China Shakes the World, The Rise of a Hungry Nation; James Kynge. —BOOK REVIEW

When I read a book I look for three things, entertainment value, new information and applicability to my current situation (whatever that may be).I first read China Shakes the World maybe 6 months ago, and honestly, I left it on the plane when I was done—it was very entertaining to read but it didn’t do much for me beyond fill my flight time. Basically, I didn’t see myself pulling it off the shelf in the future and citing it or recommending it to others.But since then it won the Business Book of the Year (Financial Time) and it got some good reviews by people that I respect so I figured that maybe I had given it a bad shake or missed some hidden nuggets of practical information. So I bought it and read it again.My second reaction isn’t much different from my first.I loved the stories and the travel log-like experiences. Indeed, the best parts of the book are Mr. Kynge’s writing style and the personal experiences he relates. The personal stories of individual Chinese involved in the worldwide changes are indeed fascinating too. Tales of illegal Chinese textile workers in Italy becoming factory owners in China are great, personalized versions of stories we’ve all heard. Equally interesting are the stories about oil barons, auto magnets, lawyers, politicians and activists. The human side of the “China experience” is a successful pattern for humanizing the numbers—and there are a lot of numbers here—that has been followed by many an author trying to make sense of China for the lay reader.I like to read books about China by authors who can speak Chinese, Kynge speaks Chinese and that gives him insight into China that writers who do not are not able to grasp. Further, he’s been here a long time—and while that may not mean much in other parts of the world, in China it means that he’s witnessed history. Earth shaking history.Kynge also collates a mess of stats into the kind of reports that make people’s head’s spin. And judging by the title of the book that was his purpose. The growth in China is astounding, amazing and truly unique in the history of the world.But with all that praise I’m still left, after I read the book (again), wondering what to do with the stories and the numbers? Most troubling is the fact that the banking and legal data is at least three years old. Which in China Years is more like 10.China is now shaking the world and will continue to do so, but this book will not. It should be read for all the individual stories, personal insights and Kynge’s extensive experience—it’s a very entertaining read. But it’s not all that new and it won’t help you do business in China.