Rating: 
Summary: Dumbed down China for dumber Americans
Review: A dumbed down version for the uncurious American student Written in cliches, and targeted for 13 year olds, with a heavy dose of partisan politics. Page 2. "The US has..had trouble with its national leadership...A more recent president from Hollywood lived a fantasy life, lying to himself and the public to make us feel good, while creating an underclass beneath our democracy and ending the Cold War with the Soviet Union" [I guess ending the Cold War was bad, huh?. Page 27 on the daily life of an Emperor..He was burdened by many duties and manipulated by the system - by his courtiers during the day and by his harem at night. What a crowded life!" p 328 on General Patrick Hurley "...General PatrickJ. Hurley from Oklahoma, a flamboyant and simple-mimded American, Reaganesque ahead of his time." The book is awful. Short on facts, and long on the writing style of adolescents, with lots of exclamation points. This is not scholarship. This is junk. Who really wrote this? Faribank on Goldman?
Rating: 
Summary: Saved my butt in history class!!!
Review: A simple, easy to understand overview. Great for those of us who have been denied China's beautiful history, and just about everyone else. Covers basic themes and is not just from a western perspective. Very helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Introduction to China
Review: I agree with the many different comments people have had for this book. It contains a lot of information, its very dull at times, and it does not go into great depth all the time.The bottom line is that is exactly what this book is. Its a short basic history of China. This is more of a reference book than a specific look at a very specific event. No, China experts will not be in love with this book. But anyone looking for a survey of Chinese History or looking for a decent desk/bookcase reference book on China will find this book useful.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Basic History!
Review: I agree with the many different comments people have had for this book. It contains a lot of information, its very dull at times, and it does not go into great depth all the time. The bottom line is that is exactly what this book is. Its a short basic history of China. This is more of a reference book than a specific look at a very specific event. No, China experts will not be in love with this book. But anyone looking for a survey of Chinese History or looking for a decent desk/bookcase reference book on China will find this book useful.
Rating:
Summary: A good history for non-scholars
Review: I am not a scholar of Chinese history. I just wanted to know more about the culture. I found the book to be very enjoyable. The topic was too broad for the book to spend much time in any detail of the subject. The book is well reasoned and excellent for those of us that want to know the basics about Chinese history. For those that read the other reviewer comments, bear in mind that the book covers Chinese history for prehistoric time to present day. Any commentary about US policy occurs in the very tail end. The book does do a good job contrasting the Chinese outlook to the western viewpoint.
Rating:
Summary: A good history for non-scholars
Review: I am not a scholar of Chinese history. I just wanted to know more about the culture. I found the book to be very enjoyable. The topic was too broad for the book to spend much time in any detail of the subject. The book is well reasoned and excellent for those of us that want to know the basics about Chinese history. For those that read the other reviewer comments, bear in mind that the book covers Chinese history for prehistoric time to present day. Any commentary about US policy occurs in the very tail end. The book does do a good job contrasting the Chinese outlook to the western viewpoint.
Rating:
Summary: More History Revisionists?
Review: I enjoyed the book and the concise manner of presentation but there were so many unnecessary anti-Reagan and anti-US Republican Party comments that I wondered if this was just another attempt by Boston "intellectuals" to revise history. The book has inspired me to read more books with more detailed accounts of China's History.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction - time to read more!
Review: Most fascinating for me in this history of China was the discussion of the recent economic opening that this huge and populous nation has undertaken. The reasons given for why they have been becoming capitalistic, (in fear of becoming like the USSR and to try to modernize their society) were intriguing. I must admit that I had a long prejudice against Chinese politics, as I considered it a state run by thugs. But after reading this book, I realized the long tradition of Confucian thought, and its effects on governance over the history of China. Also interesting was the role the US had in the Nationalist cause at the turn of the last Century. The tragic situation of women in the society, which was not elaborated on very much, but still fascinating and disturbing was also explored. I also enjoyed the stories of the dynasties, although I still don't have them all straight in my mind. But I did get a feel for why the dynasties rose and fell, and how they interacted with the rest of the world. The rise of the Communist party in China was very interesting, and I am very curious to see where things go now. The civic traditions and endemic corruptions inherent in the social structure could be seen in their interrelated complexities rising over the millennia as governance of this vast and diverse land was figured out. Mostly this book opened my mind to a society and culture I knew little about, and helped me to begin to appreciate it much more. Compared to the ever-present violence and destruction, religious persecution and conflict, and social disruption and seemingly unending tales of power-drunk warlords conniving to divvy up and consume land and influence that I gleaned reading the history of Europe, the history of China seems almost stable and consistent.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to China
Review: Specialists in Chinese history and culture will not learn anything from this book. But that's not why it was written. Westerners are very ignorant of Chinese history, and this book is a good introduction to the big themes in China--government and protest, economic development and poverty, the influence of the West, education, and more. For example, the mistrust of China's government of Falun Gong is much more understandable when you know about the earlier religion-based revolutions and civil wars in Chinese history, which I'm sure the President of the United States is not aware of, despite his well-meaning platitudes about freedom of religion. I enjoyed this book greatly and reread portions often.
Rating:
Summary: the best Chinese history book ever written
Review: the best Chinese history book ever written for for dumber Americans.
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