- ISBN13: 9780465015801
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Many nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. With the world’s longest tradition of history-writing, its extraordinary past ought to be common knowledge. China, by the eminent historian John Keay, should make it so.
Informed by the latest research and enlivened by wit and anecdote, Keay’s narrative spans 5,000 years, from the Three Dynasties (2000–220 BC) to Deng Xiaoping’s opening of China and the past three decades of economic growth. Broadly chronological, the book presents a history of all the Chinas—including regions (Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Manchuria) that account for two-thirds of the People’s Republic of China land mass but which barely feature in its conventional history.
Crisp, judicious, and engaging, China is destined to become the classic single-volume history for anyone seeking to understand the past, present, and future of this immensely powerful nation.
I’ve been reading this book for a few days and, even though it may be entertaining for some history buffs (like yours truly) I’ve decided that John Keay is an imperialistic prick. No, I’m not going after Keay from a socialist point of view. My adjectives are meant to convey that, albeit being benefited by the latest scholarship and archaeological findings in China, the condescending attitude of Keay towards it and its history is more in tune with Victorian era writers than with someone living in the 21st century. Seriously, if it wasn’t because it uses the latest data, the book feels like you are reading Samuel Wells Williams’ “Middle Kingdom” –ahem; cough, cough…– published in 1883… Only S.W. Williams, his long deceased fellow Queen’s subject, was more colorful and refined in his prose and expressed some sense of wonder, once in a while.
Rating: 2 / 5
Roughly 20% of the world’s population lives in China and yet you will find few people in the US who know much of anything about its rich history. To that end China: A History, the most recent book from historian John Keay, should be required reading for all American students. It is a well written book. Easy for the novice to history and full of useful information for the seasoned history reader. Trying to condense 10,000 years of Chinese history into 538 pages may seem like a daunting task, but Keay accomplishes this so deftly that the reader is never left breathless.
The book covers China’s history from the stone age to the Communist takeover in 1949. An epilogue briefly covers the last sixty years. After finishing the book I realized how much I did not know about this fascinating culture. Just like any excellent historical survey it left me wanting to know more about so many subjects. The only complaint that I have of this book is that there is no pronunciation guide for all of the Pinyin (Chinese) names. The reader might be left pronouncing Cao Cao as cow cow rather than tsao tsao. That is easily remedied by finding a pronunciation guide on the internet.
I highly recommend this book for everyone who has never read a history of China.
Rating: 5 / 5
An amazingly readable as well as comprehensive treatment of an often complex and always fascinating history. I studied Asian history at University quite some years ago but this history held my interest like a well written novel. The topic is so thoroughly covered I am giving it a second read and have shared it with a Chinese American neighbor.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought and read this book because I am Chinese but know nothing about Chinese history (having grown up in Australia), so I was probably always going to enjoy this book.
After reading this book, I’ve learnt that China’s history is very complicated, but Keay does a fantastic job to provide objectively a good picture of each era. He is very descriptive on the important moments in Chinese history (it’s impossible to fit every moment of Chinese history in a book of this size), so after reading this book, the reader is likely to remember these important points in Chinese history.
The maps are also very helpful to get an idea of all the warfare that was going on. I thought more maps would have even been better, and more pictures/portraits/photos (e.g. of important emperors and other leaders) would have also been good as it puts a face to a name.
I am not a frequent reader, but I can still tell that Keay chooses his words carefully and skillfully. I had to reach for the dictionary plenty of times. Hopefully someone with a better vocabulary base can appreciate this aspect more than myself.
Rating: 5 / 5
John Keay is correct in observing that Chinese history is often impenetrable to all but the specialist. Yet it is an important and ancient history and one many people would like to know more about. So he has set out to do for China what he did for India in India: A History and make it accessible to an English speaking audience.
THis is a well written account of a fascinating country and its people. It does what few books do which is to ignore the present and instead give the past a fair shake in terms. There is no telescoping the narrative so that the last hundred years gets half the book, instead the las thundred years of Chinese history receives just a few dozen pages, giving the reader the correct impression that China’s past is as important as her present.
In general the book also gives the reader a great deal of handy charts to keep track of dynasties and people. A very well written account,
Seth J. Frantzman
Rating: 5 / 5