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In this widely acclaimed history of modern China, Jonathan Spence achieves a fine blend of narrative richness and efficiency. Praised as "a miracle of readability and scholarly authority," (Jonathan Mirsky) The Search for Modern China offers a matchless introduction to China's... Read Full Overview

This text, the classic introduction to modern China for students and general readers, emerged from Spence's highly successful introductory course at Yale, in which he traced the beginnings of modern China to internal developments beginning in the early 17th century. Strong on... Read Full Overview

Jonathan D. Spence is George Burton Adams Professor of History at Yale University and author of eight acclaimed books on China. Here he has written a very readable history of this fascinating country. "To understand . . . China's past there is no better place to start than Jonathan... Read Full Overview

Beautifully written by a leading scholar in the field, the new edition of The Search for Modern China brings to life the characters and events of China's turbulent modern history. The narrative is detailed balanced, integrating political and cultural history with social and economic... Read Full Overview