Customer Rating: 
Summary: The best textbook on Asian economics
Comment: Jim Rohwer's Asia Rising is unquestionably the best book to come out and explain the Asian growth that has propelled Asia to the centerstage of the global economy. While some people may now look at the book's title and say, hey, how wrong he has been in his prediction -- they will end up judging the book by the cover, literally. In fact, if one throws away the first 20 pages of his book, his book indeed cautions and seriously warns of the problems in Asia and its potential consequences -- just as it analyses and lauds the power of the Asian growth with journalist's skill for clarity and an economists eye for numerical detail. I read this book twice and still use it as a reference guide in my work as a financial journalist based in Taipei, a country least affected by the Asian crisis. Mr.Rohwer, formerly Asia expert at the economist who now works for Fortune, has also been brilliantly following and writing on Asia in the aftermath of the great Asian implosion. His recent article in Fortune entitled "Why Taiwan may be next to fall" made full sense even if the officials here rejected it with perverse pretention. Indeed, Taiwan has most of the problems that has existed in other Asian countries, but the only thing that saved it from the contagion like China is due to their closed financial systems. But the global deflation and slowdown in trade is now taking a toll on the growth of the export-driven Taiwan. This will continue to pose major problems in 1999. As corporate earnings deteriorate, banks are now seeing their bad loan ratios double just as their spreads are being squeezed by falling interest rates. And banks are making little money now but are asked to set aside massive amount of loan loss provisions. This phenonmenon is now leading to a credit crunch in the banking system which is making it very difficult for companies to get money to cope with this severe economic downturn. The system is now in a dangerous catch-22 situation. As Mr.Rohwer pointed out financial crises do not have to a direct result of a cross-country contagion, but locally-developed ones can be quite as lethal. And this will not come into being when things are good overseas and companies can ride on the export boom, but, to quote Warren Buffet, bare bottoms will surface only when the water level drops in a swimming pool full of naked swimmers. TN
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best textbook on Asian economics
Comment: Jim Rohwer's Asia Rising is unquestionably the best book to come out and explain the Asian growth that has propelled Asia to the centerstage of the global economy. While some people may now look at the book's title and say, hey, how wrong he has been in his prediction -- they will end up judging the book by the cover, literally. In fact, if one throws away the first 20 pages of his book, his book indeed cautions and seriously warns of the problems in Asia and its potential consequences -- just as it analyses and lauds the power of the Asian growth with journalist's skill for clarity and an economists eye for numerical detail. I read this book twice and still use it as a reference guide in my work as a financial journalist based in Taipei, a country least affected by the Asian crisis. Mr.Rohwer, formerly Asia expert at the economist who now works for Fortune, has also been brilliantly following and writing on Asia in the aftermath of the great Asian implosion. His recent article in Fortune entitled "Why Taiwan may be next to fall" made full sense even if the officials here rejected it with perverse pretention. Indeed, Taiwan has most of the problems that has existed in other Asian countries, but the only thing that saved it from the contagion like China is due to their closed financial systems. But the global deflation and slowdown in trade is now taking a toll on the growth of the export-driven Taiwan. This will continue to pose major problems in 1999. As corporate earnings deteriorate, banks are now seeing their bad loan ratios double just as their spreads are being squeezed by falling interest rates. And banks are making little money now but are asked to set aside massive amount of loan loss provisions. This phenonmenon is now leading to a credit crunch in the banking system which is making it very difficult for companies to get money to cope with this severe economic downturn. The system is now in a dangerous catch-22 situation. As Mr.Rohwer pointed out financial crises do not have to a direct result of a cross-country contagion, but locally-developed ones can be quite as lethal. And this will not come into being when things are good overseas and companies can ride on the export boom, but, to quote Warren Buffet, bare bottoms will surface only when the water level drops in a swimming pool full of naked swimmers. TN
Customer Rating:
Summary: An eyeopening overview of Asia's economic potential.
Comment: I will reiterate the enthusiasm of the other reviewers. Asia Rising really is a must-read type book for anyone with even a passing interest in world affairs. It gives a clear and compelling look at the economic revolution going on in some of the most highly populated countries in the world. These are events which are already affecting our day-to-day lives in very material ways, and there is no turning back. What makes this book so valuable and intriguing is that it deals much more with documentation and summary than it does with abstraction and/or theory. Finally unlike most writters who attempt to delve into the dismal science, the author has a clear, concise and down right enjoyable writing style.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Explains Asia's future importance to the world.Indispensible
Comment: What threads connect up Asia's Growth, past and future? And how can the rest of the world learn from these great wealth-creating societies? What will be the cost to Western nations whose leaders are too proud to learn from Asia's dynamic economic processes and infrastructures? These sorts of future history questions have absorbed journalists who have written for The Economist for decades. Certainly since my father, Norman Macrae, surveyed Japan's extraordinary growth prosepects in the 1960s and probably earlier.
Whilst my Dad earned some praise, including Japan's Order of the Rising Sun, for his constantly bullish explanations of Asia's future rights to lead the Triad of contintents which shape world class business, education and the human lot, we'd gladly rate Jim Rohwer's Asia Rising as the modern single-source introduction to why Asia in general and China in particular are set fair to be the world's 21st century centre of economic gravity. Whether you agree or disagree; whether you foresee opportunities or risks which could make or break Asia's course; we invite all who have passionate or expert opinions about Asia to join our free e-mail summit on Asia Growing. This global discussion is designed so that busy people can browse and input as time permits and topic relevance matters. So do please e-mail me if you would like to join our bullish discussion on Asia's Growing future.
Chris Macrae, e-mail wcbn007@easynet.co.uk
Customer Rating:
Summary: An economics "thriller" to the highest order.
Comment: Certainly the best book I've read in recent years on the reasons behind Asia's economic successes and potential pitfalls. This book reads like a "thriller". He whets your appetite with his prologue, and after that, as they say you can't put the book down. The difference with Rohwer is that he has remove as much of the "mumbo-jumbo of economics" and written a down to earth, honest and easily understandable book for Asia watchers.
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