Living With Reform: China since 1989

by Timothy Cheek

China is huge. China is growing more powerful. Yet China remains a great mystery to most people in the West. This contemporary history, based on the latest scholarly research, offers a balanced perspective of the continuing legacy of Maoism in the lives not only of China's leaders but China's working people. It outlines the ambitious economic reforms taken since the 1980s and shows the complex responses to the consequences of reform in China today.

Cheek shows the domestic concerns and social forces that shape the foreign policy of one of the worlds great powers. His analysis will equip the reader to judge media reports independently and to consider the experience and values not only of the Chinese government but China's workers, women, and minorities.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been on my radar for ages. So glad to finally get to it. Wish I had read it when I was 18, though. It would have been more useful for me then. 7 straight years of thinking, writing, and reading about China has led me to already be aware of most of what is discussed in this book.

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fundamental contradiction of the CCP has been the tension between the rational technocracy that is the Party and the charismatic authority of its supreme leader. // While their contemporary experiences diverge widely, they share a common living heritage: Maoism. 邓江胡时代简史，写于胡任期初，和谐社会尚未铺开，距今虽然只有不到20年的gap，读起来已经有今非昔比的距离感，不变的则是Maoism的传承。

[Rebekah Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and concise, this text sets out to give a quick crash course of the development of modern China. This book will help to let you touch on the surface of the way present day China is they way it is. Don't read this alone, I recommend reading "Mao's China and After: A History of the People's Republic" by Maurice Meisner along with this book to clear up any confusions you might have reading this work.

Read this if...
* You're interested in modern China
* You're interested in Mao's China and politics
* You're interested in Chinese history and culture

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book before my recent trip to China to gain some basic understanding of China. This was recommended by a friend who teaching Political Science at Loyola and specializes in China. It was an easy read that taught me a lot.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is less a history of China in the Reform era than it is a description of situation in China during this time period. I think it is very helpful for describing society and the issues that China is facing at the turn of the century, both foreign and domestic.