Superpower Interrupted
The Chinese History of the World
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Narrated by:
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Shawn Compton
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By:
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Michael Schuman
About this listen
This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again."
We in the West routinely ask: "What does China want?" The answer is quite simple: the superpower status it always had, but briefly lost.
In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization. More important, we come to see how this unique Chinese history of the world shapes China's economic policy, attitude toward the United States and the rest of the world, relations with its neighbors, positions on democracy and human rights, and notions of good government.
As the Chinese see it, for as far back as anyone can remember, China had the richest economy, the strongest military, and the most advanced philosophy, culture, and technology. The collision with the West knocked China's historical narrative off course for the first time, as its 5,000-year reign as an unrivaled superpower came to an ignominious end.
Ever since, the Chinese have licked their wounds and fixated on returning their country to its former greatness, restoring the Chinese version of its place in the world as they had always known it. For the Chinese, the question was never if they could reclaim their former dominant position in the world, but when.
©2020 Michael Schuman (P)2020 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Schuman skillfully narrates more than three thousand years of history through a Chinese lens that places China at the center of the world and Chinese civilization above all others. Superpower Interrupted provides crucial insights into Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation that seeks to restore China to its rightful place as world leader. Superpower Interrupted is essential reading for all those who want a deeper understanding of the historical roots of China's national objectives." (Bonnie Glaser, Center for Strategic and International Studies)
"Of considerable interest to students of world trade, geopolitics, and history." (Kirkus Reviews)
"As noted historian Jonathan Spence argued some twenty-two years ago, the West has long been guilty of seeing China through the same lens that it sees itself. Michael Schuman provides a fascinating antidote to this bias, examining China's worldview through its own lens. Is history on China's side? Schuman offers some tantalizing hints to the answer of that critical question." (Stephen Roach, senior fellow Yale University, former chairman Morgan Stanley Asia)
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Loved the historical context but ..
- By Kathy on 01-06-20
By: Michael J. Seth
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History of Southeast Asia
- A Captivating Guide to the History of a Vast Region Containing Countries Such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, and More
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook covers ancient Southeast Asia, the mid-period, colonialism, World War Two occupation by the Japanese, the aftermath of the war, and the subsequent revolutions. The history of this region is a riveting story full of all manner of plot twists and developments.
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not a history of Asia
- By Levinia on 08-04-21
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Iranian History
- A Captivating Guide to the Persian Empire and History of Iran, Starting from the Achaemenid Empire, Through the Parthian, Sasanian and Safavid Empire to the Afsharid and Qajar Dynasty
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny, Duke Holm, David Patton
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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If you want to discover the captivating history of Iran, then listen to these five captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, Sasanian Empire, The Safavid Empire, and The Afsharid and Qajar Dynasty, will help you learn more about the history of Iran.
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There Are Better Options
- By Andrew Shamoo on 08-20-21
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God's Shadow
- Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Alan Mikhail
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Long neglected in world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. Yet, despite its towering influence and centrality to the rise of our modern world, the Ottoman Empire's history has for centuries been distorted, misrepresented, and even suppressed in the West. Now Alan Mikhail presents a vitally needed recasting of Ottoman history, retelling the story of the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470-1520).
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Entertaining narrative, but poor scholarship
- By Yosemite on 09-15-20
By: Alan Mikhail
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The Invention of Sicily
- A Mediterranean History
- By: Jamie Mackay
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Sicily has always acted as a gateway between Europe and the rest of the world. Fought over by the Phoenicians and Greeks, the Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, and the Spanish and the French for thousands of years, Sicily became a unique melting pot where diverse traditions merged, producing a unique heritage and singular culture. In this fascinating account of the island from the earliest times to the present day, author and journalist Jamie Mackay leads us through this most elusive of places.
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Wonderful overview of Sicily
- By jay lazier on 01-28-24
By: Jamie Mackay
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A Brief History of China
- Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In his retelling of a Chinese history stretching back 5,000 years, author and China-expert Jonathan Clements focuses on the human stories which led to the powerful transformations in Chinese society - from the unification of China under its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, to the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan and the consolidation of Communist rule under Mao Zedong. Clements even brings listeners through to the present day, outlining China's economic renaissance under Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
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Succinct and detailed overview of a huge topic
- By Stephen Sheafer on 08-19-20
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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The Shortest History of Europe
- By: John Hirst
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Celebrated historian John Hirst offers a fascinating exploration of the qualities that made Europe a world-changing civilization. The Shortest History of Europe begins with a rapid overview of European civilization, describing its birth from an unlikely mixture of classical learning and Christianity and German warrior culture. Over the centuries, this unstable blend produced highly distinctive characters - pious knights and belligerent popes, and beyond - and its coming apart provided the dynamic of European history in modern times.
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Political Cheap Shots Instead of History
- By Anonymous User on 08-25-24
By: John Hirst
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Central Asia
- A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present
- By: Adeeb Khalid
- Narrated by: Aaqil Ahmed
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Central Asia is often seen as a remote and inaccessible land on the peripheries of modern history. Encompassing Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Xinjiang province of China, it in fact stands at the crossroads of world events. Adeeb Khalid provides the first comprehensive history of Central Asia from the mid-18th century to today, shedding light on the historical forces that have shaped the region under imperial and Communist rule.
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Great History of a Forgotten Region
- By Than on 07-07-21
By: Adeeb Khalid
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China
- A History
- By: John Keay
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Many nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past. Keay's authoritative history examines 5,000 years in China, from the time of the Three Dynasties through Chairman Mao and the current economic transformation of the country.
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Needs new narrator
- By Betty on 10-16-16
By: John Keay
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The Outline of History
- Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind
- By: H. G. Wells
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 44 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Having coined the phrase "the war that will end war," H. G. Wells was disillusioned by the World War I peace settlement. Convinced that humanity needed to awaken to the instability of the world order and remember lessons from the past, the author of science-fiction classics set out to write about history. Wells hoped to remind mankind of its common past, provide it with a basis for international patriotism, and guide it to renounce war.
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Loved it
- By Eric on 05-07-15
By: H. G. Wells
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Powers and Thrones
- A New History of the Middle Ages
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes listeners on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West.
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Hard to take a break from it!
- By Mariano's Music on 12-09-21
By: Dan Jones
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A Brief History of Indonesia
- Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation
- By: Tim Hannigan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Indonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth-largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching back a thousand years and more.
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More Indonesian history please Audible
- By Damien on 08-20-19
By: Tim Hannigan
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Destiny Disrupted
- A History of the World through Islamic Eyes
- By: Tamim Ansary
- Narrated by: Tamim Ansary
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Until about 1800, the West and the Islamic realm were like two adjacent, parallel universes, each assuming itself to be the center of the world while ignoring the other. As Europeans colonized the globe, the two world histories intersected and the Western narrative drove the other one under. The West hardly noticed, but the Islamic world found the encounter profoundly disrupting.
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A history of the world before the West mattered
- By David on 05-05-14
By: Tamim Ansary
What listeners say about Superpower Interrupted
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-10-20
Butchered chinese pronunciations
Disappointing that for a book about the history of China, not one person in the production of this audiobook would have thought, ‘hey maybe we should find a reader who can pronounce the place and emperor names properly?’ Pretty shameful
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3 people found this helpful
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- sup
- 12-30-20
Incompetent narration is a shame...
Imagine listening to an audiobook about French history where the narrator butchers every French name in an exaggerated American accent - to the point where you stop and ask yourself whether this could possibly be a parody or an April Fools joke.
Unfortunately it's not a parody - and a decently good book on China is completely let down by the shoddy narration. I don't think the narrator needs to pronounce things perfectly. Just make it so that names aren't utterly butchered, which is not a high bar.
For a book that aims to explain China to a western audience this is a real shame.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jacob Thiessen
- 04-11-21
Those ignorant to history are doomed to repeat it
This was a fascinating book. The changes in dynasties mixed with foreign making is hard to keep up with, the ching to the ming, the wu, etc... but if you pay attention to the overall flow of Chinese history it's incredible how prevalent the confuscionist outlook still is in the PRC.
This book is worth a listen if you have any interest at all in understanding why China acts like China
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- Dave in MT
- 04-11-23
Very informative for a beginner.
I enjoyed the writing and the narration. It is my first book on China and it had plenty of information and historical perspective to inspire further study. I can see how a Chinese might be disappointed with the mispronunciation but that is irrelevant to me. The narrative is easy to follow, if you are looking for an introduction to the China Thing this book worked for me.
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- Joshua Carroll
- 09-15-21
“All Under Heaven”…
“All Under Heaven” is an Admirable, Aspirational, and Terrifying Goal for the CCP. Mr. Schuman lays out a basis for the various strategies being employed by the Chinese government - economic strangulation by One Belt, One Road, sharp power subversion of “Confucius Institutions”, military posturing and land grabbing in the South China Sea - all harken to hyperbole of dynastic greatness in China’s imperial past. The scary part is, as Schuman intimates in the closing chapter, is the attempt to unify “all under heaven” is not just a physical, geographic, or territorial aim of the CCP, but to lord over a vast kingdom economically and culturally. This may be the most comprehensive answer to the recent “great question” of the West: “What does China want?”
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- Anonymous User
- 07-16-20
The narrator is good, but names in Chinese..
The narrator is very good, but his pronunciation of names in Chinese... needs to work on it for a next book about China
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- Rick G.
- 03-31-21
Still has a western tinge but at least they tried
While better focused on the Chinese perspective of historical events it still feels like a western view/interpretation of the Chinese view. Solid history though but did feel a bit rushed at the end as it covered this past century.
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- Matthew G. Towner
- 08-12-20
Nice overview
Hard to capture so much concisely but the author did. Great context for framing modern China’s rise. BUT if you are gonna have s book about China the reader should learn how to pronounce the names. It’s not rocket science. Take 20 minutes to figure it out
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4 people found this helpful
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- LisaDC
- 01-21-24
Supported intent: quick primer on full span of Chinese history
Sufficiently thorough and stiched- together-threads to give me a primer on Chinese history within the context of geopolitical objectives. I'd read a couple of 20th and 21st-century-focused books on China ( Young China; Confusious Never Said; Hundred Year Marathon), but didn't take any Chinese history in college so was feeling the gaps. Very accessible at 2x speed which is mine norm for audible.
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- Michael Pan
- 06-28-21
Narrator doesn't speak Chinese
Very disappointing choice of the narrator, who does not speak Chinese and hence mispronounces basically all Chinese words in the book. Do not purchase unless you really need an audiobook to listen to.
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