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Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture
Average Customer Rating:   
List Price:
$16.00
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$10.88
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Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 951.05
EAN: 9780809094899
ISBN: 0809094894
Label: Hill and Wang
Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2001-03-14
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Studio: Hill and Wang
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Editorial Reviews:
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In this succinct, modest, and refreshingly forthright book--now revised and updated for the new century--Starr introduces to the uninitiated reader the background, basic data, and issues at stake in China's crisis-ridden present and future.
The death of Deng Xioaping in February 1997, revelations about Chinese influence in our election campaigns, and Chinese eagerness to acquire advanced American technology, are only some of the developments that show how urgently we need to know and understand China better than we do. In this revised edition of his essential book, Starr focuses his shrewd attention on them all. He furnishes additional material on China's relations with Taiwan and Tibet, the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, China's nuclear weapons program, and its environmental and human rights records.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Terrific Introduction
Comment: A reviewer from Bangalore hit the nail on the head when they said this book was meant to be an introduction into understanding China. This book is very easy to read and does an excellent job providing the reader a very general overview on China. If one is more interested in China's economy, something written by Nicholas Lardy or other economists with works on China would be appropriate; Minxin Pei is well known for his work on rural unrest in China, and so on and so forth. Bottom line, there are well known individuals for their work on China that can provide more details for certain areas. Mr. Starr leaves the reader to go out and deepen their knowledge.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Facts and figures
Comment: This book is a very neat compilation of facts and figures about China. It is also important to note what this book is not, which is a comprehensive dossier on China as it is today. The book's scope is introductory & to that end, it succeeds to a great extent.
The readership gets a lot of factual data about all that defines a country - its history, geography, politics, biggest issues, the military, environmental concerns & foreign policy. Although, I never suspected the author to back an established propaganda - the book is essentially erudite - I still do not discount a possibility that certain analysis & conclusions might, at times, seem coloured. I maintain, however, that if such is the case, it is probably more of a mistake than deliberate misleading.
Also, this densely information packed nature of the book can sometimes seem a positive handicap. Certain times, there is more information than is required to form an idea of the topic under discourse; & it is possible that a reader - who is not really concerned with research type material on China - might be actually burdened with this information overload. Chapter summaries or key points would have been great, given the depth of detailed data in this book.
I also maintain that China, or any country, is a trifle to complex to be "understood" by reading a book, but if it is an introduction that you're looking for, this book is a very good read.
S!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Have a realistic expectation and you won't be disappointed.
Comment: A political science professor of mine lent this book to me when I was batting around ideas for a term paper. I enjoyed this book for what it is and it doesn't claim to be the comprehensive body of knowledge on China's culture, history, politics and contemporary society. If you want that, spend your entire life in college studying it, but don't expect it from a book of this size.
This book is a wonderful tool for those who have a "beginner's interest" in China. This book inspired me to not only conduct my own research but to also read both broader and deeper into China's politics and history.
What is fascinating about this book is how much the author is able to cover. It's a very dense book full of information. If you're looking for insight and analysis, you might find it scattered between the paragraphs that have been well-researched.
One could easily know the necessary facts of Chinese culture and history after reading this book. It is also an accessible and well-organized book. I've used in research and it has helped to direct me to other bodies of research based on its content.
You will be satisfied with how adequate and resourceful this book is. If you're interested in just reading about China, or you're a student doing research, or a professor looking to brush up on China essentials, or even if you're just curious about some of the events in China's history, this is the book I'd recommend first and foremost.
This book accomplishes what it promises. It's a permanent member of my library and I have lent it to three people in the last two months, one of whom was another professor, who found it critical for her teaching of comparative Chinese politics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Stereotyping of China
Comment: The book tried to cover a lot of areas, which I think, has done quite superficially. And it seems to me that the author wrote the book to prove his points, and not exactly as the title suggested, to help understand China. He gave a comparison of data between China and USA (which is good for american readers), however, as soon as the comparison does not support his point anymore, he would happily omit the data on the US and jump to his "conclusion" on China. As an example, to show his point that China's "huge" defense budget might be a concern for the stability of the region, he omitted the US defense budget to prove his point, as opposed to explain why/why not China needs such as budget. One has to look at the geographical size, and complexities of borders of China to see why China's defense budget is not that huge after all, as compared to the US's. And there are a lot of areas like this in the book, or presented in a way that made Chinese people look like aliens, or made the country looks like it's FUBAR. It is true that China has its fair share of problems. However, objective presentation is still in rigueur, especially for academic research. It is disappointing, as you consider Starr's background, and the institution he is associated with. I'm not saying that he does not understand China, but he does not portray China in a way that help readers to understand China. Instead, it will just perpertuate the stereotyping. This is a typical book, written by a "westerner", to prove a point. Readers who have very little knowledge of China should take it with a big grain of salt.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It is misleading
Comment: Mr. Starr seems know a lot about China, but I don't think he understand China based on what he wrote in his book. His conclusion that "an abrupt collapse of the Party-state" is unlikely to happen. Just like those who predict Hong Kong will be a chaos after return to China's rule, Mr Starr failed to realize the fundermental change in China these days which will lead to a more stable China.
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