<span><span>A compilation of biographical accounts from Shanghai's Baghdadi Jewish society offers insights into a remarkable community that lived through the crossroads of China's 20th-century history. Using previously unseen archival material, Meyer documents the rise and fall of larger-than-life personalities who witnessed the Sino-Japanese War, the Occupation of Shanghai and the Communists' rise to power. Photographs illustrate the lives of these people and the magnificent, cosmopolitan city they called home.</span></span>