China's Second Continent
How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa
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China's Second Continent
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Narrated by:
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Don Hagen
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By:
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Howard W. French
About this listen
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 LLCListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
What listeners say about China's Second Continent
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- gail foster
- 11-17-14
IMPORTANT READING
If you could sum up China's Second Continent in three words, what would they be?
Anyone African or American wishing to prepare for the new world order will want to read this. Very well done. Great narration. As devastating as it is inspiring. Should also be read by students of history and those fascinated by Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Devon
- 04-20-16
Excellent book, very Informative
Content was great, covered many different areas of the Chinese migration to Africa. The author definitely had a unique insight into this phenomenon as he spoke various languages and knew the continent pretty well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Babs
- 10-03-19
About Africa today
Having lived during more than two years in Ghana I remain interested in the African continent. This book is reminiscent of what we saw. Everybody who wants to know more about what is going on in Africa today should get this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daryl James
- 08-10-22
Very elucidating with a unexpected glimmer of hope
This book is impressive on multiple levels. Firstly, Mr.French's apparent command of the Mandarin language has to be highly proficient to have facilitated all these interviews. Secondly, his journalism is sophisticated and spares no nuance when describing the differing elements at play in this ostensibly neo-colonization of Africa. French, unlike so many China hawks recognizes the CPP's political objectives, but consistently reveals the very real problem China has of maintaining an authoritarian state via the many interviews of people who are effectively fleeing from the state's far-reaching chokehold. French's interviews of various Chinese nationals reveals just how tenuous the apparent national unity of China is because despite the facade of unity, all the cultural, class, and socioeconomic limitations differences between the provinces are actually Chinese nationals to leave China. It is somewhat depressing if not predictable to see the political complicity of African leaders handing over the vast resources of Africa to Chinese entities without much knowledge or regard for getting a better deal for African people. But I don't think it will leave the reader hopeless because the very foil to authoritarianism is freedom (and options), and so many Chinese nationals express they are motivated to leave China because there's so little social and class mobility there. I think this presents an opportunity, and may indicate that the metaphorical castle will fall from within, as Chinese nationals are attrated away from submission to the CPP to places where when they get a taste of freedom even if it is unfettered to the point of seemingly impunity because of the monetary disparities between China and the 54 African countries. Though, Chinese people will have to recognize that they cannot completely exhaust the natural resources of African if they want to sustain whatever markets they develop by using those resources.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- WS
- 06-26-23
Fascinating perspective on Chinese influence in Africs
The book contrasts China's extensive and smart, but cynical and disrespectful development with a few low key Western social aid programs. I would’ve liked it to.invlufe an update, since the publication date was 2014.
Although the Chinese seem to have a clear upper hand right now, I wonder if various African governments will develop resentments and simply throw them ou5. It has happened before.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Al
- 10-30-18
Outstanding
So much insight to be gained from this book. The stories feel very real and raw. They both illustrate the Chinese entrepreneurial approach and the complexity of the relationships of Chinese migrants with local populations in several African countries. Loved this.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mjk76
- 01-21-20
China and Africa together
I enjoyed the journey through Africa with Howard French. The different countries and Chinese people, the way they're building their lives in a new continent, how they interact with the Africans, all makes for a great story. This is a great opportunity to learn something new.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 01-15-15
Excellent content read by an incompetent
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The narrator
Would you be willing to try another one of Don Hagen’s performances?
Not a chance. He mispronounces almost every word of Mandarin in a book about China and a remarkable number of basic English words too. He reads without emotion or understanding and should be in a different line of work if he thinks he did an acceptable job here.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris H.
- 08-16-14
Interesting story by a great story teller
If you could sum up China's Second Continent in three words, what would they be?
Insightful, educational, enjoyable
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The author's ability to speak Chinese and have the people he visited tell their story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Malick Tchakpedeou
- 12-01-16
He knows Both Africa and China
What did you love best about China's Second Continent?
What caught me off guard from the beginning and kept me curious till the end was the way the author went straight to the people he was writing about, and he did so at a very personal level. Sitting with them (both africans and chinese living in Africa), interviewing them, travelling with them, eating with them, observing them, relating with chinese culture and places which he happens to know very well, not to mention the languages that he speaks, English French, Chinese, and who knows what else. I mean, Howard French is good.We africans like to complain about non-africans writing books about Africa, but Howard French has immersed himself in our politics and culture well enough to teach us a whole lot about ourselves.
Which scene was your favorite?
Rather than one single scene, I was particularly moved ( and "moved" is probably not the right word here) by the fact that every single chinese that the author spoke with agreed on one general fact: "Africans are lazy and/or dishonest beyond normal ". This is not easy to digest, and every young african need to hear it.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
"This is what our helpers think about us."
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