Remade in America: How Asia Will Change Because America Boomed

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Jim Rohwer, a senior contributing editor at Fortune and the author of 1995's Asia Rising, remains optimistic about that continent's economic future despite the financial turmoil that has wreaked havoc there over the past several years. His latest look at the region, Remade in America, shows how the movers and shakers in Asia are combining "what they had been good at before with what they faced that was new" in order to completely rebuild a fiscal structure that was radically upended during the 1990s. The primary impetus, he argues, has been America's unprecedented technological, financial, and corporate mastery of the global business scene--a far-reaching transformation that had a particularly severe impact on Asia, where longtime industrialization and monetary policies relentlessly drove the cost of capital higher than returns on the investments it generated. By following America's example and remaking its seriously outdated systems, however, Rohwer contends "a new Asian economy" is rising that leans more on services, contemporary industries, domestic consumption, and a belated acceptance of the Internet. Anyone who does (or hopes to do) business on a worldwide basis will appreciate this thought-provoking look at a corner of the world that will only grow in importance as the new century unfolds. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

In a stunning rebuke to a large group of naysayers, Jim Rohwer convincingly argues that the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 was not a turn for the worse; rather it was short-lived and helped rid Asian markets of many of the problems that were holding them back. Now, while most analysts go wild over the American economy, Rohwer provides the key insights into why America is due for a slowdown while Asia is poised for tremendous growth and opportunity.

Jim Rohwer has long experience in Asia as both a journalist and a business executive. The highly informed account in Remade in America comes from his own on-the-ground observation and analysis, as well as knowing all the major players in business, government, and the media in both America and Asia. Telling, in-depth interviews with people ranging from Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore, and Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, result in deep insights into Asia's great potential.

The future of Asia is as much about the United States as it is about Asia, for the forces that revolutionized the American economy in the last twenty years provide the clues for what is to come in Asia. The key to Asian growth is understanding how Asian companies have learned from the strengths of both American and Asian business models. Remade in America clearly charts how Asian industries have started managing themselves based on American standards of corporate, technological, and economic performance that began to be adopted in the late 1990s, while incorporating their own strengths of cooperative corporate and social organization.

Asia is ideally suited to take advantage of the Internet revolution, and we are only now starting to see its enormous potential in this area. Rohwer's insightful analysis of Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia shows how, as these countries start to combine the ruthlessly efficient market democracy and accountability that America pioneered with the Asian domination of dispersed manufacturing and assembly of components, there will be major opportunities both for American corporations and for investors. In addition, technology will not only enable Asian economies to improve on their traditional strengths, it will also help Asia greatly improve its traditional poor performance in services and distribution.

Remade in America is a provocative and useful book, not only for those with direct business interests in Asia but also for readers who want an informed look at this dynamic and important part of the world. There will be a new Asia, Inc., one in which such matters as finance and technology will be handled in an American way while people will be managed along Asian lines in their interactions--a powerful combination that we ignore at our peril.

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Customer Reviews:

Prophetic (2).......2004-01-25

Jim Rohwer could not have known how right he was.

The blistering pace of economic growth in China has really accelerated in the couple of years since this book came out. China is now firing on all cylinders, delivering a phenomenal performance which combines high GDP growth with low inflation, unlike in the first decade of reform, which suffered from rampant inflation. FDI into China is now at an all time high, projected to exceed $60 billion in 2004. In 2003, electricity production is up 14% (the average in the preceding 10 years was 7.8%). Industrial production is up something like 15%, while oil consumption is up at least 30%. GDP growth for all of 2003 was revised upwards to 9.1%, and the 4th quarter of 2003 was up 9.9% year on year, meaning the economy speeded up in 2003. Western estimates, made by Morgan Stanley, CSFB, Goldman Sachs, and others, are beginning to believe that the Chinese government's official data are now UNDER-estimating real GDP growth, which, based on a broad basket of economic indicators, should be in the double-digits.

Thus, China is growing at two-and-a-half times America's rate of 4%. Maybe more. In the next decade this amazing performance may not be able to sustain itself. But China can still hope to grow at twice America's rate on avereage until 2020 or 2025, which is what Jim Rohwer expected.

By then, China's economy will be the world's third largest, and if the yuan rises in value in the meantime, China's nominal GDP will be bigger than Japan's and thus the second largest in the world. In PPP, however, China will be larger than America. Overall, China is going to be the second largest economy in the world in 20 years' time.

China could never get there unless its methods are "remade in America."

Prophetic.......2003-09-11

Rohwer said China was on the verge of a boom, and America a slowdown. He said this when all of Asia (minus Japan) seemed mired in the Asian financial crisis, while America was prospering and its stockmarket at dizzy heights. Well, how right he was. And Rohwer, who died shortly before 9-11, could not have foreseen all the reasons why he would be proven prophetic. My guess is, even he would have been surprised by his own amazing fortune telling abilities (about international economics anyway). This book is a gem.

Insightful!.......2002-09-14

Jim Rohwer does a wonderful job explaining the complexities of the 1997-98 Asian economic crises and what the future holds for the region in this era of globalization. Using a unique style, he tells the stories of Asian nations - how the `90s crises affected their economies and populations, what they've done in response and how they are positioned for the future. This is done with a striking lack of hard numbers, which might diminish the credibility of some observations, but certainly helps them go down a little easier. We from getAbstract recommend this book to all readers with an intellectual or business interest in Asia.

A Great Book about Asia, esp. China.......2002-05-19

Rohwer's academic credentials are sterling. No ivory tower academic, he had a lot of first-hand field experience, in addition to sharp writing skills. Rohwer also spent a good deal of time in China, so he saw "frontline" duty too. Rohwer had a unique combination of qualifications - perfect for writing this book. I would give him 6 stars if I could. If he was right, then clearly China is on course to become an economic superpower. He also predicted America's slowdown, writing at the height of the Clinton boom years. The sad postscript about this book is that there won't be a second edition. Rohwer died in an accident in France in Sept., 2001.

I recommend this book and his previous book as antidote to Bill Emmott's "20:21". Both worked at the Economist, coming to different conclusions about China. If you haven't read either book, I'd only point out that not only did Rohwer have a much better resume, he was far more articulate and realistic in his facts, figures, and views than the contrarian Emmott, who seems to have forgotten Henri Poincare's admonition: "To be credulous and cynical about everything are both wrong - they dispense with the need to think."

Book Description

This book shows how political argument in terms of rights and natural rights began in medieval Europe, and how the theory of natural rights was developed in the seventeenth century after a period of neglect in the Renaissance. Dr Tuck provides a new understanding of the importance of Jean Gerson in the formation of the theories, and of Hugo Grotius in their development; he also restores the Englishman John Selden’s ideas to the prominence they once enjoyed, and shows how Thomas Hobbes’s political theory can best be understood against this background. In general, the book enables us to understand more fully the characteristics of the natural rights theories available to the men of the Enlightenment, and thereby to appreciate the complexity and equivocal nature of modern right theories.

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Natural Rights Theories for Grown-Ups.......2006-05-13

This book is a scholarly masterpiece. It surveys the history of European political philosophy from the High Middle Ages down through the seventeenth century, with particular emphasis on how "natural rights" emerged from the more general theory of Natural Law. It is a fascinating process, particularly as to the definition of "right" in this context: how can an individual have rights that are not granted by the State and can be asserted against the State?

This is certainly not an easy book to read, particularly because it presupposes some familiarity with a wide range of authors -- mainly political philosophers such as Francisco Suarez and Hugo Grotius -- that are no longer widely read. On the other hand, Tuck's exposition is meticulously clear, so readers who have the required familiarity will be rewarded with a series of wonderful insights into the development of modern human rights.

Before I read this book, it was regularly recommended to me, by scholars whom I regard as authoritative, as among the best ever written on early modern political philosophy. I am happy to recommend it in return.

NATURAL RIGHTS THEORIES THEIR ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

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NATURAL RIGHTS THEORIES THEIR ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H99BIG

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Natural Rights Theories: Their Origin and Development
Richard Tuck
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J174IG

Book Description

Das Buch bietet sowohl Medizinern und Biologen als auch Informatikern einen umfassenden und verständlichen Einstieg in die Medizinische Informatik und Bioinformatik. Die Darstellung der Themen ist abgestimmt auf die Studieninhalte dieser neuen Fachrichtungen.In den ersten Kapiteln werden die Grundbegriffe der Medizin (z.B. Anatomie, Biochemie, Physiologie, Genetik, Gesundheitswesen) und der Informatik (z.B. Algorithmen, Datenbanken, Internet, Software Engineering) erläutert. Dies ermöglicht dem Informatiker bzw. Mediziner einen schnellen Zugang zum jeweils komplementären Fachgebiet. In den folgenden Kapiteln werden alle relevanten Themen der Medizinischen Informatik (z.B. Krankenhausinformationssysteme, PACS, Datenschutz, ICD, DRG, Computer-based-Training) und der Bioinformatik (z.B. Sequenzanalyse, Gen-Datenbanken, Proteomics, Genomics, Genexpressionsanalyse) anschaulich dargestellt.

Book Description

Quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of subatomic particles, seems to challenge common sense. Waves behave like particles; particles behave like waves. You can tell where a particle is, but not how fast it is moving--or vice versa. An electron faced with two tiny holes will travel through both at the same time, rather than one or the other. And then there is the enigma of creation ex nihilo, in which small particles appear with their so-called antiparticles, only to disappear the next instant in a tiny puff of energy. Since its inception, physicists and philosophers have struggled to work out the meaning of quantum mechanics. Some, like Niels Bohr, have responded to quantum mechanics' mysteries by replacing notions of position and velocity with probabilities. Others, like Einstein and Penrose, have disagreed and think that the entire puzzle reflects not a fundamental principle of nature but our own ignorance of basic scientific processes.

Sneaking a Look at God's Cards offers the general reader a deep and real understanding of the problems inherent to the interpretation of quantum mechanics, from its inception to the present. The book presents a balanced overview of current debates and explores how the theory of quantum mechanics plays itself out in the real world. Written from the perspective of a leading European physicist, it looks extensively at ideas from both sides of the Atlantic and also considers what philosophers have contributed to the scientific discussion of this field. Sneaking a Look at God's Cards sets out what we know about the endlessly fascinating quantum world, how we came to this understanding, where we disagree, and where we are heading in our quest to comprehend the seemingly incomprehensible.

Customer Reviews:

Best book on qm for general audience.......2004-04-24

This is the best book I've seen on quantum mechanics. It's probably too hard to follow without some scientific experience on the part of the reader. But it is the only book I know of (and I'm aware of most) that really covers the conceptual issues of the entire subject in an open-minded non-romantic, non-mystical and realistic way. Very refreshing. A gem.

Book Description

The Romance novel didn't begin with Kathleen Woodiwiss or even with the Bronte sisters. By the time Heliodorus wrote his Aethiopica--or Ethiopian Romance--in the third century, the genre was already impressively developed. Heliodorus launches his tale of love and the quirks of fate with a bizarre scene of blood, bodies, and booty on an Egyptian beach viewed through the eyes of a band of mystified pirates. The central love-struck characters are Charicles, the beautiful daughter of the Ethiopian queen, and Theagenes, a Thessalian aristocrat. The story unfolds with all the twists and devices any writer would employ today, with the added attractions of dreams, oracles, and exotic locales in the ancient Mediterranean and Africa. Hadas's was the first modern English-language translation of this story, which was first translated into English in 1587 and was a favorite among the Elizabethans. His version of this earliest extant Greek novel remains accessible and appealing. Moses Hadas (1900-1966) was Jay Professor of Greek at Columbia University. Well known for his translations of and interpretive works about classical literature, he was also the author of general histories of Greek and Latin literatures and editor of the Modern Library editions of Tacitus, Cicero, the Greek poets, and Caesar.

Customer Reviews:

An Amazing and Engrossing Novel.......2000-11-01

Heliodorus' "Ethiopian Romance" is an absolutely wonderful piece of literature! A novel from around the third century AD, the "Ethiopian Romance" centrally concerns a young man, Theagenes, and his beloved, Charicleia. The novel begins with an epic scene in which the two lovers console each other in the midst of a scene of total destruction - a banquet scene has degenerated into violence, and they remain on the field alone. Thyamis, the leader of a band of Egyptian pirates, takes them prisoner, and we are pulled into a spectacular adventure.

Beginning in medias res, much of the novel concerns itself with catching the reader up with the events leading to the astounding initial scene. Heliodorus accomplishes this by way of nested narratives, primarily between two men who, by various accidents, have an interest in Theagenes and Charicleia: Calasiris, an exiled Egyptian priest, and Cnemon, an exiled Athenian youth. The novel draws heavily on the universal human tendency to tell, and eagerness to hear stories. In a novel where various marriages are proposed and deferred, it is appropriate that the internal stories and their audiences should express the need to hear stories in terms of desire and gratification. You find yourself desperate to see how each individual story leads to clarification and understanding of the whole.

Heliodorus' characters are well-developed and interesting. He gives us lovers, pirates, nobles, eunuchs, witches, priests, and schemers, among others. His plot is as complicated as that of any traditional modern novel, and manages to deal not only with the primary love affair, but with a host of other social issues that still bear importance to-day. To wit, the ravages of war, economic relationships, ethnic diversity and acceptance, political wranglings, and issues of identity and self-definition in an increasingly cosmopolitan world.

Heliodorus' major influences are clearly the epics of Homer, which are invoked directly and subtly to wonderful effect. One can sense here that even in the third century, novel writers saw themselves both indebted to the Iliad and the Odyssey, and striving to claim for fiction an artistic worth to rival epic poetry. The "Ethiopian Romance" is presented in accessible and lively English by Moses Hadas, and comes to you highly recommended. It is simply a beautiful work and deserves to be read by more people.

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Heliodorus: An Ethiopian Romance
Moses, Translator Hadas
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000F38FQI

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Ethiopian Romance
Heliodorus; Translator And Introduction Moses Hadas
Manufacturer: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKUKEC

Customer Reviews:

The Deeds of Louis the Fat.......2007-09-30

Suger of St. Denis (1080/81-1151) is best known for his promotion of what we call Gothic architecture but he was also an important politician and historian. Suger was most likely given as an oblate at the age of ten to the Abbey of St. Denis. After he completed his studies he accompanied Abbot Adam on diplomatic missions to Pope Paschal II among others. He rapidly gained administrative experience and became abbot of St. Denis after Adam's death.

Louis VI (1081-1137) the Fat, the eldest son of Philip I (1053-1108), was likewise educated at St. Denis. However, he was declared the heir only after a period of uncertainty when Philip I forsakes Louis mother in favor of the wife of one of his vassals, Fulk IV of Anjou.

The `France' of Louis VI and Abbot Suger was centered around Paris and the Ile-de-France. This controlled by Louis VI but even here he constantly had to assert himself against powerful local castellans (men with in charge of castles). Most of Louis VI's nobles who theoretically owed their land to him were more powerful and could raise larger armies then their feudal overlord. The king therefore only occasionally acted against his powerful lords and concentrated on regaining royal control on his own dominion.

The Deeds of Louis the Fat is not a biography in the modern sense but does provide vital information for this important king's reign. The Deeds was written in the style of other famous chroniclers of the time. This type of history concentrates on individual deeds rather than a comprehensive documentation of events. But it would be wrong to see this work as merely a collection of incidents chronologically arranged for Suger has an agenda and structure. He was close to Louis and sought to illustrate the king's support of the Church, thus, many entries chronicler the King's intervention on part of a church against a powerful noble. Likewise, Suger sought to contrast Louis with his womanizing father, Philip I, who put the love of a married woman above the just ruling of a kingdom.

The introduction puts the text in a historical background but also provides some interesting comments on the Suger's purpose of composition and the 'individual' St Denis (who was actually a combination of three individuals who lived centuries apart), the patron of Suger's Abbey. The introduction is very approachable and easy to understand (in other words not in the dry scholarly vein). The text however, is what gives this volume five stars.

a look at feudalism from the inside.......2007-06-11

Sometimes it is hard to read a text written centuries ago. The passage of time and social changes can make for stilted reading. This is also enhanced if the original text was in another language. You might reasonably wonder about the efficacy of the translation.

Yet here the translators have yielded an impressively readable document. The narrative moves briskly along. This is largely a book of war. About conflict, aggression, treachery and all that good stuff. Gets the glands going. It also gives some insight into the mindset of medieval royalty and feudalism. Especially because the narrator was a contemporary, who did not question the underlying premises of his time. But wrote his account within that context.

Book Description

Charlemagne's Mustache and Other Cultural Clusters of a Dark Age presents the reader with seven engaging studies of cultural life and thought in the Carolingian world: Why did Charlemagne have a mustache and why did hair matter? Why did the king own peacocks and other exotic animals? Why was he writing in bed and could he write at all? How did medieval kings become stars? How were secrets kept and conveyed in the early Middle Ages? Does the world age with the aged? And why did early medieval peoples believe in storm- and hailmakers? The answers, Dutton finds, are often surprising.

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Politics destroys empirical science.......1999-12-14

Though no scientist, I had heard the name of Lysenko passed about for years. He seemed to have been a mad scientist, creating bizarre hybrids and ecological disasters that plague Russia to this very day. That one man could do so much damage intrigued me, so I sought to learn more about him.

In this book, Dr. Soyfer, a former Soviet scientist who had met Lysenko, documents the destruction of science and scientists under the influence of Lysenko. Contrary to numerous opinions, Lysenko was an poorly educated agronomist who happened to have been in the right place at the right time: In the '30s, "Pravda" wrote him up as a pioneering scientist. Recognizing that newspapers and popular support could fuel his rise to the top of Soviet society, he set about making a name for himself as a scientist in non-academic journals and periodicals. His peasant upbringing and miraculous findings--never empirically proven or duplicated--made him a star proletarian scientist, the kind needed to bring about true Communism.

Along his way to the top, he was assisted by many people who thought him a sincere, but ill preparted, scientist; he later had many of these people purged after gaining the almost total support of Stalin and Khrushchev. His grand claims of producing superior cattle and wheat, among other things, consistently failed, yet no one dared oppose or even question his policies. Whether to propel himself upward, bring down the academics he apparently detested, or protect himself and his "science", Lysenko nearly eliminated all serious work in genetics, agriculture, and biology from the '30s into the '60s. Numerous scientists were exiled, fired, or executed during his reign as the people's scientist; according to the author, the effects still linger in Russia.

An amazing story of how, when politics decrees what science is acceptable and how it is going to work in the political paradigm, the results can be tragic.

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Lysenko and the Tragedy of Soviet SC
Valery N. Soyfer
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books
Genetics | Evolution | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0685706516

Book Description

The result of a conference addressing the relationship between the environment and security in the post-Cold War world, this book brings together scholars and practitioners from a variety of different disciplines and perspectives in an effort to both explore the complexities of the relationship between environmental variables and security conditions, and refocus the debate within the environmental community. The book combines analytical frameworks and case study material with proposals for addressing environmental challenges and enhancing the security and welfare of peoples, states, and regions.

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Environment and Security : Discourses and Practices (Interna.......2000-07-19

The debate on environment and security has become a predominant issue for international politics since the 1990s on. This book helps to provide a basic understanding on the various academic concepts and how this relates to policy-making in general. This book also sheds light into how the realm of international politics has changed since the end of the Cold War and how security themes including the 'environment' are gaining the attention of policy-makers particulary in industrialized countries.

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