'China Shakes the World' wins biz book award

New York, Oct 27: ''China Shakes the World,'' a book comparing the emergence of China's economy with US economic growth in the 19th century, won the FinancialTimes/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award.

The book by James Kynge, former Beijing bureau chief of the Financial Times, explores how the slightest change in the Chinese economy can have a major effect on the rest of the world.

''We are finding that the trends shaping our businesses, politics, environment and strategic outlook are increasingly 'Made in China,''' Kynge said after receiving the award yesterday.

It was published by Houghton Mifflin, a branch of the privately held Blackstone Group.

The winner beat out best-seller ''The Long Tail,'' about the growing importance of the niche market in today's economy. The book, by Wired magazine writer Chris Anderson, argues that because of the wide choice available through retailers such as Amazon.com, total sales of products that are in low demand can outweigh the sales of the relatively small number of blockbuster products.

The other books on the shortlist for the 30,000 pound (,000) prize were: -- ''Small Giants,'' a book by Bo Burlingham of Inc magazine about maverick companies such as San Francisco microbrewery Anchor Brewing that pass up the pursuit of growth and focus instead on becoming great companies.

-- ''The Wal-Mart Effect,'' by Fast Company magazine senior editor Charles Fishman, an investigation of the far-reaching power of the world's biggest retailer to affect the economies of whole countries.

-- ''The Box,'' in which economist Marc Levinson traces the history of the humble shipping container from its first voyage 50 years ago and argues that it paved the way for Asia to become the world's workshop.

''The Long Tail'' is published by Hyperion, which is owned by Walt Disney Co. ''Small Giants'' was put out by Portfolio and ''The Wal-Mart Effect'' by Penguin Press, both of which are owned by Pearson PLC. ''The Box'' came from Princeton University Press.

Reuters