Review by Booklist Review
Godement is a senior research associate for the Paris-based Institute Francais des Relations Internationales and the author of The New Asian Renaissance: From Colonialism to the Post^-Cold War (1997). Impressive in its scope, this book was a profile of the political evolution of modern Asia. This time the focus is narrower: an analysis the Asian economy during the most recent decade. Godement concludes that Asia's current economic woes are the result of a "crisis of maturity." Asia's social and political infrastructures are sound, but a sense of pessimism dampens an immediate recovery. Godement also stresses that an unprecedented degree of cooperation among Asian nations will be necessary before the region fully rebounds. He provides an overview of events leading up to the 1997 Asian crash, blaming attempts by Asian economies to emulate the Western model of international trade and financial liberalization without having adequate regulation in place. He calls on the West to establish an International Resolution Trust Corporation to help liquidate Asian debts. The alternative, he warns, is a second, more destabilizing crash. --David Rouse
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
