Chris West (born 1954) is a British writer. He works in a range of genres: business, psychology, history and crime / general fiction. His four mysteries written in the 1990s were among the first crime novels to be set in the contemporary

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Biography

After studying economics and philosophy at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, West travelled in China, leading to his first book, ''Journey to the Middle Kingdom'' in 1991. Following that, he wrote the four crime novels featuring Wang Anzhuang, a mid-ranking detective in the Beijing ''Xing Zhen Ke'' (Criminal Investigation Department) and his wife, Rosina Lin, a nurse at the Capital Hospital. In 2020, these were reissued with new titles and Wang's name changed to

Bao Zheng Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extr ...

(a reference to a hero of traditional Chinese detective stories from the Song Dynasty). On completing this series, West concentrated on co-authoring books aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses, the first of which was ''The Beermat Entrepreneur'', co-authored with entrepreneur and speaker Mike Southon (Southon and West were both members of

The Oxcentrics The Oxcentrics is a Dixieland jazz band founded in 1975 at Oxford University. The band's name was derived from ''The Oxontrics'', an original 1920s jazz band. Several (although by no means all) members were from University College, where many of ...

, an

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

-based

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

band, in which West played the

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

.). This book was reissued in 2018 in an updated edition. As a solo author he wrote ''Marketing on a Beermat'' and a guide to good, clear writing, ''Perfect Written English''. He has recently written social history, using everyday objects as 'ways in' to the subject. ''First Class, a History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps'' was published in 2012, and ''A History of America in 36 Postage Stamps'' followed in 2013. ''Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe through the World's Greatest Song Contest'' was published in Spring 2017 and an updated version issued in 2020. His first psychology book is ''The Karpman Drama Triangle Explained''. As a fiction writer he has published three novellas, two under the pseudonym Lytchett Maltravers. West is married with one daughter and lives in North Hertfordshire.

Books

* ''Journey to the Middle Kingdom'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1991.

Allison and Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

, 2000. * ''Death of a Blue Lantern'', Collins Crime 1994, Allison and Busby, 1999 and 2008. * ''Death on Black Dragon River'', Collins Crime, 1995 * ''Red Mandarin'', Collins Crime, 1997 * ''The Third Messiah'' Allison and Busby, 2000 * ''The Beermat Entrepreneur: Turn a Good Idea into a Great Business'', Mike Southon and Chris West.

Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

, 2002. (Reissued several times.)Chris West: Bibliography

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. * ''Myths about Doing Business in China'', Harold Chee and Chris West, Palgrave, 2004 * ''The Boardroom Entrepreneur'', Mike Southon and Chris West.

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Business Books, 2005.Author details for Mike Southon & Chris West

. * ''Sales on a Beermat'', Mike Southon and Chris West. Random House Business Books, 2005. * ''Finance on a Beermat'', Stephen King, Jeff Macklin and Chris West. Random House Business Books, 2006. * ''Marketing on a Beermat'', Random House, 2008 * ''Perfect Written English'', Random House, 2008 * ''Think like an Entrepreneur'', Robbie Steinhouse and Chris West, Prentice Hall, 2008. * ''First Class, A History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps'', Square Peg, 2012 * ''A History of America in Thirty-six Postage Stamps'', Picador, 2014 * ''What's the Bloody Point of It All?'', CWTK, 2019 * ''Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe through the World's Greatest Song Contest'', Melville House, 2017 and 2020 * ''What's the Bloody Point of It All?'', CWTK, 2019 * ''The Karpman Drama Triangle Explained: A Guide for Coaches, Managers, Trainers, Therapists and Everybody Else'', CWTK 2020 * ''Footpath to Heaven'' (as Lytchett Maltravers), CWTK, 2020 * ''The Beijing Opera Murder'', Sharpe Books, 2020 * ''The Hungry Ghost Murder'', Sharpe Books, 2020 * ''The Red Mandarin Murder'', Sharpe Books, 2020 * ''The Heavenly Kingdom Murder'', Sharpe Books, 2020 * ''Twenty Sonnets'', CWTK, 2020 * ''Unexpected Alien in Bagging Area'' (as Lytchett Maltravers), CWTK 2021

References

External links

Chris West author website

NLP training course in London co-designed by Chris West
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Chris 1954 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics British travel writers British non-fiction writers British male drummers 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British writers British male novelists 20th-century British male writers Oxcentrics members Male non-fiction writers