Scan barcode
zoes_human's review against another edition
I usually give a book 50 pages before I DNF it, but I just couldn't. For what it's worth, I don't think this is badly written. I just found it utterly boring. I'm not that interested in economics. I was so bored that I tried to talk to strangers on the bus instead of reading.
So if you care about things like GDP, give it a whirl, but it really isn't for me.
(I would guess that since I'm the only 1-star rating here some 16 years after publication that it is a pretty good book if you actually care about the topic. I really thought I would care more. I just don't though.)
So if you care about things like GDP, give it a whirl, but it really isn't for me.
(I would guess that since I'm the only 1-star rating here some 16 years after publication that it is a pretty good book if you actually care about the topic. I really thought I would care more. I just don't though.)
_sierra_c's review against another edition
5.0
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn are officially my favorite authors! (Though to be fair I've had very little exposure to writers journalistic nonfiction.)
Anyway,
PROS
-Uncertainty is constantly reiterated; with every argument the authors warned that their predictions, while educated, could very well be wrong depending on future events. Similarly, they acknowledged many contradictions within Asian economics and current events, making the entire story seem more objective.
-As someone who knows very little about Asia, I felt like I was constantly learning something new.
-The writing is extremely engaging.
-I found the bits about the legacy of the Sino-Japanese war and the legacy the violence left on each country particularly compelling, especially the interviews with veterans.
-I enjoyed reading it through the lenses of 2020. It was interesting to compare Kristof and WuDunn's predictions with current state of affairs, or least what I know of them. Many of their broad predictions they got right, but a lot was off. I think they severely downplayed the impact of the rise of computers, for instance.
CONS
- 20 years out of date. But that's not the book fault.
- Way too Japan-heavy. I know that the authors lived in both China and Japan for extensive periods of time, so it makes sense that they focused on the countries they are most knowledgeable about. And given that at the time of writing Japan was the largest Asian economy I'm not surprised it got the spotlight. That being said, I wish they'd included how the small economies, such as Burma/Myanmar and Pakistan factor in to the picture as well.
-The economic sections were obviously written for an audience with some knowledge of macroeconomics. I wish they had dumbed it down so I could have remotely understood these parts, which were included pretty much every other chapter. This isn't a con so much as me being clueless tho.
Overall, I got a lot out of reading this. I probably wouldn't reccomend it to anyone who isn't specifically interested in Asian affairs.
Anyway,
PROS
-Uncertainty is constantly reiterated; with every argument the authors warned that their predictions, while educated, could very well be wrong depending on future events. Similarly, they acknowledged many contradictions within Asian economics and current events, making the entire story seem more objective.
-As someone who knows very little about Asia, I felt like I was constantly learning something new.
-The writing is extremely engaging.
-I found the bits about the legacy of the Sino-Japanese war and the legacy the violence left on each country particularly compelling, especially the interviews with veterans.
-I enjoyed reading it through the lenses of 2020. It was interesting to compare Kristof and WuDunn's predictions with current state of affairs, or least what I know of them. Many of their broad predictions they got right, but a lot was off. I think they severely downplayed the impact of the rise of computers, for instance.
CONS
- 20 years out of date. But that's not the book fault.
- Way too Japan-heavy. I know that the authors lived in both China and Japan for extensive periods of time, so it makes sense that they focused on the countries they are most knowledgeable about. And given that at the time of writing Japan was the largest Asian economy I'm not surprised it got the spotlight. That being said, I wish they'd included how the small economies, such as Burma/Myanmar and Pakistan factor in to the picture as well.
-The economic sections were obviously written for an audience with some knowledge of macroeconomics. I wish they had dumbed it down so I could have remotely understood these parts, which were included pretty much every other chapter. This isn't a con so much as me being clueless tho.
Overall, I got a lot out of reading this. I probably wouldn't reccomend it to anyone who isn't specifically interested in Asian affairs.
More...