Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China

by Evan Osnos

“Hope is like a path in the countryside: originally there was no path, but once people begin to pass, a way appears.”

1978, the average Chinese income was $200; by 2014, it was $6,000.

James Gordon Bennett, who bought a restaurant in Monte Carlo after he was refused a seat by the window.

Bit by bit, the Party was erecting what came to be known as the Great Firewall—a vast digital barricade that prevented Chinese users from seeing newspaper stories critical of China’s top leaders or reports from human rights groups; eventually, it blocked social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

he nearly flunked out of college but then he prepared for an English exam by reading aloud and found that the louder he read, the bolder he felt and the better he spoke; he became a campus celebrity and turned it into an empire.

Asked what they liked about it, the Chinese put “culture” at the top of the list. (On the negative side, respondents complained of “arrogance” and “poor-quality Chinese food.”)

That’s the way Europe is: on the surface, it appears to rely on everyone’s self-discipline, but behind it all there are strict laws.”