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Ian Johnson

Goodreads Author

Born

Montreal, Canada

Website

http://www.ian-johnson.com

Twitter

iandenisjohnson

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Spirituality

Member Since

February 2017

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Ian Johnson is a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer focusing on society, religion, and history. He works out of Beijing, where he also teaches and advises academic journals.

Johnson has spent over half of the past thirty years in the Greater China region, first as a student in Beijing from 1984 to 1985, and then in Taipei from 1986 to 1988. He later worked as a newspaper correspondent in China, from 1994 to 1996 with Baltimore's The Sun, and from 1997 to 2001 with The Wall Street Journal, where he covered macro economics, China's WTO accession and social issues.

In 2009, Johnson returned to China, where he writes features and essays for The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, National Geographic, and other publications. ...more

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Ian Johnson’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 2,215 ratings · 320 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Sparks: China's Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future 4.36 avg rating — 698 ratings — published 2023 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao 4.08 avg rating — 652 ratings — published 2017 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China 3.95 avg rating — 374 ratings — published 2004 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Muslim Brotherhood in the West 3.68 avg rating — 326 ratings — published 2010 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Faithful Disobedience: Writings on Church and State from a Chinese House Church Movement by Wang Yi, Hannah Nation (Editor), J.D. Tseng (Editor) 4.56 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (editor), Ian Johnson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.78 avg rating — 74 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land by Angilee Shah (Editor), Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Editor), Pankaj Mishra (Foreword) 4.17 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My First Trip to China by Kin-ming Liu (Editor), Ian Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Forbidden City: The Palace at the Heart of Chinese Culture 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Ian Johnson is currently reading

No Borders: Journeys Across Islands and Continents

by Gungwu Wang

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Jul 16, 2026 12:24PM

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Democratic Drain: Global Migration and the Struggle for Democracy

by Justin Gest

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Jun 26, 2026 05:39AM

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City on Fire: A Novel of Hong Kong

by Simon Elegant

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May 10, 2026 12:35PM

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Ian Johnson is currently reading No Borders: Journeys Across Islands and Continents by Gungwu Wang	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 16, 2026 12:24PM · like
Ian Johnson finished reading Home Is Where We Are by Wang Gungwu	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 16, 2026 12:20PM · like
Ian Johnson is currently reading Democratic Drain: Global Migration and the Struggle for Democracy by Justin Gest	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 26, 2026 05:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Democratic Drain by Justin Gest. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Democratic Drain by Justin Gest <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ian Johnson is currently reading City on Fire: A Novel of Hong Kong by Simon Elegant	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 10, 2026 12:35PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of City on Fire by Simon Elegant. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — City on Fire by Simon Elegant <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ian Johnson is currently reading Songs for Dead Parents: Corpse, Text, and World in Southwest China by Erik Mueggler	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 09, 2026 06:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Songs for Dead Parents by Erik Mueggler. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Songs for Dead Parents by Erik Mueggler <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ian Johnson is currently reading World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer: The Story and Diaries of Captain JM McCleery RNAS/RAF by Guy Warner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 09, 2026 06:09AM · like
Ian Johnson is currently reading Home is Not Here by Wang Gungwu	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2026 11:45PM · like
Ian Johnson is currently reading Home Is Where We Are by Wang Gungwu	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2026 11:42PM · like
Ian Johnson is currently reading The Culture of Defeat: On National Trauma, Mourning, and Recovery by Wolfgang Schivelbusch	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 06, 2026 01:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Culture of Defeat by Wolfgang Schivelbusch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Culture of Defeat by Wolfgang Schivelbusch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ian Johnson is currently reading Kursk: The German View by Steven H. Newton (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 05, 2026 02:01PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kursk by Steven H. Newton. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kursk by Steven H. Newton <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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