Review of Shanghai'd
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Ams Strong
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Review of Shanghai'd
[Following is a volunteer review of "Shanghai'd" by Curtis Stephen Burdick.]
Following the accidental discovery of gold nuggets on Californian soil in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, a gold rush of epic proportions occurred shortly after, dubbed the California Gold Rush, leading to a confluence of various influential and ambitious men, migrant workers, and merchants. Joshua, a Harvard-educated young man with expertise in mineralogy and a promising career, is one of many workers who migrated from different parts of America and the world, sometimes against their will, to extract and assay the precious metal for their bosses. Like many other workers in the gold mines and assaying offices, Joshua sacrificed much in hopes of a better life. Still, the reality on the ground proved far more challenging than Joshua anticipated. Another lucrative business born from the California Gold Rush is the trans-Pacific trade of precious metals and goods to the Chinese city of Shanghai. Shanghai'd by Curtis Stephen Burdick details Joshua’s story in California and the adventures of a crew aboard a merchant ship en route to Shanghai.
The introductory chapters of this book were remarkably slow-paced, whereby the author set the proper historical context that will prevail throughout the book. This portion of the book felt more like reading a history book, with various references to factual dates, influential characters, and cities related to the California Gold Rush. This context allows the reader to perceive the mindset and behaviour of humans around that time. The author's historical accounts were rooted in as many facts as possible regarding how people at that time spoke and dressed, the prevailing perception of race, what transportation means were common, and women's role in society. After the introductory chapters came the more entertaining portion of the book, focusing on the great characters of the book and their stories.
What I loved the most about this book is its great characters and moving scenes. The characters’ personal stories portray themes of ultimate sacrifice, perseverance, grief, remorse, and ambition. Each lead character in this story, in their past or current lives, suffered some of the worst tragedies humans could ever endure. The author made me care so much for the characters that their successes and losses became mine. Another thing I loved about this book is that it taught me so much about ships of the nineteenth century and the lifestyle of the sailors on board such ships, such as their punishment protocols, burials at sea, and daily chores. This book is replete with ship-related terms that ship enthusiasts will revel in. While not being my best thing about this book, I still loved learning a thing or two about ships.
I rate this book five out of five stars for the following reasons: it was incredibly well edited, the main characters developed fittingly, with unique and often eccentric personalities, and their personal stories created a deep sense of connection to them. Furthermore, this book allowed me to revise some history and learn a few new things about ancient ships. There is nothing I disliked about this book. This book contains highly violent content, a couple of sex scenes described without much detail, and a plethora of instances of non-borderline profanity (including racial slurs). I recommend this book to readers of all religions.
******
Shanghai'd
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Following the accidental discovery of gold nuggets on Californian soil in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, a gold rush of epic proportions occurred shortly after, dubbed the California Gold Rush, leading to a confluence of various influential and ambitious men, migrant workers, and merchants. Joshua, a Harvard-educated young man with expertise in mineralogy and a promising career, is one of many workers who migrated from different parts of America and the world, sometimes against their will, to extract and assay the precious metal for their bosses. Like many other workers in the gold mines and assaying offices, Joshua sacrificed much in hopes of a better life. Still, the reality on the ground proved far more challenging than Joshua anticipated. Another lucrative business born from the California Gold Rush is the trans-Pacific trade of precious metals and goods to the Chinese city of Shanghai. Shanghai'd by Curtis Stephen Burdick details Joshua’s story in California and the adventures of a crew aboard a merchant ship en route to Shanghai.
The introductory chapters of this book were remarkably slow-paced, whereby the author set the proper historical context that will prevail throughout the book. This portion of the book felt more like reading a history book, with various references to factual dates, influential characters, and cities related to the California Gold Rush. This context allows the reader to perceive the mindset and behaviour of humans around that time. The author's historical accounts were rooted in as many facts as possible regarding how people at that time spoke and dressed, the prevailing perception of race, what transportation means were common, and women's role in society. After the introductory chapters came the more entertaining portion of the book, focusing on the great characters of the book and their stories.
What I loved the most about this book is its great characters and moving scenes. The characters’ personal stories portray themes of ultimate sacrifice, perseverance, grief, remorse, and ambition. Each lead character in this story, in their past or current lives, suffered some of the worst tragedies humans could ever endure. The author made me care so much for the characters that their successes and losses became mine. Another thing I loved about this book is that it taught me so much about ships of the nineteenth century and the lifestyle of the sailors on board such ships, such as their punishment protocols, burials at sea, and daily chores. This book is replete with ship-related terms that ship enthusiasts will revel in. While not being my best thing about this book, I still loved learning a thing or two about ships.
I rate this book five out of five stars for the following reasons: it was incredibly well edited, the main characters developed fittingly, with unique and often eccentric personalities, and their personal stories created a deep sense of connection to them. Furthermore, this book allowed me to revise some history and learn a few new things about ancient ships. There is nothing I disliked about this book. This book contains highly violent content, a couple of sex scenes described without much detail, and a plethora of instances of non-borderline profanity (including racial slurs). I recommend this book to readers of all religions.
******
Shanghai'd
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Unfakeable Code® by Tony Jeton Selimi
