James Richardson Logan was born in the windswept hills of Berwickshire, where the River Tweed divides nations and heroic legends run deep, yet he devoted his life to Penang and its peoples. Why?
This thoroughly engaging retrospective traces Logan’s progression from life in a modest Scottish farmhouse to becoming the most prominent legal mind in the Straits Settlements. But Logan’s journey from the hills of Scotland to 1 the tiger- haunted jungles of colonial Malaya was anything but ordinary.
Armed with the idealism of a reformer and the pen of a provocateur, Logan challenged the complacency of empire, pursuing justice both in the courtroom and through the pages of his newspaper, the Pinang Gazette. From defending pirates and sultans in court to exposing abuse by colonial officials, his colourful career embraced a deepening defiance of unchecked imperial power.
Forged in 19th-century Malaya at the crossroads of law, loyalty, and legacy, Logan’s voice resonates through time to our present day.
About The Author
Mike Gibby is a British- born educator who has spent the majority of his life in Southeast Asia. He holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Leeds and a M.Sc. in Evolution from the University of Liverpool. His primary interests in the life sciences are in the related fields of ecosystems, conservation and evolution and he has a passion for historical investigation. As a committed educator and outdoorsman, he has led expeditions to the mountains of Ladakh, Nepal, Iceland, Norway, and Morocco as well as the principal summits of Java, Sumatra, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea. His students have been introduced to the varied delights of mangrove, seashore, rivers, and rain forests.
He is the author of several books:
The Man Who Built A Castle, Entrepot Publishing, 2024
▸ Penang Confidential, Entrepot Publishing, 2023 The Bungalows of Penang Hill,
Entrepot Publishing, 2020
In the Best of Company: Postcards from the Hajj, Entrepot Publishing, 2019
Jerejak: Penang’s Untold Story,
Entrepot Publishing, 2018
Penang Hill: A journey through time,
Entrepot Publishing, 2017
▸ Street Art Penang Style, Entrepot Publishing,
2016
‣ Crowned with the Stars: The Life and Times of Don Carlos Cuarteron, First Prefect of Borneo 1816-1880, Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, 2005 ▸ Islands of Malaysia, Diamond Sky Publishing, 1994
