Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times
"An excellent introduction to China... concise information about that ... country. Packed with facts and figures... enlivened with firsthand observations."


Review
"An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country. Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations."--Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times

"Invaluable . . . Provides substantial coverage of the relationships between China's history and present-day system."--MultiCultural Review

"An impressive and comprehensive survey of mainland China's geography, political structure, military establishment, economics, and recent history. Invaluable and indispensable reading for students of contemporary Chinese culture and society, Understanding China is an outstanding compendium of current reports on such critical issues as the status of Taiwan and Hong Kong, the nature of the Chinese armed forces upon the Chinese economy; the uneven development and structure of Chinese commerce and finance; the problems inherent between autocratic governance and democratic rule; the role of the arts; and more. Understanding China is very highly recommended and informative reading for American policy makers, businessmen, journalists, students of Chinese affairs, as well as China-bound travelers."--Midwest Book Review



Review
"An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country. Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations."--Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times

"Invaluable . . . Provides substantial coverage of the relationships between China's history and present-day system."--MultiCultural Review

"An impressive and comprehensive survey of mainland China's geography, political structure, military establishment, economics, and recent history. Invaluable and indispensable reading for students of contemporary Chinese culture and society, Understanding China is an outstanding compendium of current reports on such critical issues as the status of Taiwan and Hong Kong, the nature of the Chinese armed forces upon the Chinese economy; the uneven development and structure of Chinese commerce and finance; the problems inherent between autocratic governance and democratic rule; the role of the arts; and more. Understanding China is very highly recommended and informative reading for American policy makers, businessmen, journalists, students of Chinese affairs, as well as China-bound travelers."--Midwest Book Review



Review
"An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country. Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations."--Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times

"Invaluable . . . Provides substantial coverage of the relationships between China's history and present-day system."--MultiCultural Review

"An impressive and comprehensive survey of mainland China's geography, political structure, military establishment, economics, and recent history. Invaluable and indispensable reading for students of contemporary Chinese culture and society, Understanding China is an outstanding compendium of current reports on such critical issues as the status of Taiwan and Hong Kong, the nature of the Chinese armed forces upon the Chinese economy; the uneven development and structure of Chinese commerce and finance; the problems inherent between autocratic governance and democratic rule; the role of the arts; and more. Understanding China is very highly recommended and informative reading for American policy makers, businessmen, journalists, students of Chinese affairs, as well as China-bound travelers."--Midwest Book Review



Book Description
In this succinct, modest, and refreshingly forthright book--now revised and updated for the new century--Starr introduces to the uninitiated reader the background, basic data, and issues at stake in China's crisis-ridden present and future.

The death of Deng Xioaping in February 1997, revelations about Chinese influence in our election campaigns, and Chinese eagerness to acquire advanced American technology, are only some of the developments that show how urgently we need to know and understand China better than we do. In this revised edition of his essential book, Starr focuses his shrewd attention on them all. He furnishes additional material on China's relations with Taiwan and Tibet, the transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, China's nuclear weapons program, and its environmental and human rights records.



About the Author
John Bryan Starr, who served as President of both the Yale China Association and the China Institute in New York City, and as managing director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform in Providence, Rhode Island, is now Executive Director of the Tri-State Consortium. In addition, he serves as Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Education at Brown University. The author of many articles and books on China, including Ideology and Culture and Continuing the Revolution: The Political Thought of Mao, and editor of The Future of U.S.-China Relations, he has taught at the University of California, Yale, and Dartmouth. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this succinct, modest, and refreshingly clearheaded book, John Bryan Starr introduces the uninitiated reader to the background, basic data, and issues at stake in China's crisis-ridden present and past situation.

The complexities of the Chinese government since the death of Deng Xiaoping in February 1997, revelations about China's influence in our election campaigns, and China's eagerness to acquire advanced American technology are only some of the issues that show how urgently we need to know and understand China better than we do. Since Understanding China was first published in 1997, there have been still more important developments in China, and in this revised edition Starr focuses his shrewd attention on them all. Additional material has been added on matters such as China's relations with Taiwan and with Tibet, the Hong Kong transfer, China's nuclear weapons program, and the nation's environmental and human-rights record.

John Bryan Starr, who served as president of both the Yale China Association and the China Institute in New York City, is managing director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform in Providence, Rhode Island. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.

"An excellent introduction to China for anyone in search of solid but concise information about that complicated country. Packed with facts and figures, but enlivened with firsthand observations." (Lucian W. Pye, The New York Times)

FROM THE CRITICS

Booknews

Derived from a course on contemporary Chinese politics taught at Yale (where he was head of Yale's China Association; Starr is now director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown U.), this revised edition of the 1997 text offers an overview of the geography, political systems, power structure and economic makeup of China before turning to problem areas such as environmental pollution, ethnic separatism, population growth, urban and rural concerns. China's relations with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and its broader economic, political, and strategic relations round out this study, which is supplemented with maps and tables. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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