After a few weeks out of the studio I rejoined Kaiser Kuo for the latest installment of the Sinica podcast. This week’s topic was a discussion of the best English language China books, and should be a good listen for anyone who wants to put together a China reading list or expand their current one. We discuss many of the classic China books and authors, but also get into some things you may not have heard of. I like popular history, so some of the books that I submitted for discussion were:
- Will the Boat Sink the Water? by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao (also known as An Investigation of the Chinese Peasants – 中国农民调查)
- Poorly Made in China, by Paul Midler (reviewed by Imagethief earlier this year)
- Mao: A Life, by Philip Short
- China Shakes the World, by James Kynge
- Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World, by Margaret MacMillan
- A Penguin History of Modern China, by Jonathan Fenby
There is much, much more in the discussion, including Peter Hessler, Philip Pan, Orville Schell, Ian Johnson, Sang Ye, Tim Clissold, Li Zhisui, Ma Jian, Liao Yiwu, Richard McGregor, Ma Jun, Jonathan Spence and others. If you’re interested in China it’ll be an hour of your time well spent. I promise.
In the studio with Kaiser and me were Forbes Beijing bureau chief Gady Epstein and Qing Dynasty historian and Jottings from the Granite Studio blogger Jeremiah Jenne. Contributing recorded segments were Guardian journalist Jonathan Watts, Bureau of National Affairs and Global Post reporter Kathleen McLaughlin, and Danwei.org editor Jeremy Goldkorn, and Academic Director of CET Beijing, David Moser. The blurb:
Looking for a little summer reading? This week Sinica sorts the wheat from the chaff with a massive review of books on China. Our discussion touches on a everything from Chinese fiction to non-fiction academic works on Chinese politics, economics and history. There’s a good selection here and a combative discussion: we’ll tell you what we love, and what we hate and why….
Sinica is also available through iTunes podcast subscriptions. Search “Sinica”, or use iTunes to subscribe to the Sinica feed.
Update: The Sinica page now has a nearly complete list of the books discussed, with Amazon links.
Read all about it.
Poorly Made in China was a very good read. I have seen the issues as explained by the author and also identified mistakes he made in dealing with Chinese companies. I am the guy American companies hire to either fix problems with there Chinese suppliers or who want to outsource to China but do not have a clue how. The guy people love to hate. I have even passed the book on over to our Director of Materials to read. We are commencing to outsource more products to China lately and it was a great eye opener that supports why I do the things I do to partenership with china suppliers. You gave a great review, thanks for finding this one.