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Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London. From 2012 to 2015 he was Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Prior to this he worked at Chatham House from 2006 to 2012, as Senior Fellow and then Head of the Asia Programme. From 1998 to 2005 he worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office stationed in Beijing. He is the author of over twenty books on modern Chinese politics and his work has been translated into twelve languages.
A compelling look at the small island caught between Chinese power and the vagaries of US politics . . . As Brown shows so compellingly, anyone who thinks the Taiwan problem can be easily solved probably hasn't thought about it for long enough -- Bill Emmott * Financial Times * An erudite primer . . . Brown's mission to educate westerners about Taiwan and why it matters is a critical one, which makes this book well worth reading -- Josh Glancy * Sunday Times * Kerry Brown has produced an authoritative primer to all things Taiwan – in eminently readable prose he tells how an island once dismissed by the Qing dynasty emperor Kangxi as a “mud ball in the sea” was transformed into a raucous democracy and economic powerhouse, as well as one of the most contested lands in the world. Brown covers how it started, how it’s going and above all, why it is urgent that we all care -- Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy A passionate defence of the “unglamorous” and vague diplomatic fudge that, for half a century, characterised the uncomfortable triangular relationship between China, Taiwan and American. It’s precisely this ambiguity, Brown argues, that has kept the peace until now . . . Invaluable -- Cindy Yu * Daily Telegraph * Kerry Brown is one of our most perceptive and accurate foreign observers of China -- John Simpson Brown reveals Taiwan to his readers as a place of fascinating pluralism . . . a clear-sighted assessment of international trade-offs that govern its people’s fate -- Christopher Harding * Spectator * A persuasive work of geopolitical analysis . . . A sober and fair-minded appraisal of the seemingly intractable stand-off that could bring economic and political disaster to the world in the event of escalation -- Oliver Farry * Irish Times * Few of us pay enough attention to what’s happening in the Taiwan Strait. Kerry Brown wants to change that . . . Brown passionately – and to my mind, rationally – defends ambiguity as the best stance -- Linda Jaivin * The Saturday Paper * Anyone with a care to avoid a third world war – between China and the US – should read this book. It’s succinct, cogent and thoughtful. It makes the unfashionable, but crucial and, in my view, unarguable case for continuing an approach of ‘strategic ambiguity’ towards Taiwan’s international position. Kerry Brown has the added merit of knowing what he’s talking about. He’s lived and breathed China all his adult life -- Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary 2001–2006 Taiwan is one of the most dangerous hotspots in the world. This is a highly readable account of its history and the parameters of the present crisis, written with great knowledge, passion, and insight by someone who has followed Taiwan very closely for many years. Whether he is right, only time will tell. -- Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World
