America's First Adventure in China: Trade, Treaties, Opium, and Salvation

Haddad (American studies & popular culture, Pennsylvania State Univ., Harrisburg; The Romance of China: Excursions to China in the U.S. Culture 1776–1876) has again struck the right note with this well-researched work on the first hundred years or so of the U.S. relationship with China. He conveys his narrative with humor, e.g., "Founded by a devout Christian merchant, Olyphant and Company conducted a profitable trade with China without conveying a single chest of opium. However, Olyphant's ships smuggled another dangerous 'cargo' into China—the first American missionaries." Along with the usual subjects such as the West's unquenchable thirst for tea and China's strong control over foreigners, Haddad reveals the fascinating story of men such as Anson Burlingame, Lincoln's minister to China, who was so revered that the Chinese made him "Ambassador for China to all the treaty powers," allowing him to represent China in the West. There are many such informative topics that Haddad shares with readers. His notes and bibliography are rich, while illustrations are few but first-rate.