This is my favorite kind of non-fiction: easy to read and get sucked into but well researched and neutrally presented. I was happy about the inclusion of Leslie Chang's own personal family history as it really helped put the main subject matter of the book into context.

I picked up this book because I wanted to know about whose hands are making so many of the products that surround me each day. After reading it my frame on the world as a mass-consuming American has changed: I can't look at anything with a "made in china" tag and wonder what kind of factory made this? what are the bosses like? how are people treated? Goods that are generally considered as ubiquitous as they are low quality in America are now for me tangible connections to people who are striving like so many people all around the world have before them, including me--a descendant of farmers who left a rural area to seek comfort in a burgeoning industry.