Ben Waber reviewed The Great Transformation by Odd Arne Westad
A Palace-Intrigue View into China's Postwar Political Evolution
4 stars
Westad and Jian provide a blow-by-blow account of the evolution of Chinese leadership and political strategy through the postwar decades, focusing on the 50s-80s. They examine this period through an individual lens, following different players and their decisions. Unfortunately there's essentially no macro perspective - broad sweeping statements are mixed in, almost never with quantitative support, and even these statements are quickly abandoned to dive back into palace intrigue. This is still an interesting history, but for those looking to learn about the efficacy of different policies, how the mechanisms of the state evolved, and other concrete perspective will be best served elsewhere.
Westad and Jian provide a blow-by-blow account of the evolution of Chinese leadership and political strategy through the postwar decades, focusing on the 50s-80s. They examine this period through an individual lens, following different players and their decisions. Unfortunately there's essentially no macro perspective - broad sweeping statements are mixed in, almost never with quantitative support, and even these statements are quickly abandoned to dive back into palace intrigue. This is still an interesting history, but for those looking to learn about the efficacy of different policies, how the mechanisms of the state evolved, and other concrete perspective will be best served elsewhere.