September 30, 2008 – China issued a massive milk recall this week, rekindling fears from last summer’s Chinese recall of toys, toothpaste, and pet food. The Chinese recalls have triggered mounting concerns of America’s dependency on cheap Chinese products as well as questions about the side effects of globalization. “Made in China” may be cheap and convenient, but are there any alternatives to these products?
In an attempt to answer this question, Sara Bongiorni describes her family’s one year experiment of living free of any product “Made in China” in A YEAR WITHOUT “MADE IN CHINA” (Wiley, October 2008, $14.95) – now available in paperback. As the number of Chinese imports continues to grow, this remarkable story of living without Chinese-made products remains as relevant and compelling as ever before.
Fast-paced and often funny, A YEAR WITHOUT “MADE IN CHINA” sheds new light on timely questions surrounding China’s place in a fast-changing global economy and the challenges U.S. corporations may face in the future. Bongiorni encounters retailers wary of their dependence on China, investigates Chinese merchandise on Wal-Mart’s shelves and meets an American lamp manufacturer who has watched competition from Chinese factories decimate his industry. The author makes surprising discoveries about China’s push into new markets—from wedding dresses to discount candies—and learns first-hand the ways in which China is quickly changing the world for consumers and corporations alike.
A YEAR WITHOUT “MADE IN CHINA” challenges the assumptions of consumer advocates calling for new trade protections. It also highlights real-life issues surrounding Americans’ dependence on a presumed economic steamroller. As the Bongiorni family navigates the costs and hassles of daily life without Chinese products, readers will find themselves asking if they, too, could live a year without Chinese imports—and if they would really want to try.
Praise for A Year Without “Made in China”
“What the year-long experiment did achieve was to switch on Bongiorni as a consumer and make her alive to the complexities and shifting power of the international economy.”
— Financial Times, August 25, 2007
“…Bongiorni is a graceful, self-deprecating writer, and her comic adventures in self-imposed inconvenience cast an interesting sideways glance at the personal effects of globalism…”
—Publishers Weekly, August 6, 2007
“…a fascinating and entertaining look at just how much of a challenge an average consumer faces to avoid buying Chinese goods.”
— Supply Management, January 31, 2008
“A Year Without ‘Made in China’ is that lively miracle – a crash course in globalization that is also consummately entertaining.”
—The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
About the Author
Sara Bongiorni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at daily newspapers and regional business publications in California and Louisiana for the past decade. Her beat has been international trade and its impact on local economies. Bongiorni graduated from the University of California, San Diego, and holds a master’s in journalism from the University of Indiana at Bloomington.
| For more information, contact: Cynthia Shannon (415) 782-3119 cshannon@wiley.com |
A Year Without “Made in China”: One Family’s True Life Adventure in the Global Economy By Sara Bongiorni Wiley; October 2008; $14.95 978-0-470-37920-2; Paperback  |
| SHARE: |  |
 |
