China through the sliding door - John Gittings

John Gittings has been reporting on China for 30 years, writing about its remarkable transformation from Maoist communism to a market-led economy. In this journalistic anthology he conveys both the magnitude of this change and its incompleteness - particularly in political life as evidenced by the 1989 Beijing Massacre. Travelling extensively within China, Gittings has witnessed all the great upheavals - the Cultural Revolution, the rejection of Maoism, the growth of consumer society, the repression of dissidents, the inequalities between rich and poor, the struggle in Tibet and the Hong Kong handover. He paints a vivid picture of life across China, from the booming coast and Westernized cities to the isolated central provinces. CHINA THROUGH THE SLIDING DOOR offers a unique insight into this most complex and unpredictable society. Understanding its recent history, John Gittings sheds light on its present and its probable future. And by highlighting China's transition from something which called itself socialism, to something which does not yet call itself capitalism, he raises issues of public versus private, idealism against materialism, which have relevance to Western societies also undergoing rapid change.