Dragon Syndicates - Softcover

Martin Booth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553505904 ISBN 13: 9780553505900

Publisher: Bantam Books, New York, 2000

Synopsis

With unflinching candor, Martin Booth -- Booker Prize nominee and author of the critically acclaimed Opium: A History -- here unfolds the full story of the Chinese Triads, which, according to UN sources, now pose the greatest potential criminal threat the world has ever known. From San Francisco to Amsterdam to Bangkok to Johannesburg, everywhere, everyday, the Triads are turning crimes like extortion, gambling, international prostitution, illegal immigrant smuggling, money laundering, fraud, corruption, arms, and narcotics into vast profits. This comprehensive history of the Triads traces their evolution over more than two thousand years from obscure parochial Chinese brotherhoods to an international criminal organization. It examines the archaic quasi-religious rituals that have for centuries bound the members of this now global fraternity. It recounts the exploits of patriots and outlaws. It explores the Triads' instigation of the Tong Wars in America, their collaboration with the Allies against the Japanese in Malaya, their collusion with the CIA in Vietnam. It chronicles their escalation of the heroin trade to Europe and the United States. It shocks, and it compels.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

In an indisputably important and extravagantly detailed account, Booth (author of the lauded Opium: A History and Booker-nominated author of the novel The Industry of Souls) examines the history of the notorious international crime groups known as the Chinese Triads, whose roots lie in ancient secret societies with traditions of religious and political dissentAparticularly in the Hung Society of the 18th century. As Chinese emigrants spread around the world, so did the societies, metamorphosing into today's international terrorist networks. The Triads have an oddly checkered history of both criminal activity and patriotism (they supported Chiang Kai-shek and assisted the U.S. during the Vietnam War). Booth's narrative details the dizzying array of their criminal actionsAincluding kidnapping, credit-card fraud, software piracy, international prostitution, illegal immigrant smuggling and Internet pornographyAas it explores the lives and crooked partnerships of such legendary Triad power brokers as the Green Gang's far-rightist Big-eared Du, and the 14K, which maximized the mid-century heroin market. Booth also documents the Triads' infiltration of the business and social mainstream and their current exploitation of the Hong Kong film industry. He deserves commendation for addressing this risky subject (these groups are not above murdering journalists) and for shredding the Triads' centuries-strong web of ritual and patriotism. 16 pages b&w photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This colorful popular history of Chinese secret criminal societies, which the author (Opium: A History) collectively labels the Triads, cuts a broad swath through Chinese history from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the present and from the China mainland to the far-flung communities of the Chinese diaspora. The best chapters of the book focus on Hong Kong, where a network of criminal syndicates, held together by blood oaths, patronage, and avarice, has long dominated vice, gambling, and prostitution and engages in extortion, racketeering, kidnapping, counterfeiting, and smuggling. The historical chapters are less convincing. Booth sweeps a large variety of secret societies into his catchall category of the Triads and reduces modern Chinese history to a vast and convoluted criminal conspiracy. Nevertheless, the cast of bizarre characters, the often-gory details of Triad crimes, and the intersection of the criminal and political worlds make for fascinating reading. For larger public and academic libraries.DSteven I. Levine, Univ. of Montana, Missoula
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Books, New York
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0553505904
• ISBN 13: 9780553505900
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 608