History Books –
I spend a lot of time at AbeBooks and second-hand bookshops looking for out-of-print offerings. I have minarets of books on the credenza and the floor. The reason, of course, is that I love the research side of writing historical fiction. Here are a few books which were, and will be, especially helpful to my searches. I would be interested in hearing from writers and readers who can add to these lists of books and articles.
Comparison Fiction –
It was difficult to find Comparison fiction for Follow the Dragon but I enjoyed these books and they related to my sub-genre, China WWII. Again, please contact me with further titles, maybe even your own work.
British Army Aid Group by Edwin Ride (1981)
The Fall of Hong Kong by Philip Snow (2003)
Thunder Out of China by Theodore White and Annalee Jacoby (1946)
Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter (2013)
A Continent Erupts by Ronald Spector (2022)
Blood and Ruins by Richard Overy (2022)
Two Sons of China by Andrew Lam
The Garden of Evening Mists and The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (a Booker finalist).
Articles –
What really makes my day is to find a useful article from an expert in an academic journal from years ago. I use JSTOR a lot for this purpose.
Hong Kong: The Critical Phase, 1945-1949 by Wm. Roger Louis (University of Texas). “American Historical Review” Oct. 1997.
From Empire Defense to Imperial Retreat: Britains Postwar China Policy and the Decolonization of Hong Kong by James T. H Tang (University of Hong Kong). “Modern Asian Studies 2” (1994).
Redefining Wartime Chongqing: International capital of a Global power in the making, 1938-46 by Vincent K.L. Chang. and Yong Zhou (Southwest University, Chongqing). “Modern Asian Studies 51” (2017)
Online Resources
The Historical Novel Society
Asia Hands Society of New York
Writer’s League of Texas
JSTOR
John Daniel Books 