MEGATRENDS ASIA

Rating:
Summary: Grand Insights, slightly mistimed
Review: I read this book as my interest in Asia was beginning. Naisbitt's methodology of tracking trends is perhaps not entirely scientific, but it is more precise than much of what passes as future watching. Certainly we left the American century and are now entering the Asian one.

Naisbitt falls down in his timing. He is entirely bullish about regional opportunities. But what happened in 1997? The regional financial contagion brought down much of the good times in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand and elsewhere. The Malaysian Multimedia SuperCorridor slowed. Other development regionally took a backseat as many western companies pulled out.

Fast forward to 2004 (perhaps a more appropriate timeframe for Mega trends) and the wisdom is becoming evident again. Shanghai and Bangalore are the world's boomtowns, and many other regional economies are taking off. Perhaps he wasn't so wrong after all...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent examples, but poor review of negative topics.
Review: In Megatrends Asia, Naisbitt does an excellent job in presenting the next eight major shifts taking place in Asia. His use of precise examples and interviews clarifies the points he is trying to express. For example, he sites specific countries and their new infrastructure projects. He presents specific statistics, like with Asian credit and the number of credit cards being issued. Acer Group is mentioned as an example of the rise in Asian brand names.

However, I do not believe Naisbitt give adequate defense to the negative issues surrounding these shifts and their impact on the region. He briefly mentions pollution, environment, human rights, but he does not put much emphasis on them. Overall, I think Naisbitt presented a positive and fairly accurate prediction of the future. But he (we) should not ignore the inevitable negatives surrounding these shift in Asia.END

Rating:
Summary: Simplistic but still readable
Review: Naisbitt has done it again, this time turning his attention to Asia. His earlier book, Megatrends, attempts to set the agenda for international business in the next century. Now he aspires to do the same thing for Asia-watchers, or claim to be so. Not a critical enough piece of work though, and Naisbitt, despite his many interesting observations of the 'megatrends' influencing Asia in the so-called pacific Century, still fails to convince why Asia will lead the world economy and why it's so important to understand this continent.

Rating:
Summary: DISSAPOINTING AND ILL - REASERCHED
Review: this book was a major dissapointed for me, especially form someone with such a big reputation. On the basis of this , i shall NOT read his other material.it was quite obvious that mr. naisbitt had not researched the area properly and some of the very unique facts about asian busness culture. I sensed that his glossy rather superficial style would be the books undoing in the end and so i was right. since then , events in asia have proven him wrong, something i am not gloating about , but regret since this could have been avoided had naisbitt covered the subject with more depth. if you are looking for futurology boooks then , there are many better books than this - for a start try " the great reckoning " - james dale davidson and will. rees-mogg.