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

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.

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!

Balanced.

Liked the mix of personal and large scale observations and the back and forth of China, then US. Important book that calls for compromise.

BREAKNECK

Good book, but in the end it seemed to be more about the author than the United States and China. But, it was still all relevant to the story.

Very comprehensive

Was much more than I expected; I just wish there had been more about the belt and road initiative and its affects on developing countries

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.

Timeless and timely

Like Wang’s annual letters, this whole book is both a musing, a study, a timeless view of two civilization more similar than they want to admit to themselves, and a timely anchoring in recent geopolitical events.