The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China (Four Stars)

I prefer to have a complete history written by the same person. Rather, this one is broken down by periods and then each period is covered by a different person (or persons). This leads to different weight being given to the different periods, based upon (I'm assuming) the emphasis given by the different historians writing this.

The first couple of chapters suffered from typos... not enough to seriously distract from the text but surprising in a book from Oxford. Also, the book fails to address in the later chapters the role of the PLA in China's "economic miracle" and it's relationship to both the military complex and the economy as a whole. Indeed, even FINDING the PLA listed in the index is a chore. You wind up going to Military Forces: Communist: People's Liberation Army (PLA). Even then, it does not break it down further despite the PLA's role in the Cultural Revolution and other aspects of Communist China.

Nor does it seem interested in discussing China's expansionism: the One-Belt, One-Road (OBOR) has seen the Chinese construction of overseas facilities (most notably in Djibouti) and other projects financed through international agreements which put the smaller signatories at a disadvantage. While this does make for both easier access to raw materials for China and better access for its goods to Europe and Central Asia, it also provides possible basing for China's increasing military power projection. The book barely mentions the Spratleys and does not discuss China's claims in the South China Sea, it's construction of "new" territory to enforce those claims or its disregard for international law in this area. Indeed, "Spratleys" isn't even listed in the index.

I did learn what I wanted about the post-Cultural revolution China and also revisited the period from 1900 to the 1960s. Unfortunately, it was rather redundant in places and the emphasis on civil rights in one chapter and economics in another tiresome. The volume is well-illustrated with photographs and maps. I believe that it could have been a better book, however.