Breakneck

China's Quest to Engineer the Future

De: Dan Wang

Narrado por: Jonathan Yen

For close to a decade, technology analyst Dan Wang—"a gifted observer of contemporary China" (Ross Douthat)—has been living through the country's astonishing, messy progress. China's towering bridges, gleaming railways, and sprawling factories have improved economic outcomes in record time. But rapid change has also sent ripples of pain throughout the society. This reality—political repression and astonishing growth—is not a paradox, but rather a feature of China's engineering mindset.

In Breakneck, Wang blends political, economic, and philosophical analysis with reportage to reveal a new framework for understanding China—one that helps us see America more clearly, too. While China is an engineering state, relentlessly pursuing megaprojects, the United States has stalled. America has transformed into a lawyerly society, reflexively blocking everything, good and bad.

Blending razor-sharp analysis with immersive storytelling, Wang offers a gripping portrait of a nation in flux. Breakneck traverses metropolises like Shanghai, Chongqing, and Shenzhen, where the engineering state has created not only dazzling infrastructure but also a sense of optimism. The book also exposes the downsides of social engineering, including the surveillance of ethnic minorities, political suppression, and the traumas of the one-child policy and zero-Covid.

©2025 Daniel Wang (P)2025 Tantor Media

Breakneck

Author spend too much time on details of China’s policy fallacy of the past 4-5 decades and not enough on the equivalence of US.
Overall, a worthwhile book.
A personal aspect, I am am immigrant from China. So, my review could be a bit skewed.

Very interesting thoughts on a dynamic relationship.

I found this title to be both insightful and well reasoned. The core philosophy of Lawyer vs Engineer seems apt and certainly frames the similarities and differences between our two cultures in much more applicable ways than a simple political spectrum.

The book is well written and the performance by the reader is consistently good.

Engineering state versus legal Society

Outstanding new look at the way society is develop, in particular the way China has been developing over the last 40 years and the way US has been developing over the last 60 to 80 years fascinating inside the points the way to improve improvement

Excellent read!

Fascinating insight, enjoyable narrator and overall would highly recommend especially with how much the author addresses not just history but also current events

refreshing apt and insightful

breakneck is an excellent book written, I think, with a lot of insights about both the US and China that probably everyone in the world in private sector or in government would benefit from at the very least. thinking about. there is a wonderful candidness and genuineness of phrasing in the book. this is not a book of cliches and recycled headlines. this is a great book!

Challenging Perspectives and Creating New Ones!

It challenged and educated me on the perspectives I had of both the US and China. I wish the book was longer!

Great book that tackles urgent issues preventing progress

Breakneck by Dan Wang is a must-read for anyone interested in US-China relations, especially in light of the race for AI and energy dominance.

Wang contrasts the "Engineer State" of China and the "Lawyer State" of the USA, exploring how each shapes progress. He clearly articulates the strengths and weaknesses of both models, but ultimately delivers an urgent call to action: we need to rediscover America's will to build and stop bogging ourselves down with a culture of no and unworkable government bureaucracy.

In the U.S., process has overtaken purpose. From NEPA and permitting at a federal level and zoning at a local level, decades of well-intentioned laws, regulations, and processes have turned into ironclad barriers to progress. For those of us in energy, this hits close to home as we will never meet our energy and climate needs if every project dies in procedural purgatory.

Wang's message is clear: balance matters. Environmental stewardship and human progress aren't opposing forces, but we'll need speed, courage, and smarter systems to achieve both.

thoughts on Breakneck

balance, lack of one-sided political views. good comparison and contrast between two very different approaches to governance

A Thunderbolt of Reason and Truth

One of the most impactful books of our time. A brutally honest appraisal of both East and West, and the stark challenges that lie ahead for both. A truly magnificent work by an insightful author who has lived in both worlds.

Frank assessment and common language

Author navigates the complexities of one of the worlds largest and most complex economies in frank and common language. This work is easy to understand and remember.