Book review: Red Wired

Red Wired China’s Internet Revolution By Sherman So & J. Christopher Westland Red Wired at Waterstones

An interesting corollary to Googled (read review here) is provided by Red Wired, a concise reminder that the internet is truly a global system. It is chastening to realise that although we in the West might not know much about the web in China, the country had 338 million citizens online as of June 2009 – the number may well have risen in the interim. This is a book that might appeal more to investors or professional service providers looking for an on-ramp to the market than the general reader and it is a shame that the Google pull-out over account hacking came too late for this edition. The attitude of China towards freedoms cherished here is covered well – the authors note that the sinister “May you come to the attention of the authorities” is a tag to rival “May you live in interesting times” in Chinese culture – but the omission of the Google story is an elephant on the table. Perhaps the publisher could post an update where we in the West might see it on the internet – and where China-based web surfers might not.