History of Modern Tibet (4 volumes) by Melvin C. Goldstein is considered the most authoritative and balanced history of modern Tibet. Goldstein uses both Chinese…
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Category: Uncategorized
The Struggle for Modern Tibet
The Struggle for Modern Tibet: The Autobiography of Tashi Tsering (1997) is an unvarnished history of Tibet from 1929 to the 1990s. Tashi wanted to…
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Red Star Over China
Red Star over China is now considered a classic work as it was the first account the world had of the Red bandits of China…
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A critical analysis of Mao’s achievements – Part 3
The Long March began with many defeats for the Reds. The Troika struggled to come up with a strategic plan for retreat. In January 1935,…
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Scandinavian tour and fairytales
Of the four Scandinavian countries I toured last Sep 2025, arguably the most scenic is Norway with its magnificent fjords. Finland, Denmark, and Sweden pale…
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A critical analysis of Mao’s achievements – Part 2
Thongdao, an obscure town in southern Hunan, is where Mao started in December 1934 to play a prominent role in the ultimate victory over the…
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A critical analysis of Mao’s achievements – Part 1
Why is Mao revered and celebrated by so many when he is responsible for the “two political disasters” of the Great Leap Forward and the…
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How China Escaped the Poverty Trap
This 2016 book won two book prizes. It had been hailed as game-changing in its economic analysis of China from 1978 to 2016. Deng Xiaoping…
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China and Japan – Part 2
Japanese culture and arts only grew after absorbing Chinese traditions via Korea and China from 600 to 838 AD. Absorption was the most during the…
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The Rain, the Books, and the Boy in Pudu
Lazy Sundays, rainy afternoons. I recall fondly my lazy and quiet Sunday afternoons of my tender years between the ages of 4 to 6. In…
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