Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture [Paperback]

John Bryan Starr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2001

In this succinct, modest, and refreshingly forthright book--now revised and updated for the new century--Starr introduces to the uninitiated reader the background, basic data, and issues at stake in China's crisis-ridden present and future.

The death of Deng Xioaping in February 1997, revelations about Chinese influence in our election campaigns, and Chinese eagerness to acquire advanced American technology, are only some of the developments that show how urgently we need to know and understand China better than we do. In this revised edition of his essential book, Starr focuses his shrewd attention on them all. He furnishes additional material on China's relations with Taiwan and Tibet, the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, China's nuclear weapons program, and its environmental and human rights records.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country. Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations."--Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times

"Invaluable . . . Provides substantial coverage of the relationships between China's history and present-day system."--MultiCultural Review

"An impressive and comprehensive survey of mainland China's geography, political structure, military establishment, economics, and recent history. Invaluable and indispensable reading for students of contemporary Chinese culture and society, Understanding China is an outstanding compendium of current reports on such critical issues as the status of Taiwan and Hong Kong, the nature of the Chinese armed forces upon the Chinese economy; the uneven development and structure of Chinese commerce and finance; the problems inherent between autocratic governance and democratic rule; the role of the arts; and more. Understanding China is very highly recommended and informative reading for American policy makers, businessmen, journalists, students of Chinese affairs, as well as China-bound travelers."--Midwest Book Review

About the Author

John Bryan Starr, who served as President of both the Yale China Association and the China Institute in New York City, and as managing director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform in Providence, Rhode Island, is now Executive Director of the Tri-State Consortium. In addition, he serves as Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Education at Brown University. The author of many articles and books on China, including Ideology and Culture and Continuing the Revolution: The Political Thought of Mao, and editor of The Future of U.S.-China Relations, he has taught at the University of California, Yale, and Dartmouth. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang; 1st edition (March 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809094894
• ISBN-13: 978-0809094899
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #769,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, June 1, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture (Paperback)

John Bryan Starr presents an overview of China, including its geography, history, political system, economy, and social-cultural system. His excellent, in-depth analysis discusses various Chinese institutions and issues, including the military, the educational system, urban and rural problems, population growth, environment degradation, human rights, culture, and intellectual freedom. However, you should view this book as a background introduction, since most of its information dates from research completed by 1995. For the latest developments in China, refer to more current sources. The book, which is written directly and clearly without academic jargon, is directed primarily toward westerners, particularly in the United States. We recommend this book to executives in companies that are expanding into China or negotiating with Chinese business leaders, or to anyone who wants a background of solid information about China.

34 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stereotyping of China, February 25, 2002

By 

"chen_shaopeng" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture (Paperback)

The book tried to cover a lot of areas, which I think, has done quite superficially. And it seems to me that the author wrote the book to prove his points, and not exactly as the title suggested, to help understand China.

He gave a comparison of data between China and USA (which is good for american readers), however, as soon as the comparison does not support his point anymore, he would happily omit the data on the US and jump to his "conclusion" on China. As an example, to show his point that China's "huge" defense budget might be a concern for the stability of the region, he omitted the US defense budget to prove his point, as opposed to explain why/why not China needs such as budget. One has to look at the geographical size, and complexities of borders of China to see why China's defense budget is not that huge after all, as compared to the US's.

And there are a lot of areas like this in the book, or presented in a way that made Chinese people look like aliens, or made the country looks like it's FUBAR.

It is true that China has its fair share of problems. However, objective presentation is still in rigueur, especially for academic research.

It is disappointing, as you consider Starr's background, and the institution he is associated with. I'm not saying that he does not understand China, but he does not portray China in a way that help readers to understand China. Instead, it will just perpertuate the stereotyping.

This is a typical book, written by a "westerner", to prove a point. Readers who have very little knowledge of China should take it with a big grain of salt.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Facts and figures, November 6, 2005

By 

Souvik Mitra "S!" (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture (Paperback)

This book is a very neat compilation of facts and figures about China. It is also important to note what this book is not, which is a comprehensive dossier on China as it is today. The book's scope is introductory & to that end, it succeeds to a great extent.

The readership gets a lot of factual data about all that defines a country - its history, geography, politics, biggest issues, the military, environmental concerns & foreign policy. Although, I never suspected the author to back an established propaganda - the book is essentially erudite - I still do not discount a possibility that certain analysis & conclusions might, at times, seem coloured. I maintain, however, that if such is the case, it is probably more of a mistake than deliberate misleading.

Also, this densely information packed nature of the book can sometimes seem a positive handicap. Certain times, there is more information than is required to form an idea of the topic under discourse; & it is possible that a reader - who is not really concerned with research type material on China - might be actually burdened with this information overload. Chapter summaries or key points would have been great, given the depth of detailed data in this book.

I also maintain that China, or any country, is a trifle to complex to be "understood" by reading a book, but if it is an introduction that you're looking for, this book is a very good read.

S!