ericblair 's review for:

The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914 by Robert Bickers

3.0

challenging informative slow-paced

---

A very important topic to know more about. The author does a good job of covering the key themes - trade, Christianity, war, politics - while going into great detail in the key moments. The key messages land well, including with a good final chapter. However, I find the writing style difficult, especially the paragraphs that stretch beyond a page. I find the best history writers are good are writing in a clearer style, but after all it is written by a true academic.