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Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China
Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China | Evan Osnos
9 posts | 8 read | 19 to read
Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalist Winner 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 transformation From 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 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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review
8little_paws
Pickpick

This is a comprehensive look at the lives of everyday Chinese people in the mid 2010s. It's super informative, but a bit dry. It reminded me of Pete Hessler's book The Buried, but without the spark and liveliness in each person. I'm still glad I read it, though.

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ErikBookman
Pickpick

He writes in the a clear and engaging New Yorker magazine style. The book opens with a series of stories about people he met during his eight years living in China. Then he introduces a theme or idea, adding a new layer to the story, sometimes new people as well. It is followed by another idea and story layer until he completes a non-judgmental view of China, how it got from Deng to Xi, and what it means to the everyday Chinese people.

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cocomass
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Pickpick

This book changed my entire perspective on China, its rapid development, and the people who live there. I knew so very little about China and most of my thinking about the country (with over a BILLION people) was so influenced by my own western thinking. #24in48 #awholenewworld #hour12

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cocomass
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📖 Age of Ambition
✏️ Alyssa Cole
📺 Archer
🥑 Avocados!!

#manicmonday (even though it‘s Tuesday, but this is fun!)

JoScho Thanks for playing ❤️ 6y
22 likes1 comment
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WriterReaderTrainer
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Learning a bit before I go to work with parents. #nonfiction #China

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Abailliekaras
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Pickpick

Wonderful, compassionate snapshot of China: the quirks & perils of a country getting rich quickly & in search of a faith or 'central melody' to replace communism. Follows key characters over 8 years: their fascinating stories woven into China's story. Explains corruption, oppression on a human scale without sensationalising. Ai Weiwei inspires me, not as artist per se but the way he distils ideas. Re-watching his Gangnam style under house arrest!

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Abailliekaras
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A perfect pre-read for Do Not Say We Have Nothing ?.

Riveting already and uses personal narratives. "...the deepest changes were intimate and perceptual, buried in daily rhythms in ways that were easy to overlook."

Like the small daily rhythms in A Woman Loved, which told so much about changes in Russia.

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ZoeyPeacock
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Reading this one for school.

brendanmleonard I am interested in this one! Let us know what you think 8y
ReadingOver50 Sounds interesting 8y
Abailliekaras I have heard good things, interested in your thoughts! 8y
Bookletting Oh I liked this one a lot - chose it for book discussion! 8y
SincerelyWinona I read this for school two years ago! What'd you think? 8y
32 likes11 stack adds5 comments
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SeeJaneRead
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Ah that classic childhood combo: ice skates and gunpowder

ZoeyPeacock How did you like it? I'm reading it now. 8y
SeeJaneRead @ZoeyPeacock I enjoyed it as I read it but haven't thought of it much since I finished it - so it's not one I would recommend wholeheartedly since it didn't stick with me much. But def worth a read if the subject matter appeals! 8y
2 comments