Becoming China

The Story Behind the State

Jeanne-Marie Gescher

$60

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Publishing
01 December 2017

Becoming China is an account of China’s past and present, how a small group of people at the edges of the Yellow River evolved to become the state of China today.

One of the two most powerful states in the world, China continues to be seen as a mystery even after decades of an open door. How does China work, what does it want, why does it want it, and what does its rise to global power mean for the rest of the world?

As the twenty-first century looks set to be the stage for a battle about competing geopolitical ideals, these are urgent questions for everyone with an interest in what the future might bring.

Epic in scope, this is the story of how China became the state it is today and how its worldview is based on what has gone before. Weaving together inspirations, ideas, wars and dreams to reveal the heart of what it means to be Chinese and how the past impacts on the present.

Despite decades of a relatively open door relationship with the rest of the world, China is still a mystery to many outside it. A world of its own, China is both a microcosm and an amplification of questions and events in the wider world. China’s story offers us an opportunity to hold a mirror to ourselves: to our own assumptions, to our values, and to our ideas about the most important question of all:

what it means to be human in the world of the state.

By: Jeanne-Marie Gescher
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Export/Airside
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 1.252kg
ISBN: 9781408887240
ISBN 10: 140888724X
Pages: 800
Publication Date: 01 December 2017
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jeanne-Marie Gescher founded of one of the earliest private advisory firms in China, she has also observed and advised policy institutions on the social, human and environmental changes that have taken place and on their implications, for China and the wider world. Jeanne-Marie has been honorary legal advisor to successive British ambassadors to the PRC from 1989 to 2015; she is a twice-elected former chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.

Reviews for Becoming China: The Story Behind the State

Jeanne-Marie Gescher is one of the most respected of the foreign advisors on China. Her argument that history, geography and human nature are essential to understanding the country and its future is one that any China expert would wholeheartedly endorse. If you can only read one book on China this year, read this. If you have time to finish two, read Hank Paulson's as well-but read Becoming China first. A page-turning work of genius and originality: the history of a great and brilliant people, and the anatomy of China's soul A tour de force that succeeds brilliantly in opening up this most complex of countries.