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A review by nelsta
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present by John Pomfret
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.