Struggling with painful truths about the husband she lost two years earlier, landscape architect Lamour Harrington returns to her coastal childhood home, where she discovers dangerous secrets, two mysterious men, and a renewed sense of courage.
The word innovation is often used today regarding China, as if the concept were new to the Eastern country. Most people know, however, that China was a juggernaut in creating new technologies and at one time was the innovation king of the world- but that was at least seven centuries ago! Today, the great oriental power is attempting once again to take the throne of innovation for its own. This desire to usurp the throne, which had been diligently taken by the West during the Scientific Revolution, has placed an almost unrealistic emphasis on innovation. In Innovation in China: The Tail of the Dragon, the author explores the issues and actors involved in making innovation the emphasis in China. He uses a simple systems model of innovation and various perceptual lenses. The lenses are aimed at the historical, economic, political, legal, educational and cultural elements of an innovation-based society. After reading the book the reader will understand more about how innovation is happening in China and by whom. More importantly, the reader will begin a journey of learning more about where the country is going as it relentlessly continues its drive to create an innovation-based society and to become once again, in terms appropriate to its history, the ‘Emperor of Innovation’.
The Craft and Science of Coffee follows the coffee plant from its origins in East Africa to its current role as a global product that influences millions of lives though sustainable development, economics, and consumer desire.For most, coffee is a beloved beverage. However, for some it is also an object of scientifically study, and for others it is approached as a craft, both building on skills and experience. By combining the research and insights of the scientific community and expertise of the crafts people, this unique book brings readers into a sustained and inclusive conversation, one where academic and industrial thought leaders, coffee farmers, and baristas are quoted, each informing and enriching each other.This unusual approach guides the reader on a journey from coffee farmer to roaster, market analyst to barista, in a style that is both rigorous and experience based, universally relevant and personally engaging. From on-farming processes to consumer benefits, the reader is given a deeper appreciation and understanding of coffee's complexity and is invited to form their own educated opinions on the ever changing situation, including potential routes to further shape the coffee future in a responsible manner. - Presents a novel synthesis of coffee research and real-world experience that aids understanding, appreciation, and potential action - Includes contributions from a multitude of experts who address complex subjects with a conversational approach - Provides expert discourse on the coffee calue chain, from agricultural and production practices, sustainability, post-harvest processing, and quality aspects to the economic analysis of the consumer value proposition - Engages with the key challenges of future coffee production and potential solutions
“A good read for anyone who wants to understand what actually determines whether a developing economy will succeed.” —Bill Gates, “Top 5 Books of the Year” An Economist Best Book of the Year from a reporter who has spent two decades in the region, and who the Financial Times said “should be named chief myth-buster for Asian business.” In How Asia Works, Joe Studwell distills his extensive research into the economies of nine countries—Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China—into an accessible, readable narrative that debunks Western misconceptions, shows what really happened in Asia and why, and for once makes clear why some countries have boomed while others have languished. Studwell’s in-depth analysis focuses on three main areas: land policy, manufacturing, and finance. Land reform has been essential to the success of Asian economies, giving a kick-start to development by utilizing a large workforce and providing capital for growth. With manufacturing, industrial development alone is not sufficient, Studwell argues. Instead, countries need “export discipline,” a government that forces companies to compete on the global scale. And in finance, effective regulation is essential for fostering, and sustaining growth. To explore all of these subjects, Studwell journeys far and wide, drawing on fascinating examples from a Philippine sugar baron’s stifling of reform to the explosive growth at a Korean steel mill. “Provocative . . . How Asia Works is a striking and enlightening book . . . A lively mix of scholarship, reporting and polemic.” —The Economist