Educated in the UK, Steven Crook (crooksteven.blogspot.com) was backpacking through Asia in 1991 when he decided to go to Taiwan. He was running out of money and needed a job, but that wasn’t the only reason he changed plans. His geography teachers had never talked about the place, and nobody he knew had ever been there. The prospect of visiting such an unfamiliar island was tantalising. He wasn’t disappointed; he extended his stay and took up hiking. In 1996 he started writing for newspapers and magazines about the country’s mountains, temples and museums. By 2009, when he accepted Bradt’s offer to write a travel guide to Taiwan, he’d seen most of the country – but because he keeps discovering little museums, hiking trails and culinary delights, his ‘to do, see and eat’ list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter. Which is why Bradt’s Taiwan is now in its fourth edition.