"2019 War on the Rocks Holiday Reading List"

"This book is an outstanding contribution to the canon on Chinese military and strategic affairs . . . . Fravel’s new book is an instant classic and a mandatory reference source. I would recommend this volume to students of Chinese foreign policy, international relations, and military affairs without reservation."---James Mulvenon, China Quarterly

"This is the first book to provide a comprehensive history of China’s military doctrine as it has evolved since the founding of the People’s Republic."---Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign Affairs

"Meticulously analyzes China’s military strategy since 1945 . . . . A classic that is likely to have great long-term influence . . . . In this unstable environment, Professor Fravel’s book could hardly be timelier."---Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Book Post

"Taylor is an authority on the People’s Liberation Army, and his latest book is deeply researched and based on primary materials, providing a picture of the ways in which strategic thought in the Chinese military context has evolved over the years. It’s easy to recommend as a necessary reference volume for anyone writing on China’s contemporary approach to military affairs, rich in context and history."---Ankit Panda, War on the Rocks

"Active Defense advances our knowledge of the key drivers behind China’s military strategy during the last seventy years. Informative and lucid, this book provides new insights into how a great power adjusts its military strategy in response to shifts in warfare and how elite politics influences strategic execution. This is the most important study of Chinese national security to appear in a decade."―Minxin Pei, Claremont McKenna College

"This terrific book makes an important contribution to the literature on both China’s military behavior and the more general issue of how states’ militaries evolve to meet the threats before them. The theoretical argument is simple, yet innovative, and the empirical evidence is novel and compellingly presented. It is certain to become a classic."―David M. Edelstein, Georgetown University

"Active Defense is a brilliant tour de force on the sources of stasis and change in Chinese military strategy. Engaging and highly original, this is a must-read for scholars, analysts, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the future of international politics."―Caitlin Talmadge, Georgetown University

"Active Defense confirms Fravel’s standing as one of the top experts on China's national security strategy. His mastery of history, political science theory, and military doctrine is extraordinary. Given growing Sino-American competition, this is a timely work, relevant to policymakers, strategists, and scholars alike."―Karl Eikenberry, Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan

"This is a truly outstanding book―Fravel contributes significantly to our understanding of the evolution of China’s military strategy, and offers insightful theoretical arguments about civil-military relations and changes in the military strategy of late developers. Active Defense will be of great interest to scholars of security studies, Chinese international policy, and international relations more broadly."―Charles Glaser, George Washington University

"Active Defense is a major contribution to our understanding of Chinese military doctrine. Anyone interested in the implications of China’s rise should read this book."―Thomas J. Christensen, author of The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power

"In Active Defense, Fravel’s explanation for three major changes in China’s military strategy since 1949 is an impressive achievement. He deftly draws on a wide range of literature about influences on military strategy and taps newly available sources of evidence. The result is a book that is sure to be widely cited."―Avery Goldstein, University of Pennsylvania