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bsmashers's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read that probably could have been condensed to 100 pages. Living in the US and experiencing its ineptitude in covid and BLM, I can’t fathom a coordinated response against china’s aggression. The US is also too blinded by market greed to change its ways. We’re pretty screwed.
darcyfrench's review against another edition
1.0
This is my first 1-star review ever, so exciting times! I won't spend too much time here, because it's not worth my time. On a personal level, Spalding comes off as a bitter man who has a grudge against all those who don't take his Sinophobic ramblings seriously enough. He seems to suggest any disagreement with his opinions on China is evidence of China's intrusion into US political and economic life. Also, any book where the author thrice assures us he isn't racist probably should reflect more deeply on whether or not he is racist. I could further add that any book that justifes not providing references "because it's all true" is a book that sets off some warning bells.
On a more structural level, this book is delusional. There are many genuine reasons to criticise China, and Spalding does in fact outline many of these areas. But where he goes so wrong is this zero-sum mentality where any competition engaged in by China must directly be at the expense of US prosperity. It pains me that I must constantly reiterate this, but China can compete just like any other nation. Yes, at times they do it unfairly, but so does America. And that brings me to probably my greatest frustration with this book; Spalding seems to not realise that half the things he accuses China of doing, they have been doing for decades.
Anyway, for fear of rambling, I'll wrap it up. There was just one more passage I remember as particualarly cortisol-inducing. Spalding was saying that rather than fight conventional wars, China would rather compete politically and economically... and he posits this as a critique of China... I just can’t believe you would critique a country because it doesn't want to start wars... but I guess what else could you expect from a China Hawk like Spalding.
This is an awful book that amounts to yellow-peril propoganda.
On a more structural level, this book is delusional. There are many genuine reasons to criticise China, and Spalding does in fact outline many of these areas. But where he goes so wrong is this zero-sum mentality where any competition engaged in by China must directly be at the expense of US prosperity. It pains me that I must constantly reiterate this, but China can compete just like any other nation. Yes, at times they do it unfairly, but so does America. And that brings me to probably my greatest frustration with this book; Spalding seems to not realise that half the things he accuses China of doing, they have been doing for decades.
Anyway, for fear of rambling, I'll wrap it up. There was just one more passage I remember as particualarly cortisol-inducing. Spalding was saying that rather than fight conventional wars, China would rather compete politically and economically... and he posits this as a critique of China... I just can’t believe you would critique a country because it doesn't want to start wars... but I guess what else could you expect from a China Hawk like Spalding.
This is an awful book that amounts to yellow-peril propoganda.
alhynes's review
3.0
I'd give this 3.5 stars mainly due to the content, not the delivery. The warning signs are very stark and mostly come across as fair but the overall agenda is too hawkish...then again, if what he says about China is true (which I take with a pinch of salt), he would be right to think as he does.
Worth a read.
Worth a read.
louisebray's review against another edition
1.0
This is only the second 1-star rating I’ve ever given a book, which is such a shame because there were actually a lot of very valid points made in this book.
However, the overt overtones of “USA is great, China is bad” right from the first page really made this book lose any credibility for me. This meant that the arguments presented were extremely one-sided, to the point that I couldn’t believe anything that was being said because the other side of the argument was never shown (except for “Chinese is bullying us”).
Maybe I could have looked past this, or at least accepted it more readily, if anything at all in this book had a source or a reference - but there was nothing. The only citations were from newspaper articles and alleged conversations the author had had with various people. Again, no credibility. What made this worse for me was that often the author would launch into a tirade, presented as fact, that begins with “There is little doubt that...” - in other words, he is making a broad assumption and using that in his argument against China.
The real cherry on the cake though was the blatant pro-Trump (and anti-Biden/Obama) propaganda sprinkled throughout the book - I’m not sure what the author’s agenda was in writing this book, but this was completely unnecessary and again, took away the credibility of the writing.
Overall, the topics raised in this book are incredibly important and I would like to learn more about them from a well-balanced and well-written perspective. Unfortunately this book just infuriated me far too much to gain much from it.
However, the overt overtones of “USA is great, China is bad” right from the first page really made this book lose any credibility for me. This meant that the arguments presented were extremely one-sided, to the point that I couldn’t believe anything that was being said because the other side of the argument was never shown (except for “Chinese is bullying us”).
Maybe I could have looked past this, or at least accepted it more readily, if anything at all in this book had a source or a reference - but there was nothing. The only citations were from newspaper articles and alleged conversations the author had had with various people. Again, no credibility. What made this worse for me was that often the author would launch into a tirade, presented as fact, that begins with “There is little doubt that...” - in other words, he is making a broad assumption and using that in his argument against China.
The real cherry on the cake though was the blatant pro-Trump (and anti-Biden/Obama) propaganda sprinkled throughout the book - I’m not sure what the author’s agenda was in writing this book, but this was completely unnecessary and again, took away the credibility of the writing.
Overall, the topics raised in this book are incredibly important and I would like to learn more about them from a well-balanced and well-written perspective. Unfortunately this book just infuriated me far too much to gain much from it.
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