A rare non-fiction book that both presents a new, important idea and is able to explain it clearly and substantiate it with beautifully written prose. Reading it feels fun and frictionless. It is short, and manages to avoid overstaying its welcome.

A little bit about its thesis: it begins with the claim that the frameworks of old (e.g. democratic vs authoritarian) are no longer very useful in describing how countries differ in important ways – that a new axis is needed. Dan Wang proposes the spectrum of engineering vs lawyerly (national) cultures, and positions America and China at each end of the spectrum.

Most of the book is spent on explaining what the framework really means, and to expound the triumphs and failures of each system through frames such as big tech, Covid, and the one-child policy. Large and little stories woven together to paint a picture.

A lovely read, and one I’d recommend to anyone interested in America and China.