Asian Storm: The Economic Crisis Examined

Rating:
Summary: A balanced view
Review: The book is a translation of the original written in French in 1998 that I read at the time Asia was still sorting out its most immediate problems. Philippe Ries is a privileged witness and he offers a witness' account of the crisis, what caused it, how it evolved and how it is likely to affect the rest of the world. It is very informative. Ries deals with the lessons to be learned from the crisis in a more constructive way than many of the books hastily written on the same topic in the past three years. It is a rare view from a European writer, perhaps less prone than most to gauge Asia against ultra-liberal standards. Above all, Ries' book is eminently readable even for people not particularly versed in the intricacies of macroeconomics or finance.