Recent book

The End of Cheap China

Shaun Rein; John Wiley & Sons; 207 pp., $14.71

This new book on the rise of China is useful for people doing business there and for anyone interested in understanding the forces that are changing the world economy.

China is known as a manufacturer of cheap products, thanks largely to the country’s vast supply of low-cost workers. But the author maintains that China is changing.

Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group, examines the country’s continuing transformation from producer to large-scale consumer, while explaining the major trends that are catalyzing changes in China.

Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of China’s transformation, from fast-improving companies to confident women to the role of government.

Rein takes an engaging approach to examining the extraordinary changes taking place across all levels of Chinese society. For this book, he has spoken to people in various walks of life, from Chinese billionaires and senior government officials to poor migrant workers and prostitutes.

Besides hard economic data, the author also draws on personal stories and experiences from living in China since the 1990s.

Rein regularly appears on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CBS News, CNN and NPR, and is often featured in various U.S. dailies.

— DO JE-HAE

The Birth of Homo Searchiens

Choi Yong-suk; Purple Cow: 304 pp., 13,800 won

The smartphone has become a must-have for everyone and with the Internet accessible at every moment; everybody is searching for something throughout every day. Searching for answers, for details, for the news, has penetrated into every part of daily life. People Google their blind date, ex-lovers and eccentric people without any hesitation.

However, most people do not get the best results from their search and remain in a primitive monkey status in browsing, according to Choi Yong-suk, the author of “The Birth of Homo Searchiens.”

“Homo Searchiens,” a term created by Choi, refers to people who have mastered web searching based on thinking and reading. He said a search service is a form of technology, but the ability to search is a creative process involving more than technology.

Choi suggests reading lots of books and newspapers and taking notes and making a mind map to better understand the concept of searching and to think of keywords.

The writer is president of the Internet marketing consulting company Clex. His interest in Internet business led him to research the act of searching for information on the Internet from various angles.

— KWON MEE-YOO