CHINA: Best 10 Books On China

Commentary By Daniel P. Harris, 12.22.09, 6:00 AM ET

Because I write the China Law Blog and my legal practice focuses on China, I am always being asked to recommend books on China. So the other day, I thought I would pose the proverbial China book question to the members of the China Law Blog Group on LinkedIn. Thirty-eight responses later (and counting), my views on China books have crystallized a bit.

The following is my list of 10 must-read books for people planning their first business trip to China. I believe if you read them in the order below, they will provide the background needed to conquer China's business world there. The order of this list is intended to take the reader from the general to the more specific.

1. Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid, by J. Maarten Troost (2008, Broadway Books, $7.33).

This book is a fun read, and it quickly brings to light how China is nothing like Kansas. If you still want to go to China after reading this book, you are ready to move on to the next book on the list.

2. Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China, by John Pomfret (2006, Henry Holt & Company, $3.79).

This book profiles Chinese students who began their university studies immediately after the Cultural Revolution. Since these people run most of China today, it is important to understand their roots.

3. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001, HarperCollins, $14.40), or Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present (2006, HarperCollins, $17.79), both by Peter Hessler.

Very well-written, enjoyable books that increase understanding of both China's past and present.

4. Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, by Phillip P. Pan (2008, Simon & Schuster, $18.48).

This book is on the Cultural Revolution and its lingering impact on modern-day China. It is well articulated, and it provides a great feel for those running China today and for those who oppose how it is being run.

5. Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China, by James Fallows (2009, Vintage Books USA, $10.17).

Think Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America.

6. China Shakes The World: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future and the Challenge for America, by James Kynge (2006, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $20.00).

Explains China's economic miracle clearly and, dare I say it, enjoyably.

7. The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage, by Alexandra Harney (2008, The Penguin Press, $17.78).

Learn about China's factories and how they can get their prices shockingly low. But is it worth it?

8. Mr. China: A Memoir, by Tim Clissold (2005, HarperCollins, $15).

A true classic and a fascinating read on what it takes to do business in China. Everyone will assume you have read it, so read it.

9. One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China, by James McGregor (2005, Free Press, $2).

How big business gets it done in China.

10. China CEO: Voices of Experience from 20 International Business Leaders, by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood (2006, John Wiley & Sons, $14.96); and/or Where East Eats West: The Street-Smarts Guide to Business in China, by Sam Goodman (2008, BookSurge Publishing, $18.99).

China CEO is a technical collection of interviews with CEOs on how to conduct business in China. Where East Eats West is a collection of China business snippets from a street fighting, "been there, done that," entrepreneur.