Asia Falling? (Callum Henderson, 1998)

ISBN 0-0711-5751-4

In Asia Falling, Callum Henderson – Managing Currency Analyst, Asia, for Standard and Poors MMS – analyses the 1997/98 "Asian Crisis" and it’s immediate aftermath. He points out the Asian government policies which created an environment where a meltdown became virtually inevitable (though, no doubt, Mahathir Mohammed has a different view) and what was done, when, and by whom to deal with the problems which arose.

He speculates a little about the future, in particular about China. His penultimate chapter, The Danger – China Unscathed or the Next Crisis, investigates the Chinese economy in some detail. In general, Henderson is pretty upbeat about the future. Indeed, he opens his book with the words:

‘The rise of Asia before its eventual and temporary stumble (and I would argue that is all it is, not as some would have it, a debilitating fall) – is arguably one of the most important events in world economic history.’ (p. 1)

With another two years of hindsight under our belts since the author wrote his introduction, we can see he was pretty much on the money.

For me, this book is something a little different from my usual fare, and I found it fascinating.

Recommendation: Recommended.

Look and Feel: My edition is the usual matt-finish paperback, marred by rather too many typos.

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