This is the most beautiful book with high moral teachings of perfection and deep symbolism. I have bought 10 copies for my grandchildren and sons. It is truly a classic! Beautifully bound. Beautiful pictures. NOt only good for children but also adults. A must in every home.

This book is an inspiration to the reader. Combining the words of Myra Brooks Welch's famous poem, and the detailed and vibrant illustrations of Greg Newbold, The Touch of the Master's Hand provides a wonderful image of the worthiness of every individual in the eyes of God, even when other people may not recognize their worth or value. This is a book which is good for all ages.

The book is a good read and highly recommended, but there is room to update us on technology's impact on culture and society in China today.

Why did the development of capitalism and technology fail in China? Does it matter? Has the West trumped the deck in favour of itself through selective interpretation of events? China and Historical Capitalism tells us it is more important to look beyond finding reasons in order to find out what actually happened in China after the fork in the road of economic development.

The essays are reflections of current thinking on the 'post-Needham' project by well established scholars using, if I can stretch the terminology, post-marxist analytical tools and language. Joseph Needham, and his lifetime work on Science and Civilisation in China, is, of course, the backdrop for the essays. The chronology of the essays begins with the development of European capitalism and is completed with the identification of a market economy in pre-modern China.

My favorite essay is that of Francesca Bray, "Towards a critical history of non-Western technology." Perhaps it is because I read her book, The Rice Economies of Asia (University of California Press, 1986). But it is also because she is probably one of the more qualified persons to bridge Needham's work with post-Needham work given that she produced Volume VI of Needham's series. Parts of her essay deal with basic definitions of technology, economy and capitalism. In essence it provides clear guideposts to reinterpret Needham's work by showing the development of technology beyond the cut-off period that signals the rise of the West. The following chapter, by R. Bin Wong, goes on to narrate the development of China's market economy, where Europe's economic development is the usual topic of study.

Having experienced the development of the internet over the last half decade, one can't help but look back at the exercises in this book as also partly misguided. The authors state at the beginning that they do not address current economic development in Asia, but instead focus on how capitalism "has been conceived as a European social formation" and how capitalism, "as a world system has shaped knowledge of China." Yet, so often, the assumptions that underlie their uses of terms such as 'capitalism' result in freezing time to suit their needs and to leave the West in a category of cultural and social development that built the world outside into an image of what it wanted to see. They do not to see capitalism and technology as systems that can develop beyond their experience to date. Neither do they consider current (or even recent) interaction between technological development and society in China. Certainly, it is another large topic. But a peak at the issues would help.

Ultimately, the reality they build comes with its own set of distortions. Perhaps its the nature of the beast, but it would be nice to leave the door open and say: "Hey, Needham, Weber and all the social scientists and thinkers pre-Foucault or Pre-Habermas, etc. just had a different set of problems than we have today. ... But we recognize that we are also missing part of the picture. ... and here is where we need to focus next."

(This is short version of the review that excludes chapter summaries)

Charles de Trenck is based in Hong Kong and published "Red Chips and the Globalisation of China's Enterprises" in 1997

This is a refreshing way to spend your time listening to some of the best interviews from the show. I like the show but sometimes don't have time to catch it on NPR. This audio set gives me lots of the memorable interviews I've heard or partially heard over the years. It's a great collection of some of the folks who are major influences in their work. The inquisitive and probing questions of Terry Gross really open up conversations with the likes of Tracy Ullman and Dennis Franz, they sound like us. These are wonderful snippets of real life.