East and West

At midnight on 30 June 1997 over a century and a half of British rule in Hong Kong came to an end. On that unforgettable rain-sodden evening on the Hong Kong waterfront, watched by millions of people all over the world, the Union flag was lowered, folded and received by Chris Patten, the colony's last governor. "Nimrod" played. It was, in all likelihood, the last great British imperial moment.

In East and West, Patten writes frankly and directly, and for the first time, about his experiences as governor, on why he adopted the stance that he did and how he fought his battles. He discusses the global economy, world trade and diplomacy at the end of the 20th century.

In a new material added for this edition, he assesses Asia's economic crises and the first signs of patchy recovery, and reviews developments in the West's relations with China in the year since the book was first published.