Breakneck

Why it’s on the list: Dan Wang’s first book, after years of annual letters from China: the engineering state against the lawyerly one — what a country that builds compulsively gets right, and what it runs over.

Where I saw it: The author’s own announcement post, @danwwang on X (July 25, 2025): “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, out August 26”, linking danwang.co/breakneck. The same post was saved twice in the note.

Connections

• China — the subject.
• Industrial Policy — the engineering state’s method.
• Manufacturing — the capability the book is really about.