
China's Leaders
From Mao to Now
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Narrated by:
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Nancy Wu
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By:
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David Shambaugh
About this listen
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China over seventy years ago, five paramount leaders have shaped the fates and fortunes of the nation and the ruling Chinese Communist Party: Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping. Under their leaderships, China has undergone an extraordinary transformation from an undeveloped and insular country to a comprehensive world power.
In this definitive study, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China's dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it. Exploring the persona, formative socialization, psychology, and professional experiences of each leader, Shambaugh shows how their differing leadership styles and tactics of rule shaped China domestically and internationally: Mao was a populist tyrant, Deng a pragmatic Leninist, Jiang a bureaucratic politician, Hu a technocratic apparatchik, and Xi a modern emperor. Covering the full scope of these leaders' personalities and power, this is an illuminating guide to China's modern history and understanding how China has become the superpower of today.
©2021 David Shambaugh (P)2022 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance
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Excellent
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Great Book for Understanding China
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As a major political event and a crucial turning point in the history of the People's Republic of China, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) marked the zenith as well as the nadir of Mao Zedong's ultra-leftist politics. Reacting in part to the Soviet Union's "revisionism" that he regarded as a threat to the future of socialism, Mao mobilized the masses in a battle against what he called "bourgeois" forces within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This 10-year-long class struggle on a massive scale devastated traditional Chinese culture as well as the nation's economy.
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Soooo much info...
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What listeners say about China's Leaders
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-27-25
That’s the book every student at China-related major should read
This book is just fantastic! Well-structured, clear and thought provoking. A masterpiece. I enjoyed it to the extent that I bought both an audiobook and a paper version.
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- Frank D. Branella
- 12-23-23
China Exposed!
The top-down authoritarian government will implode! Everyone deceives each other to obtain wealth and power!
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- Austin
- 09-28-24
Very Informative
Was very informative. Dives more into the personality of each leader as well as their upbringing which is neat.
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- Shannon Clay
- 01-20-23
History of China
History of China and it’s leaders is a must read to understand this country and it’s goals. Communism is incredibly scary!
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1 person found this helpful
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- HughJass
- 08-20-23
More than Leaders, great survey of Post-Mao China
Does a great job, keeping it interesting, describing Modern China,. it is actually more than about the leaders, gives the reader a better understanding of how the Chinese government works.
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2 people found this helpful
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- JohnDoe
- 04-03-23
Very informative
Having native Chinese speaker was an exceptionally welcome addition to such works.
Polished, understanable prose embedded in a mature writing style of a master scholar
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3 people found this helpful
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- Joao Lorenzi
- 03-20-23
More than the obvious analysis
Very good book with a lot of important facts and personal connectiond I was not aware of even having coveref China for 5 years.
Must read.
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2 people found this helpful