Over the last three centuries, wherever the Chinese have emigrated, they have taken their outlawed secret brotherhoods. Booth tells the story of the Triads, from their beginnings over two thousand years ago to the unrivalled criminal empire they operate today.

An in-depth study of the most widely-used and controversial drug in the world today.
To some it s anathema, to others it provides relief from crippling pain; to others still, it is a legal anomaly and should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, and by whatever name it is known, cannabis -- or marijuana, hashish, dope, kif, weed, dagga, grass, ganga -- incites debate at every level. Its impact on the world s cultures and economies is undeniable. Dating back to the Neolithic period, the history of cannabis is a tale of medical advance, religious enlightenment, political subterfuge and...

An inquisitive seven-year-old, Martin Booth found himself with the whole of Hong Kong at his feet when his father was posted there in the early 1950s. Unrestricted by parental control and blessed with bright blond hair that signified good luck to the Chinese, he had free access to hidden corners of the colony normally closed to a Gweilo, a 'pale fellow' like him. Befriending rickshaw coolies and local stallholders, he learnt Cantonese, sampled delicacies such as boiled water beetles and one-hundred-year-old eggs, and participated in colourful festivals. He even entered the forbidden Kowloon...

England, 1914. Alex Marquand encounters a mysterious and beautiful young woman who intrigues and bewitches him. Despite his conscientious-objector status, he is pressed into the King's service as a medic, and as bad luck would have it, ends up on the beach at Gallipoli.