Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and Its Struggle for Survival

by Chris Horton

The gripping story of Taiwan’s rich past and precarious present from the country’s top foreign correspondent, now with an updated afterword.

‘Compelling and important’ – Rana Mitter, The Observer
‘Few books qualify as essential reading, but Ghost Nation is one of them’ – Clive Hamilton, bestselling co-author of Hidden Hand
‘A thoughtful, illuminating exploration of Taiwan’s past and present as well as its possible future’ – Booklist

Taiwan is the geopolitical tinderbox of the twenty-first century, a nation whose fate directly impacts every major economy, every global political alliance and even the future of AI. Sitting at the heart of the great power struggle between China and the US, the country is the linchpin of the modern world – yet it remains profoundly misunderstood.

From colonial outpost to a thriving democracy and global technological superpower, Taiwan’s journey is one of incredible resilience against 400 years of foreign rule. In Ghost Nation, veteran journalist Chris Horton draws on over a decade of first-hand reporting to provide a panoramic and compelling history. He exposes the fundamental weakness of China’s sovereignty claims and illuminates the strength of a nation forged by struggle.

Ghost Nation is the essential account of a people fighting for their self-determination and democracy and the definitive guide to understanding the current threat to global order. The world’s stability rests on Taiwan’s survival.

‘Indispensable and timely’ – Melissa Chan, Emmy-nominated international affairs correspondent
‘An unmissable account . . . Accessible, entertaining and immaculately researched’ – Dr Jonathan Sullivan, co-author of A Contested Democracy Under Threat and former director of the China Policy Institute

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Politics, Audiobook, Asia, Current Affairs

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2025

About the author

Chris Horton is a journalist based in Taipei, Taiwan. He has been based in Taiwan since 2015, covering the country’s foreign relations, domestic politics, economy, society and more. He previously served as vice president of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club.

Horton served as China editor at Asia Times in 2003, and as editor of China Economic Review magazine in 2004. In 2005, he founded GoKunming, a local media company covering Kunming, China. In 2020, he joined Bloomberg News to cover Taiwanese markets.

Reviews

[David Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read several of the new Taiwan explainers, histories, and general introductions, i.e. "Taiwan books" out on the market (in addition to reviews of nearly all of them), and also having worked as a journalist in Taiwan for 20+ years, I can say this is probably the best of the lot. It's highly readable and the only one written from extensive on-the-ground experience in Taiwan––the author Christ Horton has been a reporter in Taipei for a decade, writing for NYT, the Guardian, and the Atlantic. This is also the only recent book to do justice to Taiwan's contemporary politics, as most of the other new Taiwan books were written by armchair experts in the UK, Washington DC, North Atlantic think tanks, etc, who are pretty clueless on anything that happened in Taiwan's domestic political arena after about 2005. Most importantly, Horton does something that none of the others do: provide a decent history of Taiwan's evolution from dictatorship to democracy, a movement which then segues into the current-era emergence of "Taiwanese identity" and a majority-supported movement for self-determination.

Most standard analysis of Taiwan btw focuses on Taiwan as part of a power triangle dominated by Washington DC and Beijing, and as a result tends to ignore the Taiwanese, who they are, and what they want. If you want to understand these things, then this is a very good book to give you a basic primer.

As for drawbacks, the organization of certain chapters can feel a little disjointed, especially in the tail end of the book. (The middle section of the book is extremely solid and the best part.) I should also note that the author also writes as a partisan of Taiwan's pro-independence green / DPP faction, and casts Taiwan's other major political party, the KMT, as a perpetual bogeyman, a characterization they deserve, but not all the time. To paraphrase Deng Xiaoping, one might say the KMT were 30% in the wrong; as a 113-year-old political party, they deserve a more unprejudiced and nuanced examination than you'll find here. Still, for a reasonably solid understanding of Taiwan today, this is probably the best "Taiwan book" currently out there.

[Li Ya 🪷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta książka + „Tajwan: Wyspa w Oku Cyklonu” są chyba najlepszym wprowadzeniem do współczesnej problematyki Tajwanu

Edit. 3.5/5.00

[Mateusz Płocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Konkretna dawka rzetelnej wiedzy na temat Tajwanu. Tłumaczenie niektórych zależności było na pewno bardzo trudne do zredagowania ale udało sie. Mam poczucie, że dużo lepiej rozumiem z czym zmaga się Tajwan.

[Patrick Fassnacht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one.
Not as knowledgeable on the situations and history here, I defer to other readers' sentiments of this possibly being the best/fullest/real understanding of what, how, and why things are as they are.

Interesting how each of us find import in different parts and aspects of things. Where people thought a part dragged, I appreciated the additional context. Where I started to drift, others loved it. Overall, it was extremely thorough and informative throughout. It had a depth and lived-in closeness that many do not have. It has a perception born through living in, and growing through, the events. One enmeshed with others in the same upbringing. Projecting this interpretation & chronology up to such recent time, it does exceptionally well in spelling out what Horton sees the implications to be.
If nothing else, reading the last 3rd of the book would be highly beneficial for us all.

[Ver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is everything what you wanted (or not) to know about Taiwan. It is a country that other big countries would like to ambush due to its geopolitical location and current technological production.
The book itself is a bit too political for me and therefore a bit boring perhaps. If someone is interested, Taiwan's situation is very well explained, it was just a bit too long for me.

[Hania · Rating 4 out of 5]

dobrze napisana wartościowa książka

[SLAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good blow by blow account of historical Taiwanese democracy.

[natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

imo autor zrobił kawał dobrej roboty, jeśli chodzi o przybliżenie historii Tajwanu czytelnikom (szczególnie tej współczesnej). dobra na początek, taka dosyć solidna baza

[Kang-Chun Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

well-researched, well-written, incredibly informative yet enjoyable read!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

a heartbreaking but necessary read that sheds light on how much the Taiwanese have suffered to gain their hard fought independence.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book, I personally liked the pacing and structure. It reads like a novel, great for people not used to reading history books. I highly recommend it.

[Blaise Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The struggle for the Taiwanese to be recognized as its own nation, its own people, has been going on since the Dutch colonized the island back in the 17th century. Since then, China as well as Japan have ruled over the island, which boasts a landmass slightly larger than Maryland. Chris Horton documents how the Taiwanese have never given up on being recognized as their own people.

Taking the readers through a trouble, bloody and hopeful history, Horton covers the Dutch settling Fort Zeelandia in the early 1600s, the Qing rule beginning in the late 1600s, the industrial rise under Japanese rule beginning near the start of the 1900s, the fall of the Japanese rule at the end of World War Two and the near 40 years of martial law. Within the martial law decades, the reader learns about how the Taiwanese felt going from one ruler to another, a change of rules, language and ways of living as well as the deadly 228 day, which occurred a few years before marital law.

Horton also takes readers to the present day and how Taiwan’s independence is crucial to the current status-quo around the world.

[Juan Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I bought at the Hare bookstore in Edinburgh, in my escapade from Friday during the conference to disconnect from the social interactions. I was not looking for such a book, but it was on display and I thought the timing was right as we are planning some holidays to Taiwan. The book was published in 2025 so I thought it should be quite updated.

The author does a good job at summarizing the history of this country, and providing a picture of why it is so difficult for many politicians to refer to it as a country today. While I am convinced by his arguments, I felt he strawmaned the opposite arguments. Or said it in a different way, after reading the book I feel curious to hear the argument from Chinese politicians into way they claim Taiwan should be theirs. I assume they must know Taiwan has historically been separate from China even though the market the opposite. Is it truly only a power battle? We are given the picture of Xi Jinping as an expansionist, power-seeker dictator. I may be naive and overly optimistic, but could it be that from his point of view annexing Taiwan would bring more good than bad?

[Gary Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book and one that taught me so much more about Taiwan’s history than I previously understood. I have visited Taiwan many times for business and last year and this summer for pleasure. I have friends there but rarely talk about the challenges facing the country. This book puts those challenges into clear focus and talks in alarming detail about what could happens if China does decide to take the country by force. The book also serves as a stark reminder of Taiwan’s past. I was not aware until my visit this year that Martial Law was in place until 1987. I thank Chris for putting together such a well documented history and a read I found hard to put down!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoyed about this book was the examination of what makes Taiwan unique...the peoples and cultures that made this island pre-date imperial China, and both the ROC and the Japanese had to adapt (or surpress) the independent spirit that was already present. This is the book for those who think there is no real difference with mainland Chinese culture...and shouldn't believe the history that comes out of the mainland.

[Jon Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a few intros to Taiwan and this is among the most accessible and engaging

[charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

great contemporary analysis (though could be structured a bit better). athena shoutout.

[Martyna Kaczorowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Ally Yang]

【7 Sept 2026 / 博客來 /382】17 Sept

[Liz Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Taiwanese, I don't know why, but I was expecting more from this book.
I enjoyed reading this book, and I enjoyed the research and hard work that Chris put into the book.
Nevertheless, I was looking for something more than just history I guess.

Still recommended tho. especially if you are not familiar with Taiwan's History. Thank you to Chris for speaking up for Taiwan and telling our story.

[Peter A · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding overview of Taiwan’s history and current challenges. For a person wanting to capture a sense of Taiwan and her people, I’d recommend this book.

Chris Horton is a reporter who has lived in Taiwan since 2015. With a reporter’s eye, Horton tells Taiwan’s story through the lives of individuals, many he has interviewed. His writing is crisp, filled with sufficient details that establish his credibility. Finally, he shares this story of Taiwan from the perspective of its people, who are often voiceless or unrepresented in the headlines. It is their perspective, that of people who wish to own their own destiny, that he conveys.

The book covers the indigenous peoples, the string of colonizers—Dutch, Spanish, Ming Rebels, Qing, Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek’s refuge—the pivotal moment that set that pitted those living on the island pre 1945 against the KMT on February 28, 1947, the 38 years of martial law called White Terror, the fight to open the political system, to today’s opportunities and challenges, especially with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

On the other hand, as the shackles of martial law were removed and the corresponding veil of silence dissipated, the people of Taiwan began to enjoy their unique experiences and embraced their being Taiwanese, not Chinese.

The resilience of the Taiwan’s people is clear in their persistent push for democracy (1947-1996) and controlling their own future after centuries of occupation. And that resilience is tested with each generation. In 2013-14, the then KMT President Ma attempted to rush a trade deal with the PRC without any discussion. Students objected and, with the support of citizens, halted that progress (this is known as the Sunflower Protest).

Moreover, with the PRC’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) development of ships and equipment necessary to invade Taiwan, that resilience will be tested.

But it is not just Taiwanese resilience. What will other countries do? There is much at stake for the world should the PLA invade Taiwan. Taiwan is the home of 90% of advanced computer chip production, which is used in aviation, automobiles, and many other facets of today’s life. The economic impact of COVID will seem trivial in comparison.

Throughout the book, the author repeatedly challenges the PRC’s claims that Taiwan is part of China. The claim that the indigenous people were Baiyue from China thousands of years earlier is hardly a claim of ownership. The 1971 UN resolution 2758—which gave the PRC representation of China at the UN—never mentioned the ROC, Taiwan, or the people of Taiwan. The 1992 consensus of only one China has been intentionally misinterpreted as the PRC dominating Taiwan. Calling the PRC the motherland of Taiwan is factually incorrect—the ROC was established in 1911, the PRC in 194. The PRC’s obsession with returning all lands to China ignores vast swaths of territory in northern Manchuria ceded to Russia in the Treaties of 1858 (Aigun) and 1860 (Convention of Peking).

This book joins a list of others written about Taiwan that maintain a Taiwanese-centric focus.

Because of the crisp writing, the personal stories, and the gentle passion of the author, I’d recommend this book to someone who wanted a brief introduction to the country, its people, and its uniqueness.


Two final notes.

The author did not refer to the Treaty of San Francisco of 1951, in which Japan relinquished claims to Taiwan (and other countries), though the treaty is silent on to whom the territory was ceded. Japan acquired Taiwan in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki.

An article by Ming-Yeh T Rawnsley captures the transformation (from 1991 to 2026) of becoming Taiwanese.
Rawnsley Ming-Yeh T. From ‘China’s Last Frontier’ to ‘Ghost Nation’: Rethinking Taiwan Across Three Decades of Change. Taiwan Insight. University of Nottingham. May 7, 2026.
https://taiwaninsight.org/2026/05/07/...

[Yivrett · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

„Tajwan. Naród widmo i jego walka o przetrwanie” Chrisa Hortona (Wydawnictwo Port)

Książka otrzymana w ramach współpracy barterowej.

Tajwan to niewielka wyspa, która odgrywa ogromną rolę w światowej polityce i znajduje się w centrum napięć między Chinami a Stanami Zjednoczonymi. Chris Horton przybliża historię tego kraju, jego drogę do demokracji oraz codzienne życie mieszkańców, którzy muszą mierzyć się z nieustannym zagrożeniem ze strony Chin.

Szczerze mówiąc, trochę boję się opublikować tę recenzję, bo słyszałem nieprawdopodobne historie o tym, jak wypowiadanie się na temat Tajwanu może skończyć się problemami z wjazdem do Chin kontynentalnych, które zresztą ubóstwiam po swojej podróży życia do tego kraju. Może jestem na tyle małym recenzentem, że umknie to uwadze chińskich władz...

W każdym razie od kiedy wkroczyłem w dorosłość, coraz bardziej interesuję się polityką międzynarodową, dlatego kwestia Tajwanu niezwykle mnie zaciekawiła. To szczególny fragment historii jednego z największych mocarstw świata, którego współczesny status jest niezwykle trudny do jednoznacznego zaklasyfikowania.

Tajwan utrzymuje oficjalne stosunki dyplomatyczne z zaledwie kilkunastoma państwami, mimo że ogromna część świata korzysta z handlu z nim. Gdyby Chiny zdecydowały się na siłowe przejęcie wyspy, mogłoby to doprowadzić do potężnego światowego kryzysu gospodarczego. Wszystko za sprawą kluczowej roli Tajwanu w produkcji najbardziej zaawansowanych półprzewodników, bez których trudno wyobrazić sobie współczesną elektronikę. Czego zatem dowiedziałem się z reportażu Chrisa Hortona?

Muszę przyznać, że przed lekturą nie przeczytałem blurbu, dlatego otrzymałem coś nieco innego, niż spodziewałem się po samym tytule. „Tajwan. Naród widmo i jego walka o przetrwanie” jest wypełniony przede wszystkim polityką i historią, podczas gdy liczyłem również na więcej wątków kulturowych. Fragmenty historyczne momentami mnie nużyły, ale były niezbędne do zrozumienia skomplikowanych zależności politycznych i międzynarodowej sytuacji Tajwanu.

Wyobraźcie sobie, że temat jest na tyle złożony, iż nawet 400 stron książki nie wystarcza, by jednoznacznie odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy Tajwan powinien zostać powszechnie uznany za suwerenne państwo. Same rozważania na ten temat i możliwość przyjrzenia się problemowi z różnych perspektyw były jednak dla mnie niezwykle interesujące. Oczywiście książka jest wypełniona tyloma szczegółami, że trudno wszystko zapamiętać, ale czuję, że najważniejsze przesłanie lektury do mnie dotarło i wzbogaciło mnie zarówno jako czytelnika, jak i geografa.

„Tajwan. Naród widmo i jego walka o przetrwanie” poszerza horyzonty i buduje świadomość polityczną, pozwalając zrozumieć zależności, które trudno dostrzec podczas zwykłego śledzenia światowych wiadomości. Czuję się usatysfakcjonowany pracą Hortona i nie odniosłem wrażenia, że autor za wszelką cenę próbował narzucić mi określoną narrację, choć z zachodniej perspektywy pewne wnioski mogą wydawać się oczywiste.

Dlatego szczególnie doceniam przedstawienie różnych punktów widzenia, również tych, z którymi wcześniej nie miałem okazji się zapoznać. Nie ze wszystkich uwarunkowań historycznych i politycznych wpływających na tajwańskie dążenia niepodległościowe zdawałem sobie wcześniej sprawę. Tym bardziej cieszę się, że sięgnąłem po tę książkę.

W mojej czytelniczej kolejce znajduje się teraz książka historyczna dotycząca Chin autorstwa Lindy Jaivin, dlatego już nie mogę się doczekać, by spojrzeć na ten fragment historii z jeszcze innej perspektywy.

Zdecydowanie polecam „Tajwan. Naród widmo i jego walka o przetrwanie”, bo to naprawdę wyjątkowa, rzetelna i wciągająca lektura, która pozwala lepiej zrozumieć jeden z najważniejszych konfliktów politycznych współczesnego świata.

[The Priest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book overall, a bit all over the place - packed with some details, personal anecdotes and biographical elements that make it much wider than necessary, but an interesting read nonetheless.

Randomly ordered take-aways:
1. a KMT (Kuomintang, descendant of a ruling communist party from the dictatorship) party having a majority (shared?) in parliament is basically controlled by China. In 2025 they already rejected a budget with increased defense spending and are doing a lot to make Taiwan defenseless.
2. TSMC builds factories in Texas, Japan and Germany (in cooperation with Intel there). For now most advanced chips only in Taiwan.
3. TSMC's success can be attributed to: anticipating the future, not yet established market;a great, technical founder working with top-notch US companies before; grat scale of investment and gov support; low cost of labor + relatively highly skilled workers; good timing of the market; having Americans to copy the technology from and an external investor -> Philippa. Huge R&D spending is a necessity to maintain the competitive edge, while tech giants make for a big share of revenues (Apple 20%, Nvidia probably a lot too).
4. China is trying to be invasion ready at 2027 (Xi Jinping's order). Invasion would be tough due to unclear waters, long sea shelf, only a few beaches on the shore to land (worse than Normandy 1944), and mountainous terrain, but fighting power disproportion is staggering -> only US can balance it, which depends on how quickly it will become self-suffient in chip-making.
5. TSMC spending on R&D was planned at USD 30B while defense spending was aimed at USD 20B. Clearly shows what's the biggest deterrent. On that note, not only the Chinese invasion, but also blockade or other similar scenario would affect the whole global economy.
6. 50s globally were much, much bloodier than 70s and 80s when it comes to crushing protests, punishments, death penalties, tortures etc. -> globalisation I think plus generational replacement, new ideas. Basically world changed a lot and became much wealthier as a whole. It's much easier to be "civillised" when you are not hungry, overworked and can afford staples and maybe even some amusement.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it starts off slowly with some fuzzy stories that don’t really come together about Tawian’s indigenous minority peoples, Ghost Nation provides a good overview of the political history and the contemporary political situation of Taiwan - a society shaped by occupations by the Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and then the KMT.

Horton’s explanation of the 228 incident in 1947 and the violent suppression of the Taiwanese people by the KMT early in their occupation of Taiwan, followed by the almost 50-year long “White Terror” period of martial law ending in the late 1980s, helped me understand why democracy is so important to the people of Taiwan.

I also got a much better understanding of Chiang’s role in isolating Taiwan (including refusing a seat in the United Nations) due to his stubborn insistence on recognition for the KMT’s claims over China, long after it was obvious that the People’s Republic of China had become the legitimate government, and that the KMT would never be able to reclaim their control over the mainland. The KMT justifiably comes across as villains in the story, and I am still trying to wrap my head around the KMT morphing from enemies of the Chinese CCP into a pro-integration party aligned with the Chinese government under Xi Jinping

The book ends with predictable, but well-written analysis of the PRC’s increasing threats against Taiwan’s sovereignty, the US schizophrenic policy of “strategic ambiguity”, and the importance of TSMC’s “digital shield” (and how this is being undermined by other countries, especially the US, insistence on near-shoring TSMC’s semiconductor fabs) in protecting Taiwan.

Some of the political analysis (especially of contemporary issues) gets too much into the weeds, and the profiles of modern Taiwanese politicians and journalists do not add to the goal of understanding Taiwan’s situation and will only be interesting to political junkies. The audiobook’s sing-song narration (and some egregious mistakes in pronounciation) will get on your nerves.

[Amit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always wanted to know more about the china Taiwan equation , the conflict and the history. It’s one of the geo political issues i knew almost nothing about. And in my quest to know came along this book . That was my lucky moment.
This is a book that is a must read for anyone who is desiring to understand the issue in any detail. The book begins from the Portuguese invasion of indigenous Taiwan then called farmosa and covers the history till current modern day Taiwan. The Japanese era, Americans role , ROC and Chinese chiang Kai shek rule , martial law, the democracy and loss of status as a nation to Xi and china exerting pressure and current day challenges.
This journey incudes the rebellions the growth the cultural identity and sacrifices made by the people. It also details the growth of semi conducting industry and role it plays in modern day world and why that in itself is the most important reason to safe Gaurd Taiwan from the Chinese annexation.
I never knew Taiwan is not recognised anymore by the UN and how it lacks a presence on the global stage. It is a book that engages you and educates you. The scenario planning and facts about a possible annexation by china and the consequences for the world are enough to not let that happen.
At the beginning the indigenous history has been a little too much detailed and could be a struggle to navigate . The other thing is too many similar sounding names that create confusion.
It’s a must read for anyone who is interested in world politics , economics and events that have power to shape the future.

[Shreela Sen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks @IBC & Pan Macmillan for this book.

Ghost nation is really absorbing, simple & at the same time hard-hitting,
an intimate modern history of Taiwan.

Horton really tells Taiwan's "story", seen through a lens both extensively studied, & personally experienced. It speaks of misunderstandings & atrocities, of blind territorial greed & deep sense of belongingness, of pitiless despots & believers in humanity & dignity, of breathtaking technological forward march & decades of progress wiped away in a day.

It is a sobering & humbling read... I am so lucky that I am reading this; not living this!!
I was seriously impressed & genuinely moved how organically women are a part of the revolutions & politics... Not as an afterthought!

I enjoyed both Horton's selection of information included, & his tone & direction. This is a really great introductory book, can't say how much those who are already well-acquainted with the subject will enjoy it.

[Nikhil Ahirwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

for me it was pretty good read to know more about Taiwan. And more profoundly the relationship between China and Taiwan. Before this book i know only like normal people out there and here that Taiwan is island and there is only one ethnicity which is Chinese, they are fighting for democracy with their own kinds of people which is quite not true. Taiwan is country comprises of different ethnicity, they are standing or fighting for not only country but also for culture, custom, tradition which is totally different from so called 'Chinese' tradition. Taiwan is not only fighting to external force that is China but also internal who are Chinese people(migrating when communist party took over China).

downsides to book are sometime its feels like too much history or information oriented, though some people finds it good but i don't like it.

Conclusion: I would like everyone to read this book, and particularly for those who are interested in Geopolitics.

[WiseB · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book can serve as a concise history of how it was and becomes now. The epilogue of the book synthesizes Taiwan’s situation being in the “eye of the storm” … calm on the surface and surrounded by escalating tension.

The author reiterates on Taiwan’s historical resilience, persistence of external threats, and the stakes for global democracy. The narrative emphasizes also uncertainty due to no guaranteed outcome, increasing pressure from China, and dependence on international response.

The concluding message is strategic and moral: Taiwan’s fate will shape the future of global order. A conflict over Taiwan would likely escalate regionally, disrupt global supply chains especially semiconductors), and potentially trigger a broader systemic crisis. Conversely, Taiwan’s continued autonomy reinforces democratic norms and regional stability.

[Christine Yen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in hopes of learning a little more about recent Taiwanese history (and several orders of magnitude more than I'd ever learn from my parents), and on that front: success!

On the other hand, I need to stop picking up random history nonfiction books by folks who don't have a verified talent at narrative nonfiction, because my appetite for reads that feel like textbooks is... limited.

I did get through it, though, and got quite a bit out of it—and I especially appreciated the chapter entirely about TSMC and its impact on the global economy at the end. It's almost like the author had a history he needed to tell, and then tacked on a separate, timely piece of "and here's a long-form article about one particular aspect of all of this."

[Floris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good general overview of contemporary Taiwanese politics, with a heavy focus on cross-strait relations. Still, there is comparatively little attention to the broader story of Taiwanese economic growth or broader cultural changes: I was left wondering why exactly Taiwan appears to be more progressive than its East Asian neighbours, for instance. And beyond a focus on TSMC, Taiwan's broader economics were a bit ignored. As were, for the most part, Taiwan's neighbours outside of China - substituted by a pretty heavy focus on the US at times. Only at the end was there a brief consideration of Japan and the Philippines, which seem pretty important all things considered. Still, a good and interesting read.