The Penguin History of Modern China

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View books by Jonathan Fenby.

sorry but its not good enough - Rated
Studying History myself, I think the Penguin History completely lost the plot. I agree with other review. It gives me a feeling like 'handling in an essay by tomorrow. If you really want read something about Chinese History, I recommend 'The Rise of Modern China' by Oxford University Press. It is much much better, but a bit more expensive. I still think worth it, honestly.

A disappointment, and a rush-job. - Rated
This is a disappointing book, and it needn't have been; Jonathan Fenby, while not a trained historian, is a strong and intelligent writer, and 'Generalissimo' was excellent. This, however, clearly shows signs of being a rush job done for the Olympic Year; for one thing, given how recently Fenby's other books came out, it seems extremely unlikely he had the time that a book of this magnitude requires. The writing is journalistic and in places glib, without the depth of sources or statistics that a book like this needs. Most bizarrely, there are no Chinese-language sources cited in the text! Despite ideological bias, good, interesting historical work is done on the mainland - never mind Taiwan and Hong Kong - and it seems odd to overlook it so completely.

It's still a decent introduction to modern China for someone new to the field, but it doesn't offer the depth or insight that other books in the Penguin History series have. The strongest sections are on the 1930s and 1940s, where Fenby has done previous work; others have been put together at some speed from other English books, most noticeably MAO'S LAST REVOLUTION for the Cultural Revolution sections. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; MLR, for instance, though a great book, is not that accessible, but the lack of original research or insight is noticeable. Ultimately, it's a weak entry in a normally great series of books.