This was interesting, as I had never heard of the case. I learned a bit, and had more questions as a result. Engaging style, but felt at times it could have simply been an article versus a book.

I received a digital ARC for the purpose of providing an unbiased review. It contained many typos that I hope were corrected before the book went to press. But really, I would have recommended more developmental editing overall. The author spins some interesting anecdotes in readable prose, but often the stories feel incomplete or biased. She is eager to defend Chinese scientists and other citizens against racism, stereotyping, and unjust suspicion, but the story itself actually takes shape in a way that Monsanto and Pioneer are the victims, and the bumbling espionage crew is unlikable and greedy, Framing the book differently could have shifted the focus to something less emotional and reactionary.

This is a well-written, yet biased, book.

The author writes taut true crime — in this case espionage. But she caters to the Chinese Communist Party’s juvenile arguments about Sino-racism and the unjustness of racial profiling to such an extent, it is hard not to feel as though she got censors to approve of the book before publishing. The more the author pushed for me to empathize with the spy, the I found myself cheering for Monsanto, applauding the FBI for trying to take the Chinese spies down. That is an accomplishment of sorts for the author, I reckon. Getting a liberal American to side with Monsanto. Definitely not what Hvistendahl intended.

She is a talented writer. Alas, this book is propaganda that makes a cardinal sin — it persuades the opposite direction than it is meant to.

Why would a series of men from China surreptitiously visit farms in the United States to plunder seed corn fields? Mara Hvistendahl writes, a very readable account of agricultural espionage that makes for an unexpected page turner. The particular events recounted here had their start nearly ten years ago in 2011 but Hvistendahl has a clever way of piecing together a tale of the career and corporate detours that tempt companies, engineers, and scientists to head down the path of reverse engineering. Through careful investigative journalism, good old fashioned research, and insightful interviewing Hvistendahl weaves a tale of industrial espionage and the impact it has on ROI, personal lives, and corporate profits both in the US and abroad. Readers will find themselves turning the pages quickly and potentially disappointed nonetheless that after the roller coaster ride of the FBI's investigation in this particular case there are a lot of loose ends, gray areas and irrecuperable losses. Recommended to anyone interested in a tale of corporate espionage, and a good primer for understanding nation-state actors that operate outside the rule of law .

A very interesting read about the growing threat of intellectual espionage and how little of a handle we really have to deal with this emerging threat. The book covers the case of a small Chinese team that is sent to the US for the purpose of stealing new breeds of corn so that China can help feed its enormous population. The Chinese group is basically a bumbling group of individuals who can do little right and the US which seems always a step behind. A really good read that shows how the world may function now that we have become a global society.
Thank you Netgalley, by Mara Hvistendahl, PENGUIN GROUP Riverhead, and Riverhead Books for the ARC for my honest review.