Senior BSSS

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.

Contents: The Middle Kingdom (1793-1897) -- Reform, reaction and revolution (1898-1921) -- Struggles for power (1921-1949) -- The People's Republic of China (1949-1961) -- The great proletarian cultural revolution (1961-1976)

This book has now been updated to support the content and assessment requirements of the A Level History specifications.- It contains authoritative and engaging content that takes the material and the student seriously. It features comprehensive coverage of the 2015 A Level Specifications. It also includes exam-style questions and guidance to help students understand how to apply what they have learnt.

Contents: Nationalists and communists; Communist victory and the consolidation of Mao's rule 1946-53; The transition to socialism 1952-62; Reform and control 1962-6; The Cultural Revolution 1966-76.

The Penguin History of Modern China shows how turbulent that journey has been. For 150 years China has endured as victim to brutality on an unmatched scale, to oppression, to war and to famine. This makes its current position as the newest and, arguably, most important global superpower all the more extraordinary. Jonathan Fenby's clear and comprehensive account of China's recent past is the definitive guide to this remarkable transformation.