Synopses & Reviews
The eyes of the West have recently been trained on China and India, but Vietnam is rising fast among its Asian peers. A breathtaking period of social change has seen foreign investment bringing capitalism flooding into its nominally communist society, booming cities swallowing up smaller villages, and the lure of modern living tugging at the traditional networks of family and community. Yet beneath these sweeping developments lurks an authoritarian political system that complicates the nations apparent renaissance. In this engaging work, experienced journalist Bill Hayton looks at the costs of change in Vietnam and questions whether this rising Asian power is really heading toward capitalism and democracy.
Based on vivid eyewitness accounts and pertinent case studies, Haytons book addresses a broad variety of issues in todays Vietnam, including important shifts in international relations, the growth of civil society, economic developments and challenges, and the nations nascent democracy movement as well as its notorious internal security. His analysis of Vietnams police state,” and its systematic mechanisms of social control, coercion, and surveillance, is fresh and particularly imperative when viewed alongside his portraits of urban and street life, cultural legacies, religion, the media, and the arts. With a firm sense of historical and cultural context, Hayton examines how these issues have emerged and where they will lead Vietnam in the next stage of its development.
Review
"Fifty years from now, scholars and historians will still be reading this volume and its predecessor as the indispensable guides to the lived experience of rural China through the tumultuous years of the twentieth century. It is not even a slight exaggeration to call this a monumental achievement: one accomplished by dint of great patience, great cultural and linguistic knowledge, great respect for their subjects, and an unfailing sense of how to convey the micro-history of world-shaking events. I am in awe . . . and also greatly in their debt."James C. Scott, Yale University
-- Andrew J. Bacevich
Review
"This book is an absorbing and finely researched sequel to the authors now classic Chinese Village, Socialist State. By carrying their story onwards from the Great Leap down to the reform era, the authors have assured Boss Geng and Wugong village a definitive space in the history of modern China."Jonathan Spence, Yale University -- James C. Scott
Review
“Based on more than two decades of eye-opening interviews with villagers,
Revolution, Resistance, and Reform in Village China richly illuminates the recent history of rural China.”Jonathan Unger, Director, Contemporary China Centre, Australian National University
-- Jonathan Spence
Review
“Part of a truly major research project...documents in rich detail the human problems that lie behind the standard story of the developments of Chinese national policy.”
-- Jonathan Unger
Review
“ … [The authors] have succeeded … in describing the daily experience of villagers in a ‘centralized authoritarian China.”Jonathan Mirsky,
New York Review of Books -- Lucian W. Pye - Foreign Affairs
Review
"At a time when polls show American soft power declining, Chinas is rising. Based on first hand experience in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Kurlantzicks fascinating book traces how China is building its global soft power. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of American foreign policy."Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard, author of
Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics -- Miroslav Volf
Review
"Joshua Kurlantzick has written an eye-opening book about an important aspect of Chinas global rise. Although often eclipsed by its growing economic clout, Chinas recent charm offensive in quest of closer relations and more natural resources has begun to transform the world balance of power in a way that makes it essential for Americans to recalibrate their presumption of US pre-eminence."Orville Schell, author of
Virtual Tibet and coeditor of
The China Reader -- Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
Review
"In this critically important book, Joshua Kurlantzick describes the incredible gains that China has made over the past decade in winning over the hearts and minds of populations and governments around the world through its strategic outreach campaign. Kurlantzicks excellent work reminds us that America neglects our public diplomacy at our own peril, and that reinvigorating American prestige around the world will require far healthier doses of U.S. leadership for the greater good."Jamie F. Metzl, Executive Vice President, The Asia Society
-- Orville Schell
Review
"Charm Offensive addresses a very critical subject and one largely unnoticedthe way China is quietly and methodically extending its international reach and influence. This is an important and timely book."Derek Mitchell, Senior Fellow for Asia, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and former Senior Director for China, U.S. Department of Defense, 2000–1 -- Jamie F. Metzl
Review
"This book is about two things: the rise in Chinas utilization of its growing soft power, but also a vacuum of soft power and influence an emasculated United States is leaving. While many authors would gravitate toward only one of these two aspects, Kurlantzick is able to weave both together, and we are the better because of his ability to do so."Benjamin A. Shobert, Asia Times -- Derek Mitchell
Review
"An intellectually honest book. . . . The books greatest contribution is its systematic portrayal of Chinas growing global influence, and the ways in which that influence is hurting not only Washington but also international development institutions."Dan Blumenthal, The Weekly Standard -- Benjamin A. Shobert - Asia Times
Review
"Kurlantzicks book will jolt you awake."Martha Bayles,
Wall Street Journal -- Dan Blumenthal - The Weekly Standard
Review
“Hayton has a keen eye for the detail of everyday life as well as larger cultural, economic, social, and political currents. This book leaves one with the feeling of having been in the hands of an expert craftsman, and illuminates some of the major issues confronting contemporary Vietnam.”Carlyle A. Thayer, author of Vietnam Peoples Army -- Mark Merlin
Review
"This is a cleverly pitched book, one that will appeal equally to a businessman or investor seeking a briefing on Vietnam, an old Asia hand, or an inquisitive backpacker."--Petroc Trelawny,
Irish Times -- Carl Thayer
Review
‘Examining nearly every aspect of Vietnamese politics and society, from the economy and family life, to religion and the plight of indigenous minorities, Hayton gives a balanced, intelligent account of a country who history so differs from our own. Justin Wintle,
Financial Times -- Petroc Trelawny - Irish Times
Review
“. . . enlightening and persuasive.”--Jonathan Mirsky,
New York Review of Books
-- Justin Wintle - Financial Times
Review
'The End of the Chinese Dream challenges everything we believe about China. This is a book that must be read by anyone who struggles to understand the greatest experiment underway in the world today.' -andnbsp;John Gray, Emeritus Professor of European Thought, London School of Economics, and author of False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism
Review
'
The End of the Chinese Dreamandnbsp;is highly original and unusual.andnbsp;Gerard Lemos has written with real insight into the fears and dreams of ordinary Chinese people. Anyone who wants to get behind misleading headlines about China should read this important book.' -andnbsp;Zhou Xun, Department of History, University of Hong Kongandnbsp;andnbsp;
andnbsp;
Review
and#8220;A much-needed and remarkably well-timed glimpse into the underbelly of this Asian tigerand#8230;originaland#8230;in the rigor and the depth of its human storytelling.and#8221;and#8212;Geoffrey Cain,
The New RepublicReview
and#8220;Given the number of books on China that are out there already, it is probably reasonable to ask whether we need any more. [This book] suggests that the answer is and#8220;yesand#8221;.and#8212;Elizabeth Economy, Asia Unbound
Review
and#8220;[Lemos] nails the anxiety middle-class Chinese are feelingand#8230;he performs a valuable substantive service by exposing the dark side of Chinaand#8217;s rise.and#8221;and#8212;Wall Street Journal
Review
and#8220;This is a welcome and highly readable account of the travails wrought on Chinaand#8217;s people by historyand#8217;s most powerful plutocracy.and#8221;and#8212;Frank Dikotta, The Sunday Times
Review
“[An]explosive book.”—The Good Book Guide Frank Dikotta - The Sunday Times
Review
and#8220;[An]explosive book.and#8221;and#8212;The Good Book Guide
Synopsis
A path-breaking study of ordinary Chinese people and how they perceive their lives and opportunities in modern China
Glossy television images of happy, industrious, and increasingly prosperous workers show a bright view of life in twenty-first-century China. But behind the officially approved story is a different reality. Preparing this book Gerard Lemos asked hundreds of Chinese men and women living in Chongqing, an industrial mega-city, about their wishes and fears. The lives they describe expose the myth of China's harmonious society. Hundreds of millions of everyday people in China are beleaguered by immense social and health problems as well as personal, family, and financial anxieties--while they watch their communities and traditions being destroyed.
Lemos investigates a China beyond the foreigners' beaten track. This is a revealing account of the thoughts and feelings of Chinese people regarding all facets of their lives, from education to health care, unemployment to old age, politics to wealth. Taken together, the stories of these men and women bring to light a broken society, one whose people are frustrated, angry, sad, and often fearful about the circumstances of their lives. The author considers the implications of these findings and analyzes how China's community and social problems threaten the ambitious nation's hopes for a prosperous and cohesive future. Lemos explains why protests will continue and a divided and self-serving leadership will not make people's dreams come true.
Synopsis
Drawing on more than a quarter century of field and documentary research in rural North China, this book explores the contested relationship between village and state from the 1960s to the start of the twenty-first century. The authors provide a vivid portrait of how resilient villagers struggle to survive and prosper in the face of state power in two epochs of revolution and reform. Highlighting the importance of intra-rural resistance and rural-urban conflicts to Chinese politics and society in the Great Leap and Cultural Revolution, the authors go on to depict the dynamic changes that have transformed village China in the post-Mao era. This book continues the dramatic story in the authors prizewinning Chinese Village, Socialist State. Plumbing previously untapped sources, including interviews, archival materials, village records and unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters, the authors capture the struggles, pains and achievements of villagers across three generations of social upheaval.
Synopsis
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, China is poised to become a major global power. And though much has been written of Chinas rise, a crucial aspect of this transformation has gone largely unnoticed: the way that China is using soft power to appeal to its neighbors and to distant countries alike.
This book is the first to examine the significance of Chinas recent reliance on soft powerdiplomacy, trade incentives, cultural and educational exchange opportunities, and other techniquesto project a benign national image, position itself as a model of social and economic success, and develop stronger international alliances. Drawing on years of experience tracking Chinas policies in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Joshua Kurlantzick reveals how China has wooed the world with a "charm offensive" that has largely escaped the attention of American policy makers.
Beijings new diplomacy has altered the political landscape in Southeast Asia and far beyond, changing the dynamics of Chinas relationships with other countries. China also has worked to take advantage of American policy mistakes, Kurlantzick contends. In a provocative conclusion, he considers a future in which China may be the first nation since the Soviet Union to rival the United States in international influence.
Synopsis
A path-breaking study of ordinary Chinese people and how they perceive their lives and opportunities in modern China
Synopsis
Glossy television images of happy, industrious, and increasingly prosperous workers show a bright view of life in twenty-first-century China. But behind the officially approved story is a different reality. Preparing this book Gerard Lemos asked hundreds of Chinese men and women living in Chongqing, an industrial mega-city, about their wishes and fears. The lives they describe expose the myth of China's harmonious society. Hundreds of millions of everyday people in China are beleaguered by immense social and health problems as well as personal, family, and financial anxietiesand#8212;while they watch their communities and traditions being destroyed.
Lemos investigates a China beyond the foreigners' beaten track. This is a revealing account of the thoughts and feelings of Chinese people regarding all facets of their lives, from education to health care, unemployment to old age, politics to wealth. Taken together, the stories of these men and women bring to light a broken society, one whose people are frustrated, angry, sad, and often fearful about the circumstances of their lives. The author considers the implications of these findings and analyzes how China's community and social problems threaten the ambitious nation's hopes for a prosperous and cohesive future. Lemos explains why protests will continue and a divided and self-serving leadership will not make people's dreams come true.
About the Author
Joshua Kurlantzick is special correspondent for the New Republic and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has covered Southeast Asia and China as a correspondent for U.S. News and World Report and The Economist, and his writings on Asia have appeared in Foreign Affairs, the New York Times Magazine, and many other publications.