Though outdated, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising
Power, by New York Times columnist, and fellow
Harvard Crimson alumnus,
Nicholas D. Kristof and his highly educated wife, Sheryl Wudunn, is an
excellent work on the rise of China. Both operated in Beijing as
reporters from 1988-1993, during the time of the infamous Tiananmen
massacre, for which their reporting won a Pulitzer Prize. The sense
that the authors create of an impending collapse is forgiven, as one of
the most
important things they get across, is how little we know and
can hope to know about China. The reporters, from intimate
experiences,
touch on the most important aspects of China, analyzing both policy,
and the experiences of the average peasant. Most intriguing, however,
is how they had to approach the situation as reporters. They were
constantly tailed, bugged, and interviews with Chinese were often
threats to their lives. Their analysis of the government is superb,
their experiences with average Chinese are important, and their final
chapter on Taiwan is excellent.