Francis Stevens George was born in 1965 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather served his country for over 40 years, first as Mayor of Freetown, Prime Minister and culminating as President from 1972-1985. It was against this background that his interest in China developed. From about the age of eight he was fascinated with the Chinese people who were living not far from his home in Freetown, Sierra Leone. They were working in construction - building the national stadium, roads and bridges. He accompanied his grandmother to see a visiting Chinese Dance Troupe, and had several dinners at the residence of the Chinese Ambassador. In 1989, as a student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he wrote a paper on China and Africa. In 2009, as result of what he felt was a lack of historical perspective on the increasing and topical debate of China’s role in Africa; he decided to rewrite the original paper as a short book.