BookTalk.org

Anyone have any recommendations for learning about China, especially modern history and culture?

I read "Life and Death in Shanghai" many years ago and have always remembered this book. It is an autobiography written by Nien Cheng, whose husband had been an official of Chiang Kaishek's regime. She was arrested, and while it is a very personal and inspirational account of her struggles, her assessments of events and political situation of China's cultural revolution of 1966 are insightful.

Sue Salisbury
Maui Hawaii

I was going to recommend Romance of the Three Kingdoms until I saw that you wanted something modern. But if you believe that the present is a product of the past, this classic would be worth reading. It's such an important part of Chinese culture in that it has influenced so much later art including modern Chinese story telling in many genres. My review here if you're interested

Otherwise, there's always Wild Swans Review

I'm half-way through Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikkoter, which documents China's devastating attempt to become an economic powerhouse within fifteen years, starting in 1958 with a nation-wide roll out of collectivisation. In four years, fifty million people died as a result of this catastrophically misguided policy, and Dikkoter does justice to this neglected chapter of history with a deft mix of humane depictions of hardship anchored with a lucid delineation of the ideological and economic context.

I highly recommend "Oracle Bones" by Peter Hessler. This is a fascinating, book that is highly readable and very informative. Hessler tells the story of modern China through the lives of some average Chinese citizens. Along the way, he also tells the story of China's past, and manages to make seamless connections between the two. This is an amazing book.