The Control Center (Book 1)

"A high-stakes political thriller with a deeply romantic undertone ... With the way this book ended, I'm eager to find out what happens next." Independent Book Review

A chance meeting one night in Shanghai introduces American banker Jack Gold to an Israeli man named Ari, who has a stunning proposition: Help Israel and the United States infiltrate China’s heavily guarded Control Center and address the nation with the truth they deserve to hear.

China, a country of 1.4 billion citizens, is an existential threat to itself and the rest of the world. With its news and media censored through the Control Center before being broadcast to viewers, the people of China have no hope of realizing their government is only looking to enrich and reward its most prominent leaders.

But getting into the Control Center is not going to be easy. And even if such a dangerous undertaking proves successful, though, there is no guarantee that the growing tensions between China and the United States can be quelled. But Jack’s love for China, and the beautiful artist he meets one night, pushes him to the brink as he risks everything to help a nation of people whose lives and livelihoods have been stifled by government control.

Written by Brad Good, who started living and working in the People's Republic of China in 1988, THE CHINA AFFAIRS is a series of four novels that take place in China. Good brings rare on-the-ground knowledge of contemporary Chinese political, social, and cultural issues, and associated international affairs.

Jack Gold is an American in China who is recruited by an Israeli agent to penetrate the Control Center, China's broadcasting hub. (Book 1) Next, at great personal threat, China and the United States solicit his leadership in creating a new trade deal between the countries. (Book 2) Jack is then recruited by the President of China, with the use of artificial intelligence, to transform China and the lives of its citizens. (Book 3) After China elects a new president who returns the country to Communism, the President of the United States calls on Jack to lead a dangerous plan to fight back. (Book 4)