5/5 stars
recommended
This book filled a notable gap in my cold war history knowledge. That for me was worth the read alone. I had always been a big fan of reading about the USSR and Stalin (and the Russian revolution before that). I had a big gap in my knowledge when it came to Maoism and all the cold war events that were taking place concurrently in the PRC. This book filled in those gaps. It’s also very important to say that this book also gave me a glimpse of the complex (and confusing) ebb and flow of the dynastical history of ancient China.
Towards the end of the book, the focus turns to the international relations of China and the USA. It could be argued, that this is the most crucial knowledge provided, considering it’s likely China will be a world superpower at some point in our lifetimes. If you are a fan of history but have some gaps in your China background, I would recommend this book highly.
Technical details:
The book has a very unique structure, such that the chapters all answer questions. This unique layout (having chapters represent questions, and having these questions come in logical order) makes returning to previous topics to brush up on them a breeze. Interestingly, this layout helps you learn the material very efficiently. I’m kind of surprised academic textbooks don’t really ever have this type of format, because I found it immediately useful. For example, having read through the following several questions/chapters a few different times, I know that the chronological order of events goes: The Hundred Flowers Campaign > The Anti-Rightist response campaign > The Great Leap Forward > The Cultural Revolution response to the Great Leap backlash.
You’ll be able to learn your favorite parts of Chinese history easily, all in their chronological context. This is the genius of the layout of the book, I haven’t really read a history book that was formatted this way, and since reading this… I think more should be.
