What's the attraction of coffee that's been digested by a civet? Can 200-million-year-old fossilized freshwater shark dung bring you good luck? Why do boys like to make things go bang - hey, lemme try the AK-47!? Why is the belching and slovenly widow of Laos's first president so possessive about the animal she considers her white elephant? How did Vietnam's last elephant hunter, at the age of 90, get a lucrative sponsorship deal for a tonic that makes men more powerful? Did a love potion help a Filipino politician become governor? And what role did an absurdly rich, secretive American businessman (who enjoyed deflowering virgins) have in creating Vietnam's golf boom?

This is Southeast Asia as you've probably never imagined, full of memorable people, startling happenings, and unexpected moments of humanity and introspection, giddiness and solemnity, avarice and ambition.