03.12.08
Posted in China, Highlights, History at 1:29 am by ryan
Today was an extremely exciting day. I bumped into James Fallows again, after I had just met him for coffee yesterday.
Then, low and behold, in the parking lot behind me was the man who I came to meet, The Man Who Stayed Behind, and his wife Wang Yulin (王玉林). Today I had the fortune of spending most of the day with the two of them.
When Sidney was at the Stanford Language School, he had already realized America had a huge supply of technology and capital, and China, the largest and oldest country in the world was badly in need of technology and capital. The two made for such natural friends.
Today, when asked what one can do to help China, Sidney said that telling Americans about what is happening in China, trying to improve American support for Sino-American cooperation is very important.
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02.28.08
Posted in Books, China, Economics, History, Indonedia at 11:03 am by ryan
Well, we’ve managed to burn through the list posted at the start of the month:
21:Bringing Down the House and Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai
These two should be commented on together because the style and stories are so similar. If you in the mood for a fast paced novel about a life that sounds exciting, then either of these might be fun. Author Ben Mezerk spins out a story that you should be able to find on MTV. In the case of “Rigged”, saying that building a oil futures exchanged in Dubai “changed the world of oil”, it seems a bit exaggerated, but I’m not in the oil business so I suppose it’s not really my place to comment otherwise… In both cases the stories are a lot of fun, but again, I think of these more as a novel written in the character of historical fiction (ie, parts may have been based on actual events). Don’t get your expectations out of control and you should have a good time 
In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia
This was an excellent history of Asia from 1945-1950. If you’re interested in how military occupation works, in how systems operate, in how civil wars get started, in how arms get moved from one group to another, this is a great read! Thoroughly enjoyed this one! How did the Vietnam War get started anyway? And what about the Korean war? And why did we let Suharto get away with so much in Indonesia? Much of the current state of Asia is the result of “The Allies” unwinding the Japanese Empire in Asia. The Korean War, Vietnam War, Chinese Civil War, and Indonesian Independence from the Netherlands will all be quickly understood. Prior to reading this, I confess I wasn’t even aware that France tried to restore it’s colony in Vietnam after Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII. At least I’m slightly less ignorant then before I read this one… Highly recommended!
Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
This was a very wittily written story about greed on Wall Street during the ’80’s, and a bit about the training (hazing) process for new recruits. At least a few blank spots in your knowledge of modern finance will likely be filled in by a read through this one. Recommended! Enjoy
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