Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters -- Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy [Hardcover]

Joe Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2009

W hen Joe Bennett bought a five-pack of 'Made in China' underpants in his local New Zealand hypermarket for $8.59, he wondered who on earth could be making any money, let alone profit, from the exchange. How many processes and middlemen are involved? Where and how are the pants made? And who decides on the absorbent qualities of the gusset?This book tells you all you need to know -- in fact, probably more -- about this mystery of global commerce. Leaving his supermarket trolley behind Joe embarks on an odyssey to the new factory of the world, China, to trace his pants back to their source. Along the way he discovers the extraordinarily balanced and intricate web of contacts and exchanges that makes global trade possible -- and rapidly elevating China to the status of world economic superpower. He also grapples with chopsticks, challenges his own prejudices and marvels at the contrasts in one of the world's oldest, but fastest changing, societies.Funny, wise and insightful, it is another wonderful journey from the author of A Land of Two Halves and Mustn't Grumble.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British travel writer Bennett informs and endears in his quixotic quest to trace the provenance of his underpants in order to learn something about the commercial and industrial processes on which [his] easy existence depends. Despite his publisher's misgivings, the author travels to the outskirts of Shanghai, posing as an underwear buyer and scheming his way into factories and showrooms to piece together the (increasingly) mysterious origins of his underpants. He heads toward the cotton factories, where few Westerners venture and the population is ethnically closer to Afghan than Chinese, and sober accounts vie with marvelously silly escapades around Bangkok and rural Thailand in search of rubber trees (or more specifically, the origins of his elastic waistband). Bennett's education in the world of global commerce sparkles with humor and sharp observations on modern China's competing strains of enduring Confucianism, vestigial communism and the government's ruthless economic ambitions. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Joe Bennett was born in Brighton and since leaving Cambridge University has taught English in a variety of countries including Canada, Spain and New Zealand. He lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (July 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590202287
• ISBN-13: 978-1590202289
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing read!, July 12, 2010

By 

B. Futterman (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters -- Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy (Hardcover)

Wow, what a book! Joe is an excellent author in three ways:

1) He is really very good with using imagery to punctuate his humor while driving a point home

2) His no-bull style is refreshing. The book does not set out to be a primer for international commerce or a guide to Chinese history - he makes that clear. It's better. His writing is the same consistency of the thoughts we'd all have if we were standing in the cotton fields of Urumqi or in a dive Irish pub in Shanghai, but he does a much better job of articulating them. I laughed several times out loud and said to myself, "How'd he get into my head?!"

3) Inspiring insights. One of the last chapters, "Faces", really struck a chord. Joe rehashes his experiences in China and the journey for greater understanding in a way that is so much more than mere regurgitation.

The book is great and should be read by anyone. But if you've been to China or are planning to go anytime soon, "Where Underpants Come From" comes more than just recommended - it's an absolute must.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is the Global Economy Really Global Silliness?, February 25, 2010

By 

Author John "John" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters -- Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy (Hardcover)

I sometimes wonder how we got ourselves into this global silliness where so many of the things we wear and use are made in China and shipped in unbelievably huge container ships to destinations in almost every corner of the world. Famous brands are only rarely made in their countries of origin anymore.

As a consequence we've, in essence, exported many of our meaningful manufacturing jobs to China, India, and Southeast Asia. Unemployment grows in the West, the atmosphere, seas and earth get sullied with toxic chemicals and we all enjoy our electronic trinkets made largely from the by-products of oil. How sustainable is this?

I've just finished reading a book by Joe Bennett called, Where Underpants Come From: From Cotton Fields to Checkout Counters --Travels Through the New China and Into the New Global Economy. How's that for a catchy and provocative title? Joe is a very funny writer in a Bill Bryson-ish way. He's a popular columnist here in New Zealand (although his roots are in the UK and he's lived five years in Canada).

As Joe Bennett points out, the two Chinese characters for China represent the words Middle Kingdom. The Chinese have always been ethnocentric and, really, for most of the last two thousand-plus years they've led the world in innovativeness. The Chinese are not far from dominating world trade and commerce now. I encourage you to read Where Underpants Come From for a recent peak at the factories and life in the New China of today. You'll laugh and you'll wonder - as I do. Where is all this leading?

John Haines is the author of In Search of Simplicity: A True Story that Changes Lives, a startlingly poignant and inspiring real-life endorsement of the power of thought, belief and synchronicity in one's life.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, July 16, 2009

By 

Agatha "Reader" (Wild West) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Where Underpants Come from (Paperback)

While vacationing in NZ, spotted this book in a number of Kiwi's hands. Decided to buy a copy. Fun read.
Aside from the interesting adventures of author Joe Bennett, this is a timely study of China today. I will
never think the same way about China again.