India, China. China, India. Has any subject ever in our lifetimes arisen so suddenly and with such force? It has become the subject of our time -- probably of our children's and grandchildren's times as well. It dominates not just economic discourse, but much political and social dialogue as well, since it has the power to change our whole society in unforeseen ways.

But what is the subject? Two countries, accounting for over one-third of world's population, have, after centuries of colonialism and stagnation, been reintegrated into the global economy. With a bang.

It's not that the two of them have emerged: They have reemerged. India and China were two very powerful global actors up until perhaps the beginning of the eighteenth century.

With spectacular economic growth (especially in China), the two nations are the subject of a staggering amount of analysis: books, articles, reports from every possible source, countless conversations. Everyone has an opinion. When I returned from a wedding in India last year, two cab drivers I encountered on my arrival back home each had detailed and passionate feelings about what's what in India (neither of them were Indian or had ever been there). What is a reader to do? How does one choose how to spend one's limited reading time?

The Dragon and the Elephant: China, India, and the New World Order is a pretty good place to start. Written by British journalist David Smith, who knows much about economics, it is one of the best of breed of such books. It offers short but smart accounts of the rise, decline, and rise again of the Indian and Chinese economies, and how they rate against one another in terms of wealth and power (the author is more inclined toward China; I'm more for India). The last chapter is especially useful. In the spirit of the other David (Letterman), he lists "Ten Ways China and India Will and Won't Change the World." The list is very well-balanced and makes good sense. Smith concludes that "the rise of China and India is fascinating, uplifting, and to some, very worrying. It is the biggest thing to hit the global economy and the most effective anti-poverty program the world has ever seen."

Once one starts reading about this subject, it's hard to stop. I'll write about some other books on this subject soon.

RECOMMENDED READING:
The Dragon and the Elephant
Harvard Business Review's Book Reviews