The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of Inda and China and What It Means for All of Us

The novel The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us written by Robyn Meredith, is a very interesting thought provoking book that discusses how India and China are changing our world. The elephant in the title represents India and how it has been slowly lumbering along to gain economic strength. Conversely, China symbolizes a dragon that is intimidating and moving tremendously fast in its rise to power. Throughout the book, Meredith gives examples of what is happening and what will happen to the world economy. However, she does little to explain to the reader what to do to resolve the problems occurring in the global economy, specifically the United States of America. Overall, the book reads as a 252-page, interesting news article and is a good read; but it could use a revision with more up to date statistics and facts.
The book begins with a brief history, which explains the background of China and India in the mid and late 20th century. Meredith explains key events that are essential to understanding the magnitude of change that has taken place in the past two decades in both countries. She elaborates how the political repression created by Mao Zedong, a Chinese communist leader, impoverished the Chinese people. In addition, how post-colonial Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru’s choice of an isolated, self-sufficient economy impeded India’s growth.
The transformation and continuous change of China and India is astonishing. Meredith suggests, “Perhaps the most overwhelming changes are being felt in the newly global job market... Globalization has proved good for the poor even as it puts the American and European middle class under pressure.” (p. 12) This means “by 2030, economists predi...

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... very dry and almost seemed to just write about the facts. Unfortunately, this is not enough to keep the book interesting for most readers. It seems to only bring awareness to this topic, and make it up to the reader to figure out how to prepare for the changing global market. She only gives solutions like increasing research and development. Or working in professions that are not easily outsourced to defend against these countries. She would of fared better off without having the section on what the United States needs to do at all. On the other hand, Meredith should have had someone with that sort of expertise help her explain in greater detail what should be done. Her attempt to give ideas to what America needs to do is the major flaw of the book. Overall, I give this book three and a half stars out of five for its interesting information on these foreign powers.