Be so subtle that you are invisible. Be so mysterious that you are intangible. Then you will control your rivals fate. Sun Tzu from The Art of War". A community of fifty five million expatriates. Up to two trillion dollars in assets. A highly integrated interconnected network of influence & favour. A firm base on the Pacific Rim. Ambitions to influence the West. Imagine the potential power of such an organisation. You dont have to. This is the Overseas Chinese. Sterling Seagraves brilliant new book " Lords of the Rim" uncovers a complex web of operations which already dominates the Far East & which is already making inroads into the West. It is a superbly researched & spectacularly told account of an extraordinary phenomenon telling just who the Overseas Chinese are & how they became so powerful. Spanning thousands of years it encompasses stories of murder & betrayal bravery & corruption; of triads syndicates kingmakers merchants emperors generals spies & pirates. In telling this masterful & entertaining history Seagrave provides the reader with a cautionary tale: that Chinese strategies so effective for centuries are just as succesful today."