A vivid, insider’s account of one of the most inaccessible and mysterious countries in Asia, this book looks beyond topographical features to discover the psyche of the people of Myanmar. Appointed to train local journalists for 18 months at the English-language weekly The Myanmar Times, and despite a measure of danger in accepting the assignment, Peter Olszewski throws himself into the daily life and culture of Yangon—even finding himself in a real-life, fairy-tale romance. Myanmar has recently been the focus of humanitarian and political outrage in developed countries, and this book gives a surprising, new perspective on the question of democratization.