Support H-Net | Buy Books Here | Help Support the NBN and NBN en Español on Patreon | Visit New Books Network en Español!
- African Studies
- African American Studies
- American Politics
- American Studies
- American South
- American West
- Asian American Studies
- Australian and New Zealand Studies
- British Studies
- Canadian Studies
- Caribbean Studies
- Central Asian Studies
- Chinese Studies
- East Asian Studies
- Eastern European Studies
- European Politics
- French Studies
- German Studies
- Iberian Studies
- India Studies
- Indian Ocean World
- Iranian Studies
- Irish Studies
- Israel Studies
- Italian Studies
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Studies
- Latino Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Mexican Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Native American Studies
- Pacific Studies
- Polish Studies
- Russian and Eurasian Studies
- Southeast Asian Studies
- South Asian Studies
- Turkish Studies
- Ukrainian Studies
- Western European Studies
- World Affairs
- Animal Studies
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Business, Management, and Marketing
- Media
- Critical Theory
- Disability Studies
- Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
- Education
- Economics
- Finance
- Geography
- Gender Studies
- Genocide Studies
- Higher Education
- Human Rights
- Journalism
- Language
- Law
- LGBTQ+ Studies
- National Security
- Philosophy
- Policing, Incarceration, and Reform
- Political Science
- Politics & Polemics
- Public Policy
- Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
- Sociology
- Sound Studies
- Sports
- Urban Studies
Apr 4, 2016
Eight Juxtapositions
China through imperfect analogies from Mark Twain to Manchukuo
Summary
Jeffrey Wasserstrom's wonderful new book in the "China Specials" series at Penguin opens with two main premises. First, it is more important than ever to have "illuminating lenses through which to view the People's Republic of China," especially ones that help us make sense of the ways that the PRC has changed since 2008 in the wake of the Olympics, unrest from Tibet to Xinjiang to Hong Kong, the Sichuan earthquake, and more. Second, unexpected juxtapositions can help us understand these changes. Eight Juxtapositions: China through Imperfect Analogies from Mark Twain to Manchukuo (e-Penguin, 2016) is small, beautifully written book that does just that. It is packed with the kinds of insights that come from surprising and unusual combinations and comparisons between Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and China's policies toward Tibet and Xinjiang, George W. Bush and Hu Jintao, Beijing and Berlin, Orwell and Huxley, today's China and Russia, Yu Hua and Mark Twain, Xi Jinping and Pope Francis, and more. Check out a copy, explore the marvelous Penguin series of these short books on China, and consider assigning it in a course!
