A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy

I've read many reviews of this book, and while I don't disagree with many of the points the reviewers made, I enjoyed the book immensely because it offered an interesting look at how challenging it can be to avoid Chinese goods, regardless of your intentions or commitment level. It was a human story of globalization -- one based in the idea that the ubiquitous nature of Chinese production is so all encompassing as to make life for a family in the US that wished to avoid its products rather challenging.That's it. It's not a political book per se. Nor did it claim to be on the jacket. In my view it is a personal, human story -- not a political one. And that's why I liked it. I suppose on some level many of our most mundane purchases are show more indirect political acts, but this book proved that in many cases people don't really have choices at all. show less

This is an incredibly problematic piece of journalism. It came out at a time when "a year of" books were very prominent, but this one, while I think trying to be jaunty and fun, comes across as xenophobic. The author relies heavily on a conceit that I hope an editor urged her to make up about her one Chinese ancestor resurfacing periodically as single strands of black hair on she and her daughter's otherwise beautiful, blond heads.

Basically the family is going to boycott products made in China, not (as her mother asks) because of the deplorable conditions in many Chinese factories or the totalitarian government, but because of a vague unease with relying so heavily on a single trading partner. Yet even that seems thin, a palatable show more explanation for what reads like xenophobic racism. Would there be this much consternation if all cars were made in France? or all plastic children's toys made in England?

Also, this is so petty, but her now husband asked her to marry him after knowing each other two weeks. show less

This is a story of one family's year long experiment in global awareness via retail shopping. As a result of media influences and too much acquisition over Christmas, a family decides to go China-free for the following 12 months. Knowing this to be a live test, they soon learn their friends and family are not as supportive as they assumed. A lighthearted read, it raises awareness of how much of retail America is not profiting America at all. This is a fun entertaining read that will end the end if you're not careful make you a label reader too! Does the experiment last the year or continue for years to come? You'll have to read to find out!

I think if you go into this book hoping for some big revelation, you may be disappointed. There's not much information in here that most people will find revealing (although there is some), especially as the book is about 15 years old at this point. That being said, if you just want a fun read about a family trying something different, I found it very winning.

I liked the book for the most part. I was diasppointed, however, that Bongiorni never mentioned groceries (apart from one can of tinned mandarin slices). China supplies a lot of the world's food and household items (paper towels, toilet paper, etc.) - I'd have liked to hear how she dealt with that.
In some ways the book read like a padded out blog, but I still enjoyed it.

This was a suprisingly engaging and interesting book. It would have been rated higher if I'd found the author to be more sympathetic. I managed to come out of the book with a vague dislike for Bongiorni and I'm rather sorry for that. Perhaps if she had had a REASON for her boycott other than "just an experiment" then I probably would have found her more reasonable.

And, just for the record, my mother only bought me toys at Christmas and for my birthday and I didn't feel deprived in the slightest. I felt Bongiorni was implying that her children were actually DEPRIVED because they couldn't have what they wanted when they wanted it. Um...no.

A tale of resisting the purchase of items made in China by a 4 person American family for one calendar year. Not terribly engaging. The author makes some very flexible rules for the project and then whines when people annoy her by following them. I was hoping for a discussion of the Chinese government's economic policies and their factory warehousing of young employees or, at the very least, some sense of personal defiance of society's values. What I got was a weak recounting of 365 days of deprivation to be followed, one assumes, by a relapse of former and "easier" buying habits. Not at all inspiring.