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The Story of China

A portrait of a civilisation and its people

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The Story of China

By: Michael Wood
Narrated by: Michael Wood
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About this listen

 'A learned, wise, wonderfully written single volume history of a civilisation that I knew I should know more about' Tom Holland

'Masterful and engrossing...well-paced, eminently readable and well-timed. A must-read for those who want – and need – to know about the China of yesterday, today and tomorrow' Peter Frankopan

China’s story is extraordinarily rich and dramatic. Now Michael Wood, one of the UK's pre-eminent historians, brings it all together in a major new one-volume history of China that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand its burgeoning role in our world today.

China is the oldest living civilisation on earth, but its history is still surprisingly little known in the wider world. Michael Wood's sparkling narrative, which mingles the grand sweep with local and personal stories, woven together with the author’s own travel journals, is an enthralling account of China’s 4000-year-old tradition, taking in life stationed on the Great Wall or inside the Forbidden City. The story is enriched with the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries; correspondence and court cases going back to the Qin and Han dynasties; family letters from soldiers in the real-life Terracotta Army; stories from Silk Road merchants and Buddhist travellers, along with memoirs and diaries of emperors, poets and peasants.

In the modern era, the book is full of new insights, with the electrifying manifestos of the feminist revolutionaries Qiu Jin and He Zhen, extraordinary eye-witness accounts of the Japanese invasion, the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, and fascinating newly published sources for the great turning points in China’s modern history, including the Tiananmen Square crisis of 1989, and the new order of President Xi Jinping.

A compelling portrait of a single civilisation over an immense period of time, the book is full of intimate detail and colourful voices, taking us from the desolate Mongolian steppes to the ultra-modern world of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It also asks what were the forces that have kept China together for so long? Why was China overtaken by the west after the 18th century? What lies behind China’s extraordinary rise today? The Story of China tells a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity and deep humanity; a portrait of a country that will be of the greatest importance to the world in the twenty-first century. Asia China Thought-Provoking Ancient History
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Telling the story partly through personal lived experiences works well. Remains absorbing despite its length.

Excellent

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I have lived and worked in China. I have a politics and history degree. This is a tour de force. Read / Listen and you may understand why the West and China will always be at odds. Wood is able to present the broad narrative and then dive into a detail to make that narrative come alive.

He gives a balanced view that recognises both the achievements and the disasters.

Brilliant.

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The story unfolds in a cohesive way, enabling seamless connections through the eras discussed. Thank you Micheal Wood. You have enriched my knowledge and understanding of China.

Brilliant and engaging . I have loved this book and discuss it often with my friends in Beijing.

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I loved this book. I probably need to listen again a few times to take it all in. The Story of China is fascinating. Very well written and narrated.

Brilliant, what an amazing book.

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The China story is obviously pretty big. I knew nearly nothing about China before this book. Michael Wood breaks down the larger narrative with individual human stories, which I found very engaging. His knowledge of China is very deep and this makes the story telling very informative. I felt that I've taken away not only the facts but also a cultural feeling of China, which is exactly what I wanted from the history. Well worth your time to listen to this.

An epic story made enjoyable and entertaining

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