CBG - China consulting firm in San Diego

Book Reviews exclusive of The China Business Group

Following are reviews of some of our favorite China-related books here at CBG. If you wish to buy a book, just click on the picture or title of the book and follow the link to Amazon.com.

	Biography and Autobiography
	Business
	History and Foreign Affairs
	Economics
	Society

Biography and Autobiography

	Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal By Meihong Xu and Larry Engelmann Headline Book Publishing, London, 1999 An exciting, well-told story about PLA First Lieutenant Xu Meihong who is assigned to watch suspected American spy Larry Engelmann. This book is not only the story of how these two – against all odds - fall in love and escape to America, it is also an intriguing look at the inner workings of the People’s Liberation Army.

	God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan By Jonathan D. Spence W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1996 The engrossing story of Hong Xiuquan, a man who believed himself to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ - God’s Chinese son. Acting on what he believed was a direct order from his Heavenly Father to struggle against the evil polluting humanity, Hong lead the Taiping (Heavenly Peace) uprising that successfully overthrew the authority of the ruling Qing Dynasty throughout a huge part of southern China. The Taiping ruled this territory from Nanjing for eleven years until they were overcome by Qing and Western forces. Spence gives us an intimate portrait of both an empire in decline and the fevered spiritual world of Hong. "With a scholar's love of detail, a cinematic eye for color, and an evident passion for dramatic narrative, [Spence] gives us an irresistible tale--all the grander for its grip on history." (Marie Arana-Ward, Washington Post Book World)

	The Good Man of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe Edited by Erwin Wickert Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999 A vivid, moving narrative by a German citizen who, along with nine others, established a demilitarized zone in Nanjing during the winter of 1937 and the spring of 1938 to protect Chinese citizens from the Imperial Japanese Army’s infamous Rape of Nanking. Many of the details recorded by Rabe are truly horrific, yet he often managed to see the humor in life, even in the midst of such despair. For protecting its citizens, the Chinese government proclaimed Mr. Rabe China’s Living Buddha.

	The Man Who Stayed Behind By Sidney Rittenberg and Amanda Bennett Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993 (This book is out of print. However, Amazon.com will query for a used book and inform you of the outcome. Click on the title to proceed.) The remarkable personal account of the only American who ever joined the Chinese Communist Party. Imprisoned twice and kept in solitary confinement for a total of sixteen years, Sidney Rittenberg not only gives us a front row seat to the events that shaped Communist China, but he shows us the incredible resilience of the human spirit in the face of almost unspeakable adversity. While not everyone will sympathize with Mr. Rittenberg’s choices, there is no doubt that this book "…reads like a riveting historical novel… Sidney Rittenberg’s story is a classic." (Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes)

	The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci By Jonathan D. Spence Elisabeth Sifton Books/Viking, 1984 A wonderful account of the 16th century Jesuit missionary in China. As noted by Paul Robinson, "…what [Spence] has actually written, while still centered on Ricci, more nearly resembles the portrait of an age, and it is perhaps as remarkable for its form as its content. It is organized about a series of visual representations… that create a richly layered and complex impression of Ricci’s world, while also introducing us to a conception of memory that categorically sets that world apart from our own. It is an extraordinary delicate achievement…Mr. Spence’s … book is moving and strangely beautiful."

	The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng By Harrison Salisbury Avon Books, New York, 1992 A dual biography of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping based on 20 years of first-hand research and interviews conducted by the Pulitzer Prize winning author. An excellent book for those who want to understand the backgrounds and motivations of two of the major forces in Communist China. "Reads as much like a popular fiction as a work of history." (Orville Schell, The New York Times)

	The Private Life of Chairman Mao: The Memoirs of Mao's Personal Physician By Dr. Li Zhisui Random House, New York, 1994 An incredibly revealing book about Mao, showing him, as Ross Terrill writes, as "eccentric, demanding, suspicious, unregretful, lascivious, and unfailingly fascinating." While there are those who dispute the accuracy of some of Dr. Li’s recollections, this is the most intimate portrait of a dictator that we’re likely to see for some time. A fascinating, compelling book.

	The Soong Dynasty By Sterling Seagrave Harper & Row, New York, 1985 The fascinating inside story of the Soong family, whose power and influence had a major impact on both China and the U.S. in the 20th century. Of the six children of bible salesman Charlie Soong, one married Sun Yat-sen and later supported the Chinese Communists, one married Chiang Kai-Shek, one married H.H. Kung, the principal banker of Nationalist China and the eldest son, T.V. Soong, was the economic brains behind Chiang Kai-Shek’s rise to power. Reads like gripping novel.

	Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite By Bruce Gilley University of California Press, 1998 An insightful account of the successor to Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping by a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review. This book outlines how a man who had no apparent major accomplishments made it to the top of China’s ruling elite – and has managed to stay there for over decade with no end to his reign in sight. A good choice for those seeking to understand the personal qualities that have helped Jiang do what Mr. Gilley contends: lead China from a Leninist party-state to a developmental authoritarian state, similar to some of China’s Asian neighbors.

	The White-Boned Demon: A Biography of Madam Mao Zedong By Ross Terrill William Morrow & Company, New York, 1984 (This book is out-of-print, but is available on barnesandnoble.com) As Mr. Terrill says himself, "This book tells Jiang Qing’s story through the eloquent ‘unofficial’ voices of China: oral eyewitness accounts from the grass roots; testimony of those Chinese who watched, knew, hated, or loved Jiang Qing…" A powerful portrait of the rise and fall of Mao’s wife, the wrathful leader of the Cultural Revolution.

	Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China By Jung Chang Anchor Books, Doubleday, New York, 1991 A magnificent read, Wild Swans is a personal account of three women in modern China. The author’s grandmother was a concubine in the early twentieth century, her mother a communist revolutionary and she had her life irrevocably shaped by the dramatic events of the Cultural Revolution. A great story and an excellent guide to understanding the wrenching changes China has undergone in the twentieth century.

	Mao: A Life By Philip Short A John Macrae Book, Henry Holt and Company, 2000 A tome that was seven years in production ... the definitive work on Mao to date. Exhaustive research using materials that only recently became available brings fascinating new detail to a man the author notes presided over the deaths of more of his own people than any other leader. You may be disappointed at Short's unwillingness to pass final judgment on the Great Helmsman, but you will not be bored.

	Mao Zedong By Jonathan D. Spence Lipper/Viking, 1999 You can read this one cover to cover on the New York to Beijing nonstop, and you will likely find it more entertaining than the movies. One of the preeminent China scholars uses a small canvas for this work, but paints an entertaining and insightful picture, from Mao's private chambers where he entertained his dancing partners to the paranoiac purges of the cultural revolution. A must for your reference library.

Business

	China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future By James Kynge Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 Winner of the Financial Times / Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, China Shakes the World is a dramatic accounting of how China's exploding growth is not only changing China, but reshaping the economies and politics of its global neighbors. This highly readable and engrossing book is based on Mr. Kynge's numerous interviews and research with players in the China drama from around the globe, including mid-western businessmen in the US who are losing manufacturing to China, Chinese immigrants in Italy who are buying up historic textile factories, factory workers in Germany whose local steel plant was dismantled and sent to China in its entirety - and the Chinese businessman who bought it. It is an excellent look at how China got to where it is today, and what this might mean for China and the world in the future.

	One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China (Wall Street Journal Book) By James McGregor New York, 2005 This is definitely one of the best books about doing business in China on the market today. The case studies are all fresh, intriguing and entertaining, and provide excellent insights into modern Chinese business culture. Mr. McGregor places his conclusions regarding current Chinese business practices in the context of China's history (ancient and modern) so that the lessons he imparts provide readers with a depth of understanding that is largely missing in many popular China business books. Strongly recommended.

	Mr. China: A Memoir By Tim Clissold Harper Business, 2005 A wonderfully riotous story of what can go wrong when too much money is thrown at too many projects with too little information, Mr. China is Tim Clissold’s frontline view of investing millions of Wall Street dollars in China in the 1990s. This is a terrific cautionary tale with good insights into the problems that can plague foreign investors in China.

	Harvard Business Review on Doing Business in China (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) By Rick Yan and Kennety Lieberthal Harvard Business School Press, 2004 "Important fundamentals…clear explanations… humorous… comprehensive… a welcome introduction to the rhythm and grace of Chinese social interaction" says the Asian Wall Street Journal of Seligman’s latest offering. An excellent guide that will help visiting business people interact in China with confidence.

	China Streetsmart: What You MUST Know to be Effective and Profitable in China By John Chan Prentiss Hall, 2003 Although the constant promotion of the “China Streetsmart way” is tedious and distracting, this book does provide useful case studies of foreign companies operating in China that demonstrate how the complexities of doing business in China can be handled to create profitable operations.

	Chinese Business Etiquette: A Guide to Protocol, Manners, and Culture in the People's Republic of China By Scott D. Seligman Warner Books, 1999 "Important fundamentals…clear explanations… humorous… comprehensive… a welcome introduction to the rhythm and grace of Chinese social interaction" says the Asian Wall Street Journal of Seligman’s latest offering. An excellent guide that will help visiting business people interact in China with confidence.

	Wen and The Art of Doing Business in China By Daniel R. Joseph Cultural Dragon, 2001 An excellent guide for those seeking to establish operations in more remote parts of China. Mr. Joseph presents a compelling narrative of the impact that culture ("wen" in Chinese) has on doing business in China's less-developed areas.

	The New Silk Road: Secrets of Business Success in China Today By John B. Stuttard John Wiley & Sons, 2000 A very helpful book of China business case studies contributed by the China executives from companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Novartis, Unilever, Lucent and United Technologies. Provides solid lessons on setting goals, choosing partners and steps you can take to reduce uncertainty.

	Behind the Open Door: Foreign Enterprises in the Chinese Marketplace By Daniel H. Rosen Institute for International Economics, 1999 Drawing on extensive interviews with expatriate managers and other professionals currently working in China, Mr. Rosen analyzes and provides helpful conclusions on each step of running a business in China. Excellent reading for managers responsible both for investment and operational issues in China.

	The China Business Handbook 2002 By China Economic Review Alain Charles Publishing, 2002 A thorough guide to every region in China, complete with color maps, key economic data, information on major companies in the area, investment incentives, infrastructure, and economic and industrial zones. Tips on places to stay and things to do are included as well. An excellent resource for the business person seeking to learn more about what the different regions of China have to offer.

	China Dawn: The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution By David Sheff HarperBusiness, 2002 A fascinating portrait of two entrepreneurs swept up in China's high-tech revolution. This fast-paced book gives readers a real sense of the forces that are driving business in China today -- and radically changing Chinese culture in the process.

	Beijing Jeep: A Case Study of Western Business in China By Jim Mann Westview Press, 1997 A compelling chronicle of American Motors Corporation’s failure in China. While it is a bit dated, it is still an excellent case study for those considering, or preparing to manage, a Sino-foreign operation in China.

History and Foreign Affairs

	A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China: An Investigate History By Patrick Tyler A Century Foundation Book, 1999 US relations with China from Nixon through Clinton, as seen through the eyes of the former Beijing Bureau Chief for The New York Times. A must read for anyone who seeks to understand the complexity of current Sino/US relations ... exhaustively researched ... punchy journalistic style makes for entertaining reading ... pulls no punches.

	About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship with China, From Nixon to Clinton By James Mann Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999 A fascinating, detailed chronicle of America’s efforts to cultivate China through the administrations of six American presidents. Through interviews with many of the major U.S. players and extensive research into recently declassified documents, former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times James Mann brings "to life the story of U.S.-China relations by reconstructing the process and the politics through the personalities, internal debates, calculations, and dilemmas of policymakers." (Robert A. Manning, Far Eastern Economic Review)

	China: A New History By John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1998 A concise and authoritative account of China and its people over four thousand years by one of the leading China scholars of the 20th century. Updated by Merle Goldman after Fairbank’s death to include a chapter on events in the post-Mao Period, the book now includes a detailed account of the vast array of changes that have occurred in China over the past twenty years.

	China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power By Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn Random House, New York, 1995 A great read, China Wakes is the story of China’s transformation into an economic and political power by Pulitzer Prize-winning husband and wife reporters for The New York Times. Limited in that it draws mainly on interviews with intellectuals in Beijing, the book is engaging and educational nonetheless.

	East and West: China, Power, and the Future of Asia By Christopher Patten Times Books/Random House, New York, 1998 An intriguing account by the Last Governor of Hong Kong. Writing in the New York Times, Jack F. Matlock describes Patten’s book as "…a beguiling mixture of memoir and maxim, of well-chosen anecdote and pithy analysis, of experience and erudition. The result is that rarest of literary products: a book that is as delightful to read as it is enlightening to ponder."

	The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress: China's Search for Security By Andrew Nathan and Robert S. Ross W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1997 "Nathan and Ross issue a needed corrective to some of the more outlandish claims of those who stress the "China threat." ... Nathan and Ross also cut through the arcane debate over the actual size of the Chinese military budget to demonstrate just how severely limited Beijing's current capabilities are.... Actually, the most interesting feature of their argument is not their differences with the hardliners, but their similarities to them." (Benjamin Schwarz, The New York Times Book Review) "There is a tendency in the Western media to depict mainland China as an inscrutable monolith. Political scientists Nathan and Ross, however, put a very different face on China and its leadership. Though at the height of its power and influence, China, the authors argue, sees itself threatened politically, economically, and militarily. It is this fear--and the importance of saving face--that drives Chinese foreign policy, and Nathan and Ross examine how these and related forces have affected China's dealings with nations, from the time of Mao to the present… The authors' argument that the West fully integrate China into the world community is convincing and pragmatic. A thoughtful examination of what will surely be one of the twenty-first century's great powers." (Brian McCombie, Booklist )

	The Kissinger Transcripts Edited by William Burr The New Press, New York, 1999 For readers who like the fly-on-the-wall view of history, these almost verbatim transcripts offer a rare chance to listen in on Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s 1971-1976 meetings with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Leonid Brezhnev and others as he works to play Beijing and Moscow against each other.

	The Search for Modern China By Jonathan D. Spence W.W. Norton Company, New York, 1990 This is the definitive guide book for those seeking to better understand China’s search for identity in the modern world. Spence takes the reader on an engaging, highly readable tour of four centuries of Chinese history, from the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1600 through the crushed democracy movement in June 1989. China’s troubled journey from bureaucratic empire to modern nation-state is revealed through those who have been a part of the struggle to define China’s identity: emperors and bureaucrats, intellectuals and peasants, men and women, foreigners and locals.

Economics

	Integrating China into the Global Economy By Nicholas R. Lardy Brookings Institution Press, 2002 An excellent analysis of the internal and external pressures on the Chinese government to comply with the standards of therules-based World Trade Organization. Lardy points out that, prior to entry into the WTO, China enjoyed high growth rates and more foreign direct investment than any other emerging economy. He draws on a wealth of scholarship and experience to explain how China's leaders expect to leverage the increased foreign competition that will be created by its WTO commitments to further its domestic reform agenda.

	China's Economic Challenge: Smashing the Iron Rice Bowl By Neil C. Hughes M.E. Sharpe, 2002 "..a wealth of solid factual information, profound insights and relevant historical perspective" says Pieter Bottelier of Johns Hopkins University. "Not only are the perspectives new, but they exude wonder and enthusiasm..." says Lucien Pye. While his outlook is pessimistic, Mr. Hughes does a good job of outlining the complexities of China's economic revolution and its impact on the Chinese people and their leaders.

	Big Dragon: China's Future: What it Means for Business, the Economy and the Global Order By Daniel Burstein and Arne DeKeijzer Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998 A well-written analysis of the challenges and opportunities posed by China in this new century. The authors provide a useful perspective on China’s many contradictions. While taking into account China’s authoritarian government and poor record on human rights, the authors conclude that the Chinese people themselves have put China on an irreversible path towards a pluralistic economy and possibly even a form of democracy. This book offers rich portraits of Chinese entrepreneuers and others that are helping to shape a new China. "…one of the most interesting popular books on China in several years…" (John Pomfret, The Washington Post Book World)

	China's Unfinished Economic Revolution By Nicholas R. Lardy Brookings Institution Press, 1998 "China’s ability to complete successful reform of its banking system is central to the question of whether China will be able to sustain high economic growth. Nick Lardy’s book is the most detailed and authoritative study to date of the current state of Chinese banking and of the reforms that are required. Anyone interested in the Chinese reform challenges that still lie ahead will want to read this book." (Dwight H. Perkins, Harvard University)

	Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform By Jean C. Oi University of California Press, Berkeley, 1999 An illuminating look at one of the lesser known but more important facts about China’s twenty years of economic reform: rural industrialization is largely responsible for China’s remarkable economic growth. Rural factories account for at least one third of China’s GDP and one third of China’s exports. In this fascinating book Jean Oi, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford University, successfully explains the reasons behind this rural phenomenon, including "local state corporatism" in which local officials play a leading role in developing rural areas. An important book for anyone seeking to understand one of China’s major growth engines.

	Zouping in Transition: The Process of Reform in Rural North China By Andrew G. Walder Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1997 An excellent case study in "local state corporatism" based on research by several American researchers who were allowed to live in Zouping County in northern China between 1988 and 1993. This book demonstrates in a concrete way the good that can come to a community when local officials have the proper incentives. The evidence presented here is a direct challenge to those who advocate rapid privatization and the removal of officials from all economic activity. A very useful tool for those seeking to better understand the implementation of China’s economic reforms and what it means at the local level.

Society

	China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power By Rob Gifford Random House, 2007 Gifted storyteller and NPR reporter Rob Gifford offers his unique insights on modern China as he traverses its vast and changing landscape from Shanghai to Xinjiang along Route 312. Through conversations with locals he encounters en route, he uncovers the struggles and successes of their daily lives, and offers his thoughts on what the future may bring to a country with such a diverse array of stress points. Issues range from the growing economic gap between coastal urbanites and rural farmers to the weakening push for political independence in Tibet and Xinjiang. This highly enjoyable read provides a rare glimpse into the diversity and complexity of today’s China.

	China Dawn: The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution By David Sheff HarperBusiness, 2002 A fascinating portrait of two entrepreneurs swept up in China's high-tech revolution. This fast-paced book gives readers a real sense of the forces that are driving business in China today -- and radically changing Chinese culture in the process.

	River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze By Peter Hessler Harper Perennial, 2001 River Town is a personal account of a young American Peace Corps volunteer who teaches English and American literature to rural college students in the remote Sichuanese town of Fuling. Arriving with little knowledge of Chinese language or culture, Hessler details the seemingly countless difficulties that foreigners often encounter upon entering this vastly different land, as well as some uncommon situations. The more notable obstacles involve maneuvering around local political censorship and neighborhood gossip networks. His students provide glimpses into Chinese thought through their writings, while the town tries to keep the foreigner at a distance. Over his two years there, both he and the town grow to accept each other through compromise and understanding, though neither ultimately changes.

	New Shanghai: The Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City By Pamela Yatsko John Wiley and Sons, 2000 Pam Yatsko's book is a terrific contribution to the understanding of modern Shanghai - and China by extension. The reader is treated to a wealth of personal stories that Ms. Yatsko collected over her several years of living in Shanghai. While many writers tend to focus on the sensational, Ms. Yatsko examines what is really happening in people's lives and why. She has taken the Chinese economic policies that appear to most people as nothing more than news blips in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, and shown how they have dramatically changed lives in modern China - bringing enormous rewards for some, significant hardship for others.

	China Pop: How Soap Operas, Tabloids, and Bestsellers are Transforming a Culture By Jianyang Zha New Press, 1995 A stimulating look at China’s young intellectuals and the dramatic cultural changes that have taken place in recent years. An excellent piece of literary journalism that gives the reader a fascinating perspective on the changes wrought by China’s economic reforms.

	Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia Edited by James L. Watson Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1997 A fascinating and engaging study that explores the role of McDonald’s in five Asian economies. The authors seek to understand how countries react to McDonald’s and what that interaction says about those countries. They conclude that McDonald’s has had a huge impact on Asia, changing people’s lives in some fundamental ways. For example, McDonald’s has been credited by Hong Kong natives with raising the standards of cleanliness in public restrooms and spreading the concept of waiting in line. Recommended for those who want a well-rounded exploration of the issues relating to globalization and suspected American cultural imperialism.