“Absolutely riveting. An extraordinary story, expertly told—and one that has important implications for Apple, for tech, and for global geoeconomics.”
"Apple is more than the world's greatest company. It is integral to the whole culture of globalization. Patrick McGee not only narrates the epic history of Apple, but explains how, in effect, it got taken over by China, the world's greatest illiberal power. To call this book a page-turner is almost to diminish its importance. It is a once-in-a-generation read."
“A tour-de-force account of how the world's most influential company empowered the inexorable rise of the regime that now shapes its—and our—future. Paced like a thriller and spanning the years from before Steve Jobs's fateful decision to outsource production to more recent times which shine a fresh spotlight on Tim Cook’s careful wooing of Donald Trump, Apple in China captures every twist and turn of the tech giant’s off-kilter and decidedly off-script relationship with the authoritarian state. What will surprise many is how China ensnared a corporate titan by matching and then surpassing its knack for ruthless efficiency and global dominance.”
"Deeply researched, disturbing, and enlightening, Apple in China reveals how Apple enabled China's rise, seemingly at the cost of its own future. In these pages we watch as the world's most profitable company gets outmaneuvered by the world's most powerful dictator. Using an impressively broad palette, McGee paints a picture of Apple CEO Tim Cook resolutely trying to save costs by placing nearly all of the company's advanced manufacturing base in Beijing's grip, only to find it impossible to wriggle free."
"There is little doubt that Big Tech companies—like the world's richest and most influential one, Apple—wield as much power as many nation states. But what's less well known is how these companies are themselves manipulated by the Chinese state for its own economic and political ends. In this hugely important new book, Patrick McGee shows us how Apple's quest for wealth and power in China may in the end be the undoing both of the company and of America's quest for technology supremacy."
“A masterful and deeply reported portrayal of how Apple gained China and lost its soul.”
"A masterpiece of investigative journalism, replete with revelations. Every iPhone owner will want to read this book, but no Apple employee will risk being seen with it. McGee shows how China played the long game, convincing Apple to invest on an unprecedented scale and, inadvertently, help build its grand authoritarian project. This book is a warning for anyone eager to do business in hostile countries."