JOHN D. KUHNS

Title: China Fortunes: A Tale of Business in the New World
Published by: Wiley
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Pages: 592
ISBN13: 978-0470928042
ASIN: B004GEB9VK
Buy the Book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound

The year is 1984, and America’s “greed is good” is going global. After decades of strict communist rule, China had finally enacted free market reforms that meant opportunity for the daring. For fictional character Jack Davis, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, though Jack worried the end was near when even the secretaries began asking for stock tips.

It was do or die for Catapult Energy, his struggling hydroelectric company. China, as Jack would soon learn, could provide Catapult with the turbines it desperately needed at a fraction of the cost of Western competitors. China was about to make the American entrepreneur very rich. But as Jack would also learn, his professional success and good fortune in being among the first to embrace the new China would come at a price even greater than his losses from the 1987 stock market crash.

Written by one of the leading—and one of the first—American business figures to partner with China, China Fortunes: A Tale of Business in the New World is a wild ride into the Middle Kingdom as it rises from the cold war–years to build a new future.

Jack, now hardened and cynical, having made millions only to lose it all, goes back China-side, desperate to make one last fortune in the crucible of the sprawling, aspiring country, firmly convinced that as tough as China’s business challenges would be, the sustenance of mere friendship, let alone love, was unattainable.

Based on the author’s own career, China Fortunes not only arrays the glittering profits and gut-wrenching losses awaiting pilgrims seeking the greatest business opportunity of the new century, but shares the treachery and heartbreak, admiration and affection that buffets travelers crossing the cultural chasm from the Occident to the Orient.

For any reader interested in China, Wall Street, and the drama of human endeavor, Jack Davis’s story is one you won’t want to miss. In the spirit of James Clavell, China Fortunes is a vast and sweeping fictional story of the opportunities that accompanied the opening of China to Western companies and entrepreneurs, and a story that is certain to entertain and educate those who desire to do business with the Middle Kingdom, as well as one that will captivate those with an interest in Chinese culture.

“Reality is disappointing, Jack,” someone tells him. “China is better.”

Praise

“China Fortunes is an extraordinary story conducted by a talented story teller. Kuhns’ pen drives you in a world unknown to most of us, taking you through fascinating and moving situations, and like every great journey, you won’t come back exactly the same.”

—Marc Levy, author, The Shadow Thief

 

“China Fortunes is a smart and stylish take on what business really is in modern China. Kuhns knows both cold, and most important, he can tell a great story . . .ironic, fast moving and sharply observed. It will lock you in.”

—Terry McDonell, editor, Sports Illustrated Group

 

“China Fortunes is one man from Wall Street’s incredible journey from the emerging days of China all the way to the present. John Kuhns takes us along on his wild ride through the remote, mysterious Middle Kingdom, risking millions, but gaining much more. A must read for anyone interested in China and business.”

—Kevin Wall, Emmy award winning producer and creator of Live Aid, Live Earth, and other global events.