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Restless Empire: China And The World Since 1750 (2012)

by Odd Arne Westad(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0465019331 (ISBN13: 9780465019335)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: A favourite columnist for the Globe and Mail raved about this book, so I bought and read it. I knew very little about Chinese history before reading it, and I did learn a lot. Having said that, I felt that the author often made what seemed to be broad generalizations without supporting data, drew conclusions that weren't convincingly argued, and left me feeling like I had only a little new insight regarding the past 250 years (and the next 50 or so) of what makes China tick. I had expected a book version of the kind of dense, fascinating writing that you find in the New York Times, the kind that makes you call out frequently to your partner to share just one more insightful passage. There was very little of this. So, did I learn something? Yes. A workmanlike job - but noth... moreing terribly stimulating or thought-provoking.
review 2: This history of China was the best I have read out of the half dozen books I have seen on the subject. It doesn't get bogged down with dates and solitary events but is more about forces and movements in China that have shaped it in the past 200 years. This makes the book much easier to digest than most treatments of China which get lost in the minutae and miss important aspects of China internal and external development into modernity. I recommend this book highly to some who wants to understand what makes China tick. You won't get a detailed blow by blow description of the May 4th movement or Mao's long march but you will come away with an understanding of the meaning of these movements to Chinese and their signifigance for Chinese the evolution towards modernity. That is why I liked it so much. less

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