Asian Insider

MICHAEL BACKMAN is an author, business analyst and columnist who specializes in Asian corporate practice. He has a reputation for hard-hitting, independent and highly detailed Asian business analysis. Singapore's Prime Minister cited him in his 1998 National Day Address as an 'expert' on overseas Chinese and he has been described in the Australian Financial Review as 'the brilliant writer on regional business strategies'. He is the author of the international bestseller, Asian Eclipse: Exposing the Dark Side of Business in Asia that was named by The Economist as one of the sixteen finest general non-fiction books published for the year. He writes a regular Asian business column for the Melbourne Age newspaper and has authored numerous articles for The Times of London, International Herald Tribune, Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. He has lived and worked in Asia.

• The Asian Insider: An Introduction PART 1: HOW IT REALLY WORKS Asian Family Connections PART 2: GOVERNMENT, THE RULE OF LAW & DEMOCRACY IN ASIA Is Democracy Always Good? Paying Peanuts: Politicians' Pay in Asia Police Corruption & the Rule of Law in Thailand Executions & Extra-Judicial Killings Government Statistics & Other Lies Thaksin Berlusconi & Silvio Shinawatra The End of Indonesia PART 3: SINGAPORE & MALAYSIA Why Singapore is Different: The Babas of Singapore Re-inventing Singapore? Singapore Inc. or Singapore Sink? Singapore's Thriving Sex Industry Diversity & Decency in Malaysia Rumours & Gossip in Malaysia Meet Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary PART 4: ISLAM, BUSINESS & ASIA Allahu Akbar! Islam in Asia Where do Asia's Muslims fit in? Southeast Asia's Arabs Pax Islamica : Malaysia and the Middle East PART 5: JAPAN, CHINA, INDIA & KOREA: ASIA'S MONOLITH ECONOMIES Land of the Setting Sun: The Inevitable Death of Japan The Law & China Is Booming China a Threat to Asia? Shanghai: China's Financial Capital And then there is Beijing... The Dalai Lama Eats Meat The Indian Way The World's Biggest Democracy Mumbai: India's Financial Capital India's Great Software Revolution India: Back Office to the World Stunning Korea Bibliography

'The brilliant young writer on regional business strategies.' - Rowan Callick, Australian Financial Review '[Michael Backman] really understands why business evolved the way it did in Asia.' - The Economist 'Michael Backman, an expert on the overseas Chinese...' - former Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong 'Renowned author Michael Backman...Apt and cogent.' - Then Malaysian Transport Minister and MCA President, Ling Liong Sik '[Michael Backman] raises extraordinarily important questions about the national interest...' - Senator Susan Knowles