Synopses & Reviews
If the world is flat, as the prophets of globalization proclaim, then what happens on the underside? Alex Perry answers with this eye-opening journey through the planet's most dangerous hotspots
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, international corporations, governments and Western pundits have embraced the idea of a global village: a shrinking, booming world in which everyone benefits. But what if the coming boom is an explosion?
Alex Perry, award-winning TIME correspondent, travels from the South China Sea to the highlands of Afghanistan to the Saharaand observes globalization on the ground, instead of from the executive suite.
Perry takes readers to Shenzen, China's boom city where sweatshops pay under-age workers less than $4 a day; and to Bombay, where the gap between rich and poor means million-dollar apartments overlook million-people slums. He shares a beer with Southeast Asian pirates who prey on the world's busiest shipping artery. And he puts us in the middle of a firefight between American Special Forces and the Taliban.
He shows that for every winner in our brave new world, there are tens of thousands of losers. And be they Chinese army veterans, Indian Maoist rebels or the Somali branch of al Qaeda, they are very, very angry.
Falling Off the Edge is a tour de force of frontline reporting, which reveals with alarming clarity that globalization, far from a planetary panacea, starts wars. Alex Perry is Time's Africa bureau chief, based in Cape Town. From 2002 to 2006, he was South Asia bureau chief, based in New Delhi, and covering locations from Afghanistan to Burma. He has won several journalism awards and his report from the battle at Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2002. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, international corporations, governments, and Western pundits have embraced the idea of a global village: a shrinking, booming world in which everyone benefits. But what if the coming boom is an explosion? Perry, an award-winning correspondent, travels from the South China Sea to the highlands of Afghanistan to the Saharaand observes globalization on the ground, instead of from the executive suite. He takes us to Shenzen, China's boom city where sweatshops pay underage workers less than four dollars a day; and to Bombay, where the gap between rich and poor means million-dollar apartments overlook million-people slums. He shares a beer with Southeast Asian pirates who prey on the world's busiest shipping artery. And he puts us in the middle of a firefight between American Special Forces and the Taliban. Perry shows that for every winner in our brave new world, there are tens of thousands of losers. And be they Chinese army veterans, Indian Maoist rebels, or the Somali branch of al-Qaeda, they are very angry. Falling off the Edge is a tour de force of frontline reporting, revealing with alarming clarity that globalization, far from being a planetary panacea, starts wars. "Globalization sounds good in theory but proves disastrous in practice, Time Africa bureau chief Perry demonstrates. Covering hot spots from South Asia to South Africa, the author reports some alarming developments since 9/11. Globalizationthat is, a cost-directed consolidation of capital, labor and markets that Perry characterizes as 'global governance without global government'tends to enrich the few and impoverish the many, accelerating a worldwide sense of injustice and resentment. Despite buoyant growth in such developing nations as China and India, real income of the poorest ten percent is falling, exacerbated by the fact that population growth often outstrips economic growth. The explosion of crime, worsening of pollution, growing AIDS populations, spread of Islamic fundamentalism and war all have roots in the globalization frenzy, the author systematically reveals. In China, for example, the city of Shenzhen seems to be booming, exhibiting 'the same energy, the same-get ahead ethos and the same towering respect for a buck' as nearby Hong Kong. But it's 'an unregulated free-for-all . . . Tijuana, with Chinese characteristics,' writes Perry. Sweatshops operate with impunity, and there's a brisk trade in illegal wares of every sort, including endangered species served as restaurant food. In India, 'offshoring' (moving labor West to East) is not proving to be the country's panacea; there is no middle class, infrastructure or education to speak of, and while a handful get richer, 900 million Indians still earn $2 per day or less. The author traces the origins of several key wars, such as those in Nigeria and Darfur, in terms of spreading global misery, some of it due to climate change directly linked to Western pollution. Maoists in Nepal, Naxals in India and Tamils in Sri Lankanot to mention al-Qaedaall target the instruments of modern-day globalization. Perry, to his great credit, is on the beat, scratching under surfaces and helping to clear away the obfuscation around this important issue. A critical look at the myths and national delusions surrounding globalization."Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Perry, to his great credit, is on the beat, scratching under surfaces and helping to clear away the obfuscation around this important issue." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
If the world is flat, as the prophets of globalization proclaim, then what happens on the underside? Alex Perry answers with this eye-opening journey through the planet's most dangerous hotspots.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, international corporations, governments and Western pundits have embraced the idea of a global village: a shrinking, booming world in which everyone benefits. But what if the coming boom is an explosion?
Alex Perry, award-winning Time correspondent, travels from the South China Sea to the highlands of Afghanistan to the Sahara — and observes globalization on the ground, instead of from the executive suite.
Perry takes readers to Shenzen, China's boom city where sweatshops pay under-age workers less than $4 a day; and to Bombay, where the gap between rich and poor means million-dollar apartments overlook million-people slums. He shares a beer with Southeast Asian pirates who prey on the world's busiest shipping artery. And he puts us in the middle of a firefight between American Special Forces and the Taliban.
He shows that for every winner in our brave new world, there are tens of thousands of losers. And be they Chinese army veterans, Indian Maoist rebels or the Somali branch of al Qaeda, they are very, very angry.
Falling Off the Edge is a tour de force of frontline reporting, which reveals with alarming clarity that globalization, far from a planetary panacea, starts wars.
About the Author
Alex Perry is Time's Africa Bureau Chief, based in Cape Town. From 2002 to 2006, he was South Asia bureau chief, based in New Delhi, and covering locations from Afghanistan to Burma. He has won several journalism awards, and his report from the battle at Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2002.