An 800-CEO-READ's Editor's Choice selection A US-based journalist, Doig travels through Laos, Malaysia and Thailand, spinning an engaging narrative that focuses mostly on China's 'railway diplomacy'. - James Crabtree, Financial Times As Will Doig shows in High-Speed Empire, a short but well-told piece of reportage, projects like ports, roads, and high-speed rail could help Beijing dominate its neighborhood--and then, possibly, other parts of the world....a clear-eyed and detailed look at how Beijing's new infrastructure push is emerging on the ground in South and Southeast Asia. -- Joshua Kurlantzick, Washington Monthly Doig writes vividly out of his reporting trips to places like Boten, the Chinese-built 'mini-Macau' on the Laos side of their border; Bandar Malaysia, a controversial terminus development outside Kuala Lumpur; and Forest City, islands built for Chinese expats just off Singapore. High-Speed Empire is a short, fast read, but offers much food for thought. -- John Delury, Global Asia The 'high-speed' in the title is a double-entendre reference to China's regional rail ambitions, but also the speed at which all this change is now coming.... Doig is an engaging writer with a keen eye for the human interest angle and the clever turn of phrase.--Asian Review of Books Appropriately fast-paced, High-Speed Empire effectively conveys one big idea: we need more on-the-ground investigations like this of the working of China's ambitious 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). This mega-plan, of which the micro-plans Doig discusses are part, seeks to use not just railways but also shipping lanes, highways and flight routes to connect China to both neighboring and far-flung locales of strategic value. -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Times Literary Supplement Money talks, and China has it. This vividly observed report shows how Chinese money--both governmental and private--is transforming Southeast Asia. -- Andrew J. Nathan, Class 0f 1919 Professor of Political Science, Columbia University A richly textured portrait of how China's infrastructural diplomacy is changing the urban face of its neighbors. It's not easy to find poetry and importance in industrial zones, half-empty malls, and real estate showrooms, but Doig has done just that in sketching the ambitions of China and its people. -- Greg Lindsay, co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next Illuminating study of China's ambitious efforts to extend its influence in Southeast Asia by means of a high-speed rail system. -- Kirkus Review An excellent and concise introduction to China's rail diplomacy. -- Library Journal sakriti opis