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Solly's book is a pleasant coffee-table read and quite humorous in places. The best aspect of it, for me, is the collection of early photographs. Some are well known, others are unusual and interesting - particularly of spectacular buildings long since demolished (critics would say destroyed). Solly's preservational instincts come through strongly here, an issue on which we are decidedly of the same mind.
PETER HALLIDAY
The Development of Education in Hong Kong
1841-1897
Gillian Bickley, The Development of Education In Hong Kong. 1841-1897, as Revealed by the Early Education Reports of the Hong Kong Government, 1848-1896, Hong Kong: Proverse Hong Kong, 633 pages, with a Preface by Edward Ho, a Foreword by Matthew Cheung, an Introduction by Ruth Hayhoe and a Commentary by Verner Bickley. From the Preface: 'Following the return of Hong Kong to China, there has been increasing interest in Hong Kong's heritage. There is also increasing interest in the history of Hong Kong. The Development of Education in Hong Kong, 1841-1897. as Revealed by the Early Education Reports of the Hong Kong Government, 1848-1896 is a contribution towards the conservation and understanding of one aspect of Hong Kong's heritage while also providing a resource for the study of Hong Kong history. This book, sponsored by the Council of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust, presents as part of Hong Kong's heritage the official record of the early educational work of the British Hong Kong administration, in place from 1841 to 1897. The Reports now published together in sequence, corrected and edited, for the first time, give insight into the development of Hong Kong society, particularly of course its educational system and the administration of education, but also the relationships between and among the different groups of people living in Hong Kong, with their varying aspirations and different ways of living and thinking.