Four Hundred Million Customers: The Experiences--Some Happy, Some Sad of an American in China and What They Taught Him (D'asia Vu Reprint Library (Series).) [Paperback]

Carl Crow (Author), Ezra F. Vogel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No one who wants to do business in China can safely neglect it." -- The Times (London)

"One of the most convincing and lifelike descriptions of Chinese life we have ever had." -- Dorothy Canfield, Book of the Month Club News

"Superlatively entertaining." -- New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Carl Crow (1883–1945), attended the Missouri School of Journalism, went to China just before World War I and stayed on to found the first American advertising agency in Shanghai. Crow became one of the key American interpreters of Asia for the reading public back home. Among his popular books were biographies of Confucius and Townsend Harris, the first American envoy to Japan; Handbook for China (1933), a tourist guidebook reprinted in 1983; I Speak for the Chinese (1937), which advocated American defense of Chinese against Japanese military encroachment; and Foreign Devils in the Flowery Kingdom (1940), a history of foreigners in China.

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Pacific Century Pr (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891936077
• ISBN-13: 978-1891936074
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Problems Doing Business in China, July 4, 2004

By 

Dr. Lois Bitner Olson (SDSU: San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Hundred Million Customers: The Experiences--Some Happy, Some Sad of an American in China and What They Taught Him (D'asia Vu Reprint Library (Series).) (Paperback)

For anyone who has studied China in advance of doing business there since Deng took his tour of the south and suggested to be rich is glorious or who has already ventured into the Chinese market, Crow's 65-year old story is reassuring. Everything in China has changed and nothing has changed. Perhaps the greatest lesson is that China changes but VERY slowly.
Crow's insight into China and especially Shanghai "before Liberation" provides wonderful stories of how to develop ads and merchandising tactics, deal with Chinese customers, and keep on laughing. If you have ever read any other book about the Chinese market, it invariably cited Crow. Now, go to the primary source. It is somewhat frustrating to know he dealt with the same issues with which we deal now, but it is also reassuring to know that he did encounter similar problems. It makes forecasting in China a bit easier.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse into China's past, February 15, 2006

By 

J. Novak (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Four Hundred Million Customers: The Experiences--Some Happy, Some Sad of an American in China and What They Taught Him (D'asia Vu Reprint Library (Series).) (Paperback)

This book offers a wonderful reflection of life, business and Chinese culture from a period before the second world war. For those who have been to Shanghai or other parts of China you can close your eyes and make more sense of the experience through the eyes of Carl Crow. For those who are planning a trip to China this book offers some cultural perspective and preparation for your travels. Irrespective of your reasons for studying or visiting China, this book is a sentimental must-have for any China library.