China: A History (Volume 2): From the Great Qing Empire through The People's Republic of China, (1644 - 2009)

I will start by saying that I am only half way through this book. And I have virtually no knowledge of Chinese history so pretty much the whole book could be wrong and I wouldnt know the difference. However, I have a history degree and want to grow my understanding of other cultures. This book was on a list of "best survey books on Chinese history" so I bought it. And so far it is really good.It is a good survey text. The author gives insight into political, social and philosophical/religious forces working within Chinese society during the time periods covered. And puts those forces into a historical context with what happened before and what came after. Basically precisely the kind of overview and depth of analysis that the beginner student needs.I have read a lot of historical texts and while this is written basically like a text book, it is very approachable. It is not heavy or boring. It is a quick and enlightening read. I highly suggest it for anyone that is looking for a jumping off point from which to begin studying Chinese history or culture.

Most histories are reasonably written and accurate at reporting the historical facts in a manner that is engaging and sparks further interest, not this one. The continual interjection of the author's personal observations as though he was present and his biases are clearly evident. A third of the way into the text I decided my time was too precious to bother reading any more.

This book, like Vol 1, does was it says on the cover: it recounts the history of China. But that’s all it does. It is practically humourless, with no witty asides or any sense of character on the part of the author. History-writing should be quietly subversive and inspire reflection, not blandly recount the official version of events. This book would be fine for a course, but it will not increase the casual reader’s interest in China.

Great read with a lot of insight and information packed into a relatively short read.

Good intro for people who don't know much about it. I'm a specialist in Latin American History, and I think I got to know some of the basics of modern Chinese history through this book. The narrative is not fascinating. Sometimes it focuses too much on details, names and very specific events rather than overall trends and a more conceptual approach. There is really very little about economic history up until after the communist revolution, and even then economic history is deficient. Politics constitutes a major framework for this survey book, but it does not always fully explain the social groups and economic forces behind it. Emphasis on China's self-perception as a declining power in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Mao's era is also only superficially covered. The dynamics of the cultural revolution are only sketched. Famine is briefly referred to without much depth. The one-child policy and the problem of population explosion are not even developed. Also, the mechanisms that led to the explosive economic growth in the last decades are not explained. Despite all of these issues, I think it gives a good overall impression of the late imperial, republican, and communist period. It's not easy to include so many things in a survey book. I just wished the book had a bit more bite to it, it gets dull at times.