As a foreigner living in Taiwan and fascinated by Asia in general, this was a great read. I loved the anecdotes, the insights and that now I can maybe make a better sense of what is going on around me, how did the country get to where it is now...

From the stories I preferred the ones taking place in the earlier ages (maybe the ones in the first half of the book), not sure is it because they are more "historical" and less "news-like" as we are almost still living those stories? Also, so many countries are described, a tremendous undertaking but also leaving me wanting to hear more about different places. Introducing a country's changes through just one or two companies is enough to get me hooked but does not fill me up. Of course it is almost infinite topic - now I wonder where can I know more?