Brent Richards

Not a terrible book for a 12 year-old to read outside of school. But otherwise the worst kind of nonfiction, lacking citations and drawing overly simplistic conclusions from overly specific data. Sloppily edited, it read like a mash of related articles overlapping confusingly in time and subject.

Oddly enough these authors are the first I've read that are especially bullish in Korea long-term. Most of what I read on Korea is cautious pessimism concerning somewhat dated policies and an aging population forced to compete with the cheap and abundant labor from emerging Asian countries. The optimism exhibited here was refreshing or perhaps naive. Without citations or credibility, as anything other than journalists, it is difficult to tell.… (more)