China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power

The best book I have ever read for westerners who want to understand China. Possibly a little out of date; but thoughtful, and very well informed.

The single most well-arranged, researched, and written book on contemporary Chinese life and politics.

great stuff

Having read this book several years after it was penned by Ms. WuDunn and Mr.Kristoff, it was fascinating to see how many predictions of theirs for China - circa 1996 or 97 - have,indeed, come through

very interesting bit of non-fiction about china, written in an ethnographic manner - almost anecdotal, yet highly believable thanks to the journalistic backgrounds of the writers. is it biased? perhaps, but even the Times has it's biases. get over it, there is no 'unbiased' reporting. the stories may refer to specific things that may seem a bit dated, but the issues are still very much prevalent....more

very interesting bit of non-fiction about china, written in an ethnographic manner - almost anecdotal, yet highly believable thanks to the journalistic backgrounds of the writers. is it biased? perhaps, but even the Times has it's biases. get over it, there is no 'unbiased' reporting. the stories may refer to specific things that may seem a bit dated, but the issues are still very much prevalent. a story that comes to mind especially is the one about beijing's bid for the olympics. if youare even vaguely interested in modern china, this is a must.   hide

Must read for all you sinofiles.

TWo NY Times correspondents reflect on their experience in China. Often interesting and at times insightful. But the writers sense of superiority and entitlement as representatives of a powerful US newspaper constantly grates you..But this attitude of sup[eriority is very educative particulalrly for someone from a third world country..Media operations in the contemporary world are undoubtedly a...more

TWo NY Times correspondents reflect on their experience in China. Often interesting and at times insightful. But the writers sense of superiority and entitlement as representatives of a powerful US newspaper constantly grates you..But this attitude of sup[eriority is very educative particulalrly for someone from a third world country..Media operations in the contemporary world are undoubtedly a function of power distribution in the intl system..   hide

good read for anyone who wants to know about China in the 80s and early 90s, well researched, and written. just wish they followed up with an update

Predicted the rise of China long before it actually occured. Good read.