Best Sellers in China

Apparently, copies of a book about the United States’ control of the world currency market have been flying off the shelves here in Beijing. A friendly expat informed me of this phenomenon after he struck up a conversation with me at the Starbucks near my apartment. The book, he said is entitled “Currency Wars” and details a kind of conspiracy theory in which the US Federal Reserve remains a puppet of private banks, which in turn are dominated by the ubiquitous (and per the book, notably Jewish) Rothschild banking dynasty. How could this possibly be a best-seller? Surely mainstream Chinese are more interested in reading books by the local equivalent of James Patterson.

To test his theory we went around the corner to the bookstore and asked the clerk for the most frequently purchased book. He handed us two – “Currency Wars” and “Oil Wars”.

Copies of both books are available in Chinese only, but several English language summaries are online. Such reviews indicate that the central thesis of “Currency Wars” is indeed the historical control of money issuance by the Rothschild family. Written a little over a year ago, the books’ popularity in part stems from the current debate about China opening its financial system. Somehow the book connects widely disparate historical events, such as the deaths of US presidents, the rise of world dictators, and the Asian financial crisis to the manipulation of currency by US banks.

Of course, the central premise of the book coupled with its popularity among mainstream Chinese is troubling on many levels. The book seems to be spreading misconceptions about the nature of capitalism and the role of the United States in the world financial system. Furthermore, it appears to whole-heartedly buy into the antiquated canard that the Jewish people control all of the world’s money. Nevertheless, isn’t it interesting that members of the Chinese middle class are so tuned in to financial issues on this level? I just cannot imagine Barnes & Noble selling out of a book all about the Federal Reserve.