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Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China (Vintage)
“Americans need not be hostile toward China's rise, but they should be wary about its eventual effects. The United States is the only nation with the scale and power to try to set the terms of its interaction with China rather than just succumb. So starting now, Americans need to consider the economic, environmental, political, and social goals they care about defending as...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
January 6th 2009
by Vintage
(first published December 24th 2008)
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I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of articles and learned so much I hardly know where to start describing the book. This is a series of articles written by Fallows and published in The Atlantic Monthly December '06-November '08. The subjects range from China's self-made manufacturing billionaires, to how Macau became the gambling Mecca of the East, to what's really going on with Internet access in China. Every essay offers fascinating information that I have not come across elsewhere. Here a...more
Ms.pegasus
rated it
Recommends it for:
those interested in economics, China, globalization
Shelves:
nonfiction,
china
The art of looking into the future is in part understanding the events of today. Monolithic China, Tiananmen Square and The Great Firewall of China (internet censorship) are some of the images Fallows seeks to balance in this collection of extended essays about the people of China. Introducing a theme of nascent energy, Fallows compares Japan's internalization of orderliness with China: “... China seems like a bunch of individuals who behave themselves only when they think they might get caug...more
"Postcards" is promising, but ultimately not as rich as it could have been. Fallows is a good thinker and writer, whose analysis would benefit from more time in China, better Chinese, and a deeper understanding of economics.
The format of his book, a series of essays and vignettes, is lively and the topics are well-chosen. It suits Fallows' aim to combat the perception of China as "one big supercoordinated hive" (p. xvi).
He asks fascinating questions ...more
The format of his book, a series of essays and vignettes, is lively and the topics are well-chosen. It suits Fallows' aim to combat the perception of China as "one big supercoordinated hive" (p. xvi).
He asks fascinating questions ...more
I wasn't too thrilled by James Fallows' book of essays on China. I've read a fair amount on China by Western authors in recent years and this was somewhat disappointing. Despite his entreaties that this piece doesn't encapsulate "all" of China, at the end of each essay, I was left with the feeling that Fallows was trying to tie all of this stuff into a bigger picture, mostly that China doesn't represent quite the rival many in the US believe it to be. This isn't so much a collection...more
Originally written as a series of articles for The Atlantic Monthly, 'Postcards' offers snippets of modern Chinese life intended to provide the reader with a glimpse of the diversity of challenges and triumphs that the nation faces. Fallows does an excellent job of bringing the reader along on his journey into China. It's not a single smooth, seamless journey, but rather a series of excursions into different aspects of China, from the tale of a successful entrepreneur to the often dangerous fa...more
This would be "the book I forced myself to read for book club that felt like homework for an econ class." And yet...I'm glad I read it, because I learned a lot about China that I didn't know before. I would never have picked it up on my own though, and I certainly doubt I'll ever read it again. It's already in the hands of my boss, who asked to borrow it, and then I'm giving it to my father-in-law, who is interested in both China and economics, so I'm guessing he'll be fascinated.
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Phil
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in the economic and social development of China today.
Shelves:
china
Went to China two years ago - still trying to understand it.
Fallows book is a collection of a dozen essays from the Atlantic Monthly, written while living there from 2006 to 2008. The essays address cultural and economic themes - internet censorship, pollution, the development of gaming in Macau, etc. While written for the magazine articles, the author probably saw a book in the future and plannaed accordingly - the material flows well.
Easy reading style, enough statistic...more
Fallows book is a collection of a dozen essays from the Atlantic Monthly, written while living there from 2006 to 2008. The essays address cultural and economic themes - internet censorship, pollution, the development of gaming in Macau, etc. While written for the magazine articles, the author probably saw a book in the future and plannaed accordingly - the material flows well.
Easy reading style, enough statistic...more
I admire James Fallows from his work in "The Atlantic" and this book, while it's only a collection of those Atlantic articles, didn't disappoint. Fallows presents his impressions of China with insight *and* humility, which highlights the vastness of the place and highlights the complexity of the system, a "civilization" rather than a country... It's time we all understood more about it, and this is a great place to start.
I've been reading a lot of books - non-fiction - aboout China recently because the current China fascinates me. This is one of the better ones that I have read. It is a series of essays that were published in Atlantic magazine as they were written in 2005 - 2008 up to, but not including the Beijing Olympics. It's certainly an outsider's perspective of current Chinese culture, but an informed outsider. Quite good!
Relevant, insightful, interesting. I loved reading about different aspects of modern China. Lots of insightful commentary on China's currency, economy, manufacturing, and environment. I loved the explanation of how the great Firewall works and the insights into the Communist ruling party -- hard-line censors persecuting dissent on the one hand, yet allowing a free economy on the other.
Perceptive commentary on China and how it has changed (and is changing). On the whole a balanced view from someone who has lived abroad and likes to understand more than just the superficial things. Highly recommended even if you don't plan to visit China - it's important to understand the links between China and the USA and how we can both be better through them.
My parents both just read this book and really liked it. There are even some sections highlighted by one of them. My mom loaned the book to Jeff, but when looking for a new book to start this morning, I grabbed it.
Fallows is a very easy writer to read and I have enjoyed reading his essays in The Atlantic for years. I also know that he's a good guy because my first job out of college was at US News & World Report where he was editor-in-chief at the time. The highlight of that job, for ...more
Fallows is a very easy writer to read and I have enjoyed reading his essays in The Atlantic for years. I also know that he's a good guy because my first job out of college was at US News & World Report where he was editor-in-chief at the time. The highlight of that job, for ...more
This is a collections of Fallows China essays for the Atlantic. The quality is high, so you will probably want to read them all. Unlike other collections, I actually read this one cover to cover.
Before and since my visit to China, I've found this vast and ancient country of contrasts extremely intriguing. This compilation of "reports" on a variety of aspects of modern China provided a well-balanced overview of the challenges, mis-perceptions, and opportunities associated with China's scale and massive growth/development surge. The implications for the world and the role we all play was a consistent message that linked the topics and proved both moving and motivating.
James Fallows writes about China's boom. The chapters could be read in isolation from each other. Some are better than others- sometimes he bogs the reader down with technical stuff.
Fallows lived in China with his wife for several years and got to see things up close. As with all of his writing, these essays are insightful and well-written. A very interesting read.
A collection of fascinating articles, first printed in the Atlantic Monthly, that left me with a much better sense of the realities of modern China, its problems and its potential.
A series of essays on modern China from a reporter for the Atlantic magazine who lived there for a few years. Very interesting and gives, I believe, a more balanced view of China's place in the modern world than what I've seen reported in the West.
Fallows has some interesting tales about his two years living in China, but it's not a travelogue. Instead it's a collection of pieces he wrote for The Atlantic. As a pretty regular reader of that periodical, I had seen most of these before, which made me enjoy the book less than I would have otherwise. Nevertheless, his chapters on the "Great Firewall of China" and the recurring themes of China's environmental catastrophe, a non-monolithic Chinese society, a great divide between ri...more
Anything James Fallows writes about China is first rate. He dempnstrates a unique and deep understanding of contemporary China.
Good overview of China from an American journalist,but dated as the articles predate the economic crisis of 2008.
An engrossing collection of essays. If I didn't want to move to China before, I do now.
China is a lot more complicated than I thought and positive in some ways!
collection of F's Atlantic articles -- some very, very good. A couple can be skipped -- as to your taste.
I knew as I was going to like this book, as China is a topic I'm very interested in. But I ended up finding most of the articles that comprise it absolutely fascinating (and the rest are pretty good too). Fallows is a very smart writer who doesn't simply report but also analyses his subjects. Said subjects range from expat living, internet censorship, and factory life, to environmental issues, local government and a lot more. Regardless of how many books you've read on China and your level of in...more
Interesting essays on what life is like in China.
twelve essays previously published in The Atlantic Monthly
This book was both entertaining and enlightening. The chapter about how the Chinese government blocks internet content was especially interesting. I also like the point Fallows made that China has plenty of problems of its own to address, but America's problems are not China's fault, and we need to get our own house in order if we want to remain an economic force in the world. An excellent book; I would recommend it to anyone who wants to really understand more about China, as opposed to subs...more
In my opinion, Mr Fallows offers a balanced evalutaion of China's handling of some daunting problems. I appreciated the clarity of his explanation of (to me) complicated economic issues.
love, love, loving this book
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