Kerry Brown began his life in nineties China almost by chance, cutting his teeth in its northern backwaters. He went on to become a British diplomat in Beijing and then one of the world's foremost sinologists. Since then, the Middle Kingdom has transformed from 'backwater' to 'emergent superpower' to fanfare, scrutiny and a tidal wave of thinkpieces. Offering a light alternative to the bluster, the Kentish academic draws on wit, allusion and anecdotes of adventure to render the People's Republic 'knowable' to Western readers, and in so doing, humanise its monumental ascent.