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Read Online The Penguin History of Modern China The Fall and Rise of a Great Power 1850 to the Present Jonathan Fenby Books

Product details Paperback 816 pages Publisher Penguin UK; Second Edition, Second edition edition (June 1, 2013) Language English ISBN-10 0141975156

The Penguin History of Modern China The Fall and Rise of a Great Power 1850 to the Present Jonathan Fenby Books Reviews

• Very detailed history of China until 1989. The last episode of history to 2007, is treated fairly general. The description of events has its pros and cons. Pros accumulation of facts, interesting detail and accuracy. Con lost the perspective.
  
  In my opinion the book is not intended for beginners. It is essential reading for history enthusiasts.
  
  159 years of recent history of China from 1850 to 2009
  
  Among others
  
  Anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901)
  End to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China (1911–12)
  The birth of communism
  The birth of the nationalist movement
  The Warlord Era (1916–1928)
  The May Fourth Movement (1919)
  Chinese Civil War (1927-1950)
  The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
  The People's Republic of China (October 1949)
  Hundred Flowers Movement (1956)
  Great Leap Forward (1958-1962)
  The Sino-Soviet split (1960–89)
  Cultural Revolution (from 1966 until the mid-1970s)
  Gang of Four
  Deng Xiaoping (significant economic reforms)
  Student protests in Tiananmen Square (1989)
  
  Note mediocre edition version of the kindle. Some words merge into several dozen streams.
• Fascinating!!! I originally bought this book for my daughter who is studying abroad in China. When I picked it up I was surprised that it read like a soap opera in many places. The writing style quite literally prevented me from putting it down. This book is truly eye opening even for someone like me who though I have read several books on Chinese history already. The cover says it is essential for understanding the country and its people, and I agree.
• Illuminating. Riveting. If you're a History buff, get this.
• Comprehensive and detailed. Lacks more economical analysis for the post 1978 period.
• I went into this book hoping to learn about China, but I have to say I was disappointed.
  
  There's a clear timeline here, and a ton of facts, but until you get to the unexpectedly good epilogue, there's not much care put into tying all it together. I often found myself lacking context for many of the facts presented throughout.
  
  I found it downright strange how willing the author was to condemn the various leaders of China, while virtually exonerating western imperialism, as if forcing "modernity" and disruption on people is more acceptable when it comes from a European power, than when it comes from the CCP.
  
  The research does seem good, and the sources I've looked at were solid, but there are also a lot of direct quotes and anectdotes, some of which are incredibly specific (and sometimes very damning) that aren't attributed to anybody. A better sense of who heard what according to whom, would have done a lot to help the credibility of the book. A lot of it stands unsubstantiated.
  
  I also didn't enjoy the writing at any point. Having recently read the excellent biography on Kruschev by William Taubman, this was a bit of a chore to get through. Adding to the sometimes awkward prose, the author likes to switch between real names and nicknames, which doesn't make it easier to keep track of the many players jumping in and out of the story at various times.
  
  There are also numerous typographical errors which caused me a bit of frustration throughout, practically all of which would've been easily caught by a proofreader.
  
  Overall it's a book that doesn't do much to leave the reader with any real insight, or a real sense of the logics that govern China.
  
  After reading this, I couldn't say anything about what drives China, or specifically why it evolved as it did, nor can I speak to where it might be going. I can guess how the author feels about China and its leaders, from the tone it carries throughout - and contempt is certainly understandable, given the rivers of blood that run through China's history - but in a historical context, righteous indignation is just not as helpful as working towards a serious understanding of these people, whether they be tyrants, fools or even monsters. They should still be granted serious treatment as subjects.
  
  This is no great work. As a primer it will certainly do to start you off, if only by providing the timeline, but for all of its facts about China, there's really not much here that will help you to understand the country, the state, its history or its leadership in any truly meaningful way.
• Excellent book for me who only recently has begun to try to understand China. Great to have along on a trip in China. The only criticism I have is that dates should be more numerous and clearly defined
• Because this is a condensed history it's very rich with detail and can be a bit much to take in all at once sometime. But, it is a fantastic recount of history and reveals some truly eye opening facts about China in the last 100 years.
  
  Definitely worth the read!
• This book is a gift for my friend. He like it so much. Thank you very much for providing this amaziong history book!