initiatives amongst various platforms for local artists. 💡
The event is free while an HKICS admission ticket is required to enter the venue, find more on page. See you on Sunday!
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🎨這個週末到香港插畫及文創展 9 (HKICS) 參觀的朋友，歡迎參加星期日下午的特別對談！我們邀請到香港國際文學節 2025 的主視覺設計師、本地知名藝術家 Andreas von Buddenbrock 分享他暢銷畫集《The Ink Trail: Hong Kong》背後的故事。活動將由 HKILF 執行總監 Laura Mannering 主持。Andreas 將分享如何善用社交媒體及個人網站提升影響力，並利用本地藝術平台開拓事業版圖。如果你有志投身藝術界，這場對談絕對不容錯過。💡
憑 HKICS 門票即可免費參與此對談。更多詳情請密切留意 專頁。星期日見！

#香港插畫及文創展 #香港國際文學節 #香港插畫 #香港設計

06/05/2025

Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam war, refugee turned Sham Shui Po vinyl entrepreneur Paul Au shares how music changed his life.

50 years after the end of the Vietnam war, refugee turned vinyl entrepreneur Paul Au shares how music changed his life.