Customer Reviews

The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As others have noted, this isn't a "history" per se, and shouldn't be taken as such. It's fast-paced, informed journalism that keeps its focus throughout and, in my opinion, offers a number of excellent critiques and observations of the current social climate in China. Reading it on the train from Beijing to Xi'an, I found myself constantly nodding along as I discovered different ways of making sense of what I was seeing there.

I found this book to be a hard read. It appears to be a pastiche of previously written articles, with a bit of glue to tie them together. It thus jumps back and forth in time abd subject. For example, an early chapter mentions the overthrow of the Gang of Four, with no explanation. Several chapters later we finally get a description of how this happened. There is a swirl of Chinese names, most mentioned without any description of who this person is. I found the results to be pretty confusing. After reading it I still don't have a clear idea of a timeline of events.

I liked this book for its analysis of political phenomena. However, I found it weak on issues facing companies today in China or that the new business economy has created: There was little or no discussion of the institutional problems facing China in its transition. The journalistic background of the author also peeked through and some sections were too breathless for me. I disagree with the simplistic conclusion (among others) that water and pollution are the two major problems facing companies operating in China.

book in very good condition.