Jonathan Watts’ incredible book When a Billion Chinese Jump is now out in the UK. The US edition from Scribner won’t publish until October, but the book is already racking up some tremendous reviews from places like The Guardian, The Times, Book of the Week status in the Times Higher Education Supplement, and Publishers Weekly, which said:

“What he finds is both hopeful and disturbing. Wildlife refuges, rather than focusing on biodiversity, breed animals for meat and traditional remedies like black bear bile. The city of Ordos plans to build a huge wind farm and solar plant, but these benefits are offset by its coal-liquification mine, “an environmentalist’s worst nightmare” of greenhouse gases and water exploitation. The Chinese dictatorship, envied by other nations for its ability to enact environmental changes without the slow democratic process, turns out to be ineffective, with power lying with developers and local bureaucracies. Readers interested in global warming will appreciate the firsthand information about China, and Watts’s travels are so extensive and China is changing so fast, some material is likely to be fresh and new even for Sinologists.”

The Independent says:

“Your head swims. You need to read the figures again. But there they are in black and white, impeccably sourced, on pages 151 and 453 of Jonathan Watts’ gripping new book. Makes no difference if it’s the grandiose or the trivial, the ancient or the ultra-modern, the People’s Republic is now producing more of it than anyone else, more than anyone ever has, more than anyone has ever imagined doing, in the most fantastical, credibility-stretching, mind-boggling explosion of economic growth the world has ever witnessed.”

And that’s just the beginning. More terrific reviews have appeared in The Irish Times, The Beijinger, the Global Times, Literary Review, and many others. It’s really an incredible book and for anyone interested in China and it’s impact on the world it absolutely should not be missed. Congratulations, Jon!

Congratulations go out to Jonathan Watts, the award winning China correspondent for the UK Guardian, on the sale of his book When a Billion Chinese Jump. Scribner will publish the book in North America and Faber has acquired the English language rights for the United Kingdom and the European Union.

When a Billion Chinese Jump will provide a ground up exploration of the stark choice facing China: to become the world’s first green superpower or an agent of global ecological disaster. The book will be the definitive account of how China’s addiction to growth will impact people all across China and around the world in the coming years. It will detail how China’s current path is absolutely unsustainable and will result in foul air, filthy water, rising temperatures and encroaching deserts for the entire world. However, it will also offer hope, as humankind’s greatest threat is also its best opportunity for change.

In a country that within the last decade has experienced the greatest migration in human history and unparalleled transformation, nothing is certain and everything seems possible. But if true change is to occur the Chinese leadership must come to understand that the environment is an area where China can take the global leadership role that it craves. In the 19th century, Britain and Europe taught the world how to produce. In the 20th century, the United States taught the world how to consume. In the 21st century, China must teach the world how to sustain. When a Billion Chinese Jump will be an effort to add to the discussion and help the world’s most populous nation understand both the opportunity and the impact of its choices in the coming years.