Chinese capitalism in colonial Malaya, 1900-1941 By WILLIAM TAI YUEN Bangi: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2013. Pp. 508. Map, Notes, Bibliography, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463414000459 By 1900, the British controlled much of the Malay Peninsula; many Chinese traders and enterprises flourished within the new political and economic order. William Tai Yuen's book Chinese capitalism in colonial Malaya clearly aims to try to address the dearth of literature on the development of Chinese capitalism during the first four decades of the twentieth century 'within the context of a colonial economy' by 'tracing its trajectory in some major industries, trades and services' (p. 9). Tai also asserts that 'this book examines the growth of capitalism in Malaya in its world context and within the political and socioeconomic framework of Malayan society' (p. 9). Based on his Ph.D. dissertation submitted to the University of Hong Kong, it is a thoroughly researched project, with an extensive use of primary sources held in London, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. After an introduction, the book is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 gives an overview of Chinese capitalism in colonial Malaya by examining the arrival of the Chinese for trade in Malaya before the arrival of the British and the early development of Chinese capitalism in Malaya in the nineteenth century. Chapters 2 to 8 deal with a specific industry in Malaya in the first half of the twentieth century--tin mining, rubber, secondary industries, industrialisation, shipping, pawnbroking and banking -and the Chinese role as compradores for British traders. Each chapter looks at the Chinese entry into these industries, the challenges they faced working with colonial authorities and European traders, zeroing in on specific Chinese companies through an examination of their founders and leadership. The impacts of the Great Depression and other economic downturns on the Chinese-dominated industries are also examined. Chapter 5, in particular, looks at the role of Tan Kah Kee as an overseas Chinese merchant and the early attempts at industrialisation in Malaya. The author rightly notes that firms managed by Tan Kah Kee produced a wide range of rubber products through his own research and development efforts, which paid off as his goods entered the international market, 'a feat no other Chinese business in Southeast Asia had ever achieved' (p. 274) before 1941. Tai also notes the specialisation of industries by the various dialect groups, a trait common in Malaya due to the mutual unintelligibility of the languages spoken. Thus, Tai notes the dominance of the Hakkas and Cantonese in tin mining and rubber planting (pp. …