THRILLS IN THE EAST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21462, 8 April 1933, Page 9 (Supplement)

THRILLS IN THE EAST

PEARL DEALERS' ADVENTURES

As a dealer in pearls, Mr. Louis Kornitzer says there is no romance in either pearl gathering or pearl buying, and yet his experiences as told in "Trade Winds," the adventures of a dealer in pearls, are a flat contradiction of his assertion. In truth, this is one of the most fascinating travel, adventure, business books that has appeared for a long time. It is almost as if one were admitted to a select circle where, over a glass and a cigar, Mr. Kornitzer is pressed to tell of some of his experiences in the East, and he does so without conscious effort of seeking to impress his guests. With disarming frankness he tells of his successes, his partial successes and of the occasions when he was the "mug." Hatton Garden, West Australia, the Philippines, China, Japan and America all provide theitf stories. Among them are those of the monkey which knew how many groundnuts it could buy for a centavo; the dispute between a Canton vendor of roast cockroaches and the customer who purchased one for a cash, a fortieth of a penny, and complained of its quality; the return of a foreman of a timber company daintily packed in pieces in a box by the Moros with whom he had had a dispute concerning wages; and of attempts by rival dealers to induce him to buy "snide" or stolen pearls.

" Trade Winds," by Louie Kornitzer (Geoffrey Bles.)