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  • China's Second Continent

  • How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
  • By: Howard W. French
  • Narrated by: Don Hagen
  • Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (28 ratings)
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China's Second Continent cover art

China's Second Continent

By: Howard W. French
Narrated by: Don Hagen
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Summary

An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping - and reshaping - the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting - conducted in Mandarin, French, and Portuguese, among other languages - French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth as he engages not only with policy-shaping moguls and diplomats, but also with the ordinary men and women navigating the street-level realities of cooperation, prejudice, corruption, and opportunity forged by this seismic geopolitical development. With incisiveness and empathy, French reveals the human face of China’s economic, political, and human presence across the African continent - and in doing so reveals what is at stake for everyone involved. Part intrepid travelogue, part cultural census, part industrial and political exposé, French’s keenly observed account ultimately offers a fresh perspective on the most pressing unknowns of modern Sino-African relations: Why China is making the incursions it is, just how extensive its cultural and economic inroads are, what Africa’s role in the equation is, and just what the ramifications for both parties - and the watching world - will be in the foreseeable future.

©2014 Howard W. French (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

“China’s trade with Africa has grown dramatically…But China’s investments…are less significant for this rapidly evolving relationship, according to this 15-country survey by veteran African correspondent French, than the significant flow of new Chinese immigrants—often pushed out by the pressure and oppression back home as much as lured by opportunity. In vivid first-person reportage, French explores this momentous phenomenon, while challenging assumptions about China and Chinese immigrants…The book will appeal to students of China and Africa, and anyone interested in the shifting contours of the global economy and its geopolitical consequences.”—Publishers Weekly

What listeners say about China's Second Continent

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Narrator cannot pronounce Chinese

An interesting and under-reported topic, so far a good book. The narrator has a very calm delivery. But for a book that contains so much Chinese dialog and vocabulary, it is inexcusable that the narrator did not bother to learn correct Chinese pronunciation, or even anything close, and that editors/producers did not catch this. It is ignorant, amateurish, and distracting.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Woeful pronunciation spoils an interesting text

The narrator, Don Hagan, murdered the pronunciation of a plethora of terms in English, French and Portuguese. I cannot attest for his ability to correctly pronounce Chinese phrases or places (which one other reviewer critiques) but to my surprise he managed a few Wolof terms more eloquently than many in his native tongue.
As for the book, its journalistic and largely narrative style resembled a series of New York Times long reads. French doesn't contribute much new analysis, or indeed provide any fresh data, but he does provide an intriguing snapshot of life among Chinese emigrants in Africa, and paints some vivid characters.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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very good

the book present clear evidences that China is colonizing Africa and in few years everything going to be dominated by China

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting listen

Not what I expected having listened to other books by this author but very interesting nonetheless.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Insight

The emotions I felt were poignant and it goes to show how self interests, will always trump fairness.

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