(Ebook) The Far East by Archibald John Little ISBN 9780511709210, 9781108013871, 0511709218, 1108013872

(Ebook) The Far East by Archibald John Little ISBN 9780511709210, 9781108013871, 0511709218, 1108013872

Written by one of the most prolific writers on China at the turn of the century, this 1905 publication was intended as a guide for travellers rather than as a scientific study of Asian landscape and culture. Little, a well-known merchant and traveller, spent fifty years of his life exploring the Orient. The book is structured with a chapter dedicated to each region of China and the 'Dependencies' (Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan, Tibet, Indo-China and Korea), as well as Siam and Japan. Little proves himself a shrewd observer of both landscape and peoples, and the content of his work is wonderfully detailed. He manages to encompass a wide range of subjects into his survey, including natural resources, the development of railways, trade routes and meteorology, as well as a history of the land mass and populations. The book is supplemented with several maps and illustrations.