Tai-Pan is an amazing book, I think Clavell's best. Tai Pan takes place at the birth of Hong Kong in the 19th century and focuses on Scotsman Dirk Struan, Tai Pain (supreme boss) of the Noble House (ie the biggest opium/tea trader). The cast of characters is vast and vaired and includes one of my all time favorite characters ever, Mai Mai, the concubine of the Tai Pan. Mai Mai is smart, super-savvy, speaks in a "fantastical good" pidgin English, and is hilarious, hey-yah!.

Tai Pan is the right mix of adventure, history, and fine, insightful writing about the human condition that makes this a must read bordering on fine literature (w/out all the pomp and tedium that often goes along w/that classification).

I have read Tai Pan and am now listening to this audio version. In general, I like audiobooks and the recording of Tai Pain is one of the best I have ever heard. The narrator does an absolutely superb job of capturing the different voices, accents, and personalities of the characters throughout the 25(!) hour recording. I wish I could deliver and read aloud half as well as this guy.

If you run a company, have to evaluate and judge people in high pressure circumstances, and want to see a portrait of how a fictional master entrepreneur conducts himself, do yourself a huge favor and read Tai Pan. I promise you that you will not be bored