Author: Patrick McGee

Publisher: ‎ Simon & Schuster (Scribner Book Company) May, 2025

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Reviewed by Akhtar Badshah*

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​The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company by Patrick McGee is a fabulous read. The book tells the untold story of how Apple just weeks away from bankruptcy made the decision to manufacture in China and over the last 2 decades has invested over $275 Billion in China. It is a story of how Apple invested in helping the Chinese develop it acumen in precision manufacturing by having thousands of its best engineers train the Chinese employees working on factory floors to be able to craft with precision at a scale that was previously unimaginable. Patrick has undertaken extensive research including interviewing hundreds of former employees to write this thrilling book.  We take it for granted what we hold in our hands, or pockets or on our lap as an Apple product but in fact it was also the work of millions of Chinese workers that played an integral part in the manufacturing of these products. The book tells some amazing stories of how Apple managed to control the partnerships with its vendors including Foxconn, but it also led to supporting the creation of major manufacturers like Huawei, BYD and others that compete with Apple today at the highest level. Finally, it is a story of a company that encouraged us all to think differently through its products that are about personal freedom whose fate is now controlled by the Chinese government which is repressing these freedoms. 

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*Dr. Akhtar Badshah is the Distinguished Practitioner at University of Washington at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, the Business School, Bothell campus, Washington, USA. Contact: akhtarb@uw.edu