Robert S. Elegant (1928–2023)

A brave effort to come to grips with this enigma of a British protectorate on the edge of the massive Chinese mainland, a little piece of rock and jungle with no resources of its own except its people and their native adaptability and sense of enterprise. Of course the situation has changed since the People's Republic resumed its possession in 1997, but this objective but loving portrayal of the island and its inhabitants gives us as good a background as any to help understand their current show more problems. As all others in this series of slightly over-sized volumes from the Time-Life stable, it is written by an accomplished writer and correspondent, the production qualities as usual are outstanding, and it is a serious work of ethnography and social history, not really a "children's book" of knowledge. show less

This historical novel (based on the true history of China) offers the reader an inside look at how China evolved, step by step, from an Imperial Dynasty, to rule by Warlords in the early 1900s, and subsequently to a communist dictatorship by mid century.

Robert Elegant includes many specific little details about China’s history. The story covers 70 years - from 1900 to 1970 - thus includes facts about the Boxer Rebellion, the opium trade, the political system of Hong Kong, where Taiwan fit show more into the battles for power, influential leaders Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-Shek, Jewish interests in China’s economy (the Rothchilds and Warburgs are mentioned), and the Russian Bolshevik’s influence. The story takes the reader through the World Wars, The Korean War, and the Viet Nam War, and eventually the dark sinister nightmare of Mao Tse-Tung’s barbaric rule: the Great Leap Forward when millions of poor Chinese people starved to death, and Mao’s radical Red Guards - a youth group trained by the communists to terrorize and murder innocent victims.

Ironically, the descriptions of the Communist Red Guard’s riots and their desired outcome remind me of the radical left’s attitude and actions right now in the United States: their goals included destruction, violence, chaos, an effort to erase the country’s history, the desire to wipe out capitalism and create “equality for all”. Sound familiar?

It is interesting to find out Communist China was already scheming to take over Taiwan as early as 1950.

All this is encapsulated in the story of a fictional family of great wealth living in Hong Kong - an Irish/Chinese mixed marriage, concubines, several generations of many children - all pursuing different and sometimes opposing paths.

Robert Elegant was an American/British journalist and spent many years reporting on news in Asia including the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He personally witnessed many of the events that molded the China of today. He wrote 9 non-fiction books about Asia, as well as 11 fictional books.

If you are interested in a broad history of China, this 860 page novel will serve the purpose while offering an interesting fictional story which presents the evolution of China’s history from various personal and political perspectives.

Rated 4 Stars
June 22, 2025 show less

"Bianca" is a novel loosely based on the life of Francesco de Medici and Lady Bianca Capello. Francesco was a member of the long line of Italy’s famous ruling family and was in power for a little over 20 years in the 1500s. According to historical sources, he was not a popular leader of the people of Florence. Furthermore, Bianca did not help redeem his negative image.

Bianca was a feminist- strong willed and defiant. She came from one of the richest and most noble families of Venice, show more though no one in Florence was impressed. Venice was a city the Florentines found to be course and repulsive. She ran away from home at the age of 16 to avoid an arranged marriage, opting to elope with a virtual stranger. But Bianca’s real claim to fame was her very public torrid affair with Francesco de Medici that lasted over a decade and her eventual marriage to him following the death of his wife. Not that infidelity was frowned upon… rather quite the opposite. But being in love with your mistress, especially a “manipulating” Venetian woman, that was taboo. And then marrying her? Heaven forbid!

But this is Bianca’s story, told from her point of view. And she does draw sympathy from the reader. Her first husband turned out to be a scoundrel who was only after her money. He used her and abused her, and had no problem playing the role of a pimp and financially dependent husband. Bianca’s one true love was Francesco and she devoted her life to him.

Robert Elegant is a British American journalist and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
One of the appealing things about Bianca is the rich descriptions about life in Italy during the Renaissance. Elegant offers many details about the social life and cultural attitudes, the cut-throat politics, the diplomatic ties, and military exploits.

The plot is enthralling. There is an abundance of mystery involved in the true story of Francesco and Bianco. No one knows if they were murdered or died of natural death. The circumstances surrounding their deaths- just one day apart- were very suspicious. And there doesn’t seem to be clarification of their having children together. Some sources suggest one son, other sources say she may have “faked” a pregnancy to provide an heir for Francesco, and yet the family tree shows no children. Robert Elegant offers a compelling theory filled with suspense and intrigue. show less

One of the first accounts of the Cultural Revolution. It is basically a blow-by-blow recital, beginning with the attempt of the pragmatics in 1959, distressed by Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward, to shear him of effective power. Mao had no illusions about the prospect of being dictator emeritus, so fought back craftily, unleashing a destructive convulsion. The image in the public mind of one million youths wearing red armbands and waving aloft booklets with the thought of Chairman Mao was show more only one aspect, though. Elegant perceptively describes how sweeping away the structures from the first decade of Communist rule risked leaving a vast, nuclear-armed nation ungovernable. Into the vacuum stepped the army, paving the way for developments that continued to unfold in the decades since. show less