North Korea Confidential: Private Markets, Fashion Trends, Prison Camps, Dissenters and Defectors

<div><B>**Named one of the best books of 2015 by <I>The Economist</I></B>**<br /><BR>North Korea is one of the most controlled and isolated societies on earth, but what is it actually like to live there? How do you make money in a failed economy? How do you have fun under a violent, repressive dictatorship, and how does the secretive and infamous prison camp system work? Read this book to find out.<BR><BR>North Korea Confidential explains how the devastating famine of the 1990s became a catalyst for a network of black markets which have created a new generation of North Korean capitalists. From skinny jeans, to home-made booze, where there’s a market for it, today's North Koreans can probably buy it.<BR><BR>In seven fascinating chapters the authors explore modern North Korea today for the ordinary "man and woman on the street." They interview experts and tap a broad variety of sources to bring a startling new insider's view of North Korean society—from members of Pyongyang's ruling families to defectors from different periods and regions, to diplomats and NGOs, to cross-border traders from neighboring China. The resulting stories reveal the horror as well as the innovation and humor which abound in this fascinating country.<BR></div>