Made in China

Rating:
Summary: An incredible story
Review: China's transition to a market economy and associated social consequences might be one of the important stories in the next decade. Unfortunately, while this story is important, it is not well known. In part, this must be blamed on the nature of China's market transition: much of it was done behind closed doors.

This fact makes Robert Lawrence Kuhn's book all the more valuable, for him, through in-depth interviews with people at all levels, has penetrated beyond this haze to give us the real story of the capitalist transition in China. I have been living China for thirty years before coming to the States for a MBA program, it is amazingly enough for me that how people from entrepreneurs to unemployed workers to senior government officials are so open to him about their political/economic motives and concerns.

Very often, observers of the China tend to focus on political issues, while this book explains important developments which have reshaped the China economy and society and will exert their influence for years to come. Overall, MADE IN CHINA is an incredible story told with exceptional clarity by Robert Lawrence Kuhn A great read, this book, and wholeheartedly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Feelings
Review: Feelings more than facts fill this insightful book on China, a vital resource for anyone -- from diplomat to businessperson to student -- who wants to truly understand this most important country about which Americans, sadly, are quite ignorant. Kuhn, it seems, has been working in China with three eyes, one of which he uses to watch himself work! I really began to think that I too knew all these Chinese people whose voices are heard throughout the book. What emerges is clearly understood and wonderfully told.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Feelings
Review: In this volume Kuhn presents a broad picture of the momentus change taking place within China today. However, Kuhn's presentation of this transformation is superficial. Kuhn seems intent on presenting China as it is presented to foreigners and avoids delving beneath the veneer of officialdom in China. Made In China is rife with textual and statistical quotations from Chinese State agencies and media arms; agencies that well known in most circles to be innacurate and propaganda laden sources of information. Any insightful analysis of modern Chinese society and economy must look beyond the fascade of Beijing politics and party sponsored proclamations. For those interested in an overview of what is happening in China today this book could be helpful. Do not mistake this work for serious scholarship on China.

Rating:
Summary: Unique Insights
Review: Made In China is loaded with insights; Kuhn is a keen observer who looks deeply inside contemporary China without fear or favor. This is not a traditional book about China; it gives such depth and diversity to portary a sharp picture of the complexity that is China today. Nothing I have read can compare to it. I am Chinese and I learned a great deal!