خرید و دانلود نسخه کامل کتاب انگلیسی Breakneck 2025

Dan Wang’s Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future argues that the core difference between China’s rapid transformation and America’s stagnation lies in who governs: China is steered by engineers, while the United States is dominated by lawyers. Wang illustrates how engineering-trained political elites prioritize large infrastructure projects, rapid industrialization, and technological innovation, enabling achievements like sprawling high-speed rail systems, mass housing, and world-leading manufacturing capacity at breakneck speed.

In contrast, America’s lawyerly governance emphasizes process, litigation, and procedural checks, which often stalls progress and undermines broader public ambition—even as it safeguards legal norms.

Dan Wang also critically examines the darker side of China’s engineering-driven model, including coercive social engineering policies like the one-child policy and zero-COVID lockdowns, which reflect how rationalist planning can dehumanize society. Ultimately, Wang calls for a recalibration: urging the U.S. to rebuild its engineering capacities and pragmatism, while urging China to embrace procedural safeguards and pluralism—advocating a more balanced model of governance that combines efficiency with justice.