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Product Details
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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Bongiorni, on a post-Christmas day mired deep in plastic toys and electronics equipment, makes up her mind to live for a year without buying any products made in China, a decision spurred less by notions of idealism or fair trade-though she does note troubling statistics on job loss and trade deficits-than simply "to see if it can be done." In this more personal vein, Bongiorni tells often funny, occasionally humiliating stories centering around her difficulty procuring sneakers, sunglasses, DVD players and toys for two young children and a skeptical husband. With little insight into global economics or China's manufacturing practices, readers may question the point of singling out China when cheap, sweatshop-produced products from other countries are fair game (though Bongiorni cheerfully admits the flaws in her project, she doesn't consider fixing them). Still, Bongiorni is a graceful, self-deprecating writer, and her comic adventures in self-imposed inconvenience cast an interesting sideways glance at the personal effects of globalism, even if it doesn't easily connect to the bigger picture.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Journalist Bongiorni, on a post-Christmas day mired deep in plastic toys and electronics equipment, makes up her mind to live for a year without buying any products made in China, a decision spurred less by notions of idealism or fair trade—though she does note troubling statistics on job loss and trade deficits—than simply "to see if it can be done." In this more personal vein, Bongiorni tells often funny, occasionally humiliating stories centering around her difficulty procuring sneakers, sunglasses, DVD players and toys for two young children and a skeptical husband. With little insight into global economics or China's manufacturing practices, readers may question the point of singling out China when cheap, sweatshop-produced products from other countries are fair game (though Bongiorni cheerfully admits the flaws in her project, she doesn't consider fixing them). Still, Bongiorni is a graceful, self-deprecating writer, and her comic adventures in self-imposed inconvenience cast an interesting sideways glance at the personal effects of globalism, even if it doesn't easily connect to the bigger picture.(July) (Publishers Weekly, August 6, 2007)
"a wry look at the ingenuity it takes to shun the planet's fastest-growing economy." (Bloomberg News)
"The West's dependence on Chinese exports was neatly summed up" (The Telegraph, Sunday 12th August 2007)
"What the year-long experiment did achieve, was to switch on Bongiorni as a consumer and make her alive to the complexities and shifting power of the international economy. (Financial Times, Saturday 25th August)
"...a fascinating and entertaining look at just how much of a challenge an average consumer faces...to avoid buying Chinese goods." (Supply Management, Thursday 31st January 2008)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
A book without. . .,
By
This review is from: A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (Hardcover)
A book without substance--mundane driblings of a manipulative woman with bad child-rearing skills. I can't believe I paid money for this book. What had potential for a fascinating social experiment within an economic context was reduced to reading about her relationship with her husband (who cares!), how she negotiates with her children, and how she constantly bends her rules or makes them up as she goes.No explanation on the history of China moving into these different consumer products market and the back ground of why. No quantitative data on the size of volume now produced in China and no discussion on impact on previous producers for toys, shoes, clothes, sunglasses. Sara Bongiorni used to be a "business writer"? That's hard to believe given what's in her book. I wish her luck with her freelance career, she's gonna need it!!!
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what it is made out to be...,
By
This review is from: A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (Hardcover)
When I read about this book coming out, I was very excited to see what it had to offer someone like me. I am trying to make my life more "local" everyday and I was looking forward to what Bongiorni had to offer to my endless task of cutting out foreign imports. Unfortunately, this book did not do that for me. I would never criticize it for being a bad book. Bongiorni's writing is quite witty and captivating; as the reader can feel themselves in her situation - at the beck and call of Chinese toys and home appliances. Even the simplest task of replacing her printer cartridge runs her boycott amock. The unfortunate aspect of the book is not only did it not seem like she was entirely convinced as to why she was boycotting "Made in China" products (as she very briefly explains why and touches on her ealier boycott of Wal-Mart) but she does not offer much advice to the reader as to how they might also cut "Made in China" out of their life. Not only that, but she is continually shopping in drugstores and Target to seek out non-Chinese things - obvious places where that would be difficult. She rarely seeks out local markets, hand-craft stores, or other such places where locally made products might be found. She forgoes "Made in China", but quite often buys "Made in Hong Kong/Taiwan/Mexico/Honduras...etc" products with equally poor production conditions.Her story is quite humurous as she battles her less-than ethusiastic husband and two confused children through a year without China in their home, nosy neighbours who feel it is upon them to introduce such products back into their life under the guise of gifts and donations, and her mother who believes she is depriving her grandchildren of their child-hood; one that should be filled with Chinese made toys and trinkets. In conclusion, I do not recommend this book. For those who might find the idea of cutting out Chinese products interesting, this book would disappoint. I, myself, am turning to "No Logo" to quench my anti-consumerism thirst. But for those who are looking for an interesting story on a family's shopping woes, they might want to pick something else up with less so-called "intention". Give us something more to bite into if you're going to tackle such a loaded subject...
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wish the previous reviews had been available BEFORE I wasted my money...,
By Only When It Matters "AJ" (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (Hardcover)
Like the other reviewers, I believed this book was full of potential for what it could offer in terms of education and advice to consumers wishing to be more mindful about the politics of purchasing. What a disappointment! I found myself so appalled by what I was reading that I felt I had to re-check the author's credentials as a business 'writer' apparently tackling global issues - could such a writer (heck, ANY writer) NOT do a little research beforehand to avoid such unforgivable ignorance as not knowing what relationship China had with Hong Kong? PLEASE - I think they teach this in grade school. And anyone who insinuates that the Chinese won't have a clue about Jesus Christ or 9/11 should perhaps get out more. I was also completely turned off by the author's lack of conviction in what she was doing and how it all came down to shopping, instead of a more intelligent look at the globalization of goods and services and subsequent economic impact on multiple levels - not just her spoiled children. I mean, when the gist of a book insinuates that her children were 'deprived' of the right to cheap plastic toys, I was disgusted. I don't recall that healthy human growth and development starts with access to a light sword... But the blame can't all be laid with Sara Bongiorni - surely there is an editor somewhere who is also looking for work these days?
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