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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
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abstract / comment
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for more information about the item, such as the comments of reviewers and
their own suggestions of related titles.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
China Dawn : The Story of a Technology and Business
Revolution
0060005998
Dennis Sheff
2002
Bruce Donnelly
China's New Rulers : The Secret Files
1590170466
Andrew Nathan
2002
Bruce Donnelly
China and the WTO : Changing China, Changing World Trade
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
Buzkashi : Game and Power in Afghanistan (2nd Ed.)
1577662385
This unique horsemanship game provides insights into the
culture of Afghanistan.
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.
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
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.
"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.
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
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
Hidden Differences : How to Do Business with the Japanese
0385238843
Edward Hall, Mildred Hall
1990
Bruce Donnelly
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
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
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
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
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