The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us,   ISBN:9780393331936

Customer Rating: 

This book is really not worth your time to read. It just states fast generalizations both about China and India. It presents the most basic overview of the development of each of these countries. The situation in both is much more complicated and deserves a more thorough analysis. It is obvious that Meredith is not an expert on either country.

Customer Rating: 

I didn't think this book lived up to its current 4-1/2 star average rating. It had lots of anecdotes, but no unique insights. The audiobook narration was particularly dull. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria does a better job of discussing the rise of India and China.

Customer Rating: 

"Some useful insights that provide a historical perspective to the Eco-Socio-Cultural aspect in the growth of both nations as well as an interesting insight to the buildup of the current global economic crisis.

Written in a very easy to read and follow format."

Customer Rating: 

The innumerable statistics in this book shows the author's deep involvement in the economic development of India and China. It is a must read for all those who have a stake in the global economic activity. Very interesting to read. When reading some chapters one might loose track of what the subject matter of a chapter is.

Customer Rating: 

In its book, "The World is Flat" Thom Friedman makes a comment he told his daughters: "Do your homework, or else there are hungry workers in China and India who will take your future job from you." The Elephant and the Dragon goes into great detail about how that actually came about. It is a great analysis of the role that India and China have played for the last 10 centuries and what this next century will most likely bring. Despite both countries being called "emerging markets," they are as different as ... well, the Elephant and the Dragon. India is trully an Elephant, slow and rambling, with a very long memory and idiosincratic trunk (its IT and service sector) that is still in great contrast to the rest of the country that still lacks have electricity and running water for 40% of its billion people. China, on the other hand is a phoenix rizen from the ashes of the Cultural Revolution with little memory or history, fueled by the firery breath (and breadth) of manufacturing by the ambitious central planning. Robyn's in-depth analysis outlines not just the opportunities but the obstacles that each of the countries will face in the next century. I highly recommend it.