China: A History
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £1.75
Trade in China: A History for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £1.75, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
‘There is no understanding China, present or future, without a sense of its past…Anybody fascinated by the puzzle of what comes next for our frail, perplexed planet will find unexpected answers in this crisp, often witty chronicle of amazements.’ Peter Preston, Observer
'Dynasties lead to world domination: John Keay's forensic analysis of China's history makes the world of the ancient emperors strikingly modern and relevant.' Observer
‘As John Keay’s ambitious new book makes clear…China’s history is intoxicatingly interesting and is sure to keep us on the edge of our geopolitical seats.’ Independent on Sunday
‘Absorbingly readable.’ Independent
‘An epic history of China…There’s no way of understanding China’s stirring future without a sense of its awe-inspiring past.’ Traveller magazine
Review
'John Keay...has produced a valiant, fluently written attempt to condense a sprawling story into a few hundred pages.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Just what I wanted - an accessible and well written history of the middle kingdom covering the social, political and dynastic history right up to the ascent of Mao. It's got it all; territorial expansion, dynastic struggles, the interplay between Daoism, Buddhism and Confucian values, the Mongols, evolution of technology and literature, opium wars, the Generalisimo etc, What I found particularly interesting were the recurrent themes of the `mandate of heaven', the importance attributed to history in Chinese society and the repeated inability of `new' empires to consolidate gains. However, with so much to cover, no one area is dealt with in great depth and those seeking more detail, about recent history in particular, might wish to look elsewhere.
I've read a couple of other titles by Keay and found his writing style hard work. Happily I cannot say the same for this book, which I've enjoyed reading immensely and learned a great deal in the process. The maps and photos within are clear and informative too. I find it hard to imagine that there are any significantly better single-volume histories of China available.
I've read a couple of other titles by Keay and found his writing style hard work. Happily I cannot say the same for this book, which I've enjoyed reading immensely and learned a great deal in the process. The maps and photos within are clear and informative too. I find it hard to imagine that there are any significantly better single-volume histories of China available.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is very comprehensive. If you're approaching chinese history from little or no knowledge, this is a good starting point. However, as with all subjects being approached for the first time, it needs to be read in context and alongside other books to give a detailed understanding of the country.
In my opinion, this is best read with a very basic overview of the Chinese language (get a book from the library) and of certain key figures of China's past. This needn't be more than a day's research, although the greater your language knowledge, the better.
Having read this I'm now interested in reading this The Rise of Modern China to provide more detail. After reading that, I intend to read Keay again to make the smaller but crucial details sink in - one reading will always be insufficient for a book of this breadth.
Definitely worthwhile; my only warning would be that its coverage of the modern period (20th cent esp) is inadequate, and needs to be supplemented.
In my opinion, this is best read with a very basic overview of the Chinese language (get a book from the library) and of certain key figures of China's past. This needn't be more than a day's research, although the greater your language knowledge, the better.
Having read this I'm now interested in reading this The Rise of Modern China to provide more detail. After reading that, I intend to read Keay again to make the smaller but crucial details sink in - one reading will always be insufficient for a book of this breadth.
Definitely worthwhile; my only warning would be that its coverage of the modern period (20th cent esp) is inadequate, and needs to be supplemented.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The ability to make history 'come to life' is something many authors of this genre aspire to and few attain. China: A History is written in a style pitched to both inform and entertain. The text is factual, but laced with anecdotes about legends that have grown up in folklore and which have been found to have, at least in part, some verifiable substance. A book designed to give factual details to those who are looking for them and to attract the attention of those with a passing interest in the subject.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Masterwork
Essential reading for anyone wanting to know as much as a foreigner can know about the mysterious Middle Kingdom. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jonathan R. Husain
The Rites of Ming
This thorough, systematic history provides an informative and readable textbook.
I like the introduction which challenges the myths which have arisen over The Great... Read more
I like the introduction which challenges the myths which have arisen over The Great... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Antenna
A book for new and old China hands alike
An appropriate title, and a very reasonable delivery on a title that presents a daunting task, essentially the chronicling of 6,000 years of history within one volume, and a... Read more
Published 16 months ago by A. J. Smith
Rather impolite at times
This book is an introduction to the history of China for the novice , however it suffers a lot from the arrogant rudeness of the author - for example the Buddha is a 'vagrant' the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by anna
A big book but makes Chinese history very accessible (hardback)
My title says it all really. This will take you some time to work through but it is a really interesting run through of the history of China, shades of which still resonate in the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Charlie
China A History
This book is full of information for the person interested in the history of China in general terms. But for a student it could do with more maps and time scale information. Read more
Published 17 months ago by C. Holt
dense, informative, tough and rewarding
Not an easy book - but it taught me a lot. Elegant writing, complicated (well, which history isn't?) with many recurrent names for different people... Read more
Published 18 months ago by H. Beentje
An excellent overview
Keay's book is probably the one to chose if you are looking for a one-volume history of China from the origins of Chinese civilisation to today. Read more
Published 19 months ago by reader 451
Brings the history of China to Life
John Keay's excellent work charts the history of China from pre-history to the middle of the 20th Century. Read more
Published on 23 May 2010 by Matthew Culley
Comprehensive but a hard read
John Keay has compressed China's history into some 500 pages. The result is an excellent overview, comprehensive and complete up to the establishment of the Peoples Republic. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Damob
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > China
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
