This is an entertaining and well-written book about the life of the Chinese super-rich, a new class who are keeping alive five-star hotels, restaurants and luxury shops around the world.

Insomnia is a common complaint, and the market is flooded with drugs, food and devices that promise a good sleep.

In a four-room apartment in a Cairo suburb rented by a Chinese businessman, five Egyptians sew women's clothes then pack them for delivery.

For decades, there has been a common belief that, as nations develop economically, politics will soon catch up and become more democratic. This theory also states that, released from poverty and aspiring for more freedom, the middle class will be at the forefront of such a democratic transformation.