DAY OF EMPIRE by Amy Chua Doubleday.396 pp.$27.95

Book World: Sunday, January 6, 2008 Book review by James F. Hoge Jr.,editor of Foreign Affairs: "The lone exception to the pattern of decline has been America, and that may be only a matter of time. Chua, a Yale Law School professor, worries that America may how be slipping off the top perch for the same reasons that its predecessors did.(Rise and Fall of hyperpowers) Chua says the US seems to be tipping toward intolerance and xenophobic backlash. My comment: Her analysis appears to be similar to Barack Obama's views in many respects. In Chua's view, the key resource for reaching hy perpower status has been human capital." My comment: Human resource is part and parcel of the status of any nation. Such is the common ground of USA and China in the 21st century. It is my earnest desire to see the development of human resources in USA and in China in the 21st century. Here we can detect the significance of education and training being stressed in two nations. Chua argues that Mongol rulers embraces Chinese art, music and drama. My comment: Chinese language is a form of art apropos of calligraphy and a form of music with 4 tones of Mandarin. Peking opera is known to be true drama being promoted in China for the best interest of folks. Chua sees that leadership crippled by the rise of protectionism and nativism in the US, along with an over-reliance on military responses to danger. The Chinese maxim would be that virtue can overcome folks but not the might. Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao. January 5, 2008