From opium wars, conquest and rebellion to the end of the Qing imperial dynasty, the history of the European colonial 'scramble' for China is one of brutality and idealism, oppression and adventure - a story that is still central to the country's image of itself today. Robert Bickers' extraordinary book tells this epic story from both European and Chinese viewpoints, as 'foreign devils' gathered around China's weakened empire and tried to build a new world...