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Sometime ago, one of the reader asked me in the comment section of my blog “what is my opinion  about the aspiration of the Chinese people?”. I could have given the simplistic answer  “the Chinese Dream”. But a more complete answer would fill pages and beyond the space allowed for even an article. Thus,  I did not elaborate.

However,someone has done this job in the form of a just published and excellent book

The Age of Ambition:  Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New  China by New Yorker reporter Evan Osnos

http://www.amazon.com/Age-Ambition-Chasing-Fortune-Truth/dp/0374280746

You can read the Prologue of the book available at the above site to  get a flavor.

If you don’t have time or cannot access the book,  there  is an NPR 40 minutes interview during which the author discuss the  book. http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/05/21/evan-osnos-china-russia-economy

Instead of typical books on China that is filled with statistics and  the big picture  account, this author tries to go “deep” with personal accounts and anecdotes he collected over a period of eight years living in China (2005-2013). His assessment about the Chinese  “aspirations” and the transformation of China is totally consistent with my own experience of the last 30+ years. In his radio interview he mentioned the fact that China actually offered to publish his largely positive book if he is willing to just remove some small sections which the government may find offensive. He refused as a matter of principle which is why the book is published in the West.