Michael Schuman has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 4 ratings. The most-rated is The Miracle.
Confucius
Summary
Confucius is perhaps the most important philosopher in history. Today his teachings shape the daily lives of more than 1.6 billion people. Throughout East Asia, Confucius' influence can be seen in everything from business practices and family relationships to educational standards and government policies. Even as Western ideas from Christianity to Communism have bombarded the region, Confucius' doctrine has endured as the foundation of East Asian culture. It is impossible to understand East Asia, journalist Michael Schuman demonstrates, without first engaging with Confucius and his vast legacy. Confucius created a worldview that is in many respects distinct from and in conflict with Western culture. As Schuman shows, the way that East Asian companies are managed, how family members interact with each other, and how governments see their roles in society all differ from the norm in the West due to Confucius' lasting impact. Confucius has been credited with giving East Asia an advantage in today's world by instilling its people with a devotion to learning and propelling the region's economic progress. Still, the sage has also been highly controversial. For the past 100 years, East Asians have questioned if the region can become truly modern while Confucius remains so entrenched in society. He has been criticized for causing the inequality of women, promoting authoritarian regimes, and suppressing human rights. Despite these debates East Asians today are turning to Confucius to help them solve the ills of modern life more than they have in a century. As a wealthy and increasingly powerful Asia rises on the world stage, Confucius, too, will command a more prominent place in global culture. Touching on philosophy, history, and current affairs, Confucius tells the vivid, dramatic story of the enigmatic philosopher whose ideas remain at the heart of East Asian civilization.
©2015 Michael Schuman (P)2015 Gildan Media LLC
Superpower Interrupted
Summary
This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." We in the West routinely ask: "What does China want?" The answer is quite simple: the superpower status it always had, but briefly lost. In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization. More important, we come to see how this unique Chinese history of the world shapes China's economic policy, attitude toward the United States and the rest of the world, relations with its neighbors, positions on democracy and human rights, and notions of good government. As the Chinese see it, for as far back as anyone can remember, China had the richest economy, the strongest military, and the most advanced philosophy, culture, and technology. The collision with the West knocked China's historical narrative off course for the first time, as its 5,000-year reign as an unrivaled superpower came to an ignominious end. Ever since, the Chinese have licked their wounds and fixated on returning their country to its former greatness, restoring the Chinese version of its place in the world as they had always known it. For the Chinese, the question was never if they could reclaim their former dominant position in the world, but when.
©2020 Michael Schuman (P)2020 Hachette Audio
The Miracle
Summary
Spanning nine countries, filled with heroic tales of bold decisions and self-sacrifice, and probing vast historical undercurrents, "The Miracle" takes readers inside private boardroom meetings, heated business negotiations, factory floors, and presidential cabinet sessions for a behind-the-scenes look at the events that shaped Asia's economic ascent - and will shape the world in the century to come. With this insider's view, Michael Schuman uncovers how outsourcing to Asia began, how Asia's most successful companies became global corporations, and reveals the technological changes and global economic shifts that made Asia's boom possible. Schuman focuses on the compelling human side to this economic story, and readers will meet the political strongmen, the entrepreneurs, and the key policymakers who shared the same dream: to uplift Asia to its proper place of influence in the world and eradicate the poverty around them.
©2009, 2011 Michael Schuman (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers