China in the 21st century

The need to understand this global giant has never been more pressing: China is constantly in the news, yet conflicting impressions abound. Within one generation, China has transformed from an impoverished, repressive state into an economic and political powerhouse. In this book the author provides cogent answers to the most urgent questions regarding the newest superpower and offers a framework for understanding its meteoric rise. Focusing his answers through the historical legacies such as Western and Japanese imperialism, the Mao era, and the massacre near Tiananmen Square, that largely define China's present-day trajectory, he introduces the Chinese Communist Party, the building boom in Shanghai, and the environmental fall out of rapid Chinese industrialization. He also explains unique aspects of Chinese culture such as the one child policy, and provides insight into how Chinese view Americans. He reveals that China today shares many traits with other industrialized nations during their periods of development, in particular the United States during its rapid industrialization in the 19th century. Finally, he provides guidance on the ways we can expect China to act in the future vis-a-vis the United States, Russia, India, and its East Asian neighbors.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.