om its origins up to the student massacre by government forces in 1989, is clear, straightforward, fair, and written in an intelligent and always interesting style. The material is not so complex that it will put off the average reader, but it is complex enough that it will have much to say to the more scholarly reader.
Cotterell keeps his work interesting from the beginning, with an anecdote about the first Song emperor. He recognizes that history can be a dry area of study, and he always has the interest of the reader in mind. Above all, his exploration of the history of China emphasizes its ability to survive: "Traumatic as the collapse of China was in the late nineteenth nd early twentieth centuries, when foreign nations brought the full impact of modern
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