I'm looking as some non-research books, a bit on the practical side. There is no shortage of these books, and normally they are not very good. Either there is a consulting firm trying to sell something, or a news reporter who doesn't really know much, but can write, or worse, a businessperson selling his/her 'insights' who can't write (or claims to be able to write, but pays for a ghost writer).
At just about two hundred pages, this is an easy read. Every chapter is short, ending with a page or two of take-away points that are fit nicely into boxes. Not a research book, but more than just the average reporter's attempt to generate some cash flow. Plafker is localized in China enough to get a lot, and he seems to have read some of the deeper research, but he is not a researcher. In the end, there is not much here for anyone with experience in China, but then again, there is nothing wrong either. What I appreciated the most was Plafker did not overreach, claiming to have some grand insight (ala The Tipping Point).
Shows 
