Eldest Son: Zhou Enlai and the Making of Modern China, 1898-1976

by Han Suyin

Book Overview

Zhou Enlai was one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century. Long overshadowed by the more visible - and charismatic - Mao Dzedong, he and his life and extraordinary accomplishments remain... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568360843
• ISBN13: 9781568360843
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Kodansha
• Length: 483 Pages
• Weight: 1.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book

Han Suyin writes an amazingly detailed account of one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century. Her prose is fluent and engaging, and the questions which she raises throughout the biography help the reader to grasp a fuller picture of the secretive man whose powerful politics saved China from Western military aggression. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of modern China, Ms. Han patiently describes the events which surrounded and preceded Premier Zhou. She painstakingly describes the politics of those who affected him, and she demonstrates how Zhou led the founding of the world's most populous nation. Outside of the American media's depictions of Chinese human rights violations and inflitration, few Americans are familiar with matters relating to China. Here is a factual inside account of modern China shown with both its strengths and foibles. Ms. Han writes from her personal interviews with Premier Zhou and his colleagues, and she presents a full picture of both his accomplishments and mistakes. She is careful not to err on the side of exaggeration, though it is apparent that she, like most Chinese in China, revere their nation's former Premier. Americans, especially those who wish to understand the history between China and the U.S., should find this book interesting.