Understanding China: Learning from China's Past, Present, and Future

I had high hopes for this book - but unfortunately it is a complete waste of money and very poorly written. That is my bottom line, but I don't like giving such a low rating so let me further justify my view.Firstly, the quality of the writing is abysmal. Now, I am aware that it is written by someone for whom English is not their native language - but if you are trying to sell it to an English reading public, the least you can expect is it to be written without glaring grammatical errors and this book is positively strewn with them. On average there is probably at least one every couple of pages - if not more. Surely if you want to sell a book in a language that is not your own, you would have the decency to get someone for whom it is their native language to give is a proof read? Clearly not.And in case you think I am being unreasonable, at one point he includes his own name in a sentence quite randomly, suggesting he hasn't proofed it at all.It reads like it has been translated by Google Translate - and as a result is at times is gibberish. It is also clear that the range of language is highly limited and often arcane. Oftentimes he oftentimes uses words like oftentimes repeatedly in the same sentence - the impact is that the brain just switches off.So, to the content. In a brief book, the scope of his ambition is impressive but sadly it doesn't work. He attempts to give a history of China in around 100 pages - which even if well written would be ambitious - but he spends ages repeating himself and literally telling the reader that he has just told us this and that - I know - I read it. So as a result he limits his space to cover the detail further. It is simplistic and dull with no sense of why - you can skip the whole first part - his only conclusion is that a strong centre leads to peace in China.This he then uses as a justification for all things Deng. Now, I don't disagree with the good that he identifies Deng brought but he comes over as an uncritical fan-boy. There is no analysis at all - human rights don't even get considered and everything is limited to a justification of some well-known policies.I was hoping for some kind of insight about what Chinese people thought of the various policies based on the time he has spend living there - nothing - it's just "the party line" with no consideration of different groups or of how it fits in a globalized world.Save your money - there is more insight in a single edition of the Economist than you get here. No wonder this was self-published - any publishing house would reject this on the basis that it doesn't say anything to add to common knowledge. What a shame.

In this comprehensive overview of the Chinese state, the author does a great job of highlighting key periods and events from the history of China, and uses these to contextualise modern-day China. It is rare to find such a comprehensive, yet concise story of the Chinese state, and it makes for a great read! In addition to this, the author is bold in discussing the future of China, which proves thought-provoking and will leave you wanting to discuss this book with friends and family. Couldn’t recommend it more!

I had some doubts first reading two bad reviews on here. However, I think this is a great book. It’s not the holy grail of understanding China but I don’t think that this book is trying to be. For people like me who don’t know much about China other than what the media tell us, this is a great introduction covering many topics. The author was mentioning in the beginning that he tries to give a broad overview of a lot of topics but he attached a long list of readings for those who want to built a further understanding of specific topics. Having finished it I really enjoyed the mix between history and present day China and it was clear to follow along the thoughts of the author. He didn’t use very academic terms which helped me a lot to understand the underlying trends and issues a lot better! Would love to read more from this author.

Very simplistic - information that is readily available on the internet, poorly written and poorly edited.

This was a fantastic read. Well written, informative and highly relevant to today's economic climate. I am doing a masters in something totally different and this was great to read on the side to keep my brain engaged with what is happening in the world. Highly recommend it to anyone!

Great book as the author provides a unique and insightful perspective into the growing importance and prowess of China in the current political and economic climate.

Would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to expand their understanding of China. It is very well written and easy to understand.

Highly recommend for anyone trying to learn about China. Easy to read and extremely informative