The central question of Double Paradox-how rapid economic development and widespread corruption coexist in China-is of major importance. Andrew Wedeman explains that the sequence of events is complex and worth careful scrutiny; there is considerable dynamism and simultaneity in any corruption/development relationship. By the end of Wedeman's book, we have learned a great deal about China, about the possible links ... Read morebetween corruption and economic development, and about how to frame the questions we wish to investigate in China and in other societies in which corruption is extensive. -Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Colgate University, author of Syndromes of Corruption This fascinating and fabulous volume by Wedeman seeks to address the question of how rapid economic development and widespread corruption can coexist in China. Wedeman introduces readers to the double paradox of corruption and growth in post-Mao China, examines developmental corruption in South Korea and Taiwan, demonstrates how endemic corruption led to economic crises in several other countries, discusses the sequencing of corruption and growth, probes the dynamic consequences of the commodification of China's economy, looks into the impact of the authorities' ongoing war on corruption, and compares today's China with the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries and asks whether China's case may serve as a precedent for the coexistence of high levels of corruption and rapid economic growth. -Choice (October 2012) Show Less