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Books : Asia Pacific

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Bruce Donnelly   bruce@gdi-solutions.com    (Biography)

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Introduction

Send us your suggestions This selective directory of books about doing business in the Asia Pacific region is provided in association with Amazon.com as a convenient source of books which may be of interest.   The search tool at left enables you to look up any books, magazines, videos or DVD's directly on their website, rather than by following our own suggestions.  Direct links for review and purchase of specific items are found through the topic sections and subtopics below.  The logo image at right links to their home page.

Please refer to the Disclosure section below for instructions if you wish to buy any of the suggested items, and Suggestions if you think we should add or remove anything.  Refer also to our Global Contacts directories.

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Suggestions have been organized into the following 8 pages, which contain the subtopics listed below.  Note that some topics overlap.
Asia Pacific Americas Europe, Africa, Middle East Global Direct Investment Foreign Relations and Assignments Executive Reference Other Issues for Management Economic Development
China Brazil European Union "Globalization", Transnational Business Impact Diplomacy, Foreign Policy General Management Corporate Facility Design Economic Development
India and South Asia Mexico and NAFTA Eastern Europe Sustainable Development Cross-Cultural Communications, Non-Verbal Communications Strategic Planning Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property Urban Planning, Migration, and Rural Economic Development.
Southeast Asia Pacific Investment in the USA and Canada Russia Foreign Direct Investment Foreign Assignments & Languages Corporate Finance Knowledge Management Website Design
Japan, Korea Central & South America and Caribbean Middle East and Africa International Trade US Law, Trade,  Immigration, International Law      

"Buy From ..." is a quick way to add items of potential interest to your shopping cart on Amazon.com , which you can then review before buying this or any other selections.

Book (or media) title

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) may help to find a book in libraries or other sources, especially if out of print or not readily available.  It is the ASIN on Amazon.com

Our abstract / comment

The cover image links to Amazon.com for more information about the item, such as the comments of reviewers and their own suggestions of related titles.

Author Published Suggested by / comment

We welcome your suggestions of additional items which you have found to be helpful.

New Suggestions             <top> <bottom> Our abstract / comment Author Published Suggested by
Location Location Location : A Plant Location and Site Selection Guide

ISBN 1-890586-11-0

Contact us about how to buy a copy

This guide to corporate expansion planning shares the insights of a veteran leader of global business site selection consulting for location choices by corporate executives. Prof. Em. Marcel De Meirleir - Biographic profile of the author March 2006 Bruce Donnelly

Marcel was the founder of Plant Location International in Brussels, and has assisted many leading corporations with their expansion plans around the world.

Exporting America : Why Corporate Greed is Shipping American Jobs Overseas

 

See our detailed comments about this book

This highly respected business news anchor attracted a lot of attention during the 2003-2004 period leading up to the US elections through his criticism of business outsourcing in a very popular feature series, "Exporting America".

Whether one agrees with all his analysis and conclusions or not, it is an important contribution to the need for a more informed debate on not only the public policy and long-term social and economic impacts of outsourcing and globalization in general, but also the role of corporate leaders and their business and social responsibilities.

The basic premise is that outsourcing jobs to other countries will ultimately be harmful to American interests despite any short-term business cost savings.

Lou Dobbs, anchor and managing editor of CNN "Lou Dobbs tonight", and popular feature stories on "Exporting America"

Whatever the show ratings were, this special feature resonated with many viewers as a very hot topic during the US election in particular.

2004 Bruce Donnelly

This book also attracted many very thoughtful Amazon.com reviewer comments.

It's interesting that the ones which agreed with Dobbs' basic premise and analysis seemed to give more thoughtful reviews, while some of his critics just bashed his position or the book without much substance.  That is, frankly, consistent with what he already reported from viewer and business editor reactions to his programs.  Then again, maybe some very smart but now unemployed people just had more time and inclination to review his shows and the book.

           
China            <top> <bottom> Our abstract / comment Author Published Suggested by
  Building a Successful Plant in China : 2002/2003 An Insider's Guide not yet reviewed, comments welcome China Knowledge Press 2002 Bruce Donnelly
  Doing Business in Shanghai : An Insider's Guide not yet reviewed, comments welcome China Knowledge Press 2003 Bruce Donnelly
  China Business & Travel Guide not yet reviewed, comments welcome China Knowledge Press 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover China : A Century of Revolution

B00005RRID

A major video documentary     Bruce Donnelly
cover Selling China : Foreign Direct Investment During the Reform Era

0521814286

A different perspective on FDI flows into China Yasheng Huang 2003 Bruce Donnelly
cover Integrating China into the Global Economy

0815751354

Timely Brookings Institution study Nicholas Lardy 2002 Bruce Donnelly
find out more information The Legal System of the People's Republic of China in a Nutshell

031400999X

Available from Thomson West legal publishers at www.westgroup.com .  The "Nutshell" series is aimed more at non-lawyers or law students, and can help to understand the potential legal issues to consider. Daniel Chow 2003 Bruce Donnelly
cover China's Futures : Scenarios for the World's Fastest Growing Economy, Ecology, and Society Scenario planning perspective; see also strategic planning - The Art of the Long View James Ogilvy, Peter Schwartz 2000 Bruce Donnelly
cover China Dawn : The Story of a Technology and Business Revolution

0060005998

  Dennis Sheff 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover China's New Rulers : The Secret Files

1590170466

  Andrew Nathan 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover China and the WTO : Changing China, Changing World Trade

0470820616

  Mark Clifford et al 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover The Search for Modern China

0393307808

  Jonathan Spence 2001 Bruce Donnelly
cover The Great Chinese Revolution: 1800-1985

006039076X

  John King Fairbank 1987 Bruce Donnelly
The United States and China

out of print

The United States and China

0674924010

There may be further updates of this classic work by one of the most famous American experts on China.  See other works above. John King Fairbank 1948 (1979 4th edition) Bruce Donnelly
find out more information

out of print

In Search of History : A Personal Adventure

0446976563

An easy to read, popular account by a leading journalist about his experiences in Asia (1938-45), especially China, as well as postwar Europe (Marshall Plan) and the Kennedy years in Washington. Theodore White 1978 Bruce Donnelly
cover
 
Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45

0802138527

An important historical contribution to the old "who lost China" debate (McCarthy era, after the Revolution), with insights about the Japanese invasion of China which many Americans have unfortunately forgotten, and the complex relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. Barbara Tuchman 1971, reprint 2001 Bruce Donnelly

Lost Chance in China- The World War II...

out of print, limited availability

Lost Chance in China : The World War II Despatches of John S. Service

0394484363

One of the great "China hands" of the Foreign Service, driven out during the McCarthy era largely for accurately reporting the changes which were happening in China.  A classic case of shooting the messenger.  It gives a good picture of what was happening in China in that era as a firsthand account by an expert who was in the middle of the events, and eventually very frustrated by our failure to maintain a better relationship with China. Edited by Joseph Esherick 1974 Bruce Donnelly
cover Red Star Over China

0802150934

The period of the Communist Revolution in China may seem less relevant today, as a new generation of leaders takes China in a different direction, but history will be the judge of that.  In a culture with thousands of years of history behind it, it it too soon to predict.  This account, by a journalist who went to China in 1936 to cover the Communist revoluion, is still interesting. Edgar Snow 1938 and 1968 revised edition Bruce Donnelly
China Scapegoat- The Diplomatic Ordeal...

out of print, limited availability

China Scapegoat : The Diplomatic Ordeal of John Carter Vincent

0915220490

This is important not only because of John Carter Vincent's experience as one of the top "China hands" during a crucial period of history, but also because it is another example (like John S. Service, above) of the "shoot the messenger" reaction to changes in China, which can still be seen today in the media reaction to any major events with "who is to blame?" witch-hunts as though we could or should control all world events.

That includes Congressional hearings which may not be as outrageous as Vincent's in the McCarthy show, but unfortunately are not necessarily driven by the need for objective analysis of events and policy implications, which was the challenge facing the China hands at a time of great turmoil and fast-paced changes in China.

 

Gary May 1979 Bruce Donnelly

It is still tempting for politicians to use major events instead for temporary advantage, such as for populist campaign purposes, which is just less blatant demagoguery than McCarthy's attacks on all the China hands at State, which affected US relations with China for decades by driving some of the best US experts on China out of the Foreign Service at a time when their knowledge and contacts were very badly needed.  Fifty years later, we are still confronted by the impact of that folly, in which it is interesting to note the irony of Richard Nixon's role, as well as Vincent's vocal early opposition to the war in Vietnam - long before President Johnson escalated it.

           
India and South Asia            <top> <bottom> Our abstract / comment Author Published Suggested by
cover India Unbound

037541164X

A forward-looking book by the former CEO of Procter & Gamble in India, now a columnist for the Times of India and a consultant and venture capitalist, who reviews post-independence policies and recent progress from a long-term business development and economic development perspective.  Written before the tech crash, it is still very timely.  Read it. Gurcharan Das 2000 Bruce Donnelly
cover India : Emerging Power

0815700067

Brookings Institution study by a former member of the Policy Planning Staff at the State Dept. Stephen Cohen 2001 Bruce Donnelly
cover The United States and Pakistan, 1947-2000 : Disenchanted Allies

0801865727

See the work on India below.  Here's the other side.  It should probably have been titled "Washington and Islamabad", because it mostly deals with diplomatic relations between leaders in the capitals, rather than the larger developments in either country, or more than traditional diplomatic relations (i.e., little business).  Still, it is a good review within that scope. Ambassador Dennis Kux 2001 Bruce Donnelly
cover India and the United States : Estranged Democracies, 1941-1991

0898758254

A chronicle of how what should have been a much closer relationship evolved into a dangerous situation of potential conflict with Pakistan Ambassador Dennis Kux 1993 Bruce Donnelly
cover India & Pakistan : The First Fifty Years

0521645859

A collection of articles by various scholars organized for the Woodrow Wilson Center on the fiftieth anniversary of independence. Selig Harrison, Paul Kreisberg, Dennis Kux 1999 Bruce Donnelly
cover The Discovery of India

0195623592

First published in 1946, in the midst of the process of Indian independence, this was written in prison by the man who would soon lead the country. Jawaharlal Nehru 1951 Bruce Donnelly
cover M.K. Gandhi - An Autobiography, or The Story of My Experiments With Truth

0807059099

It is interesting to wonder how Mahatma Gandhi would respond to current events and government policies in India, and how the leaders would respond to him.  This is his early story, decades before Indian independence.  Note that it is not intended to be a history book.

Note also his period in South Africa, which shaped his views and remarkable later work to help achieve independence for India by non-violent means, which after centuries of the "British Raj" rule in India was possible for a variety of reasons, but was no less remarkable since few countries until that time had ever achieved independence without fighting a war for it.

MK Gandhi

(Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi)

1927, with various reprints since then Bruce Donnelly

Unfortunately, although India didn't have to go to war against the British to achieve independence, the tragic genocide during the partition of India was far worse than most of the major wars in history even though, as with various other cases of genocide in Africa and Asia, many Americans took little note of it, or have forgotten.

cover Gandhi (movie, available in both VHS and DVD)

B00003CXA4 - for DVD

Like most movies or documentaries, this isn't the way to get the most accurate and objective history, but despite some flaws (such as a quite biased portrayal of Jinnah and the Pakistan movement, which is perhaps not entirely surprising) it is still a very entertaining portrayal of a period of history in India which many Americans know little about, including the tragic events during the partition of India and Pakistan which are still reflected in recent tensions and killings in border regions as political power is abused by provoking needless religious hatred within communities.  That is sad in a country with such a diverse history of religious beliefs and tolerance in general over many centuries. Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Richard Attenborough 1982 Bruce Donnelly
Amritsar- Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle Amritsar : Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle

0224023284

Written by BBC correspondents in India at the time, this tells about the attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar which is at the center of the Sikh religion in the Punjab, which would perhaps be analogous to sending troops in to Mecca to attack terrorists.  She was trying to destroy the Punjabi separatist movement led by radical preacher Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the attack, and Mrs Gandhi was latter assassinated by Sikh militants as revenge for her assault on the Temple.  Still a timely example of the complexities of dealing with issues such as these anywhere, including the current conflict in neighboring Kashmir. Mark Tully, Satish Jacob 1985 Bruce Donnelly
Plain Tales from the Raj

various reprint versions exist

Plain Tales from the Raj

0030058627

A collection of anecdotal tales from personal interviews about life in the era of the British Raj in India.  Enjoyable, easy reading with cultural insights, both in terms of life in India and how it was perceived by the British who lived there, rather than sociologists or more analytical researchers.  These are ordinary lives in an extraordinary period of history before independence, as an oral history project for a British radio program about their reminiscences. Edited by Charles Allen 1975 Bruce Donnelly
cover Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia

0300093454

Primary focus on the Central Asian republics, rather than the Taliban and Afghanistan (see below) Ahmed Rashid 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover Taliban, Militant Islam, Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

0300089023

Interesting analysis by a Pakistani journalist about the background to recent events, including the 1979-89 response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Ahmed Rashid 2000 Bruce Donnelly
cover A Man to Match His Mountains : Badshah Khan, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam

1888314001

For those who think Afghanistan is nothing but a country run by rival warlords, or that Islam requires violent responses to the West, this book about Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the "non violent soldier of Islam" who led 100,000 Pathans in a non violent "army" against British rule during the 1930's, similar to Mahatma Gandhi in India, should come as a revelation. Eknath Easwaran 1984 Bruce Donnelly
AFGHANISTAN

out of print, limited availability

 

Afghanistan

0195776348

A classic study of the country from an expert who lived in the country and studied it for decades before the Soviet Union invaded and others took notice that the country was more than an obscure, peripheral area which the British never managed to dominate for long during their period of rule in India, like other invaders.  More in-depth, perceptive analysis than the popular current analysis by far less qualified "experts". Louis Dupree 1980 was the last update?  may have been reprinted later, 1997? Bruce Donnelly
cover Buzkashi : Game and Power in Afghanistan (2nd Ed.)

1577662385

This unique horsemanship game provides insights into the culture of Afghanistan. G. Whitney Azoy 2002 (first in 1982) Bruce Donnelly
Out of Afghanistan- The Inside Story of...

cover

Out of Afghanistan : The Inside Story of the Soviet Withdrawal

0195062949

Review in recent hindsight of the withdrawal, which may now be more interesting in light of subsequent events after the UN brokered a deal for both the US and the Soviet Union to both stop military aid to internal factions, showing once again the pitfalls of instant historical analysis of apparent accomplishments, even though it can be of value as a matter of record. 

Foreign policy is a continuum, without an endgame (see also his writings on Korea and elsewhere in Asia).  The players and issues may change, but it is very risky to declare victory and walk away, as is now obvious.  Journalists tend to write as though events have reached a conclusion once they are no longer news.

Diego Cordovez, Selig Harrison 1995 Bruce Donnelly
out of print and probably very hard to find now In Afghanistan's Shadow : Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations

 

Although dated, this serious research work by a leading journalist, supported by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the context of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, still provides useful insights into some of the pressures within the Baluchistan region of western Pakistan, eastern Iran, and southern Afghanistan.  At the time, soon after the invasion of Afghanistan, some analysts (especially journalists) were concerned that the Soviets might want to try to take advantage of Baluchi nationalism to promote an independent state and thereby perhaps gain a base or access to the Arabian Sea near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, as a continuation of the old "Great Game" in Asia.  This research is still useful background on that region. Selig Harrison 1981 Bruce Donnelly
Politics in Pakistan

out of print, limited availability

Politics in Pakistan : The Nature and Direction of Change

0030418119

Another dated work which still has valid research into the history of politics and the development of Pakistan, as well as pressures which persist to this day while the political leadership tends to be a bit of a revolving door. Khalid Sayeed 1980 Bruce Donnelly
cover Midnight's Children

0140132708

OK, so it's an old novel and not about direct investment, and not the ayatollah's favorite author either, but this was long before that old controversy.  This novel, set in India at the moment of independence, can provide some useful insights into recent culture and history in a more entertaining way than the usual business collection. Salman Rushdie 1981, with 1995 reprint Bruce Donnelly
Southeast Asia & Pacific          <top> <bottom> Our abstract / comment Author Published Suggested by
    Research in progress to add to this list      
cover "Benevolent Assimilation" - The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903

0300030819

Yes, "conquest" may not be how many people like to remember this era of US history, but it is accurate and ended in guerrilla warfare against us.

We may prefer to forget this period when, in the wake of the westward expansion of the US, and developments elsewhere in the world, the US started to assert itself as an international power militarily, but it is an important period of their history, and influences perceptions of the US and the tactics of guerilla resistance to greater military power to this day. See also "First Great Triumph" (diplomacy, below) and other works about events in the 1890 - 1910 era, including changes both in Asia (Russo-Japanese war, etc.) and US politics.

Stuart Creighton Miller 1982 Bruce Donnelly
Japan, Korea            <top> <bottom> Our abstract / comment Author Published Suggested by
cover Can Japan Compete?

0465059899

Interesting question from the Harvard professor known for his research into competitiveness not only for companies, but for nations.  See his earlier work : The Competitive Advantage of Nations (listed under economic development) Michael Porter 2000 Bruce Donnelly
cover The Japanese Today : Change and Continuity

0674471849

History, society, politics - still useful insights 25 years after the earlier work, The Japanese, that this updated. Edwin Reischauer 1995 Bruce Donnelly

cover

Hidden Differences : How to Do Business with the Japanese

0385238843

  Edward Hall, Mildred Hall 1990 Bruce Donnelly
           
cover Negotiating on the Edge : North Korean Negotiating Behavior

187837995X

Analysis of actual negotiating behavior suggesting that, as one would expect of a regime which has managed to survive against all odds in an era when others fell, is not always as crazy as the popular media reports suggest.  Ruthless, tough, dangerous brinksmanship. Scott Snyder 1999 Bruce Donnelly
cover Avoiding the Apocalypse : The Future of the Two Koreas

0881322784

More timely subject than many realized.  Recent leadership changes in South Korea and other events may alter the picture a bit, but still useful. Marcus Nolan, Fred Bergsten 2000 Bruce Donnelly
cover Economic Integration of the Korean Peninsula

0881322555

Earlier work collecting various insights from an Institute for International Economics conference Edited by Marcus Nolan 1998 Bruce Donnelly
 cover Korean Endgame : A Strategy for Reunification and U.S. Disengagement

069109604X

By a well known journalist and analyst of US foreign relations with various countries in Asia.  Note his work from 1981 about Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion, which suggests that "endgame" may perhaps not be an appropriate way to think about foreign relations. Selig Harrison 2002 Bruce Donnelly
cover The Great North Korean Famine : Famine, Politics, and Foreign Policy

1929223331

US Institute of Peace study about the estimated 3 million people who starved after 1994 while North Korea tried to hide the problem Andrew Natsios 2002 Bruce Donnelly
           
           
Note that some of the books may be out of print and unavailable for purchase, but are still listed because copies may be found in major libraries.  There is also a separate section which highlights magazines and professional associations related to this market, as well as governmental sources.  The lists of area representatives for specific countries m