Shanghai is often in the news as an upcoming and exciting city, as it was almost from the beginning of its first foreign presence in 1842. You will hear stories of White Russian and Jewish refugees, businessmen seeking their fortunes, missionaries seeking converts, hedonists seeking pleasures, and gangsters fleeing the law. The era between the two World Wars was the apogee of the city's wealth, sophistication, business and vice, lending it the double honor of being named both "The Paris of the East" and "The Wickedest City in the World." Tess Johnston is uniquely qualified to research and write on the Western presence in old China. She first came to Shanghai in 1981 to work at the American Consulate General and after thirty years she retired and stayed on to research, write and lecture. She and her co-author, Shanghai photographer Deke Erh (Erh Dongqiang) have published 25 books. This event costs $25 and includes lunch.