Rating: 
Summary: A Cogent Analysis of Modern Chinese History
Review: Studying Chinese culture and history for one of my majors, the other being political science, I have found that this book is a very through and cogent analysis of the modern Chinese political situation. I would reccomend this book to anyone wishing to understand the perspective of China's political leadership and also its people.
Rating: 
Summary: best book I have read about Modern China
Review: The author took an incredible time to research this book and it shows throughout the entire book. It seems that this is a topic that he really enjoys and understands the issues that surround China's modern history. An 8 out of 1
Rating: 
Summary: The Search for Spence's Worth
Review: There are a lot of things that can be said about Spence after reading this book, but a China expert is not one of them. The effeminate little brit needs to start his search all over again from day one.
Rating:
Summary: reprint of 1st ed?
Review: This apparently is a reprint of the 1st ed., I don't know of any reason to prefer it over the 2nd ed.
Rating:
Summary: Best of class
Review: This book is a best-seller for one very good reason: it makes modern China interesting for people who might otherwise be appauled by the place. It's the best general introduction to the subjects, is very well written, and good enough to serve as a reference for non-Sinologists. So why the recent spate of negative reviews? Young Sini-cle Yalies just got your poor grades back? Lesser-known China experts jealous of the doyen's popularity with the English-speaking masses? That some reviewers have gone down to one star on a generally respected title should be a hint that there's something amiss, and its not with the book itself.
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Summary: This book is to long for college classes
Review: This book provides a great deal of indepth information. It was required reading in Chinese History Studies At Oklahoma State University Under Dr. Park, who completely tried to destroy every reasonable rational the book provided and used certian passages to distort history to fit his idea of it. So buy the book, stay out of Any classes taught by Dr. Park and learn on your own.
Rating:
Summary: A Revised Look at Modern China
Review: This book, now in its second edition, has been quite successful and has in one sense managed to fill a perceived need among literate westerners, particulaarly Americans, to know something about modern Chinese history. However, few people appreciate what a ground-breaking book this was, at least in its first edition. That it was a popular history of China ("popular" in the sense that it was not primarily designed to be a college text) was not unique; reasonably well-researched surveys of Chinese history have been around since the nineteenth century. But for those of us who sat through an undergraduate course on Chinese history prior to 1980, Spence's approach was refreshingly un-Eurocentered. Once upon a time, Chinese history was presented in two neat halves: the first half was "traditional" China from prehistoric times to the Opium Wars (1840's). The second half was everything else going forward. The overall impression was that everything changed when the white man appeared - which is, of course, a misperception, to put it mildly. Spence conceives of "modern" Chinese history as beginning with the Ming Dynasty, and treated the Western intervention as just one theme among many. Thus, Spence was able to present a new view of China to a new generation, and it was a viewpoint that explains a great deal more than previous ones did. That he does it in such a compelling way, opening new vistas up to us in the process, is what makes this a great book. A great deal of thought and sensitivity has gone into this work, and it deserves to be appreciated for that.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to modern Chinese history
Review: This is probably the most accessible history of modern China written so far. Jonathan Spence, a Yale professor of history, has written extensively on Chinese history and his insights into the culture and people are invaluable. Overall the reader is presented with a picture of the nature of change in Chinese civilization and how those changes are sometimes culture specific. Chinese intellectual, political and social organizations are presented. Importantly Spence shows the difficulty in incorporating Western concepts both technological and philisophical into Chinese society and the sometime rejection of these concepts for political and cultural reasons. Spence's scholarship is second to none and this is a very readable history, both enjoyable and informative. No better praise can be given than besides a college text on Chinese history "The Search For Modern China" is just as well suited as an informative and entertaining read for the layperson. The integration of scholarship and writing makes this a good standard to judge other general histories.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to modern Chinese history
Review: This is probably the most accessible history of modern China written so far. Jonathan Spence, a Yale professor of history, has written extensively on Chinese history and his insights into the culture and people are invaluable. Overall the reader is presented with a picture of the nature of change in Chinese civilization and how those changes are sometimes culture specific. Chinese intellectual, political and social organizations are presented. Importantly Spence shows the difficulty in incorporating Western concepts both technological and philisophical into Chinese society and the sometime rejection of these concepts for political and cultural reasons. Spence's scholarship is second to none and this is a very readable history, both enjoyable and informative. No better praise can be given than besides a college text on Chinese history "The Search For Modern China" is just as well suited as an informative and entertaining read for the layperson. The integration of scholarship and writing makes this a good standard to judge other general histories.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect introduction to Chinese history
Review: This textbook is the perfect introduction for students interested in an overview of modern Chinese history and a valuable reference for scholars already immersed in the subject. Drawing on his many years of teaching the survey course at Yale on Chinese history, Spence covers the major events and themes of the past four hundred years with scholarly thoroughness and a light literary hand. Although the amount of material is daunting - even Spence doesn't use it all in his course- Search for Modern China is written to be accessible to the layperson as well as the academic. Highly recommended for anyone interested in China today.
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