The Making of Modern China

Good book and easy way of getting down to brass tacks on Modern China. Worth the read.

A thoroughly enjoyable introduction to Chinese history for one who doesn't have time to be deeply interested.

I used it for school

Great! Informative!

This is a quite good broad-based summary of China's history from the start of the Ming Dynasty to the close of the Boxer Rebellion. The text is simple but not simplistic, the language and meaning always clear. It does a nice job explaining economics, often given short shrift in quick summaries, and an especially good job in lucidly laying out cause and effect. The art is rough and simple (intentionally so), and mostly enhances the text in terms of given visual support for concepts of scale and comparison, such as showing a comparison of tax revenue through piles of coins. it's not a book one reads for the aesthetics, but it's a very good choice for a clear, quick history.