Narrative history Forthcoming · 24 November 2026 · Book talks

The Dispatch

Rogue Americans in British Asia

An American seaman turned Mormon missionary ends up surrounded by intrigue in British colonial Asia and finds purpose in writing it down.

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Cover of The Dispatch: Rogue Americans in British Asia, by AA Bastian.

Great Salt Lake CityCalcuttaRangoonSingaporeBangkokHong Kong

History · Nonfiction

An American seaman, a missionary’s journey, and a letter that accidentally helps a king avoid colonization.

Drawing on a journal that sat nearly untouched for over a century in the archives, The Dispatch follows a man turned eyewitness through the intrigue and deception in British colonial Asia.

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StatusForthcoming Nov 24, 2026

Hardcover$35.00

Paperback$19.00

SubjectHistory

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Published by Audant Publishing House

Story Map

Follow the dispatch west across the Pacific.

From the American West to India and the ports of British Asia.

Book talks

Get behind the scenes with the author, AA Bastian. Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning provided. Other languages coming soon. Find what you’re interested in.

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Selected writing

Journalism, Academic, Podcasts, History from AA Bastian.

A few of the pieces readers return to most — foreign policy, history, and analysis. Book talks on the writing life →

Peer
Reviewed History The Other Bayonet

A newly surfaced journal reveals Burmese resistance at the Shwedagon Pagoda in 1853.

Journal of Burma Studies June 2017 History From Siamese Prison to Mormon Memory

Why one missionary’s apparent failure in Siam may have faded from memory.

Juvenile Instructor June 2013 Podcast Watersplotch from the Bay of Bengal

A ship diary and the Euro-American trading empires of nineteenth-century Asia.

Empire Lines Feb 2022 Top 5 Argument China Is Stepping Up Its Information War on Taiwan

Rumors and false stories as Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan.

Foreign Policy Aug 2, 2022

Every piece

All publications

Essays, reviews, history, and a podcast. The same ten pieces, with the outlet beside the title. Author book talks →

10 pieces

ReviewA Stranger in BaghdadWashington Independent Review of BooksJune 2023 EssayOkinawa Is in the Crosshairs of China’s AmbitionsForeign PolicyApril 2023 ReviewHimālayaWashington Independent Review of BooksDecember 2022 EssayChina Is Stepping Up Its Information War on TaiwanForeign PolicyAugust 2022 PodcastA Water Splotch from the Bay of BengalEmpire LinesFebruary 2022 EssayThreatening Taiwan Gets China More Than Invading It WouldForeign PolicyNovember 2021 HistoryThe Other BayonetJournal of Burma StudiesJune 2017 EssayCity of WritesWashington Independent Review of BooksOctober 2016 EssayMeet the Press: HoopoeWashington Independent Review of BooksMay 2016 HistoryFrom Siamese Prison to Mormon MemoryJuvenile InstructorJune 2013

Recognition

Awards and honors

Foreign Policy · 2023 Lead Article for 15 hours Okinawa
Foreign Policy · 2022 Editors’ top five The information war on Taiwan
Foreign Policy · 2021 Lead article for 24 hours Threatening Taiwan
Cambridge · 2017 Honorary Reading “Through a Window,” one of 13 from about 500
Washington Independent · 2016 Third most popular post Meet the Press: Hoopoe
Writer’s Digest · 2006 Honorable Mention “Japanese Carp,” of 19,000 entries

About the author

AA Bastian, writing East and West.

AA Bastian is an award-winning writer, scholar, freelance journalist and professional sign language interpreter. She publishes on topics from foreign policy to history to memoir, in popular and scholarly formats, and has recorded a podcast.

She founded and runs Interpreting Sign: World, an international interpreting hub focused on communication across cultures, accessibility and working with deaf people.

MandarinArabicAmerican Sign LanguageOther signed languages

Cambridge creative writing, 2017 · M.A. International Law and World Order, University of Reading · B.A. History, Minor in Arabic, Brigham Young University · Chair, Washington Writers Conference (2019–2020)

Quoted in the South China Morning Post, July 2023, on Beijing’s influence campaign around US bases in Okinawa. Read →

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