The Pen Behind the Gavel
This is a book for judges on how to write good and clear judgments. Ross Guberman in Point Taken (2015) suggests various approaches that a…
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1911 Revolution—Part 1
Dr. Sun Yat-sen has been given too much credit for the 1911 Revolution that toppled the Ching dynasty. (The Unfinished Revolution: Sun Yat-sen and the…
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Reading Tibet
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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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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