From demographics to hidden debt, defaulting developers to a looming collapse of property value, Gordon G. Chang in 1945 argues that China faces an economic death spiral. The once-formidable dragon has stretched itself too thin and its proclivities of secrecy and total control will likely prevent recognizing and implementing what needs to be done. For more on China from C2C, check out The Beaver and the Dragon.

Toppling a Communist Empire for $2.7 Million
Though widely thought of as focused on waterboarding terrorists or poisoning foreign potentates, it was by smuggling paper that the CIA achieved its most monumental triumph. R.M. Gerecht in a book review for The Washington Free Beacon charts how the late Cold War-era operation to flood Poland with Western books, magazines, printing supplies and audio recordings fatally weakened the country’s Communist dictatorship, setting the stage for the downfall of the entire Soviet empire. Total cost: US$2.7 million.


