Ghost Nation

For the past decade, Horton has been one of the most reliable and incisive foreign journalists based in Taipei. He has used that experience, knowledge and access to produce an unmissable account of Taiwan's political trajectory . . . Accessible, entertaining and immaculately researched

Dr Jonathan Sullivan, co-author of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat and former Director of the China Policy Institute

Horton’s retelling of Taiwan’s past and present through the eyes of everyday people who experienced Taiwan’s highs and lows firsthand will leave readers with a deep sense of empathy and hope. It is a must read for anyone invested in peace and understanding on either side of the Taiwan Strait

Lev Nachman, Assistant Professor at National Taiwan University and author of Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements and Party Formation

Accessible and borne from on-the-ground reporting. Delves far beyond the headlines, deep into the history and the forgotten personalities that helped make modern Taiwan

Dr Samir Puri, author of Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing

Taiwan is too often reduced to a geopolitical talking point . . . In Ghost Nation, journalist Chris Horton offers a vivid, clear-eyed account of a place that has defied the odds. Far from a passive player, Taiwan emerges here as a vibrant democracy shaped by its own history, people and political will. Drawing on over a decade of reporting, Horton reveals the deeper stakes of Taiwan’s survival—and why its future matters to us all

Clarissa Wei, author of Made in Taiwan

Ghost Nation is a vivid, timely, and deeply informed portrait of modern Taiwan that has been masterfully crafted through Horton's unparalleled on-the-ground insights. His work blends digestible insights on contemporary Taiwan with richly drawn historical anecdotes, culminating in a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how Taiwan's complex past has made it into the vibrant democracy it is today

Lauren Dickey, Senior Associate at the China Power Project and former senior advisor and acting director for Taiwan policy in the US Department of Defense

From the longest period of martial law in Asia to the region's greatest beacon of freedom and democracy, Taiwan has had a history of extremes. Chris Horton's incisive political history unpacks a remarkable and unknown story

Joe Studwell, journalist and author of How Asia Works

News headlines constantly warn that Taiwan may bring the US and China to war. But Horton takes us beyond the sabre-rattling to reveal Taiwan on its own terms — a country whose history and culture are unique, and whose people have forged a democratic nation against all odds

Bethany Allen, author of Beijing Rules

Gripping, urgent and approachable . . . full of local texture, linguistic nuance, and social insight rarely found in foreign reporting on Taiwan

Julia Bergström, Taiwan Business TOPICS, American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan

Thoroughly researched and packed with interviews . . . lucid and up-to-date

Robert Wihtol, The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Punchy . . . at heart a journalistic history of Taiwan’s long march to become ‘Asia’s freest country'

The Spectator

A thoughtful, illuminating exploration of Taiwan’s past and present as well as its possible future

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