An informative, detailed history that to some extent boils down to a repetitive cycle of reform and repression, expansion and mismanagement (which isn't the book's fault, it can't help that its subject is repetitive). I lost count of the times the author repeated the point that local governments or state industries could go into heedless debt confident in the fact that the state would be obliged to bail them out no matter what, for instance. Reading things like this I find interesting compared to the prevailing narrative that China's out to eat everyone's lunch and is going to take the United States' place as the preeminent world power -- every time I read anything that actually describes the inner workings of the Chinese economy in detail the degree to which it comes across as a house of cards is striking.

A note to prospective readers, this book is primarily interested in domestic Chinese politics and history, and relatively unconcerned with foreign policy (that, or during the period it covers <i>China</i> was relatively unconcerned with foreign policy). Also, the book might better be titled "China Between Mao and Xi" -- the period between Xi's accession and the present day is covered merely in the epilogue, in much less detail than previous decades. This was disappointing, since I would have liked to better understand China's present-day footing (e.g. its demographic challenges, or the Belt and Road Initiative). It's likely the source materials the author worked with for pre-Xi times are much harder to come by the closer you get to the present, so I understand, but I would have liked more since the book's account of the rest of its subject matter is quite good.

CHINA AFTER MAO by Frank Dikötter, Chair Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, takes an historical perspective, tracing action in China from Mao's death in 1976 mainly through 2012 when Xi Jinping officially took power. Dikötter writes, "If this book proves anything, it is that without political reform market reform cannot exist." His assessment is chilling, noting comments like this one from a party leader in the late 1980s: "once their living standards had been raised, people in China would acknowledge the superiority of socialism. And then, he added, 'we can gradually reduce the scope for liberalisation further and further.'" Dikötter also points out some surprising facts – did you know that China has less than a million resident foreigners? He says this is "roughly 0.07 percent of its total population, the lowest proportion of any country, less than half that of North Korea" and well below the 2.8 percent figure for Japan. Of course, I had already heard of dissidents like Liu Xiaobo, Ai Weiwei, or Chen Guangcheng, but Dikötter places their actions and the party's reaction in a wider context, including recent events when "in 2015, the campaign turned against the business community, with a string of corporate leaders arrested for fraudulent investments abroad. Several billionaires disappeared, leaving the others scrambling to prove their loyalty to the party." Extremely detailed and informative, CHINA AFTER MAO contains an extensive bibliography and numerous reference notes based in large part on Dikötter's access to archives in mainland China. This newly published title received a starred review from Kirkus ("an excellent, highly critical description of China's spectacular expansion") while Publishers Weekly characterized it as "a must-read for China watchers."

A very well researched and informative book. An important book in these times, as we struggle to understand China, and what they want in the world. Unfortunately, I fear we might be disappointed, as the author points out the problems and futility the Chinese people are facing.

China After Mao by Frank Dikotter I have read Mr. Dikotter’s three previous books about Mao and the formation of The People’s Republic of China. Like those three books, Mr. Dikotter explains the turbulent political history of those struggling to survive the death of Mao as well as those seeking to replace him. This is never an easy process when a country has been ruled by a dictator for so long. Compounding this issue was the concern of those made relevant by Mao not to have Mao fall into disgrace as Stalin did in Russia. I believe this has significance to preserving the communist philosophy of Mao as well as the reputations of those who acted on Mao’s dictates. The book describes the intrigues that occurred among rivals until the emergence of Deng Xioping who moved China forward and outward at least for a while into the Capitalistic world. This is for sure a book who have read Dikotter’s previous three books and I look forward to a possible next book as well.

Pretty honest and fair portrayal of China post student revolution/uprising. I was kind of taken aback by a lot of what I read and it's obvious that the author did their homework with this account of life in Communist China. Not much of it is very hopeful or uplifting, but we need books like this to give us a better understanding of history and how it affects the entire world, not just one country.

About 15 years ago, I read a truly remarkable book, "Mao: The Unknown Story" which covered the life of this horrid communist dictator until his death in 1976, and since then, I have always hoped to find another book on the history of China since 1976 that was as good as "Mao: The Unknown Story" and now I have done so. "China After Mao" is an excellent book that everyone should read. It is comprehensive, authoritative, and well documented. This is a first-rate book!