A well written and researched look at one day at the Shanghai race club. Easy to read and always interesting I recommend for history lovers.

By focussing on just one pivotal day, 12 November 1941, author James Carter explores through this snapshot in time the complex history of Shanghai and its fall. Well researched, comprehensive, and clearly and accessibly written, I found this an informative and interesting read, and an exemplar of good historical writing.

Shanghai in the 1930s was a fascinating city. This book has an ostensible focus on a famous racing day in Shanghai and how in 1941 it marked the Japanese takeover of the foreign presence there,
It takes a long time to get to Champions Day—the book is really a history of Shanghai from the 1850s. onward And while the story is interesting. The details and side routes can get overwhelming. Nevertheless this book is a must read for anyone interested in Shanghai

<b>"The crowds that gathered at the racetrack, at Hardoon Gardens, and in Jiangwan were in the same city but in different worlds, all of them Shanghai."</b>

This work follows three diverse groups in Shanghai, China on a pivotal day: November 12, 1942. Revealing how they each contributed to the end of European Shanghai. Before reading <em>Champions Day</em>, I had little knowledge of old Shanghai or what it meant on a micro or macro scale. I'm glad to say that's now changed much for the better, but that it was also an engrossing read (I studied sociology, I know all about dry writing), skilfully narrated and vividly described by the author, James Carter.

I'd recommend this book to Sinophiles and newcomers to Chinese history alike. It really is a gripping and immensely informative read.

<em>I was provided with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.</em>