Selected Book
A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy
- Paperback
- Author: Sara Bongiorni
- Publisher: Wiley
- Release Date: October 2008
- ISBN-10: 0470379200
- ISBN-13: 9780470379202
- List Price: $14.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryA Year Without "Made in China" provides you with a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining account of how the most populous nation on Earth influences almost every aspect of our daily lives. Drawing on her years as an award-winning journalist, author Sara Bongiorni fills this book with engaging stories and anecdotes of her family's attempt to outrun China's reach–by boycotting Chinese made products–and does a remarkable job of taking a decidedly big-picture issue and breaking it down to a personal level. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Entertaining, if superficial
Rating:
I enjoyed this book, but came away just a little puzzled.
It's an interesting enough premise - the idea that we buy too much from China. For me, that means we take too little responsibility for the effort it takes to get those consumer goods to us, and for the cost in terms of worker conditions, etc., over in China.
For Bongiorni, it seems like it's too often simply about depriving her family - as other reviewers have commented - for the sake of the book.
I'm sure she started out with the best of intentions, but this book quickly devolves from its lofty premise and ambitions into a superficial story of looking for loopholes in a consumerist culture.
I'm not looking for an outright condemnation of Western culture, or any sort of manifesto (not exactly what I want to curl up with on a cold evening), but a little curiousity, a little background, a little more scratching of the surface, would have lent much-needed balance and insight to what is generally an entertaining, readable book.
interesting idea...but lots of fluff
Rating:
I would have appreciated more depth about the actual experience of seeking out products not made in China and fewer irrelevant tangents about the author and her family and friends. The tangents do make the book "read like a novel" but if you aren't after a novel then you may find it annoying to have to wade through the fluff in search of the interesting parts.
Not a complete disappointment, just wasn't what I expected.
Rating:
This book is light reading; with 227 pages it's a quick read and at times funny and insightful. However, I didn't get the point.
The "rules" of living a year without felt flimsy; granted, it was a work in progress, but what's the point if you're going to keep breaking the rules? Example: the "gift" exception. You can always ask a relative to buy something you need that's made in China.
If you're going to go a year without, * really * go a year without! Perhaps a better approach would have been to write a book titled "A Year of Made in the USA"... now that would have been tough! Here the writer goes to great lengths to buy items made from other countries.
Personally I think the entire book could have / would have done well as a lengthy article, and I would have gained just as much insight. What the book lacks, and what others have mentioned, is a pairing of this family's decision with a discussion about China. The reader could have benefited from a historical explanation as to why China has infiltrated our economy, and why it's difficult to go without purchasing items made there. I actually consider this a disservice to the reader.
Oh well... not a complete disappointment but it wasn't what I expected.
Light weiight
Rating:
Boring after the first chapter.
Assigned as a text for my International Business class, the students thought this was a light weight text with the main point established in the first 2 chapters. The rest of the book delves more into family details with more examples of the same.
Save your money, look into your closet and document all the things you have purchased that are made in China. In so doing, you will understand the concept of this book. There are no prescriptions or solutions, just railing about the problem.
Instead, the author should discuss the impact of Made in China:
* Trade imbalances
* Currency devaluation
* Declining educational system
* Bigger government
Do not buy this book. It states the obvious without any solutions.
Engaging read
Rating:
This book is a lot of fun to read and really gets you to think about where things come from. My wife and I both read it. We agreed that she was pretty hard-core. We would not have lasted the whole year. If you've ever looked at the label to see where things come from, or if you have some concerns about our trade deficit with China, this book is one you would enjoy.
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