What's Wrong with China

by Paul Midler

Overview

What’s Wrong with China is the most cogent, insightful and penetrating examination I have read on the paradoxes and self-deceptions of Modern China, written by someone who has lived in the country and dealt with it day to day for decades. This book will be hated by the commissars, because it is a triumph of analysis and good sense. 
—PAUL THEROUX

I sure wish I’d read this book before heading to China—or Chinatown, for that matter. China runs on an entirely different operating system—both commercial and personal. Midler’s clear, clever analysis and illuminating, often hilarious tales foster not only understanding but respect. 
—MARY ROACH

From the Back Cover

What’s Wrong with China is the widely anticipated follow-up to Paul Midler’s Poorly Made in China, an exposé of China manufacturing practices. Applying a wider lens in this account, he reveals many of the deep problems affecting Chinese society as a whole. Once again, Midler delivers the goods by rejecting commonly held notions, breaking down old myths, and providing fresh explanations of lesser-understood cultural phenomena.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119213710
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	11/29/2017
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Midler has lived twenty years in East Asia and speaks Mandarin. He works as a consultant and advisor to companies with business interests in the region. His first book, Poorly Made in China, was published to significant acclaim and his follow-up, What's Wrong with China, has been widely anticipated.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Pirate Ship

Chapter 2: A Mania for Money

Chapter 3: Blush of Shame

Chapter 4: Beating the System

Chapter 5: Intermediaries

Chapter 6: Dulled Senses

Chapter 7: Emotional Negotiators

Chapter 8: Oliver Wendell Holmes

Chapter 9: Chemicals, Guns, and Gimcracks

Chapter 10: Sinocentric Thinking

Chapter 11: "That's My Hand"

Chapter 12: Lack of Conscience

Chapter 13: Tacit Collusion

Chapter 14: Networked Behaviors

Chapter 15: Partner on the Deal

Chapter 16: Self-Regulating Empire

Chapter 17: Corps De Ballet

Chapter 18: Informal Paradox

Chapter 19: Brown Numbers

Chapter 20: Reform, Reform, Reform

Chapter 21: The Dynastic Cycle

Chapter 22: Nibble, Nibble...

Chapter 23: The Social Order

Chapter 24: Cat’s Paws and Telegraphed Punches

Chapter 25: The Great Absorber

Chapter 26: Kleptoparasitism

Chapter 27: Cleaning the Slate

Chapter 28: Massacred in Business

Chapter 29: The China Watchers

Chapter 30: Isolationist Past

Chapter 31: The Benefit of the Doubt