EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Real Clear Defense
Book Review of Dancing with the Dragon
Click to Read Review of Dancing with the Dragon by Isaac Harris
“Jenevein offers a fascinating look into the labyrinthian process of dealing with fundamentally secretive business partners. His dealings with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and their state-owned conglomerates—which can throw their immense weight around in a manner no independent company can—have given him a unique insight into the way America’s rival superpower conducts business.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“With almost three decades of on-the-ground experience investing in China’s energy sector, Patrick Jenevein provides an unvarnished, firsthand account of both the promise and pitfalls of doing business in China. He recounts his journey and his interactions with officials and business leaders with a sense of adventure, optimism and humor. Yet ultimately, his engagement with China ends with corruption and betrayal, featuring secretly taped recordings and dramatic courtroom battles. The result is a “much needed” and uniquely nuanced portrayal of what it means to dance with the dragon.”
—Elizabeth C. Economy, Senior Advisor (for China) to the Secretary of Commerce
and bestselling author of The World According to China, among others
“In Dancing with the Dragon, Patrick Jenevein and Steve Fiffer present Jenevein’s harrowing David v. Goliath story of partnering with then battling the Chinese state’s behemoth defense contractor with equanimity and determination. Helpful to leaders around the world, the authors go on to express provocative but insightful suggestions on addressing a broad range of challenges that emanate from the Communist Party of China and doing business in China. Simply: caveat emptor.”
—Kenneth A. Hersh, President and CEO, George W. Bush Presidential Center
and co-founder and former CEO, NGP Energy Capital Management
“Patrick Jenevein has a story to tell. Quite a story. And he tells it in an appealing, conversational style facilitated by his excellent collaborator, Steve Fiffer. Much like a television documentary, Patrick and Steve adopt a question-and-answer interview format that works perfectly, drawing the reader into the web of manipulation, deceit and commercial exploitation orchestrated by the Communist Party of China. Like a business version of a whodunit, Patrick’s narrative will shock the average reader with its expose¢ of the hardball tactics his Chinese “partners” used to undercut his budding enterprise, and appropriate his company’s employees, projects, and opportunities. As the Wall Street Journal observed, “the legal record should serve as a warning to any American considering business with … Chinese state-owned enterprises.”
—Robert W. Jordan Ambassador (Ret.) Author (with Steve Fiffer)
of Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia Following 9/11
“Jenevein loses his shirt to China’s predatory, state-run economy, but wins it back again in this true account that shows the merits of fighting back when Beijing wages legal warfare against American entrepreneurs. Jenevein’s affection for China and its people shines through even as he tangles with a parasitic regime that, at every turn these days, stymies the progress that American and Chinese businessmen could achieve together in a post-Communist future.”
—Matt Pottinger, former U.S. deputy national security advisor and co-author
of The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan.
“Jenevein’s story reads like a thriller. Knowing he made it through the journey and prevailed, his takeaways from brawling with the Communist Party add perspectives that can and should help any US administration stand up to China.”
—Dr. Rob Spalding, Brig Gen, USAF (Ret), CEO of SEMPRE, and bestselling author of War Without Rules: China’s Playbook
for Global Domination and Stealth War: How China Took Over While America’s Elite Slept
“In Dancing with the Dragon, Patrick Jenevein delivers a master class in how to use customized intelligence and the rule of law to thwart the malevolent intentions of a major PRC state-owned enterprise. This book should be required reading for business and government leaders grappling with the challenges posed by the Communist Party of China. The Communists messed with the wrong Texan!”
—Jay T. Young, CAPT (Ret.), USNR, Intelligence
President, Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations
“Jenevein sets the tone early in this provocative debut, asserting that, in business, ‘the modus operandi of the [People’s Republic of China] is to steamroll the little guy—particularly if he’s a foreigner.’ From there, the book unfolds through conversations between Jenevein and author Steve Fiffer, exploring this chilling story of international clout, political leverage, and corruption with an eye on takeaways for the U.S., businesses, and more.”
—Publishers Weekly/BookLife Reviews
“Patrick Jenevein recalls lessons that he learned from his business dealings in China in his politically minded memoir Dancing with the Dragon. Anecdotes about the challenges of working within a quite different cultural and political environment—from navigating bugged conversations to eating actual bugs—are interspersed throughout, marked by good humor in the face of daunting, emotionally draining challenges within the world of high-power international business and politics.”
—Foreword Clarion Reviews
