Red Capitalists in China : The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change (Cambridge Modern China Series)

Rating:
Summary: Underwhelming
Review: Much of this book is devoted to examining whether the rise of an entrepreneurial class will create pressures for political reform. It does a decent job of answering the rather narrow question it asks - it shows that entrepreneurs aren't advocating much reform. But this is a disappointingly limited subset of the ways in which capitalism could be producing pressure for reform. For example, increased competition between news media could make reporters more aggressive at discussing controversial subjects, or the internet could make it easier to organize political movements.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book is difficult to follow because it is written in the format of an academic student's report. Little background knowledge is given, so a person unfamiliar with Chinese politics could easily get lost. I felt more like I was reading a high school report put together primarily for the benefit of the author.

Unless you are very familiar with the Communist Party of China's organization, this book is not very good to start out with if you are interested in learning about China's new economy.