All About Shanghai

I've plugged the Earnshaw Books reprints of China classics before and will, unashamedly, again as they are excellent. The latest reprint is All About Shanghai and Environs - the 1934-35 Standard Guide Book - the classic guidebook from Shanghai’s roaring 1930s. Written with first-hand authority and an enthusiasm that is truly infectious, the authors captured and bottled the madness, excitement, depravity and fast bucks of the greatest boomtown the world had ever seen. Written as a guide for newcomers and visitors, this book today is a fascinating portrait of the old Shanghai in its heyday, enjoying every minute of the ride.

Peter Hibbard, a man who knows his old Shanghai, has contributed a foreword too which is useful. Earnshaw Books are available in Shanghai through Chaterhouse Books and other stores and in Beijing at the Beijing Bookworm and seem to be in all the bookshops in Hong Kong. There's a good website though where you can order direct - http://www.talesofoldchina.com/store/