Age of Ambition is...a riveting and troubling portrait of a people in a state of extreme anxiety about their identity, values and future ... eclectic portraits are drawn from across the political spectrum ... Some of these characters appear several times, giving the book a cumulative impact that helps persuade the reader that China has lost its way. The remarkable story of Lin Yifu, the Taiwanese defector who swam across the strait to become the World Bank’s chief economist and later a cheerleader for China’s economic prosperity, provides a strong narrative thread. So, too, does the story of the persecuted artist Ai Weiwei ... Mr. Osnos has a keen grasp of how the Internet has transformed China’s political landscape, circumventing the government’s efforts to manage information about public incidents.
... [a] lively panorama of evolving contemporary China ... Is it even possible to write convincingly about a country of China's size and history without condensing its complexities into a single version of the truth? These are questions faced by the many journalists, writers and artists whom Osnos profiles, but they are also questions that Osnos himself has to confront from the outset of his project. He negotiates these issues by employing the techniques of the assiduous reporter, meticulously following leads and allowing subjects and situations to speak for themselves ... Osnos has a gift for capturing touchingly comic elements in situations that might otherwise seem overly earnest ... Only rarely...does Osnos permit himself to step beyond the boundaries of his carefully constructed neutrality ... These moments leave us wanting more by way of personal involvement in the narrative from this acute observer of the nation, especially towards the end of the book when we sense that eight years in Beijing are beginning, physically and mentally, to take their toll. In under 400 pages, however, this volume provides a highly readable, colorful introduction to the complexities of modern China.
... [a] compelling and accessible investigation ... the reader is treated to a series of finely wrought portraits of Chinese searchers ... The best work exploring China is being done outside the country, mostly in English ... Now add to those Osnos’s masterful portrait of China’s Gilded Age.
... beautifully written ... nuanced ... the most compelling accounts in Age of Ambition involve neither politics nor fame, but instead the extraordinary experiences of absolutely ordinary citizens ... among the many themes and insights that make Age of Ambition such an absolute must-read, one in particular gives pause for thought. As so many of Osnos’s profiles underscore, there is so much more to China today than the politics ... What Osnos relates with such clarity...is that among the myriad acts of self-transformation unfolding in China today, many...display utter indifference toward the state, the Communist Party, and every other official articulator of the 'Chinese Dream.' The party state may control the symphonic melody, but Chinese society is grooving to a decidedly different beat.
The book is made up of profiles: some of famous people, some not; some patriots, some dissidents; some are good examples of a 'type,' while others are unique personas. He tells the story of contemporary China via those profiles. It's a good combination of learning something in general about China by examining how it affects an individual directly ... One of the book's strengths is its coverage of a diverse range of people who are challenging and questioning the status quo ... Osnos...tells a collection of stories that defy easy conclusions about where China is headed ... China's Gilded Age has been every bit as fascinating, colorful and tragic as our own—and Evan Osnos offers an engrossing account of it.
Age of Ambition is a splendid and entertaining picture of 21st-century China, painted by a young American who moves with ease around the country rather like one of Mao Zedong's proverbial fishes. With a sharp eye and a keen nose, Mr. Osnos...introduces us to the people living in a country ... The book is dense from start to finish...artificially held together by a small group of characters we meet only from time to time after their chapter-length story is told. If the publisher had been honest and reshaped the book, it would have worked well, because Mr. Osnos has some amazing stories to tell. Unlike most Sinologists, who focus on economies and politics, Mr. Osnos tracks down characters...and narrates from the sidelines without commentary. This gives the book a refreshing—and ultimately more deadly—take on the vast scope of official corruption, double speak, tyranny and paranoia that runs through all levels of the Communist Party.
... Osnos offers nimble, clever observations of a country squeezed between aspiration and authoritarianism ... Osnos gets at the nitty-gritty underneath China’s authoritative and censorious front ... Pleasant, peripatetic musings revealing a great deal about the Chinese character.
... vivid ... Osnos combines scintillating reportage with an eye for telling ironies that illuminate broader trends; without downplaying the uniqueness of Chinese society, he makes its tensions feel achingly familiar for Western readers.
