Readable, informative and clear, this widely used survey of twentieth-century China has been a welcome introduction to an unfamiliar world for many thousands of readers since its first appearance in 1986. Much has happened since then, with political tension going hand in hand with a spectacular economic growth under Deng Xiaoping that has caused the outside world to recognise China, with mixed emotions, as a rising superpower. This eagerly awaited and substantially expanded new edition (reset in a more generous format) brings the story up to date.