The story of Asia's awakening and response to Western imperialism is well-trodden ground, but Pankaj Mishra masterfully retells this story by focusing on the unlikely convergences between some lesser known intellectuals, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1838-97) of Persia and Liang Qichao (1873-1929) of China.
These influential political thinkers and tinkerers helped create "the vocabulary in which many Asians would phrase their aspirations and frustrations for the next century."
Mishra explains how and why "the central event of the last century for the majority of the world's population was the intellectual and political awakening of Asia." In his view, Asia is "continuing to be remade not so much in the image of the West as in accordance with the aspirations and longings of former subject peoples." Perhaps, but as Mishra well knows, most of the marginalized and pauperized Asians would disagree.