<DIV>This charming book explores the legacies of five centuries of interaction--and the mutual fascination that fueled it--between Asia and Europe, beginning with the sea contact made during the early Renaissance. Although relations beween East and West could often turn deadly, there were also many moments of lightness and frivolity, and it is these that are given special attention here. Such moments enchant and disarm, yet, as this book shows, they also bear deeper implications.</div>