A review by 4harrisons
China: A New History, Second Enlarged Edition by Merle Goldman, John King Fairbank

4.0

A comprehensive view of the whole of Chinese history. It has the feel of a textbook - which is a good thing in many ways, it's definitely not a book of 'popular history' written for the general reader. It doesn't focus on the kings-and-things but gives a broad introduction to the whole range from political to social to economic. The scale of the task means that it is quite light touch but if you're looking for an overview to give the background before moving on to more specific subjects (in my case 'Wild Swans' and a biography of Mao) then this is an excellent start. That said, it doesn't quite reach up to date (the final chapters are written by Merle Goldman after John King Fairbank passed away) and run to the early 2000's.