"Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained an unrivaled grip over the country. Despite economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and even violence against its own people, the party has overseen the fastest economic growth in history and only strengthened its hold on power. How has it achieved this, and how exactly does the party and the government function? What is political life like for the people of China, and how has this...

"On the centennial of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Tony Saich offers the definitive history of the CCP's rise and rule. The party has suffered self-inflicted wounds yet thrived thanks to its flexibility. Looking ahead, Saich assesses how the CCP is adapting to global leadership and the expectations of China's growing middle class"--

"Since the founding of the Communist Party in China just over a century ago, there is much the country has achieved. But who does the heavy lifting in China? And who walks away with the spoils? Cadre Country places the spotlight on the nation's 40 million cadres, the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise. This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices...

As a writer, poet, musician and dissident, Liao Yiwu is one of the most important chroniclers and analysts of contemporary China. In his books, he draws on his own experiences of imprisonment and mistreatment at the hands of the Chinese state to criticise abuses of power and give a voice to the downtrodden and disenfranchised. In this powerful memoir, Liao Yiwu reflects on his own journey from imprisonment in Sichuan to his current life in Berlin,...

"Zhou Enlai, China's first premier, is overshadowed by Chairman Mao, but Zhou's influence in his own time and since has been vast. Chen Jian shows Zhou using his political and bureaucratic skills and centralism to mitigate the damage caused by Mao's radicalism and argues that Zhou created conditions for the post-Mao reforms that have made China a superpower."--

"When Hu Yaobang died in April 1989, throngs of mourners converged on the Martyrs’ Monument in Tiananmen Square to pay their respects. Following Hu’s 1987 ouster by party elders, Chinese propaganda officials had sought to tarnish his reputation and dim his memory, yet his death galvanized the nascent pro-democracy student movement, setting off the dramatic demonstrations that culminated in the Tiananmen massacre. The Conscience of the Party is...

"For decades China watchers argued that economic liberalization and increasing prosperity would bring democracy to the world's most populous country. Instead, the Communist Party's grip on power has only strengthened. Why? The answer, Minxin Pei argues, lies in the effectiveness of the Chinese surveillance state. And the source of that effectiveness is not just advanced technology like facial recognition AI and mobile phone tracking. These are important,...