Wild Ride: A short history of the opening and closing of the Chinese economy

As a Prof. of political economy, I teach a freshman seminar on China. This book is perfect for the uninitiated, those who are first learning about China. And, it is a great refresher for those of us who are informed. One of your Amazon reviewers complained that the book is too “negative.” The book is honest and the truth might hurt, but the author’s grip on the material is brilliant.

I am waiting to hear from experts on this book. I’ve read nothing so detailed and convincing, and the author’s credentials seem impeccable.

Wouldn’t it be great to find a book that feels like a Ted Talk and presents succinct views on what’s really driving China’s modern economy? Well, this is that book! I’m an amateur China follower who lived in Beijing and Hong Kong for 10 years, and I recommend this read–even for the layperson simply curious about the world’s other aspiring superpower. Anne Stevenson-Yang is an impressive storyteller, connecting the dots between China’s economic trends, starting with an export-first economy developed in the 1980s and 90s to privatization in ensuing decades that enriched a new elite. She writes like a journalist and exposes how reforms were sabotaged by reckless investment, fueled by a property market whose development is so unique to China. The author identifies the political and macro-economic drivers in ways that are so direct, they're chilling.

Bottom line, China's economic prowess is nothing more than an illusion. Decades of "mismanagement" has led the country to record unemployment and has put the country on path to a Madoff-like bursting bubble that the government will not be able to keep propping up. How has this story not been amplified in the news as China continues to rattle world democracies everywhere asserting political leadership externally when it is totally faking it at home?????

Good writing. A little too negative though. Maybe the future will show one way or the other! Book arrived early.