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The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present by John Pomfret
kevsunblush's review against another edition
4.0
Pomfret does an excellent job recounting the ups and downs in the relationship between the US and China since the time of the Revolutionary War, including political, religious, economic interactions. It's long (700 pages), but it's a fascinating and insightful read.
I'd give the print version 5 stars, but the audiobook version 4. The narrator is generally excellent except for one (quite important) factor, he doesn't speak Chinese. Kind of important for a book featuring so many Chinese names and places. Sadly his Chinese pronunciation is poor, which detracts from the narration. I wish he either would have taken a week to learn some general pronunciation for pinyin or they would have hired a narrator who already spoke Mandarin.
I'd give the print version 5 stars, but the audiobook version 4. The narrator is generally excellent except for one (quite important) factor, he doesn't speak Chinese. Kind of important for a book featuring so many Chinese names and places. Sadly his Chinese pronunciation is poor, which detracts from the narration. I wish he either would have taken a week to learn some general pronunciation for pinyin or they would have hired a narrator who already spoke Mandarin.
jerrylwei's review against another edition
4.0
Pomfret starts out strong but loses narrative drive as he describes Chinese-American relations in the 2000s. He fails to diagnose the failure of Obama’s Pivot to Asia and casts a dubious frame on other recent events.
nelsta's review against another edition
5.0
I can summarize my thoughts on this masterpiece into two words: Absolutely brilliant.
But that wouldn’t pass on to you any of the truly remarkable material contained in The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom. Mr. Pomfret’s work is an exemplary tome of geopolitical knowledge, engaging history, and cultural analysis. It took me a bit to buy into the premise and the narrator’s voice, but the more that I listened, the more engaged I became.
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is a history of the United States of America and China (and all its iterations) since 1776. It outlines the truly unique—and uniquely troubled—relationship between the two countries that has existed since America’s revolution. I knew a fair bit about the People’s Republic of China, but I knew stunningly little about Chiang Kai-shek’s role before and after WWII, or the relationship between China and America prior to that. Now, however, I’ve been given plenty of material to take and learn more about.
I could extol the virtues of this book for hours. For all of our sake, however, I’ll abstain from doing so. I marvel at the level of detail Mr. Pomfret provided to the reader. The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is a treasure trove of information and analysis that isn’t rivaled anywhere else—for any country. Like I said, this work is absolutely brilliant.
But that wouldn’t pass on to you any of the truly remarkable material contained in The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom. Mr. Pomfret’s work is an exemplary tome of geopolitical knowledge, engaging history, and cultural analysis. It took me a bit to buy into the premise and the narrator’s voice, but the more that I listened, the more engaged I became.
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is a history of the United States of America and China (and all its iterations) since 1776. It outlines the truly unique—and uniquely troubled—relationship between the two countries that has existed since America’s revolution. I knew a fair bit about the People’s Republic of China, but I knew stunningly little about Chiang Kai-shek’s role before and after WWII, or the relationship between China and America prior to that. Now, however, I’ve been given plenty of material to take and learn more about.
I could extol the virtues of this book for hours. For all of our sake, however, I’ll abstain from doing so. I marvel at the level of detail Mr. Pomfret provided to the reader. The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom is a treasure trove of information and analysis that isn’t rivaled anywhere else—for any country. Like I said, this work is absolutely brilliant.
peterbergmann's review against another edition
5.0
Summarizing the centuries-long relationship between the United States and China in a single book is a monumental task but John Pomfret did a fairly good job. The book was informative and comprehensive in its scope and gave me a better contextual understanding of the relations between the two great powers. In particular, I learned much more about the role of missionaries and Christianity in China in the 1800s and beyond as well as the interesting relationship dynamics between the US, the CCP, and the KMT in the pre-WWII, WWII, and post-WWII years. The confusing stances and posturing by all parties was carefully explained in a way that helped me better understand the motives and the history that undergirded those motivations. The book was a bit dry but it's tough to describe historical topics with neutrality and accuracy without erring a bit on the side of dryness so it wasn't a deterring factor. I recommend this book for those who want to understand the historical backgrounds and factors leading to the current US-China relationship, especially in regards to Taiwan.
donzhivago's review against another edition
5.0
tl;dr: China is evil, America is incompetent.
A comprehensive history of the relationship between China and America since the founding of the US. There's a ton to unpack here, but in general, the Chinese government is evil, doing everything possible to devalue human rights. Meanwhile, American greed has actively abetted Chinese atrocities for centuries, idiotically assuming that China can adapt to respecting basic human values.
It's never going to happen. If this is the Chinese century, we are in deep trouble.
A comprehensive history of the relationship between China and America since the founding of the US. There's a ton to unpack here, but in general, the Chinese government is evil, doing everything possible to devalue human rights. Meanwhile, American greed has actively abetted Chinese atrocities for centuries, idiotically assuming that China can adapt to respecting basic human values.
It's never going to happen. If this is the Chinese century, we are in deep trouble.
books_n_pickles's review against another edition
3.0
Several disclaimers up front:
* Stars are not for quality (which deserves at least a 4) but to guide Goodreads' recommendation algorithm toward my personal reading preferences.
* I only read Part I (the first 9 chapters/136 pages), and I did so with very particular interests in mind (see below).
* This review is entirely my opinion and does not in any way reflect the opinions of my employer.
Whew! Now that all that's finally out of the way...
As stated, I only read the parts of this book relevant to my interests. I have a novel project on the back-back-back burner (argh, life!) set somewhere between 1898 and 1902. The main characters is a Chinese/Chinese-American woman (part of reading this was to find out whether this was even possible with the Chinese Exclusion Act) who is also a doctor. Chapter 7, "Bible Women", was exceptionally helpful in this regard.
What interested me most was China's apparent admiration for the States through the early 20th century (until one betrayal too many at the post-WWI Versailles Peace Conference), and how often that admiration was mutual. What a wasted opportunity! We're so used to seeing China as a rival these days, and I think we've even bought in to some of the 20th century communist party's propaganda that China was too stuck in its old ways to modernize without being dragged kicking and screaming. It's remarkable how many opportunities there were for things to turn out differently, if only the U.S. had gotten over its navel-gazing, on-again-off-again xenophobia, and conflicting desires for empire and isolation.
It was also refreshing to realize how many American missionaries--particularly single women, which I didn't even know was possible!--went over hoping to convert the Chinese to Christianity only to accept that it wasn't going to work and adjust their missions accordingly. Many ended up opening schools for women, hospitals, and medical schools. It's a stereotype now that many Chinese Americans and Chinese educated in America become doctors, but that tradition health care, and traveling to the States for advanced medical education, was nurtured by Americans. Which helps my theoretical novel immensely!
Anyway, while I can't comment on the content of the book as a whole, I will say that I had a little trouble following the timeline in Part II. Dates seemed to disappear right when I needed them for reference, and then leaped forward years at a time. At one point a chapter seemed to end in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion and didn't pick it up until at least a whole chapter later. That said, the quality of the writing was excellent. Pomfret certainly knows how to tell a good story...but he might be better suited to topic-themed chapters like "Bible Women" rather than strictly linear history.
As far as I read, this is a highly valuable book with a fascinating angle on a topic of critical importance in the 21st century. Pomfret provides a fair and balanced view of both countries' strengths and shortcomings, and any cynicism about America in this review is my own.
* Stars are not for quality (which deserves at least a 4) but to guide Goodreads' recommendation algorithm toward my personal reading preferences.
* I only read Part I (the first 9 chapters/136 pages), and I did so with very particular interests in mind (see below).
* This review is entirely my opinion and does not in any way reflect the opinions of my employer.
Whew! Now that all that's finally out of the way...
As stated, I only read the parts of this book relevant to my interests. I have a novel project on the back-back-back burner (argh, life!) set somewhere between 1898 and 1902. The main characters is a Chinese/Chinese-American woman (part of reading this was to find out whether this was even possible with the Chinese Exclusion Act) who is also a doctor. Chapter 7, "Bible Women", was exceptionally helpful in this regard.
What interested me most was China's apparent admiration for the States through the early 20th century (until one betrayal too many at the post-WWI Versailles Peace Conference), and how often that admiration was mutual. What a wasted opportunity! We're so used to seeing China as a rival these days, and I think we've even bought in to some of the 20th century communist party's propaganda that China was too stuck in its old ways to modernize without being dragged kicking and screaming. It's remarkable how many opportunities there were for things to turn out differently, if only the U.S. had gotten over its navel-gazing, on-again-off-again xenophobia, and conflicting desires for empire and isolation.
It was also refreshing to realize how many American missionaries--particularly single women, which I didn't even know was possible!--went over hoping to convert the Chinese to Christianity only to accept that it wasn't going to work and adjust their missions accordingly. Many ended up opening schools for women, hospitals, and medical schools. It's a stereotype now that many Chinese Americans and Chinese educated in America become doctors, but that tradition health care, and traveling to the States for advanced medical education, was nurtured by Americans. Which helps my theoretical novel immensely!
Anyway, while I can't comment on the content of the book as a whole, I will say that I had a little trouble following the timeline in Part II. Dates seemed to disappear right when I needed them for reference, and then leaped forward years at a time. At one point a chapter seemed to end in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion and didn't pick it up until at least a whole chapter later. That said, the quality of the writing was excellent. Pomfret certainly knows how to tell a good story...but he might be better suited to topic-themed chapters like "Bible Women" rather than strictly linear history.
As far as I read, this is a highly valuable book with a fascinating angle on a topic of critical importance in the 21st century. Pomfret provides a fair and balanced view of both countries' strengths and shortcomings, and any cynicism about America in this review is my own.
jjpopiel's review
4.0
Very interesting; juxtaposes people, places, and ideas I'd never put next to one another. Borders on scholarly; I wish there was more of an apparatus to identify the sources for information and claims.
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