Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalistWinner of the 2014 National Book Award in nonfiction.An Economist Best Book of 2014.A vibrant, colorful, and revelatory inner history of China during a moment of profound transformationFrom abroad, we often see China as a caricature: a nation of pragmatic plutocrats and ruthlessly dedicated students destined to rule the global economy-or an addled … plutocrats and ruthlessly dedicated students destined to rule the global economy-or an addled Goliath, riddled with corruption and on the edge of stagnation. What we don’t see is how both powerful and ordinary people are remaking their lives as their country dramatically changes.
As the Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos was on the ground in China for years, witness to profound political, economic, and cultural upheaval. In Age of Ambition, he describes the greatest collision taking place in that country: the clash between the rise of the individual and the Communist Party’s struggle to retain control. He asks probing questions: Why does a government with more success lifting people from poverty than any civilization in history choose to put strict restraints on freedom of expression? Why do millions of young Chinese professionals-fluent in English and devoted to Western pop culture-consider themselves “angry youth,” dedicated to resisting the West’s influence? How are Chinese from all strata finding meaning after two decades of the relentless pursuit of wealth?
Writing with great narrative verve and a keen sense of irony, Osnos follows the moving stories of everyday people and reveals life in the new China to be a battleground between aspiration and authoritarianism, in which only one can prevail.
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China has occupied the imagination of people for ages. Nowadays the reason is the Chinese economic miracle: unbelievable growth rates that have pulled millions from poverty. What is usually missing from the narrative is at what cost this has been achieved. This book takes a pretty fair view of both the positive and negative of the Chinese story. Although the ending is still anybody’s guess the book does give you plenty of food for thought as to what it might be. There are plenty of themes to ponder: the level of corruption the regime has allowed, whether an autocratic system of government that has just surpassed the USSR as the longest continuous one can end peacefully, how China has been completely seduced by materialistic gain, etc.
A definite must for anyone interested in taking another look at the Chinese miracle.
Age of Ambition is a very readable commentary on modern communist China. Osnos spent 8 years in China writing for The New Yorker. During his time he met some interesting characters and saw first hand changes in China during a new age of technology. His premise is that there is a great collision going on between the authoritarian government and the aspiration of the individual. Osnos touches on political, social, and economic changes and how they affect every individual living in China today. Osnos’ writing is entertaining, taking a subject that could certainly be dry and boring and making it a worthwhile read.
This was an enlightening read and one that makes me appreciate the country I live in, despite the current political pandemonium. Yet, I’m interested in learning more about China and visiting some day. I’m sure there are more changes in China yet to come.
The best book on life inside modern China. Riveting story telling and compelling characters.
Finally stopped reading half-way through. No real theme – more like a travelogue diary. Gained no great insights.
Evan Osnos’s Age of Ambition is part Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, part Factory Girls, and part Strange Stones-esque travelogue (particularly when Osnos joins a group of Chinese tourists on a whirlwind trip through Europe, in one of the most amusing chapters). From exploring the evolving nature of the Chinese communist party, to gambling in Macau, to the impact of the Beijing Olympics on the blueprint of the city, Osnos leaves no stone unturned in recounting his years as an expat journalist in China.
Osnos is a serious journalist (he was the Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker), and he covers a lot of heady material, from corruption to forced sterilization to freedom of the press, but what makes Age of Ambition so eminently readable are the stories of everyday life – Osnos’s American-in-China-everyday-life – that he sprinkles throughout. For example, a family of weasels colonizes Osnos’s roof. He calls an exterminator, who informs him that weasels are good luck.
Age of Ambition is a clear-eyed look at life in China, one that anyone who wants to understand more about this rising power should read.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2019/03/age-of-ambition-chasing-fortune-truth.html)
Most Americans (myself, certainly) know very little about China, and the conditions within. This book goes a long way toward pulling back the curtain and showing the fault lines within China, and the balancing act the Communist Party has to do to cling to power. I found it very telling that over 18,000 party officials had migrated to the U.S. to enjoy the fortunes they accumulated through fraud and bribes.
I know so much more about modern-day China after reading this book. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand more this important nation.
I visited Cine in the early 1990s and again in 2017. The change was amazing. This book explores that change and looks at the problems and choices ahead for China. It is a interesting look at the evolution of governments and impacts of of leadership and growing civilizations. I foubd it fascinating.