Ripping Off Good Reads in China

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005

I don’t know why I find this so terribly funny, but I do. From Ripping Off Good Reads in China:

The five-volume ‘Executive Ability’ book series is a classic in Chinese business and management circles. Collectively, it has sold more than 2 million copies in the last two years. Top universities and public libraries in China keep multiple copies on hand.

It’s also a big fake.

The series purports to be a translation of English-language works, but no such titles exist. The principal author ? a Paul Thomas, said to be an eminent Harvard University business professor ? is not real. Also made up is the rave review on the back cover, attributed to the Wall Street Journal: ‘The most practical and advanced management thought of our time.’

(Hat tip to Boing Boing.)

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