preface (abridged)

Mainland China is probably the most exciting place in the world for the study of entrepreneurship. From a standing start twenty years ago, entrepreneurs in China are making private capital and putting it to work. I feel the thrill of hearing and seeing, at first hand, the way these entrepreneurs operate and have often wondered what it is these people have in common, what particular qualities they have. Change is afoot in China. I can feel it every time I return to the country after a few weeks' break. New buildings, new restaurants, new businesses. Compare this with Switzerland, where I used to go skiing every winter with my family. My parents used to send me across the road to the baker to fetch the bread in the morning. Year after year, nothing changed in the village. Today, the bakery is still run by the same family business, with the only concession to the more than twenty years that have passed being an automatic till and gray hair on the owner's head. The atmosphere was relaxing. The buzz came from the skiing.