It is a thoroughly satisfying work, pulling together concepts drawn from gender theory, the new imperial history, and the growing interest in the history of the littoral, as seen through the lens of a generally neglected aspect of an often marginalized institution.

American Historical Review

A most valuable social study, which will interest the veteran expatriate and the general reader alike ... There is an excellent collection of photographs, a copious supply of footnotes, and an extensive bibliography.

Asian Affairs

Drawing on transcolonial circuits generated by labor networks across the modern Asia Pacific, this book argues for male domestic service as a cultural contact zone. Rather than sidelining women's work, contributors show how and why the relationality of gender relations was shaped through servitude and cross-hatched by race and indigeneity -- making and remaking the dynamic of public and private at the site of colonial domesticity in the process.

Antoinette Burton, Professor of History, University of Illinois, USA

Martínez, Lowrie, Steel, and Haskins present a comprehensive initial study that has many strengths and takes the understanding of male domestic service well beyond what is currently known. Colonialism and Male Domestic Service across the Asia Pacific leaves the reader wanting more, stimulating the appetite for further exploration of this important and interesting area.

Journal of British Studies

Provocative and original, this book offers a new perspective on colonial labour relations and masculinities. Asian men were employed to a surprising extent in domestic service in the British, American, Dutch and French colonies of the Asia-Pacific. This book highlights their active role in shaping cultures of racialized servitude in the intimate spaces of the home, hotel, club and steamship. Not content with examining the expectations of colonists seeking the luxury of a male domestic staff, the authors give us glimpses into the lives of servants unseen by their employers. Male domestic servants' own bonds of friendship, sociability and protest lie at the centre of this commendable book.

Alan Lester, Professor of Historical Geography, University of Sussex, UK

A book packed with detail and analysis.

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies