Comment by kaonwarb
4 hours ago
I recommend Dan’s book (https://danwang.co/breakneck/) to those wanting to better understand China - and the United States.
4 hours ago
I recommend Dan’s book (https://danwang.co/breakneck/) to those wanting to better understand China - and the United States.
One of the best books I read this year. I think a lot of HN readers will like it. A really balanced take on China that also digs deep into the perennial question of “why can’t we build big infrastructure projects in the US?” that comes up here quite often.
We used to build those infrastructure projects.
Well of course, and the book digs a little into the history as well, and what changed around the 1960s/70s. There is a long section on Robert Moses, for example. He draws a lot of parallels between modern China and the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries - totally different political systems, but similar “breakneck” ability to build.