Book
China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia
Two parallel scores from 4 calibrated reviewers and 4 raw-average reviewers.
Z-normalized corrects for reviewer bias (every reviewer re-centered onto their personal scale). Raw average uses simple mean across the broader pool including stddev=0 reviewers. The 21-point gap is the rating-inflation signature for this title — discriminating reviewers liked it more than the casual crowd.
Where this book sits
Z-normalized percentile · 5,285 ranked books
| Mean reviewer z-score | +0.048 |
|---|---|
| Calibrated raw-mean rating | 4.50 /5 |
| Broad raw-mean rating | 4.50 /5 |
| 90% CI-floor (z) | -0.775 |
| Reviewers (calibrated / broad) | 4 / 4 |
Summary
China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia sits at the 42th z-normalized percentile across 5,285ranked books. The z-percentile differs from a raw star average because Rankquant subtracts each reviewer's personal baseline before aggregating — so a reader who rates everything 5 stars carries less weight than one who rates discerningly. Raw-average percentile is 22; the gap between the two measures how much bias-correction changes this title's standing. How percentiles are computed.
Pipeline applied to this title
The math, in this order
4 reviewers with rating variance re-centered onto a personal z-scale.
Mean z = +0.048. Broad raw mean = 4.50/5.
90% CI-floor = -0.775. Thin samples penalized.
Global 42.4. Z-track and raw-track ranked separately.
Similar percentile
