If you like this blog and have not yet joined up as a member of the China Law Blog Group on Linkedin, you are really missing out.
About two weeks ago, I asked the Group to list out what they thought to be the best ten books on China business. Within about a week, Forbes Magazine asked me to write an article on the same thing. That article, entitled, "Best 10 Books On China: Planning your first business trip to China? Here's a guide," just came out today.
So without further ado, here's my list (in the order in which I am suggesting they be read, not in order of quality):
1. Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid, by J. Maarten Troost.
2. Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China, by John Pomfret.
3. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001, HarperCollins, $14.40), or Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present (2006, HarperCollins, $17.79), both by Peter Hessler.
4.Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, by Phillip P. Pan (2008, Simon & Schuster, $18.48).
5.Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China, by James Fallows (2009, Vintage Books USA, $10.17).
6. China Shakes The World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future and the Challenge for America, by James Kynge (2006, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $20.00).
7. The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage, by Alexandra Harney (2008, The Penguin Press, $17.78).
8. Mr. China: A Memoir, by Tim Clissold (2005, HarperCollins, $15).
9. One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, by James McGregor (2005, Free Press, $2).
10. China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders, by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood (2006, John Wiley & Sons, $14.96); and/or Where East Eats West: The Street-Smarts Guide to Business in China, by Sam Goodman (2008, BookSurge Publishing, $18.99).
If you want my explanation of the above, please go here for the Forbes article. And if you disagree (or agree) with me, please let me (and everyone else) know by commenting on this blog post or by adding to the ongoing discussion on our Linkedin Group.