Rating: 
Summary: What's wrong with the PRC, according to the author
Review: This book, like Becker's previous 'Hungry Ghosts', contains a wealth of interesting information that sheds much light on China's politicized modernization process and its social effects. The writing is excellent as well. Unfortunately, also like 'Hungry Ghosts' (though less so this time), he's got an ax to grind that results in uncritical acceptance of many invalid charges made against the PRC. It also results in every negative trend and every rotten behavior of the government being exposed (as should be); but simultaneously existing positive trends and admirable actions by the government over the last 50 years are dutifully ignored. 1) Becker states (pg 4) that China "did not advance very far" under Mao. Agriculture grew faster than all but a couple of developing countries. Industrial growth was flawed (far too few consumer goods) but better than average. Life expectancy soared from 37-68, far faster than the norm. Primary and secondary school enrollment soared (especially in the long neglected countryside). These are the kind of things you won't read in this book. 2) Becker says 80 million were killed or died because Mao's policies. This is an outrageous fiction, that Becker cites no evidence for (for none exists). I welcome correction if someone is aware of any. 3) Becker says the success of Shanxi Province Mao era model farm Dazhai was a concocted myth, thus demonstrating a willingness to accept uncritically even communist propaganda when it's helpful, rather than asking the people of Dazhai themselves, or reading the many accounts of those who have, since Deng made this charge. 4) He says 1 million Chinese were killed in the Korean War, apparently so we can make inferences about how the then PRC leaders disregard human life. Never mind that this UN figure is citing killed AND wounded and that people who have studied the Chinese side of the war closely have determined even it is far too high. And never mind that Zhou Enlai tried desperately to avoid conflict with the US, and the PRC only entered the war when bombed and verbally threatened. 5) He suggests that cooperative land tenure is an unpopular imposition by the state bent on control. Yet Jonathan Unger's new book "The Transformation of Rural China" (based on extensive rural interviews) explains that this system is very popular, and it's the state that is pushing for privatization. 6) When Becker asks why so many Chinese still "retain faith" in the PRC (253), the answer he gives is propaganda and the fact that many Chinese adore tyrants. Yet the party has in fact lost a huge amount of popular support from the mid 1990s to the present. Has propaganda and authoritarianism ended? No. Thus, a reasonable conclusion (supported by interview evidence) is popular support existed before because of a higher degree of socio-economic justice than the typical developing country, and the growing perception that the government is purely self-serving and representative of the rich explains their large slide in the public's view. A fairer book of this type is "Rediscovering China" by Cheng Li. Of the 'bad side of the PRC' genre, Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn's book "China Wakes" is better, though less up to date. Another source for a "Chinese" view of China would be to read a village study like 'Gao Village'.
Rating: 
Summary: A Gripping, In-Depth Study Which Lets Chinese People Speak
Review: This is a fascinating, hard-to-put down description of recent China which traces the roots of today's conditions into the past. Mr. Becker has visited many places in China which are off the beaten path, and he has talked to a wide array of people. He is also well-read in Chinese history and culture. The book is footnoted, making use of a variety of written sources in Chinese and English in addition to the author's own direct observations and interviews. A chapter which was especially interesting to me describes Chinese intellectuals of the present and past, their part in shaping 20th-century political developments, and ways in which intellectuals were affected by cataclysmic events such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the continuing roller-coaster ride of events since the 1970's. Some little-known intellectual and political movements of the first half of the 20th century are highlighted also. Another chapter shows the shocking effects of Maoist policies on education, and what happened to many teachers during the Cultural Revolution and afterwards. However, this is not a book which focusses just upon the elites. Also described, with substance and readability, are economic changes, minorities, health care, the environment, conditions among people in the countryside, the one-child policy, law, bureaucracy, access to information outlets, Chinese views on morality, and the role of the People's Liberation Army. There are some striking observations on the relationship between privatization and one-party rule, and resultant impacts on people's attitudes towards the state and the world in general. While the book focusses upon developments in the last few decades, it is one of the best, most balanced books I've read on China generally. It suggests to me that Mr. Becker has real understanding and compassion for individual Chinese people, and not just for cloudy concepts about Chinese people and culture. Based upon my own experiences in China, Mr. Becker's descriptions of places such as Shenzhen are right on target. Unlike many books by writers who attempt to explain current conditions in a particular country, and who, in the process, talk mostly to people who seem to be like themselves, this book is an in-depth, carefully researched study which lets Chinese people from many backgrounds speak for themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent snapshot
Review: This is an excellent snapshot of a very important nation that is emerging on the world stage while most Americans are watching "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire." We ignore China at our peril, and are governed by ignoramuses who couldn't find China on a map. Becker has performed a valuable service here, and his research is excellent, his facts and figures are bankable. Becker has a very austere, clean style that imparts information and allows the reader to make up his own mind. Yet he is deeply engaged with his subject and obviously has China deep in his heart. I admire his dedication. He isn't doing this for the money, he's doing it out of sincere engagement and curiosity. This is an excellent book, and a worthy successor to Becker's first book, "Hungry Ghosts," a story of the famine that swept China during Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward. "Hungry Ghosts" is just about collectibly good, a superb piece of work that explains a great deal about Modern China. McarlosB
Rating:
Summary: Recent Detail
Review: Very detailed account of chinese recent history. Not a great book for learning the origins of deep chinese roots, but a great book for learning how those roots are playing out today. Good use of data for the numberically inclined. The author's perspective seems one sided (i.e. anti-regime), but that's a very informed decision.
Rating:
Summary: Recent Detail
Review: Very detailed account of chinese recent history. Not a great book for learning the origins of deep chinese roots, but a great book for learning how those roots are playing out today. Good use of data for the numberically inclined. The author's perspective seems one sided (i.e. anti-regime), but that's a very informed decision.
Rating: 
Summary: A slow and unnecessary read
Review: While the author seems to be somewhat of an authority on China, his latest book falls short of anytihing expert. There are some interesting facts in the book that might not be found anywhere else, but you will have to dig laboriously through unnessesary text. There isn't any detail on the subjects Becker covers, only a little taste. Some of the material is what you might expect to find in a travel guide. The book overall does not explain much of "The Chinese," as the title implies. I would recommend passing this one up because there are far more interesting reads available.
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