Understanding China: A Guide to China's Culture, Economy, and Political Structure
Without question, the 21st century will include an increase China's  global importance--a situation that is sometimes ground for optimism, sometimes fear. Despite the  recent growth of interest in the region, China's political and economic nuances remain widely misunderstood.  Those seeking to grasp the complexities of modern-day China will find much to admire inUnderstanding China, a remarkably concise, fact-filled, and fair-minded survey by Yale professor John  Bryan Starr. Written for a general audience,Understanding Chinafills in historical context while  evaluating the major issues facing the People's Republic today, from environmental degradation to exploding  population growth. Bryan's conclusion: China's problems are too intractable to support the current  political system for much longer. And despite the free-market accommodations of the Deng era, it's not democracy  he envisions as China's most likely fate, but rather a political future controlled largely by the  People's Liberation Army. It's a grim forecast, but one ably supported by the book's data and statistics.