James Kynge recalls how his wife fed him honey sandwiches in their kitchen to calm his nerves as he worked out how to write a book on China, the country that has fascinated him since he first visited as a student in 1982.

That Mr Kynge offered this homely insight in front of an audience of top Manhattan executives after receiving the award last week for best business book of 2006 is a measure of the British author’s self-deprecating style.