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More About the Author
Product Description
James Kynge, Author of 'China Shakes the World'
Fascinating in its detail, full of nuance and amusing anecdote,
this enjoyable book achieves something that few others have managed - it
shows China as it really is. Kerry Brown's long association with his
subject as a scholar, diplomat and businessman allow him to make confident,
authentic judgements on many of the key China questions.
this enjoyable book achieves something that few others have managed - it
shows China as it really is. Kerry Brown's long association with his
subject as a scholar, diplomat and businessman allow him to make confident,
authentic judgements on many of the key China questions.
John Gittings, Author of 'The Changing Face of China'
Kerry Brown offers a broad and challenging view of China past and
present, and -- venturing where many scholars fear to tread -- of its
likely future too. His varied experiences of the country offer a fresh and
always readable insight: China is very much with us, he argues, and we
need to understand it much better than we do.
present, and -- venturing where many scholars fear to tread -- of its
likely future too. His varied experiences of the country offer a fresh and
always readable insight: China is very much with us, he argues, and we
need to understand it much better than we do.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good primer,
By
This review is from: Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century (Paperback)
Kerry Brown is well placed to write about contemporary China, not least because of his career has encompassed academic and business activities as well as the Foreign Office. He tries - generally successfully - to get beyond the cliches and oversimplifications and puts his observations about modern China into a useful historical context.
The first chapter posits two extreme scenarios for China's immediate future. The first option, Stable China, suggests that fast economic growth continues and is complemented by the implementation of environmentally friendly policies (finally!) and the continued existence of the Communist Party. The other scenario suggests a kind of economic and environmental armageddon, accompanied by balkanisation and loss of geopolitical importance. Although the book promises to let the reader know which scenario is most likely, it (perhaps wisely) doesn't really deliver on this point. I thought the anecdotes used to illustrate various points were well-chosen and the writing is generally lively. However, the editing could have been better, e.g. to remove malapropisms such as "...pooh-facedly..." and "taxidermy" when he means "taxonomy". A map of China, showing the provinces and the key cities mentioned in the text, would also have been welcome - most people reading the book will not have the author's first-hand and extensive knowledge of his subject.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unsentimental and realistic appraisal of China at the beginning of the 21st century,
By
This review is from: Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century (Paperback)
My invitation from Amazon to submit a review of this book includes the information that its author is Jonathan Fenby. He is not. Fenby provides the introduction, the author is Kerry Brown. Brown is rapidly emerging as one of the West's leading authorities on modern China and "Struggling Giant" demonstrates why.
This book is a comfortable read. The author's style is easy-going and mercifully lacking in jargon, acronyms and academic allusions. It is accessible to non-specialists who want to understand how a country that only 60 years ago was a third world disaster area is now one of the world's leading economic powers. It is also a useful work for those who feel that they may know more than the average reader about modern China and need some ideas of how events may play out in the next twenty years. The author's point of view is one of empathy for China's history and its citizens and respect for their achievements. At the same time, he paints a realistic picture of the characteristics of the 'system' that they contend with and with which we the non-Chinese must also deal. This is a portrait of China, "warts and all", and though we don't have to love it we had certainly better figure out a way to live with it.
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