If you're looking for a concise history of Penang that's not a heavy read, this may be the book. Its 173 pages contain most of the the basic facts about the island's colourful history over more than two centuries sprinkled with anecdotes collected by the penultimate British Governor of Penang, Sjovald Cunyngham-Brown, with whom Flower originally intended to write this book before Cunyngham-Brown's death. the book was published to commemorate George Town, Penang's capital, being named as a Unesco World Heritage site. The book not only records the history of the island in Part 1, but also in Part 2 looks at the main communities in Penang in separate chapters. Unusually the Eurasians get a special mention. There is also a short bibliography.